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If you're installing files from around the internet, you don't have Apple's assurance that it's free from malware. Altstore requires the user to trust it, meaning it needs access to a user's Apple account and password. It also automatically refreshes Apple-imposed timers that cause sideloaded apps to become unusable after 7 days. Users are also limited to 3 apps using this method because of an Apple restriction. It uses a Mac or Windows app, which is required to sideload the Altstore onto the iPhone.
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AltstoreĪpple allows developers to sideload apps to their iPhone from Xcode, software for making iPhone apps, so that they can test in-progress apps or show creations to friends and family.ĪltStore automates this process, albeit in a way that most casual iPhone users will find a bit burdensome. In addition, all developers of mini-apps must be registered as official developers with Apple.
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The code used to run mini-apps can't be in a "store-like interface," and must meet six requirements, including that the software is free, can be run in Safari, and meets all App Review guidelines. But its App Store guidelines and related developer agreements ban apps that "download, install, or execute code which introduces or changes features or functionality of the app, including other apps."īut WeChat and Snap fall under a different guideline, which says that code distribution cannot be the main purpose of an app, leaving a path for mini-apps.
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There are several ways to install an App Clip: Users can scan a QR-code like image, or tap their phone against a configured sensor, or tap on a a link from the web.Īpple declined to comment on the record for this story. But Apple said in presentations this summer that App Clips are good for uses like ordering take-out from a restaurant or renting a scooter.
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Although it's still in beta and hasn't launched to the public yet, Apple says that App Clips are a way for developers to provide a "small part" of an app that doesn't require the user to download the full program.Īpp Clips are in a testing phase and won't be available to the public until iOS 14, the latest version of the iPhone software comes out this fall. Earlier this summer, it announced what it calls App Clips. The company is also coming up with its own spin on the concept. In 2019, Tencent announced that it would stop accepting payment for digital goods inside mini-apps to conform with Apple's rules. Mini-apps have not escaped Apple's scrutiny entirely. Snap offers mini-apps made by third party developers for meditation, making flashcards, and polling friends. Earlier this year, Snap announced what it calls "Minis," which is the same concept, except inside Snapchat. The idea of mini-apps is beginning to catch on in the U.S. Other Chinese tech companies, including Alibaba and Baidu, have also added mini programs into their apps. They're accessible through links directly in the WeChat interface, or through QR codes that can be found in magazines, at restaurants and stores, on business cards, and so on.ģ00 million of WeChat's more than 1 billion users used mini apps daily in 2019, spending the equivalent of $115 billion, Tencent said earlier this year. Third-party developers have built more than a million mini-apps for WeChat to do everything from ordering delivery food, shopping online, or playing a quick game. The king of mini-apps is WeChat, the massively popular Chinese-oriented messaging program made by Tencent. That means they load much more quickly and don't require users to install anything - just like an interactive web site runs in a web browser - but also means they can't be as sophisticated as full apps or games.
Mini apps are not full apps - they're written in HTML5, the same markup language used to create a website.
If Epic's lawsuit prevails, and Apple is forced to support alternative app stores on the iPhone, these existing methods could provide a preview of what the future marketplace for iPhone apps looks like. Airport is a proposed alternative app store that's seeking a wider audience for beta software, which needs a little more work before it's ready for everyone, although Apple may not approve it. Altstore, which came out in 2019, distributes apps that the App Store won't approve. Other alternatives operate in grey areas without Apple's blessing. Tencent, the Chinese technology giant, has created an empire of "mini-apps" inside its WeChat app, which are acceptable under Apple's rules for its App Store. However, there are other ways to install software on an iPhone. Software makers who can't abide by its rules can build websites instead, Apple says. Apple says it restricts users to downloading apps from the App Store to preserve quality: Apple employees review every app to assure users that iPhone apps are free of malware, offensive content, and security holes.