Aptoide Launching Alternative iOS Game Marketplace in EU

Aptoide, a popular Google Play alternative for Android devices, will be launching an iOS game marketplace on Thursday, June 6, in the European Union.

aptoide
The Aptoide iOS store will launch with a limited selection of titles, but the company says that new games will arrive every day, and that 30 titles are currently being processed for inclusion. Examples of current games include Word Jungle, Condor — Leap of Faith, Solitaire, Mahjong, and Charades.

Initially, access to the store will be restricted to users with invitation-only access codes, but Aptoide says it has a waiting list of 20,000 signups and plans to issue between 500 to 1,000 codes per day.

As noted by The Verge, Aptoide is the first third-party iOS marketplace to launch with an Apple-approved in-app purchases (IAP) solution, which it will provide to developers via an IAP software development kit.

Apple's 50 euro cents Core Technology Fee (CFT) will be covered by a fee charged to developers for in-app purchases, which means IAP-driven apps will be "preferred" in Aptoide iOS, according to the marketplace's CEO, Paulo Trezentos.

Apps distributed through alternative app marketplaces are required to submit to a notarization process to ensure they are free from malware, but Apple does not have restrictions on content so apps that might not have been eligible for the ‌App Store‌ can be distributed through alternative means. Alternative app marketplaces are not available outside of the European Union.

Aptoide has operated for an Android ‌App Store‌ since 2009, and last year reached nearly half a billion downloads.

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Top Rated Comments

cjsuk Avatar
10 months ago
This will be dead by the end of the year.

Most of the people I know don’t even know what an App Store is let alone know how to choose one or even care about it.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos Avatar
10 months ago
The f up part about all of this is that apparently the same app cannot be published on different stores, e. g. AppStore and 3rd Party Store.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mdnz Avatar
10 months ago

The f up part about all of this is that apparently the same app cannot be published on different stores, e. g. AppStore and 3rd Party Store.
Apple is currently not applying fully to the new law, the EU will come after them. It says in the new law they also cannot hinder anyone installing applications, and requiring a "Marketplace" or asking a fee to install third party apps is indeed hindering.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coffeemilktea Avatar
10 months ago
As someone who's been a long-time user of Android — a place where alternative app stores have existed for years — I have to say:

This is wonderful news for the, like... maybe three dozen people who love having alternative app stores. It's truly a new and exciting era in the world of mobile computing. ?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Danilamak Avatar
10 months ago
Maybe one day we will see Steam store
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Doodah7 Avatar
10 months ago
Woe is meeee, the end is nigh!!!!

As a European, I'm delighted but I wait with glee for all the frothing at the mouth from the American audience which aren't affected by this.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)