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Will Fluxer be on alternative app stores on iPhone?

We plan to publish the Fluxer iOS app in alternative app stores in the EU, Japan and Brazil, where Plutonium would cost about 5% more than on the web. There's no date yet.

Last updated on November 2, 2026

We plan to publish the Fluxer iOS app in alternative app stores on iPhone in the European Union, Japan and Brazil, where Apple allows them. There, we plan to sell Plutonium in the app through Stripe for about 5% more than the web price. We haven't set a date or picked the alternative app stores yet. We expect the iOS app to be on the App Store in early November 2026, and its TestFlight beta is on hold for now.

What is an alternative app store on iPhone?

An alternative app store is an app that you download from the website of the company that runs it, and you can then install other apps from it outside Apple's App Store. Apple calls them alternative app marketplaces. Every app in them goes through a basic check by Apple called Notarization, and each alternative app store reviews apps under its own rules.1

Which alternative app stores are there for iPhone?

These are some alternative app stores for iPhone in November 2026.

  • AltStore PAL, in the EU, Japan and Brazil2
  • Epic Games Store, in the EU and Japan3 and in Brazil since July 20264
  • Aptoide, in the EU, where it opened to all iPhone users in February 20255

Setapp Mobile was one of the first alternative app stores in the European Union, and it closed on February 16, 2026. MacPaw, the company behind it, said Apple's "still-evolving and complex business terms" didn't fit Setapp's current business model.6

Where can you use alternative app stores on iPhone?

You can use them on iPhone in the European Union, Japan and Brazil, and on iPad in the European Union. Your Apple Account has to be set to a country or region there, and you have to be there when you install apps.1 If you leave, the apps you already installed keep working, and for up to 90 days you can still install and update apps from them.1

In the European Union, developers that meet Apple's conditions can also offer their apps for download from their own website. Japan and Brazil don't have that option.1

What does Apple charge for apps in alternative app stores?

Apple takes 5% of sales of digital goods and services in apps from alternative app stores and calls this the Core Technology Commission. The 5% applies to purchases you complete in the app and to purchases needed to download or open the app. It also applies to purchases on a website that start within 7 days after you tap a link to it in the app.7

In the European Union, Apple switched to the 5% commission on October 1, 2026.8 Before that, apps outside the App Store paid a Core Technology Fee of €0.50 per first annual install above 1 million a year.910 In Japan and Brazil, these apps have paid 5% since Apple allowed alternative app stores there in December 2025 and June 2026.1112

In the App Store, Apple's standard commission is 30%, and it's 15% for small developers in Apple's small business program and for subscriptions after their first year.713

In the EU, the App Store commission is 26%, or 20% if the app uses another payment provider, and the lower rates for small developers and subscriptions after the first year are 15% and 10%.814 Developers there have to keep the payment options they choose for 12 months, and report sales through other payment providers to Apple each month.14

Why would Plutonium cost only about 5% more in an alternative app store?

When you buy Plutonium in an app from an alternative app store, Apple takes 5% of the price. We plan to sell it there through Stripe, which we also use on the web, and to add a platform fee that covers Apple's 5% to the price you see in the app.

The platform fee would be about 5.26% of the web price, because Apple takes 5% of the total price, including the fee. For example, if Plutonium costs 10.00 on the web, it would cost 10.53 in the app, and Apple's 5% of 10.53 is 0.53, which leaves us 10.00.

In the App Store, Apple takes up to 30% of each purchase made in an app. We expect the Fluxer iOS app to be on the App Store in early November 2026, and Plutonium bought in that version of the app will cost more than on the web for that reason.

Can I still buy Plutonium at the web price?

Yes. Plutonium is part of your Fluxer account, and wherever you got the app, you can buy Plutonium at the web price in Safari or another browser at fluxer.com. Plutonium costs less on the web because no app store fee is added to it there.

Why has Apple made this so hard?

Until 2024, the App Store was the only place most people got iPhone apps, and in most countries its apps still have to sell digital subscriptions through Apple's In-App Purchase. Laws and court cases in the EU, US, Japan and Brazil made Apple allow other app stores and ways to pay, and regulators and courts found fault with how Apple did it.

In March 2024, the European Commission fined Apple over €1.8 billion after finding that Apple stopped music streaming apps from telling iPhone users about "alternative and cheaper music subscription services".15 Apple has appealed that decision.16

In June 2024, the Commission started investigating Apple's terms for alternative app stores, including the Core Technology Fee.9 In April 2025, it fined Apple €500 million for breaking the Digital Markets Act, which requires Apple to let developers tell App Store users about offers elsewhere free of charge.17 Apple has appealed it too.18

The same day, the Commission said in its preliminary findings that developers were "disincentivised" from using alternative app stores on iPhone, because they had to accept business terms that included the Core Technology Fee. It also said Apple made it "overly burdensome and confusing for end users to install apps" from alternative app stores.19

In August 2026, Apple said its new EU terms "resolve Apple's disagreements with the Commission over business terms and alternative distribution".8 A Commission spokesperson welcomed the changes and said it would monitor them.20

In the US, a federal court found in April 2025 that Apple had broken a 2021 court order from its case with Epic Games, which told Apple to let developers link to other ways to pay.21 The judge wrote that Apple "willfully chose to ignore the Injunction, willfully chose to create and impose another supracompetitive rate and new restrictions". She also asked federal prosecutors to look into whether Apple should face criminal contempt proceedings.21

In December 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the contempt finding and agreed that Apple's 27% commission on linked purchases broke the order. It reversed the ban on any commission on them and sent that part back to the lower court.22 In June 2026, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear part of Apple's appeal.23

In Japan, the Mobile Software Competition Act made Apple allow alternative app stores, and Apple started allowing them on iPhones in Japan in December 2025.2411

Brazil's competition authority CADE investigated Apple after a 2022 complaint by Mercado Livre. In December 2025, it approved a settlement where Apple agreed to allow alternative app stores and other ways to pay, with fines of up to R$150 million for breaking it.25

Developers have criticized Apple's terms too. In March 2024, 34 companies and associations, including Spotify and Epic Games, wrote to the European Commission that Apple's terms would "make a mockery of the DMA" if they stayed the same.10 Apple says the Japanese law's requirements for alternative app stores and payments "open new avenues for malware, fraud and scams, and privacy and security risks".11

When will Fluxer be on an alternative app store?

We haven't set a date or picked the alternative app stores yet, and Apple has to notarize the Fluxer iOS app before it can be in one. Our TestFlight beta for iOS is on hold for now, and our App Store release is almost ready. As of November 2, 2026, we've addressed the last item from Apple's review, and we expect Fluxer to be on the App Store in early November 2026. Until then, you can use Fluxer on an iPhone at fluxer.com.

Sources

  1. About alternative app distribution, Apple Support, published 2026-10-26, accessed 2026-11-01. 2 3 4

  2. AltStore, AltStore, accessed 2026-11-01. The page says AltStore PAL is "Available only in the European Union, Japan, & Brazil."

  3. Epic Games Store debuts in Japan with Fortnite and Rocket League Sideswipe, GamesBeat, 2026-04-30, updated 2026-07-03, accessed 2026-11-01.

  4. Epic Games lança loja para iPhone no Brasil e amplia disputa com a Apple, Olhar Digital, 2026-07-30, accessed 2026-11-01.

  5. First free alternative app store on iOS launches to all EU users, Aptoide press release on Gamespress, 2025-02-18, accessed 2026-11-01.

  6. Setapp Mobile EU App Store Closing Next Month, MacRumors, 2026-01-15, accessed 2026-11-01.

  7. License agreement for Apple developers, Apple, accessed 2026-11-01. Schedule 2 section 3.4 sets the 30% commission and 15% for subscriptions after one year. Section 4 of Attachment 12 (Japan and Brazil) and section 4 of Attachment 14 (European Union) set the 5% Core Technology Commission and the purchases it applies to. 2

  8. Apple announces changes for apps in the European Union, Apple Newsroom, 2026-08-18, accessed 2026-11-01. 2 3

  9. Commission sends preliminary findings to Apple and opens additional non-compliance investigation against Apple under the Digital Markets Act, European Commission, 2024-06-24, accessed 2026-11-01. 2

  10. Spotify, Epic Games and others pen letter to EC, claiming Apple has made a 'mockery' of the DMA, TechCrunch, 2024-03-01, accessed 2026-11-01. 2

  11. Apple announces changes to iOS in Japan, Apple Newsroom, 2025-12-17, accessed 2026-11-01. 2 3

  12. Changes to iOS in Brazil, Apple Developer News, 2026-06-18, and Changes to iOS in Brazil, Apple Developer, accessed 2026-11-01.

  13. Small business commission on the App Store, Apple Developer, accessed 2026-11-01.

  14. Update on apps distributed in the European Union, Apple Developer, updated 2026-08-18, accessed 2026-11-01. 2

  15. Commission fines Apple over €1.8 billion over abusive App store rules for music streaming providers, European Commission, 2024-03-04, accessed 2026-11-01.

  16. Apple appeals huge EU fine, AFP on Tech Xplore, 2024-05-21, accessed 2026-11-01.

  17. Commission finds Apple and Meta in breach of the Digital Markets Act, European Commission, 2025-04-23, accessed 2026-11-01.

  18. Apple tries get €500M EU fine tossed, The Register, 2025-07-07, accessed 2026-11-01.

  19. Commission closes investigation into Apple's user choice obligations and issues preliminary findings on rules for alternative apps under the Digital Markets Act, European Commission, 2025-04-23, accessed 2026-11-01.

  20. Apple overhauls EU App Store fees to settle its DMA dispute, The Next Web, 2026-08-18, accessed 2026-11-01.

  21. Order granting Epic Games, Inc.'s motion to enforce injunction, Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple Inc., No. 4:20-cv-05640-YGR, US District Court for the Northern District of California, document 1508, 2025-04-30, pages 3 and 58 to 59, accessed 2026-11-01. 2

  22. Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple Inc., No. 25-2935, US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2025-12-11, accessed 2026-11-01.

  23. Docket No. 25-1311, Apple Inc. v. Epic Games, Inc., Supreme Court of the United States, petition granted 2026-06-30 limited to question 1, accessed 2026-11-01.

  24. Changes to iOS in Japan, Apple Developer, accessed 2026-11-01.

  25. Cade homologa TCC em investigação sobre práticas da Apple no iOS, CADE, 2025-12-23, updated 2025-12-26, accessed 2026-11-01.

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