Setapp: Apple App Store gets competition on the iPhone

Apple is not exactly famous for opening up its own ecosystem to other manufacturers. Now an alternative to the App Store will soon be available on iOS devices. The Ukrainian developers from MacPaw have created an exciting alternative with Setapp.

Setapp as an alternative to the App Store

A real first is on the horizon in the Apple cosmos. A competitor to the in-house Apple App Store will soon be launched. The application in question is Setapp from the MacPaw development team. The company launched its own official website on the evening of February 29th. Interested developers can now register here if they would like to offer their app in the alternative store. No other team had dared to take this step before MacPaw. Apple itself clearly did not refer to the “Setapp Mobile” application as an App Store. This should clear up any confusion in advance. Instead, it is officially referred to as an “Alternative App Marketplace”.

Apple bows to the DMA

The fact that Setapp Mobile is now finding its way onto European iPhones is a practical example of the new regulations of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This has imposed a number of new regulations on large tech companies from the USA in particular in order to prevent the negative consequences of their great market power. This includes Apple allowing alternatives to its own App Store. The EU regulation will officially come into force on March 7. Of course, Setapp’s offering will not be able to keep up with the App Store’s diverse library to begin with. With 1,868,583 apps offered by the iOS store, this is a truly Herculean task. But Setapp certainly doesn’t want to keep up here. Rather, the developers at MacPaw simply want to offer an alternative to Apple’s solution.

This should not only apply to the selection of apps. The range itself is also likely to be presented differently. For example, it can be assumed that the company will continue its proven subscription model. Setapp already offers access to an extensive selection of software for a monthly subscription price. However, it is also conceivable that users will have the freedom to choose whether they only want to purchase individual software solutions or gain access to all programs with a subscription. According to MacPaw, the focus is on quality rather than quantity when it comes to apps. Setapp should be able to offer “a carefully selected range of applications”.