Setapp is planning to be the first third-party app store for iOS devices

MiataMan, 8 months ago

The only thing faster that the speed of light is the time it takes for "curated" to diverge into "a malware riddled collection of crapware"

amzd, 8 months ago

They are only 15 years late to be the first... We had cydia in 2008

elouboub, 8 months ago

Yes, but that required a jailbreak. The EU Digital Markets Act will make it possible for non-tech users to sideload apps and install app stores. Microsoft is even making an appstore for iOS. It wouldn't be surprising if Amazon and maybe even Epic followed suit.

mishimaenjoyer, 8 months ago

"monthly fee" for apps that probably didn't make it to the appstore, or, as i call it: "DOA".

elouboub, 8 months ago

There is hope for something like F-Droid. They probably won't be the only 3rd party store. I imagine Epic and Amazon will want in on the action. Even Microsoft is going to make an app store for iOS

iquanyin, 8 months ago

@elouboub

@mishimaenjoyer given what happened with my beloved and always missed microsoft phone and their pathetic appstore, this makes me laugh. and cry. a little.

iquanyin, 8 months ago

@mishimaenjoyer

@elouboub ulysses is a solid app. depending on how things go, i can see other good apps joining. it’s weird how people who stand to benefit from a new thing like to tear it down before it’s even begun.

Ilikecheese, 8 months ago

I hope they have time traveling technology to go with that App Store, because they’re a decade and a half or so late if they want to be the first 3rd party App Store for the iPhone. Off the top of my head I could name about a dozen that already exist or have existed in the past.

iquanyin, 8 months ago

@Ilikecheese

@elouboub

first non-jailbreak one. i was jailbroken from the first iphone days, before chris even existed. but saurik definitely upped the game.

elouboub, 8 months ago

There are third party app stores? I thought that wasn't possible until 2024.

mishimaenjoyer, 8 months ago

there are a handful from the jailbreaking days but most people didn't bother because most of the time they were gone with the next ios-update.

amzd, 8 months ago

If you had Cydia (which basically came with every jailbreak) you had a third party app store. The apple app store was literally inspired by it.

elouboub, 8 months ago

So that's going to change in 2024. They legally won't be able to get kicked off iOS anymore and no jailbreak will be necessary.

iquanyin, 8 months ago

@elouboub

@Ilikecheese it’s been possible since the first year of iphone, if you jailbreak. indeed, a lot of new features iphone got over the years were first found in jailbreak tweaks and apps.

chrisphero, 8 months ago

A service called “Setapp” plans to offer iPhone, iPad, and macOS users an alternative to Apple’s walled garden in 2024. The business model is geared more like Sony’s PlayStation Plus or Xbox’s Game Pass. Users pay a monthly fee for complete access to the company’s 240+ curated apps.

Currently, the library is limited to only four categories – Optimize, Work, Create, and Develop. Sorry no games yet. However, some well-known user favorites already exist on the macOS version of the platform, including ClearVPN, project management app SheetPlanner, writing/publishing utility Ulysses, and programming tool CodeRunner.

However, $10 per month aligns with its current subscription tiers.

I was interesting at first, but then I found out it is another subscription service… really? If they want to complete with the app store, they need to change this… this is not how you attract new user.

Comparing it to PS+ and Xbox Game Pass is also a very odd choice from the writer of the article… you need a certain type of subscription to even play online (PS+, Xbox Gold) and if you upgrade the subscription you basically get 80$ games for free…