Apple strangles competition within the iPhone App Store, which means it has to open the gates for new entrants as the EU's Digital Markets Act decreed, and so far, this means we are getting a glimpse of what a true app store ecosystem might look like for users when other developers are granted permission to compete with the default iPhone App Store.

The AltStore is another glaring example: an alternative app store, preparing itself for an advantage from the DMA and soon to release an updated version of its app marketplace in the EU, this time with Patreon-supported apps.

Obviously, Apple will soon introduce APIs and frameworks that will allow developers to distribute apps outside the App Store, which will comply with the new European law. The AltStore, of course, was not so slow to take advantage of this prospect. And yesterday, its developer Riley Testut publicly unveiled screenshots from the future version of his app store, which he will be offering to EU users.

Instead of relying solely on ads or paid downloads or in-app purchases to make money, AltStore will offer developers a chance to sell directly to the consumer with its custom Patreon integration.

The store - which already offered sideloading apps like the video game emulator Delta, also from Testut - will first launch in the EU with just two apps, the developer says. Free, but AltStore's Clipboard manager Clip will cost a dollar to $1 pledge and up through Patreon. The Beta versions of both Delta and Clip will come out next at the AltStore, which will be behind the portal that will require a $3 per month pledge on Patreon to access.

A new business model for monetizing apps is pretty much like Apple's in-app subscriptions minus traditional 15% to 30% commission on sales which the tech giant has. With Apple's DMA rules, third-party app stores can opt to pay €0.50 per first annual install per year over a 1 million threshold—a new revenue-sharing model on the revenue of larger apps, which Apple calls its Core Technology Fee. (Whether Apple's fee will survive is unclear; the EU is investigating the tech giant for allegedly violating its competition law.)

As Testut explains then, after AltStore has successfully launched, the plan would be to enable other developers to distribute their apps through the storefront by establishing their sources.

"They'll also be able to use the same Patreon integration we use to distribute 'paid' apps," Testut said to TechCrunch. This integration will create a new business model for apps which otherwise would not be permitted in light of the DMA coming into effect.

One thing @altstore does that should really get you thinking about alternative payment systems that Apple never would have considered: it has Patreon integration, and can tie access to apps to your Patreon pledge — which gives you an entirely different, personal relationship with your users, and lets you use the same reward system you use for videos, blog posts, merch, etc.", iOS developer Steve Troughton-Smith wrote in a post on Mastodon. "Alternative app stores don't just have to recreate Apple's model," he added.

And he also noted how the AltStore will provide a "granular view" of the entitlements — or extra permissions — that an app has, before you install it.

In addition to providing developers with a new mechanism for generating money, Testus claims the EU version of the AltStore will be "dramatically simpler" to use than the current version.

It is today that the users who want to sideload apps using AltStore without jailbreaking their iPhone require a Mac or PC to provide an Apple ID and password for the AltStore, refresh the apps every seven days. The process goes not only against safety precautions but also seems tiring. Fortunately, the EU AltStore will not demand such measures.

"It all works virtually the same as the App Store now," Testut says.

Screenshots he shared point out how AltStore looks quite much like an app store from nowadays, with categories such as Games, Lifestyle and Utilities, and buttons to download free apps, just as on Apple's App Store. However, it would be a different interface since Apple would require developers to insert another confirmation screen after the user clicks install an app. This is a warning to the consumers that updates and purchases would be handled by the AltStore, not by Apple.

Testut also notes that apps installed through AltStore have to be approved for notarization by Apple before they can be installed, so it can't install any sideloaded app available as an .ipa file.

AltStore is ready now, but Testut says he's waiting on final approval from Apple.