Apple released beta 2 of macOS Big Sur for developers recently and surprisingly, it had several changes that might be coming in future releases. While the usual bug fixes and performance enhancements were part of the mix, it also featured a restriction for M1 Mac users. The restriction will disallow them to sideload unsupported iOS apps on Apple Silicon Macs. It was previously possible for users to sideload third-party apps on their M1 apps but it looks like Apple is removing the option to do so

macOS Big Sur Might Soon Restrict Mac Users to Sideload iOS Apps

Based on the internal code which is common to both iOS 14.4 and macOS Big Sur 11.2, the operating system will not allow some apps to run on Mac. If you download apps from the Mac App Store, you have nothing to worry about. This is because the upcoming changes will only affect apps that are downloaded out of the App Store. Up until the latest beta update, Mac users could install iOS versions of Instagram, Facebook, Netflix, and other apps using IPA files. Now, it seems users will not have that liberty in the future.

Apple has removed the filter in macOS Big Sur 11.2 beta 2 that allowed Apple apps to bypass third-party firewalls. The internal code was discovered within the APIs corresponding to DRM or Digital Rights Management which is part of the operating system. As of now, users have the option available to sideload and use iOS apps on macOS Big Sur 11.2 beta 2. However, Apple can potentially activate the lock once the final build is released.

Apple is yet to confirm the change for developers. What comes as a surprise is a fact that some developers have restricted their apps on the Mac App Store. This includes Google's YouTube app on the Apple Silicon Mac. We will share more details as soon as we hear it. As for now, what are your thoughts on the restriction potentially coming to macOS Big Sur? Let us know in the comments.