Apple M1 MacBook arrived a while back and brought some phenomenal improvements in terms of battery life and performance. But one of the major gripes that enthusiasts and users had was, how will the app support on the ARM-based mac be like? And to that, we found that Apple has been rapidly working with devs to get their apps ready for ARM’s architecture. On the other hand, it also used a software trick to get Intel app versions translated to ARM. Another good thing that the Apple M1 MacBook allowed was the ability to sideload apps that weren’t yet ready for the entire desktop experience. But no more! Apple has blocked the option of doing that.
Why can’t you sideload apps on Apple M1 Macbook anymore?
Traditional Apple once again! The company has used a server-side block to prevent users from sideloading iOS and iPad apps on Macbooks anymore. Earlier users could use the iMazing tool to sideload apps that weren’t yet available on the Mac store. But, now with the server-switch that Apple implemented means that this cannot be done anymore. Now, if you try to install an unsupported app using a “.IPA file”, an error will pop up saying, “This application cannot be installed because the developer did not intend for it to run on this platform.”
This move by Apple is not a good step as it can effect the user experience. For apps that weren’t available on the mac store, users atleast had the option to sideload them and get their work done. Basic apps like Netflix and Instagram aren’t even present on the M1 yet. But for most users they are an essential part of their daily use. So, even though “Apple being Apple” works out for them mostly, it might go sideways this time around. If you are a user that does a lot of sideloading, it is advisable not to update your Mac to the latest macOS Big Sur 11.1.
Is there a workaround?
And if you have already updated your mac to the latest software, you are completely dependent on developers. Unless and until they bring their app to the Macbook M1 you cannot use it in any way. Atleast, till a reddit user posts a method that can bypass the changes that the Apple has done in the latest update. But, it does seem to be difficult. This is because Apple has made changes to the API itself that handles the DRM of the app store.
Are you a Apple Macbook M1 user? If yes does the fact that you can’t sideload apps anymore affect you? Do let us know in the comments below. Also, if you found our contewnt informative do like and share it with your friends.
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