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marcprux | 4 months ago

You recall correctly, but that did end in 2015, when Apple ended the requirement that developers sign up for their paid developer program to be able to develop and test iPhone apps. I've written about that elsewhere: https://appfair.org/blog/gpl-and-the-app-stores#fn:3

The adb workaround for Android is essentially on par with being able to use Xcode's tooling to install apps on an iPhone: technically possible without paying a fee, but enough friction that no one would seriously consider as an alternative solution for publishing their apps to a general audience.

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iggldiggl|4 months ago

> The adb workaround for Android is essentially on par with being able to use Xcode's tooling to install apps on an iPhone

The Apple situation is still significantly worse than ADB, because (at least without a paid-for developer account) AFAIK you're limited to a certain number of in-development app that you can install simultaneously and you definitely need to reinstall them every few days. ADB currently has no such restrictions.

kmeisthax|4 months ago

Apple has actually increased the friction since: you now have to enable a scare-screened developer mode, reboot your device, install the app, get an error that the app is untrusted, then go to the part of Settings used for corporate management profiles to enable your own developer profile, and only THEN will the app actually launch and run.