Setapp Will Be One of iPhone's First Alternative App Marketplaces in EU

MacPaw today announced that Setapp will be available as an alternative app marketplace on the iPhone in the EU starting in April. Those wanting access to the beta version can join a waitlist, and developers interested in the platform can apply on this page.

Setapp iOS
Alternative app marketplaces are among the several changes that Apple is implementing in the EU with iOS 17.4, in order to comply with the Digital Markets Act.

On the Mac, Setapp is a popular subscription-based service that provides users with access to a curated collection of dozens of popular apps for $9.99 per month. This includes apps like Ulysses, iStat Menus, Spark Mail, Unite, Yoink, and more. Starting with iOS 17.4 and later, Setapp will be available directly on the iPhone in the EU.

MacPaw said the Setapp Mobile beta will offer a "carefully selected assortment of apps":

Productivity and Business Tools: Boost your efficiency with tools for managing your schedule, staying on track, personalizing your internet experience, and much more.

Creative and Design Software: Unlock your creative potential with intuitive tools designed for photo animation, document creation, and more.

Lifestyle and Productivity: Improve your daily routines with apps that help you build better habits, stay updated with the latest news, and efficiently manage your notes and ideas.

Utility Apps: Make everyday tasks easier with applications that enable you to share files effortlessly, monitor your spending, and streamline your idea organization process.

Specialized Professional Tools: Engage with advanced applications tailored for detailed document searches, comprehensive database management, and more.

MacPaw is one of the first companies to announce plans to offer an alternative app marketplace on the iPhone in the EU, along with Epic Games. Setapp subscribers on the Mac can already access a collection of iOS apps with a QR code system, and the alternative app marketplace will offer a more streamlined experience.

Apple is expected to release iOS 17.4 on or before March 6, the deadline for complying with the Digital Markets Act. For additional details about the changes coming to the App Store and more in the EU, read our previous coverage. The changes do not apply outside of the EU, nor do they apply to iPadOS in any country.

Tag: Setapp
Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday October 18, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps. More features and changes will follow in future ...
ios 26 1 liquid glass opaque

iOS 26.1 Beta 4 Lets Users Control Liquid Glass Transparency with New Toggle

Monday October 20, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass. The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
iphone air thickness

Apple Said to Cut iPhone Air Production Amid Underwhelming Sales

Friday October 17, 2025 8:29 am PDT by
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec). The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones Coming Soon

Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released by the end of next week. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

New iPad Pro Has Six Key Upgrades Beyond M5 Chip

Saturday October 18, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more. With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
iPhone Siri Glow

Some Apple Employees Have 'Concerns' About iOS 26.4's Revamped Siri

Sunday October 19, 2025 7:39 am PDT by
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings. iOS 26.4 will...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
maxresdefault

Here's How the iOS 26.1 Transparency Toggle Changes Liquid Glass

Monday October 20, 2025 1:55 pm PDT by
With the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple added a toggle that makes Liquid Glass more opaque and reduces transparency. We tested the beta to see where the toggle works and what it looks like. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. If you have the latest iOS 26.1 beta, you can go to Settings > Display and Brightness to get to the new option. Tap on Liquid Glass, then...
m4 macbook air blue

M5 MacBook Air Coming Spring 2026 With M5 Mac Studio and Mac Mini in Development

Thursday October 16, 2025 3:57 pm PDT by
Apple plans to launch MacBook Air models equipped with the new M5 chip in spring 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple is also working on M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models that will come early in the year. Neither the MacBook Pro models nor the MacBook Air models are expected to get design changes, with Apple focusing on simple chip upgrades. In the case of the MacBook Pro, a m...

Top Rated Comments

tonyob Avatar
22 months ago
No thanks. Will only ever use the Apple App Store!
Score: 51 Votes (Like | Disagree)
error Avatar
22 months ago
I (EU citizen) am so not interested in alternative app marketplaces.
Score: 47 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HobeSoundDarryl Avatar
22 months ago
Congratulations EU friends on now having another choice of app supply, access to apps that the rest of us will NOT be able to access, etc... with many more app stores and app buying options to follow. Inevitably, competition will lead to lower app pricing too (as only competition can), so enjoy getting some of the same apps the rest of us get... but paying less for some of them. And of course, those of you in the EU who have bought the whole "doomed" scenario still have access to the Apple App Store too, so you can keep getting apps the way you always have if you prefer.

Meanwhile, the rest of us will try to keep spinning how doomed you are (virus, trojans, crime syndicates, identity theft, fire, brimstone, locusts, frogs, plague, etc) and how much better we have it with a single "Company Store" fully controlling what we can and cannot access on devices we own... in spite of having the very same seller:buyer relationships with Mac, where we have all of the same freedoms you are beginning to enjoy (and no dramatic consequences in enjoying such freedoms ourselves).

Also congratulations to developers of amazing apps for now having a way to optionally charge a bit less but make more for the work in creating and maintaining iDevice apps... by not having 15%-30% coming right off the top if they are so inclined... exactly as it is with Mac apps should those developers wish to run their own App Store and sell their Mac apps directly to any of us.

Time will now show how all that security spin was mostly a pile of nonsense... as we all already know by not having our Macs compromised by the very same arrangement for all these years we've used Macs.... and as we recently learned against the great outrage of "forced USB-C" NOT resulting in lint extinction, wobbly ports and broken tongues at every turn (I'm still finding lint everywhere I used to find lint... and nary a single USB-C port repair kiosk has popped up in popular places to fix all those wobbly ports with broken tongues).

Will there be a few instances of virus, etc? Likely, as there are already a few instances of bad apps getting to people through the Apple App Store too. But I don't expect any more as a percentage of all EU iDevices than infected/compromised Macs as a percentage of all EU Macs. If EU people make intelligent app acquisition choices, they'll be just fine... just as we all are when we make intelligent Mac app acquisition choices.

Enjoy your new freedoms of choice EU Apple people. As an American, I envy this great advantage over my own highly-constrained potentials and only a single choice as shopkeeper.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
josselinco Avatar
22 months ago
They were so smart with SetApp. Been paying for 6 years for 10 apps I could have just bought by now ?
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hagar Avatar
22 months ago
A happy EU-based Setapp user here. So I will definitely be downloading.

Regardless of the unwarranted drama about these alternative stores being a gateway to hell.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
erikkfi Avatar
22 months ago
I look forward to hearing about the interesting, innovative apps that were rejected from the App Store for content or legal reasons that SetApp will now offer.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)