Sideloading iOS apps is no longer possible on Mac M1

This week, Apple implemented a server-side blocking mechanism to prevent Mac M1 owners from downloading iOS apps that were not made available to the Mac by iOS app developers.

As indicated by 9to5Mac, it is no longer possible to use third-party applications like iMazing to get an application .ipa file to install on a ‌M1‌ Mac, a workaround available since the launch of M1 Macs.

Attempting to load an app using the previous working method now results in an error stating “This app cannot be installed because the developer did not intend to run it on this platform.”

App developers have the option of making their iPhone and iPad apps available on Mac ‌M1‌, but they can also choose not to. Popular apps like Netflix, Hulu, Instagram and others have chosen not to make their iOS apps available on Mac ‌M1‌ and it was previously possible to install and use them with apps like iMazing or Apple Configurator 2, but this is over.

The only ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌ apps that can be installed on Macs ‌M1‌ are those that the developers have expressly flagged and lit green for use on Macs. Installed and running apps can still be used, as this only affects new app installations. The same goes for previously downloaded .ipa files.

Apple has disabled the sideloading app feature on ‌M1 running Macs running macOS Big Sur 11.1 and ‌macOS Big Sur‌ 11.2 beta.