The 3rd Party Stores: Free vs Paid
In our previous article, we talked about general sideloading and different ways of getting the apps you want on your iPhone. But, as some of you might already know, the problem is not with the devices, it’s all about the “policies”.
Motivations
Every month, about 100,000 apps are submitted to AppStore. Only 70% of them pass the severe regulations that in some cases ruin the whole point of creating an application. So, more than 30,000 amazing (and not so amazing) apps are stuck in the middle of nowhere and half of them will never be published.
The official AppStore is packed with more than 1.8 million apps (Q1 2020), which looks like more than enough for anyone, but the reality is quite different. The problem with all these apps is that they are either limited, (like the “freemium” model, where you can try the app, but to have fun with it you have to pay for in-app purchases), or they’re simply full of ads and you still need to pay to turn them off. Some apps have developers that just want you to pay upfront, and in some cases, they even have in-app purchases as well. You’ll end up paying before you download, then paying once again to access more content.
So, these are the exact reasons why the 3rd party stores appeared and became so popular among iOS enthusiasts & people who wanted to get more from their gadgets.
Types of stores
Cydia
One of the very first alternative stores was “Cydia”, created by Jay “Saurik” Freeman, originally released in February 2008 as an open-source tool. The main drawback of this method was (and actually still is) that it’s only available if your device is jailbroken. But on the other hand, if it weren’t for JB enthusiasts we wouldn’t have so many options nowadays. The groundbreaking moment for Cydia happened later in 2008 when the PwnageTool team released an update to their JB tool, version 2.0, which began installing Cydia.
Cydia was the top source for third-party apps and tweaks for a very long time. But since its popularity was growing, (because of the content this store offered), more and more people wanted to get these apps without needing to jailbreak.
Jailbreak-free solutions
As it regularly happens with growing markets, demand meets supply.The very first prototype of a no-JB store appeared back in 2013, thanks to the team behind builds.io!
The 3rd party stores are known to be the fastest way of installing off-AppStore apps.
Here’s a quick overview of the benefits you can get by signing up for them:
- Extremely easy to use — straight from the Safari browser
- Compatible with all (or 99% of devices)
- Work on a huge range of iOS versions
- Do not interfere with the iOS system
- Don’t void your warranty
- Install and delete apps as you do with AppStore
- Some stores even have dedicated customer support
- SSL encryption for extra safety
- Huge variety of apps, from indie tools & games to retro gaming emulators, official applications with extended features, and more
But not all of them have the same amount of features, so please do your own research before giving any of them a try.
Since all the alternative stores are different: some are paid, and some are free — the features they offer and how they work are not identical as well.
How do JB-free solutions work?
They sign apps using certificates (it’s like a digital signature for application development) so that you can install them straight on your iPhone or iPad.
Technically, you can do it on your own, but get ready to pay the outrageous $99/year for an Apple Developer Account.
In general, the main differences between 3rd party services are connected to those certificates, as free stores use “enterprise” license and “paid” stick to the Apple Developer Account. As a result, the monetization in the first case is based on advertising. They’re free to install (but yeah, get ready for tons of ads) and the second case usually involves a subscription model.
Free services
“Enterprise” certificates must be obtained by a company, but it’s not like buying one in a grocery store. The company needs to pass an Apple review and verification process to get a license that allows them to sign apps for thousands of devices. So, it’s not clear how the free stores get access to these certificates, whether they have some friends who granted them access, or they’ve found some people who just sold them the right to use their account. But since they have the certificate, they can start the app signing process. Typically, free stores sign applications one by one, so if they have 100 apps, they repeat the process 100 times (usually it’s automated, not a big deal for them actually).
We’ve also noticed that all (or at least 9 out of 10) free solutions use the same enterprise certificate for the apps they have, which is not really smart, please continue reading to understand “why”.
Paid services
As it’s mentioned above, most of the paid services use an Apple Developer Account for their app signing needs. They literally have to pay Apple for the accounts. Pay Apple to hack Apple, smart! Isn’t it?
This technical solution allows them to sign applications on-demand: you tap the “get” button in Safari, and within a minute see an app signed exclusively for your device on your home screen. Keep this in mind during the next section.
Revokes
Even though there are lots of differences between free and paid signing services, they do have something in common. The biggest drawback, or better yet “obstacle”, (because it’s not what the stores do), is called REVOKES. When Apple voids licenses, previously installed apps crash, and new ones cannot be installed as a result. No one can prevent it, so if the signing services of your choice says “we have zero revokes” — it’s a lie. It’s about Apple playing around with their products.
That’s where the difference between these two parties in the app distribution model gets the ball rolling: you have to wait while free services find a new certificate and re-sign all the apps. If you’re using a paid one, it’s more about getting an immediate replacement (at least for builds.io) and downloading what you want in less time.
Additionally, the paid services tend to have less revokes then the free ones, because it’s impossible to use the same Apple Developer Account for several companies.
Conclusion
Whether it’s the free or paid store, no one can escape from Apple and their revokes. So, the main factor to consider before signing up is what they offer.
A huge library of apps? Amazing! But how often do they update them? They have lots of advanced features? That’s cool! But do they have a customer support team to guide you?
While building TheNextGen store we went the extra mile to research & develop the best features offered on the market in just one single product.
Good news, we’re launching soon! Stay tuned.
