Trailblazing App Store Alternative Appeared in Europe

The announcement of the upcoming arrival ofnon-App Store application stores stirred the mobile market back in the winter of 2024. Shocking enough, the news was followed by numerous reports on the new stores that will be available on iOS on a par with the App Store.

Mobile marketing agency lovemobile.agency looked into the introduction of AltStore PAL, one of the first application stores to become an alternative to the App Store.

Context

AltStore PAL is a third-party, open-source application store. It came to iOS because of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Terms

To use AltStore PAL, you have to pay an annual subscription (€1.50) andApple’s core technology fee (CTF).

Keep in mind that installing applications from an alternative store is quite different to the process with the App Store. Apple will send you several warnings that will inform you of the risks related to downloading apps from alternative sources. But if you confirm installation, you will be clear to download the apps that are not available on the App Store for some reason.

Great start

AltStore PAL enters the market with two applications developed by Riley Testut: Delta and Clip.Delta.

• Delta is a classic games emulator for iOS.
• Clip.Delta is a clipboard that was previously banned by Apple. It will give users some extended functions that lie beyond the built-in capabilities provided by Apple.

The company has stated that, in contrast to the App Store, all applications available on AltStore PAL will be distributed by users. After an application is notarized by Apple, developers will be able to download the alternative distribution packet (ADP) and send it to their server.

For further distribution on AltStore PAL, the developer just needs to create a “source”, which is a JSON file containing the app’s key metadata and available at a public URL.

Users will add this source to their AltStore, after which all applications will be automatically available to the EU users.

New opportunities for users

AltStore PAL will help developers use new monetization and app distribution models. Integrated with Patreon, this alternative store supports the developers who offer beta versions of their apps.

The Delta app will be free, and Clip will cost the Patreon minimum monthly fee: 1 euro + tax.

New opportunities for iOS

AltStore PAL has been in the market for more than five years. However, this will be the first official launch in Europe, propelled by the DMA.

AltStore PAL is going to become a cradle for iOS development innovations and experiments. This third-party store allows developers to distribute iOS applications on their own, and users to access software from various vendors.

This way, AltStore PAL disrupts the conventional iOS application distribution model. So far, the store can’t boast a wide array of unique applications and thus can’t compete with the App Store in full. But the things may change. Stay tuned!