Survey shows most iPhone users will stick to Apple’s App Store walled garden

Apple is reportedly working to allow iPhones and iPads to access third-party app stores in order to comply with new European Union requirements scheduled to go into effect in 2024, but most iPhone users will stick to Apple’s App Store, according to a survey conducted by Morgan Stanley.
Apple’s App Store on iPhone
Dan Gallagher for The Wall Street Journal:

According to a survey by Morgan Stanley, only 27% of iPhone owners say they are “extremely likely” to purchase an app directly from a developer’s website as opposed to using the App Store. And Apple could still enact other rules for those developers who skirt the App Store that add new fees—thus negating the loss of commission. “We believe alternative app stores could introduce a larger cost burden on developers,” Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring wrote in a Dec. 14 report.
Much remains unknown about what exactly Apple might do in response to the EU law—and how broadly those changes will apply. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the company is currently debating whether the sideloading changes would be limited to Europe or applied globally.
Mr. Woodring estimates that complete loss of App Store revenue from Europe would hit total company revenue by only 1%.

MacDailyNews Take: Yup.
Those who want safety, security, and privacy will stick to Apple’s App Store, but a single point of control is always a danger, especially when it comes to capricious censorship (see: pre-Musk Twitter, Apple’s App Store in China, etc.).
iPhone and iPad users must, like Mac users, have the ability to install third-party apps; even if they never do, for it will keep Apple honest. The ability to ban an app loses all power when it’s simply available in another App Store.
These moves, including removing the mandate to use WebKit, Apple’s Safari browsing engine, in third-party browsers, as Gurman also reports Apple is considering, will greatly reduce, if not eliminate, the threat of anti-trust actions against Apple for the foreseeable future.
Also, expect Gatekeeper to come to iOS and iPadOS from macOS. – MacDailyNews, December 13, 2022
Adding the ability to access third-party app stores for iPhone and iPad also removes a selling point for Android phones and tablets, a crucial selling point for some, that is likely to result in further acceleration of Android to iPhone upgraders. So, third-party app stores for iPhone and iPad won’t hurt Apple too much. In fact, it might even benefit Apple. – MacDailyNews, December 14, 2022
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