[trurl]

Yeah, I figured someone might try this argument.

Everyone seems to keep forgetting, there is already an option on iOS for developers not wanting to go through the App Store: web apps. I believe WASM can even be used these days. Except that Safari doesn't offer developers some privacy sensitive APIs other browsers do. The current side loading pressure has very little to do avoiding Apple's cut and everything to do with bypassing Apple's restrictions.

So I expect should Apple introduce a heavily sandboxed side-loading experience, we'd be seeing developers complain they are not adhering to the spirit or the law or lawsuit.

[Apocryphon]

PWAs have long failed to reach adoption on mobile- not just iOS, but also on Android- because of technical limitations that they have compared to native. And perhaps, lack of sufficient interest both from independent developers and from larger tech corporations. That interest is probably orthogonal to the sideloading battle.

Seeing as how Epic was the first company to launch a lawsuit against Apple's control of the App Store, and they certainly care more about avoiding Apple's cut, and little about privacy restrictions, that would seem to contradict your point. We haven't exactly seen Meta or Google throw in with Sweeney's crusade. Instead, the companies who have publicly supported the suit have all been companies that want to bypass the 30% cut, such as Spotify or Tinder.

Finally, if Apple introduces a heavily sandboxed sideloading experience (hopefully they will also introduce more privacy sensitive APIs to Safari as well!), then perhaps the courts will recognize that as a reasonable action and beneficial to consumers and the public interest, and will not press the matter further. There's only so much back and forth this sort of thing can wage on in the public, anyway. Lawsuits are costly in time, in attention, and in fees. If Apple does something in good faith, unlike what they've been doing in response to Dutch legislation (0), then presumably our systems of democracy will appreciate it.

(0) https://twitter.com/marcoarment/status/1489595417117483010