Apple has changed its policy regarding permissions required to build and run apps on devices. Until now, Apple required users to pay $99/year to become a member of Apple’s Developer Program in order to run code on physical iPhone and iPads. As part of the new Developer Program, this is no longer required. Apps can be tested on devices, no purchase necessary.
However, this technically means that developers will be able to release apps outside of the App Store as long as they are open-sourced. Interested users could then open the code in Xcode, compile and run it on their own devices — avoiding the App Store completely.
This is somewhat similar to how Android allows users to sideload apps from unknown sources, although its a bit more complicated as sideloading requires a physical connection and a Mac running Xcode to build the apps. As it’s not really meant for this purpose (its main purpose is for developers to test their own software on real hardware), more technical knowledge is needed to actually sideload something than with the Android flow.
It’s not really an optimal solution for most developers but some apps could foreseeably be distributed this way. For instance, GBA4iOS is an open-source Game Boy Advance emulator for iPhone and iPad.
With the new policy change, customers can theoretically download the application code from the open-source tree and build it locally. Then, they can use Xcode to run it on their device. Emulators are a good example of something that Apple will not allow in the store but are commonly open-sourced and could be installed through this method. Bouke van der Bijl has written up some good instructions on how to achieve this, if you are interested.
With this change, you really only need to pay for the Developer Program if you want to actually submit to the App Store. To submit apps through iTunes Connect to Apple for review, a paid active membership is still required. Apple says it dropped the fee to allow even more budding developers to join in the iOS world as many people (such as younger candidates and people from less-privileged backgrounds) who were deterred by the $99 subscription fee.
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Woot. Looking forward to emulators. Maybe Cartoon HD will be able to make a comeback.
Wow; this is a game changer IMHO; although for the most popular apps in the Cydia store, I don’t think the developers would want to open source their wares. My main reasoning for jailbreaking is to use MyWi; I don’t think it’s fair for the carriers to charge people a tethering fee on top of their *limited* data plan fee.
Well a lot of Cydia stuff relies on tweaks that can’t run on non-jailbroken devices, even when sideloaded like this because they can’t break out of their sandbox. So for those it’s not so much a quesiton of whether they want to open-source their software, but whether it would actually be able to run without a jailbreak. That includes MyWi, so for now Cydia will be your only option for that.
Ah! You’re right, I think almost everything requires MobileSubstrate to work…F_ _ _ !! Forgot about that :(
They don’t want to have so much bandwidth taken up by other devices because if they had unlimited tethering, then everyone would either have to pay an arm and a leg, or they would bypass the traditional fiber/land based ISP’s for access to the internet. They can’t handle the increased traffic is my guess.
They can handle just fine. The real reason is they want to suck the $$$ out of you.
What carrier charges a tethering fee on top of capped data? I’m on T-mobile and it doesn’t. T-mobile only treats tethered data differently (by capping it at 5 GB) when you’re on their unlimited data plan, which I’m not.
Move to Australia, where we get a Hotspot for free on any 3G enabled device :) Still can’t believe in 2015, the US Carriers still throw on a Tethering cost :( When/If it does ever get there, then JB your phone will be a thing of the past. I bet there are a lot of peeps that JB their iPhone, just for MyWi ?!?!?
Does it require iOS 9 to sidled apps without developer account?
No, just XCode 7
New font?
It’s a nice way to give people the liberty of trying create an app for the first time.
If doesn’t come up, doesn’t need to pay initially only for nothing.
Does this mean we could get Kodi on non-jailbroken devices?? Because that would be EPIC!
Yes, you will get Kodi on your non-jailbroken device :)
How?
” Apple says it dropped the fee to allow even more budding developers to join in the iOS world as many people (such as younger candidates and people from less-privileged backgrounds) who were deterred by the $99 subscription fee.” Since you still need Mac to run X-Code for budding developers from less-privileged backgrounds app development is still out of reach !
I doubt of your last point, if you actually would need a true “Mac” to do development. But if you are not required to pay for a membership I think it could be bypassed and it would be cool for students to emulate a Mac and avoid to purchase when learning and starting iPhone app development but even in that scenario, you would require to buy and iPod/iPhone/iPad to create apps, which by the way is a lower entrance barrier that not so privileged people can comply whit. :)
Not to mention that you don’t need a new $1,000+ MacBook to get into developing when you can get a used Mac on the cheap.
You still need an iPhone to run iPhone apps on your iPhone – but I think Apple is OK with that.
I started out developing using a virtual machine on windows. Would have been nice if I could run my app on device but I didnt want to pay $100 for a developers license because where I am from that is a lot of money. I also had an old iPhone 3GS that had the latest iOS at the time.
This is so awesome! When can we expect the update to xcode 7? With El Capitan in september or earlier?
It will be released alongside iOS 9 in the fall.
This move seems to be too liberal to be coming out of Cupertino for real. I think they haven’t realised this just yet and the “issue” will be “rectified” pretty soon
I wouldn’t celebrate just yet, as it may allow a user to deploy to his own devices only.
The beta is out, so it will be a matter of testing it to see exactly what’s going to happen.
Just got GBA4ios Working on my 6+ on 8.3, this is amazing.
can you please tell me what to do with this part
sudo gem install cocoapods; git clone https://bitbucket.org/rileytestut/gba4ios.git; cd gba4ios; pod install
am i supposed to enter that in terminal?
For sideloading: Shouldn’t it be possible to put all your app’s code in a static library, and just distribute the Xcode project containing this library? People could download and open the Xcode project and install the app on their device without ever having access to the source code. Just a thought…
Technically an alternative would be obfuscation like Proguard on Android. But first we would need an obfuscation tool of course. I’d prefer the static library way if I were to distribute apps outside the App Store.
This is awesome. Especially for budding new developers who are not sure how their interest of making apps will turn out in the end. Such people do not have to pay this developer’s fee, make an app and test it on their own device. Great going Apple ! Better late than never !
GBA4iOS <3 <3 <3 (Not supported in iOS 9 <2.99
It has always been possible, to test your apps on a physical device, without a paid Apple Developer Account. It did and does at the moment require an Apple ID, that was associated with the default developer certificate in xCode.
No it was not possible before. you could only run apps in a simulator without a paid dev account. In order to run it even on your personal device, you needed a provisioning certificate, which was not possible to obtain without paid membership.
Has anyone succeeded with this? Seems Xcode 7 still requires you to have a developer account (with paid subscription).
I’m having the same problem
This is a HUGE deal for anyone who wants to explore making their own apps. There are plenty of tutorials out there for how to make simple apps for your Mac or mobile devices. I can see a whole new wave of developers coming out of this where people make their own simple little apps and then at some point realize that they have something other people might want too. Thus is born a developer that might not ever have been. This is the beginning of a new renaissance of hobbyist programmers.
I find it interesting that some articles are written to note that with this program you could download an open source program and compile it to run on your iPhone without going through the app store, one site even went so far as to describe it as a ‘gray market.’
But that’s a world view that not everyone shares. There is another world view where everyone is a potential developer.
And that view frankly is more deeply rooted in IT than yours. For example, in 1959, a language was invented called COBOL, which stood for Common Business Oriented Language, it’s english like syntax was intended to allow business managers to write their own programs.
By the 80’s computers were shipping with BASIC built into the ROM – BASIC, meaning Beginners All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code – came with Atari 800XL and Commodore 64 built-in, because the purchaser of the computer could use that to write their own solutions.
And in that world view more people downloading xCode and installing open source apps, is only a good thing, and its not some violation of the program, but the program being used exactly as it was intended.
And frankly, I still subscribe to that inclusive world view, and not that absolutely detestable disgusting view that separates people into categories like consumer and producer, and somehow the sheeple consumers are violating some rule by side loading.
Anyone who side loads – is right for doing so – period.
Don’t separate the world into “us” and “them” – the truth is we are all creative producers, sometimes, and we are all consumers of content, at other times.
We all operate within the limits of our skill level, but the great open periods of computing – produced the master programmers of today. Many of today’s top IT execs spent hours typing out basic programs in the 80’s.
Apple can be applauded for giving away xCode from the start. Which means you could download open source programs and compile them all along – nothing new today about that. All they are doing differently today is dropping the $99 fee to do on-device testing.
That’s just another important step to opening up the process. If some people’s skills limit them to just compiling and installing – so be it. They are still improving their own experience, on the hardware that they own, and providing a very needed resource to any open source project – the beta tester.
You see, just as a book has an author, it also needs its readers. The same with open source, an open source project has its authors, but also needs it users too.
The difference with open source as opposed to closed, is you have an environment where the user can – and we know for a fact, some will – eventually get to reading that code, and even helping contribute back.
The great programmers of tomorrow await. If someone downloads and uses an emulator – AWESOME. That’s part of it.
this is so awesome. now i only need a mac to build apps :D
people were not put off by the $99 developer fee … but the byzantine and torturous hoops and dances required to get the sacred Approval. all the while dealing with the Apple snobbish attitude of “oh, you don’t want to do THAT”.
You don’t need xcode to sideload an ipa
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/25396299/generating-an-unsigned-ipa-ios-application
This does not seem to be working for ios 9.1. I have tried it several times. It begins downloading but after a while it says it cannot be downloaded. Any help to Download and Install GBA4iOS on iOS 9 – iOS 9.2.1 without Jailbreak?