Sideloading might be the best thing for the iPhone
macworld.com
macworld.com
But here’s where I don’t quite agree with the author:
Sideloading doesn’t necessarily mean the platform would be any less secure than it is today. It could, if Apple were to do it exactly as macOS does it today, but that’s not the only –or even the most obvious– option.
Apple could still require the iOS sandbox to be in-place at all times, with no option to ever disable it (unlike on macOS where entering an admin password can let all hell break loose).
And notarization –which could also be enforced at all times– can include the exact same malware-scanning steps that App Store apps have to go through. In fact, that’s what it already does for macOS apps today:
> Notarization is a malware scanning service provided by Apple. Developers who want to distribute apps for macOS outside the App Store submit their apps for scanning as part of the distribution process. Apple scans this software for known malware and, if none is found, issues a Notarization ticket.
https://support.apple.com/guide/security/protecting-against-...
And yet these Enterprise app stores are still a target for malware developers, because most people don’t understand what it means to install certificates, and once their certificate is installed, the rest is easy. Even the notarization is relatively easy.
Bang — you’ve got your own malware App Store, and now your grandmother can finally install her favorite recipes or game apps. And meanwhile, the malware App Store can install anything else they like on her device.
This is a real threat. It has actually happened before. And there are plenty of malware authors out there that are trying the same thing on a regular basis.
You just don’t hear about this sort of thing very often, because Apple doesn’t talk about it very often.
The threat vector of third party app stores, whether from rival FANG big companies or from phantom enterprise cert app stores, still makes assumptions on user behavior. Good luck getting even tech enthusiasts to be quick to jumping on rival app stores, and dealing with the whole rigamarole of setting up new memberships, payment accounts, and purchase histories. Much less the so-called “grandma” demographic. The App Store would still be preeminent even if iOS was to open up to sideloading. Simple consumer behavior would prevent masses of users from departing from a system that’s over a decade old. Thus that vector is mitigated.