• Kairos
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    5 months ago

    iOS devices would be actually good if they literally just let you install .ipa s from anywhere (.apk equivelent for iOS). Not even unlocking the APIs that ensure Apple apps stay on top, just allowing .ipa installation.

    • shinratdr@lemmy.ca
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      5 months ago

      What IPAs do you want to install? This is a real question, I know there are a handful of apps that you need to install from outside the App Store but over the years as restrictions have loosened that has dropped to almost nothing for me.

      I used to install nzbUnity which has been fully replaced by LunaSea at this point, and with the rule change allowing emulators they really took a ton of wind out of the sails of the 3rd party App Store push.

      • Kairos
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        5 months ago

        IDK there aren’t that many because iOS doesn’t allow it.

        • shinratdr@lemmy.ca
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          5 months ago

          That’s true I suppose, but there pretty much isn’t anything I’m like “damn I wish that was on iOS but Apple’s rules won’t allow it” anymore.

          I can think of a few examples that I have on my Android phone. TouchHLE, Mario 64 decompiled and Yuzu come to mind. But those are just fun to play with and not exactly things I care deeply about.

          Just to be clear, this didn’t used to be the case. I used to jailbreak & sideload for years. But I just… don’t need to anymore. It’s all there. I figured it was worth asking if there was something I didn’t know I was missing.

          Not only that, there is an upside too. The fact that IPAs can’t be easily installed on iOS drastically reduces piracy, and companies are more apt to release non-ad-supported, premium titles on the platform.

          I have RE Village, RE4 and Death Stranding on my phone right now. I don’t see those coming to Android any time soon. So I would say it’s a double-edged sword.

            • shinratdr@lemmy.ca
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              5 months ago

              Doesn’t have much appeal if you pay for YT Premium. I also used to sideload Cercube so I get the appeal, but yeah. I would count that in the category of “++” apps that pretty much exist to circumvent ads or avoid paying for subscriptions.

              I don’t have anything against them but it doesn’t help the image of open access being only useful for piracy or avoiding paying for stuff.

              • Kairos
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                5 months ago

                I don’t pay for YT premium or really anything. They still show promotions “Get YouTube TV 🥺🥺🥺” to subscribers. And all the tracking, etc.

        • shinratdr@lemmy.ca
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          5 months ago

          I think there was an internal rule change a while back because there are a few others as well. Ruddarr is shaping up every well, and LunaSea has been there for years now.