The long-awaited iOS 17 Sideloading functionality is now available to everyone. Mark Gurman revealed in a recent email that, with the EU deadline drawing near, Apple is preparing to modify the program Store to permit program sideloading and the usage of third-party app shops. Apple will thus have to let sideloading apps on iPhones, even with a heavy heart, but there’s a caveat. Only in European regions covered by the Digital Markets Act (DMA) will the App Store modifications be accessible. This freedom will not be granted to any other nation, not even the US.

In order to comply with the EU’s DMA, Apple intends to “split the App Store in two,” according to Mark Gurman’s most recent newsletter. Thus, there will be two versions of the App Store: one that complies with DMA and grants access to third-party app shops, and one that stays the same.

Ahead of the deadline set by the European Union, which will compel Apple to permit app sideloading, the adjustments are anticipated to be implemented in the upcoming weeks. More specifically, Apple has seven weeks to make the necessary adjustments before the DMA takes effect on March 7, which is the deadline. This indicates that iOS 17.x upgrades will bring sideloading to iOS 17 at last.

During their meeting at Apple Park last week, EU antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager reminded Apple CEO Tim Cook of the company’s upcoming duty to permit consumers to download programs from third-party app stores. Additionally, Apple will have to permit developers to provide their services outside of the App Store and accept payments through third-party gateways. But it goes beyond that. Apple will probably be forced by the EU’s DMA to significantly alter the functionality of FaceTime, Siri, and the App Store in Europe.