Jason Snell recently wrote a piece for his Macworld column in which he argues the time has come for Apple to change its App Store model, essentially saying it’s high time apps be downloadable on iOS from places besides the App Store. Pointedly, Snell writes “the App Store era must end and the solution is already here.” That solution is the Mac.
“If Apple’s locked-down approach in the App Store era is our future, it’s a bleak one indeed. But there’s good news: Apple has also built a system that provides security, flexibility, and responsibility while letting device owners run the software they want to run,” Snell said in advocating for change. “It’s called the Mac. When we consider the future of computing devices, the Mac is the model we should aspire to, not the iPhone.”
Snell’s piece is excellent as usual and well worth a read in its entirety. It resonated with me because it got me to contemplate the App Store’s virtues and how I personally obtain software. In recent weeks, I’ve downloaded Rogue Amoeba’s Audio Hijack and Jordi Bruin’s MacWhisper from outside the Mac App Store. My iMac neither explored nor became infested with malware, as I’m nerdy and careful and unafraid to get software off the internet. I’ve been downloading software in this manner for decades, dating back to high school prior to the advent of the iPod and iTunes when I downloaded music from Napster on my custom-built Windows 98 machine a friend put together for me.
However closely I’ve covered Apple since 2013, I stay away from App Store economics and policies. I’m actually in agreement with Snell (and scores of others) who advocate for more flexibility on iOS and iPadOS, but there is something to be said for what Apple’s built with the status quo: as ever, it’s accessibility. It isn’t trivial, and is yet one more example of de-facto accessibility features such as Apple Pay, MagSafe, and others.
Although Apple rightfully boasts the App Store is convenient and secure, the reality is it’s accessible as well. For many in the disability community, particularly those with neurological conditions, it’s plausible downloading apps from anywhere except the App Store is untenable. It can be cognitively taxing to remember, for instance, how to get to the Rogue Amoeba website to find Audio Hijack. Then you must click a few times to buy and download it. Then you must find the app in your Downloads folder and drag it to the Applications folder. The rigamarole is real, even for ostensibly technically savvy users like myself, because all that work isn’t menial if you’re disabled. Depending on one’s needs and tolerances, it can be downright burdensome and inaccessible. By contrast, the glory of the App Store’s machinations is it’s a one-stop shop for everything. Granted, Audio Hijack is not listed in the Mac App Store; if you want it, you must get it from the web. The salient point, however, is the App Store—on iOS and macOS—can be a far more accessible way (in a disability context) to get software than any alternative method.
All this is not to say Apple shouldn’t change the App Store. As mentioned previously, I assent with the general feelings of the Apple community that it’s time to unlock the iPhone. Make iOS more like the Mac in regards to installing software. What I’m saying is, for all of the App Store’s problems under Apple’s iron-fisted rule, the marketplace as-is is the most accessible, straightforward method for downloading software ever created. The App Store makes getting apps easier and more inclusive, as literally anyone can do it. The App Store is far more than convenience. Again, this isn’t a trivial consideration—especially in context of Apple’s status as the industry leader in accessibility.
The App Store will evolve, but its accessibility will remain constant.
