Apple at 50: AltStore’s Riley Testut on App Store rules, Delta 2.0, and indie developers
Testut talks about App Store restrictions, Delta Camera, and the future of AltStore as Apple turns 50
Apple is now 50 years old since it was formed, and I look at the company with mixed feelings in 2026. The company, founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, simply wanted to make products for customers who didn't know they wanted or needed them. Today's Apple, at least to me, creates many of its products as a way of following trends or, as Apple Intelligence / Siri repeatedly continues to prove, plays catch-up.
I've refused to update my devices to the latest software versions, including macOS Tahoe, as I find them functionally confusing - it reminds me of Microsoft's Windows Vista from 2006. Too much style, in Apple's eyes at least, and not enough substance. Even the new software numbering raises my eyebrows. Bring back the cat names for macOS.
Nevertheless, the one aspect that I've always been a proponent of, as well as accessibility, is third-party developers. I've always wanted to champion the apps that they've been passionate about making and maintaining for Apple's customers.
It's also how I came to chat to developers like Riley Testut, known for Delta, a free emulator that lets you play games from several consoles and handhelds on your iPhone and iPad, such as NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and now, Sega Genesis. In addition, AltStore is an app store that lets users in certain countries sideload apps to their devices from trusted sources.
Instead of reflecting on Apple's past, I wanted to speak to Testut about where he and his team are as things stand. From the upcoming Delta 2.0 to AltStore's impressive growth over the past several years, there's plenty Apple can take note of if it wants to stay relevant for the next 5 years, instead of the next 50.
