I’ve Tried Aptoide on My iPhone. Here’s How the First Real Apple App Store Competitor Works

Seeing is believing. I've installed Aptoide on my iPhone 15 Pro. If someone had told me a year ago that this would be possible, I’d have thought they were crazy. However, Aptoide is now available to everyone in the European Union.

As with AltStore, the arrival of Aptoide opens the door to installing another app store on the iPhone. Aptoide is one of the most important alternatives in this field and has many more apps than AltStore or Setapp. This is what I found in its first version.

A first version with all the letters. The version of Aptoide I could install is 1.1.0, the first available through the link sent to all pre-registered users. Now, however, anyone can download the store directly from its website.

Installing Aptoide. As usual, it’s not easy to install third-party stores on Apple. The first time you try to install one, the system will alert you that you need to make some changes in the settings. That’s right: You have to go to iOS settings and click on Authorize apps from Aptoide.

Once authorized, the phone will indicate that Aptoide wants to install an app store and that the developer, not Apple, will manage downloads, updates, and purchases. Once you've done this double-check, Aptoide will work on your iPhone.

Keep in mind that Apple authenticates apps from third-party stores. In other words, a malicious app can't sneak in, even if you don’t download it directly from the App Store.

Aptoide's interface. The App Store has one advantage over others that try to compete with it: Its interface is exquisite. Aptoide knows this, so it wanted to create a visual platform divided into four sections: Home, Editorial, Updates, and Bonus.

In Home, we’ll find featured apps, categories, and recommendations. As the name suggests, the Editorial section is a kind of magazine. There, we’ll see descriptions of some of the most outstanding apps.

The Bonus section. One of Aptoide’s advantages is that it has coins. So, when you download apps from this store, you can use AltCoins to make in-app payments.

This payment method allows developers to bypass Apple’s commissions since you can pay by credit card, PayPal, and AltCoins. Whether or not this will result in more competitively priced apps remains to be seen.

The first real competitor to the App Store. So far, third-party app stores have been no match for the App Store. AltStore barely has its developer’s apps, and alternatives like SetApp require a subscription that only some will be willing to pay.

However, Aptoide is the closest thing to a direct competitor. First of all, it’s free. It will also have a more extensive catalog of apps and has an easier time reaching agreements with major developers given that it’s a giant solution that has been operating for years.

Images | Xataka On

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