AltStore PAL, an alternative app store for iPhone, is now available in Europe.

Among the many changes that Apple was forced to implement in its ecosystem after the Digital Markets Act came into effect, the most important is the opening of third-party app stores. Today, Alternative PAL storeone of the first alternatives to the App Store, approved by people from Cupertino, can now be installed in Europe.

AltStore is not a new app store. It’s been around since 2019, but although you didn’t have to do anything to use it jail break for the iPhone it was too complex and cumbersome to use. However, many only became aware of its existence earlier this month when it was announced that it would officially arrive on Apple mobile phones with iOS 17.4.

Now the wait for the legal use of this alternative market is over. Riley Testut, platform developer, announced that starting this Wednesday European users can now install the new version of the storewhich is now called AltStore PAL.

As we told you earlier, AltStore PAL currently has only two apps and both of them are developed by Testut. One DeltaNintendo console emulator, and the other clips, a clipboard manager that can run in the background. The first is completely free and without advertising, while the second requires a donation of 1 euro or more.

It is worth noting that AltStore PAL will allow you to distribute paid applications, but only through Donating on Patreon. This is due to restrictions that Apple places on monetization of applications distributed outside the App Store. The people behind AltStore PAL do not charge fees on donations, so all the money goes to the app creators.

AltStore PAL can now be installed in Europe

If you want to download and use AltStore PAL on your iPhone, please note that you will need to pay a subscription. Same from €1.50 plus taxes per year. With this money, Testut and his partner Shane Gill will face the controversial Core Technology Fee (CTF) that Apple charges developers. Although apps must pay €0.50 per download after more than one million installs, the creators of this alternative App Store point out that this does not apply to third-party stores.

“While Apple exempts the first million app installs from CTF, this does not apply to the app markets themselves. This means that each AltStore download costs us 0.50 euros, period. This is clearly unacceptable for a free app that is entirely supported by donations. Especially since we already have millions of users and we’ve seen a lot of discussion about how we can afford this.”

Riley Testut

Thus, an annual subscription will help AltStore PAL creators cover the costs of Core Technology Fee, as well as server and payment processing costs.

Testut claims that AltStore PAL is open to applications of all types. But those who will truly benefit from the platform will be small apps from independent creatorswhich have no place in the official Apple App Store.

The decentralized nature of AltStore PAL was also highlighted. The fact is that app creators will have to go through Apple’s notarization process and host them on your servers. Once this is done, they will need to create a “source”; that is, a JSON file with application metadata downloaded from a public link. Users will then add that URL to the store and see all the apps created by that developer.

Testut himself admitted that the technology is similar to what Apple will introduce in iOS 17.5 to allow app distribution from websites. “You can think of AltStore less as an app store and more as a “development tool.” sideloading“A glorified app that simply reads JSON files and automatically notifies users of app updates,” he explained.

If you’re in Europe and want to try AltStore PAL, you can download it directly from their website.