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It took laws to force Apple to catch up to Android. Apple made a big deal about USB-C on the iPhone 15, yet didn’t mention it was practically forced to implement the feature by the European Union. NowApple is being driven to allow app sideloading on iOS, at least in the EU. Will the US follow suit? And what does this mean for Android? How will this affectthe best Android phones? It’s time to talk about this coming shift in the smartphone market.
The USB-C debate
USB-C is one of the newer technologies in our lives. It first appeared in 2014 but didn’t hit mass adoption until 2016. The original cable was designed by a consortium of tech companies, including Apple, Intel, HP, and Microsoft, to create a cable that could be used across different devices and ecosystems, could transfer data at reliably fast speeds, and could deliver electricity. An all-in-one super cable, if you will. It allows you to carry just one cable for everything.
Ironically, Apple wasn’t just one of the designers but also one of the early adopters of the new cable standard and introduced it with the 12-inch MacBook in 2015. Why is this ironic? Well, Apple refused to add USB-C to the iPhone for nearly a decade after.
Apple created the famous Lightning connector in 2012 and shipped it with iPhones just a year before USB-C was announced. Like USB-C, this connector has the benefit of working in either orientation, except it is limited to iPhones and iPads (plus some less prominent Apple devices). But Apple was making a lot of money from Lightning accessories, with third-party manufacturers paying a fee to Apple for every gadget they sold.
No such cable was holding back Android OEMs. Chinese firms were the first to jump on USB-C, followed by Samsung and Motorola. Google’s last Nexus series and its first Pixel, released in 2015 and 2016, respectively, had USB-C, and every Pixel has kept this standard.
Soon, everything was USB-C. Laptops. Tablets. Smart home devices. Accessories. It is the standard to replace the old and inefficient USB-A and microUSB. But Apple refused to switch the iPhone until theEuropean Union stepped inand in a 2022 regulation, forced all smartphones sold in the EU to be USB-C. Apple had no choice, and the 2023 iPhone 15 was the first iPhone with the modern standard.
Apple’s sideloading woes
The EU didn’t stop at USB-C with Apple. The regulators in Brussels want all tech companies to open up their systems to other developers and companies to enforce better competition. TheDigital Markets Act(DMA) hits Apple hard, because the company has always maintained an iron grip on what can, and cannot, be loaded onto an iPhone or iPad.
Sideloading is the process of downloading third-party apps or entire app stores from the web without going through the official app store, such as the Google Play Store. When developers can convince users to go this route, they can sidestep hefty app store fees and go straight to the end user. Sideloading also makes it easier for bad actors to trick people into downloading malware onto their devices, though.
Android has always been open to sideloading, though Google hasadded more restrictionsto it over the years in the name of security. Apple’s approach is much stricter. Enterprises can add their own enterprise app stores to iOS devices since 2010, making specialized software available to their employees. Developers can also sideload apps, which is necessary for testing purposes. But unless you’re a part of an organization like that, or you’re willing to jailbreak your device, you don’t have easy access to apps outside the App Store on iOS.
Opening up while staying closed
Both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store have strict rules for developers, and apps hosted in either store are generally secure. Sometimes a bad apple (no pun intended) can slip through, but most people can trust that when they download an app from either app store, it will be safe to use.
Sideloading presents a unique problem with the security of devices and their users. Malware can be used to infect phones and tablets and not only brick the device but also steal personal information and money.
As mentioned, Google has progressively added restrictions on sideloading to make the process more secure. For example, you may’t install older apps that have more access to the system by default, and you can’t easily activate certain settings for sideloaded apps. The company also released Google Play Protect in 2017 after many different attempts to create an Android-wide system to stop malware.Play Protect worksby scanning all the apps on your device and looking for malware using a constantly updated code base, much like how Microsoft Defender protects your Windows computer.
For Apple, we don’t know how this will pan out just yet. The company is said to use a “highly controlled system” for sideloading according to Mark Gurman (via MacRumors), which sounds similar to the way enterprises can already set up custom app stores on managed devices today.
The company may rely on its experience with the Mac, which has always allowed you to install apps from any source. In the past few years, Apple has made it more difficult to install apps from outside the App Store on Macs, though. Developers need to sign their apps with the company for them to run on Macs, and there are further warnings and annoyances encouraging users to stick with applications from the App Store.
It’s possible that the company will go for a similar route on iOS, which would make it possible for it to gently nudge people to stick with the App Store there, too. Given that in contrast to the Mac, the App Store has always been the only mainstream way to get apps on the iPhone, this might mean that other app stores will never thrive. In that way, Apple could open up all while staying closed for the majority of its users.
What this means for Android
The EU is not targeting only Apple. Their legislation is about fair competition across Europe. Google was only lucky it already allowed sideloading on Android. But Google could easily be next in the EU sights, particularly when it comes to issues such as default apps on Android, advertising, and search.
The EU has alreadyfined Googlefor antitrust violations in the past. It could potentially force Google to make even more concessions, like further rulings that could make it even harder for the company to require Google apps to be pre-installed on Android phones in the bloc. There could also be further regulations surrounding user data collection, with Google already forced to add a “Reject all” button to its cookie banner in the EU. This would hit Google particularly hard, as user data is its bread and butter.
There’s a good chance the US will follow with regulations similar to the DMA. Antitrust sentimenthas been growingin the US and legislators are cracking down. This could affect Google’s proprietary software and even the Play Store itself.
This is precisely what just happened in a lawsuit by 50 attorneys general against Google. As part of the settlement, which was published this week, Google will have to make sideloading easier in the US for a limited period of time. This means there will be a less strict warning about the security implications of sideloading and only a single screen to go through to enable it for an alternative app store or app. It’s possible that the EU will follow with similar legislation if its regulators also end up unhappy with the Play Store’s dominance.
There is also Epic’s lawsuit against Google. Epic sued both Apple and Google, alleging their app store rules were monopolistic. A judge upheld Apple’s right to exclude third-party digital retailers back in 2020, but a jury had a different opinion when it came to Google. Theyruled last weekthat Google was violating antitrust laws and had damaged Epic’s ability to run its business due to Play Store rules regarding fees and third-party retailers. What this means going forward is yet to be seen, as Google will most likely appeal the decision. But it does show how the mood is changing, and how Android’s app distribution system may be in for an overhaul across the globe.
Don’t underestimate Apple
Apple is not a stupid company. It knows exactly how to keep users entrenched in its ecosystem, and will likely find ways to make it enticing for them to stay that way. Just look at the big pull iMessage has on Apple users, with Apple actively cracking down on workarounds like Beeper that bring the exclusive messaging service to Android.
The EU’s DMA could still be an opportunity for the cards to be shuffled again. After all, the EU managed to finally force Apple to switch to USB-C, for the benefit of every household wanting to share chargers across Androids and iPhones. The fallout from sideloading on iOS, whatever form it will take, still remains to be seen.
UPDATE: 2025-07-05 10:16 EST BY MANUEL VONAU
Corrections
We’ve updated the article to explain Apple’s current approach to sideloading. Today, businesses can already add their own app stores on managed devices. We’ve also changed the language around and the focus on security in this piece, asApple provides many safeguardsto keep its devices secure beyond vetting apps in the App Store, such as rigorous sandboxing.
