I’m not buying it. Apple wants to be in control of EVERYTHING and doesn’t want to actually compete. I’m all for giving options and freedom to the consumer, user and developers.

Third party app stores have their uses. Their are some app stores like F-Droid that only allow free open-sourced apps, some 3rd party app stores won’t have as tight as rules as Apple app store and could let devs offer their own payment structure in-app which the Apple app store does not allow. Or some 3rd party app stores may not allow or have to require Apple’s proprietary frameworks in order for the app to function. This is similar to Aurora store for Android.

It’s kinda shameful they have to be strong armed by a government to not rip off their customers.

Get ready for lower App Store prices overall, the proliferation of new iPhone app stores (Amazon, Microsoft, and some 3rd parties), and a spawning of some really garbage apps and malware.

Apple may be monopolizing, but they have the strictest standards for app approval. This means iOS apps which don’t update to adopt new iOS look/feel and APIs stop getting approved. With a 3rd party app store, we’ll start to see apps that look ‘old’ because Apple can’t reject them from a 3rd party app store. And of course, we’ll see new malware that Apple also can no longer reject.

Still, I expect Apple to make it glaringly obvious to users that non-Apple apps are sketchy (probably a warning box every time they are launched) and it will eventually look a lot like the current situation on Android.