Following the alternative to Google Play in the form of the mobile Android application market RuStore from VK, an alternative to the App Store for iOS device owners may be developed in Russia.
The initiative was shown, according to Izvestia, by the Digital Platforms ANO. In May 2022, it launched the NashStore mobile Android application store. Now, under the same name, Digital Platforms plans to create a Russian application store for the iOS operating system.
Legislatively, the Russian authorities may oblige Apple to allow the installation of alternative application stores on iPhones and the downloading of applications from them. According to the publication, as of 2023, such an antimonopoly bill was ready in the Ministry of Digital Development and was in the process of being finalized.
Similar measures against market monopolization against Apple and other large technology corporations have already been taken in the European Union - this is the Digital Markets Act (DMA). According to it, large online platforms must allow users to remove any pre-installed programs and stop presenting their own products on their platforms as a priority. In the case of Apple, the company must, from March 7, 2024, allow the operation of third-party marketplaces and applications on iOS in Europe.
However, they came up with a way out: to create a European segment of the App Store for third-party applications. For users from other countries, it is planned to leave the second version - conventionally speaking, the usual App Store without alternative applications and programs. To do this, the company will have to create a mechanism that will determine which operator the "apple" devices have and where they are located territorially.
As Arseniy Shcheltin, General Director of the Digital Platforms ANO, noted in a conversation with a representative of Izvestia, he believes that "regional restrictions can be circumvented if such stores do not become available in the Russian Federation." To do this, you will simply need to select one of the European countries as the region for activating the iOS device.
However, experts note that if Apple suddenly calculates the location of the device by geolocation, Wi-Fi networks, IP address and other parameters, then it will be impossible to circumvent the restrictions. Therefore, it will be possible to talk about whether other marketplaces for iOS will work in Russia only after their official launch in Europe.