I had the same thought. I imagine that Apple will have a very strict templated way to install and run an alternate App Store, you’ll have to use certain API calls to register the apps installed so that they show up on the Home Screen etc. So the reporting side of this should be reasonably easy.
I wonder if the alternate App Stores will have to be installed via the official App
store?! That’s the way I would do it. Gives Apple a way to shut them down if they try to circumvent the reporting piece to bypass the 0.50 fees.
I doubt the alt-stores will be doing any installing of their own. They probably get a higher level API and get to say "install this package at this url" and iOS will handle the usual verification checks, permissions, actual installation, Home Screen and App lists, etc.
I would not be surprised it is how the App Store has worked for a long time though. The store is the catalog and just tells the OS what to download and install.
I wonder if the alternate App Stores will have to be installed via the official App store?! That’s the way I would do it. Gives Apple a way to shut them down if they try to circumvent the reporting piece to bypass the 0.50 fees.