Strap in, iPhone users! The App Store's walled garden is about to get some cracks as Apple adjusts to the EU's new Digital Markets Act. Apple has announced that come March, iOS 17.4 will throw open the gates for alternative app marketplaces in the 27 EU countries. No more single-source iOS app shopping — you'll be able to browse and download directly from these third-party marketplaces.
It's not a complete free-for-all, though. Apple will still vet these marketplaces (think bouncer at the velvet rope), and you'll have to actively opt-in to download apps outside the App Store. But once you're in, the gloves come off. Apps that wouldn't dare enter the official App Store due to, "creative licensing" of Apple's guidelines, could become fair game. And interestingly enough, you can even make your favorite non-App Store marketplace your default, shaking things up even further.
