[Andrew_nenakhov]

As a consumer in China you can't use an app that doesn't conform to the rules set by CCP.

Sideloading is a must. And push notifications must work for sideloaded apps, too. If apple doesn't provide that, devices should have ways to install alternative push providers. All that keeps that from happening is the extreme closeness of iOS

[Bud]

13 years of the iPhone being the most popular consumer product in the history of the universe would seem to suggest that sideloading is not "a must"; indeed, some might say it suggests the opposite: that sideloading is in fact a huge plus and part of why the ecosystem is succeeding so well and users' security and stability of their devices is so superior to competing products.

[MereInterest]

Fine. Installing custom software is not an economic "must", but is a moral "must". If I have bought a device, then it is mine to run whatever software I want on it, and the manufacturer of the device has no moral claim over it.

[criddell]

If you agree to not side-load software via some EULA, does that change the moral calculus for you?

[Andrew_nenakhov]

To me it's just a monopoly abusing its position.

[ajconway]

But Apple is not a monopoly.

[Andrew_nenakhov]

Yeah right. Just today's search in DDG news for 'apple monopoly':

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=apple+monopoly&atb=v194-1&iar=news...