[lolinder]

I built myself a custom calculator 5 years ago for my Android phone. I've reinstalled it once in that time frame, and that only after switching phones. Other than that, it's just there when I need it, with 0 maintenance in 5 years.

Were I to switch to an iPhone, I would have to either list my calculator on the app store (and pay the yearly developer fee) or have to remember every single week to "refresh" my app, otherwise it won't work the next time I need it.

Android has side loading. iOS has the bare minimum concession to allow developers to build something at all, and even that has unnecessary friction built in explicitly so that people don't try to use it to sideload.

[jsjohnst]

> > Yes, the conditions of side loading (needs a free developer account, must have app signing refreshed weekly, etc) might not be palatable for your taste

> have to remember every single week to "refresh" my app, otherwise it won't work the next time I need it

Did I not fully state that up front? Just because it doesn’t work for your needs (or mine for that matter) doesn’t change that my point is 100% correct, to say that sideloading isn’t possible on iOS is fundamentally wrong. Fake imaginary points (aka HN votes) be damned, I’m not going to cave to the Android fanboys. Apple/iOS has many faults, so I don’t get why folks need to focus on something that isn’t factually correct.

[lolinder]

First, just to clear this up: I am not an Android fanboy, and not an iOS hater. My wife has an iPhone and an iPad and they are great for her use case, and I have a lot of respect for the consistency of the experience on an iPhone. I reluctantly have an Android phone because it's the only thing out there that meets my needs at the moment, but I'm under no illusions as to its flaws.

On to the question of side loading: technically, Apple does provide a way to load code not from the app store. Some might call that side loading. However, when most people say that they want to be able to side load apps on their phone, they expect that their apps will function as first-class citizens. Apple's version of side loading is more like a very temporary work visa than a grant of citizenship, which makes it structurally different than what is being asked for.

[jsjohnst]

> First, just to clear this up: I am not an Android fanboy, and not an iOS hater.

Just to be clear, wasn’t calling you that specifically. That was expressing a frustration against the general type who responds whenever I jump in to share info on what exists and doesn’t in reality.

In your case, I made exactly your point up front and even stated it didn’t meet my needs personally. AltStore does a decentish job of smoothing along the process, but it’s still too much burden for me. But I feel I am very correct in saying it meets the technical definition of side-loading and even the “common knowledge” definition as long as you acknowledge the caveats, which I do.

So what do I do? Well, as much as I’ve spent on phones, laptops, tablets, cell service, internet service, etc I find adding another $99/year on top is just noise. I’m fortunate enough that my career allows me that option, otherwise I don’t know what I’d do as Android has dealbreaker faults for me (I do own a few Android phones, but none would remotely be my daily driver).