Linked List: November 10, 2023

Friday, 10 November 2023

‘iOS 17.2 Hints at Sideloading Apps From Outside the App Store’ 

Filipe Espósito, with a nice scoop for 9to5Mac:

By analyzing the new API, we’ve learned that it has an extension endpoint declared in the system, which means that other apps can create extensions of this type. Digging even further, we found a new, unused entitlement that will give third-party apps permission to install other apps. In other words, this would allow developers to create their own app stores.

The API has basic controls for downloading, installing, and even updating apps from external sources. It can also check whether an app is compatible with a specific device or iOS version, which the App Store already does. Again, this could easily be used to modernize MDM solutions, but here’s another thing.

We also found references to a region lock in this API, which suggests that Apple could restrict it to specific countries. This wouldn’t make sense for MDM solutions, but it does make sense for enabling sideloading in particular countries only when required by authorities — such as in the European Union.

Makes sense. If Apple winds up being forced to allow sideloading in the EU, I think they will only allow it in the EU. Apple still has a pending appeal, but I doubt they’ll win, and the deadline for compliance is March of next year, which probably means iOS 17.3 or 17.4.

Dithering Today: A Preview of Spatial Video on Vision Pro 

November 2023 cover art for Dithering, depicting a family in silhouette, holdings umbrellas, crossing the street on a rainy fall day.

New episodes usually drop at the crack of dawn, but today’s Dithering was held until 10am PT/1pm ET due to an embargo. Yesterday I got hands-on experience shooting spatial video using an iPhone 15 Pro and watching those videos that I shot — along with others, recorded by Apple — on a Vision Pro headset. I’m blown away once again. I’ll have a column describing my experience out later this afternoon, but Dithering subscribers can hear my thoughts now.

Dithering as a standalone subscription costs just $5/month or $50/year. You get two episodes per week, each exactly 15 minutes long. You can also get it as part of my co-host Ben Thompson’s Stratechery Plus bundle — a veritable steal at just $12/month or $120/year. I just love having an outlet like Dithering for weeks like this one. People who try Dithering seem to love it, too — we have remarkably little churn.