Apple at this point is just scared of change and anything that isn't theirs

Apple is the only company that can brainwash its userbase so much that they would think the allowance for sideloading as mandated by the EU will cripple their security and privacy (when in reality it can be very beneficial as it is on Android)

i mean TECHNICALLY it is more secure to not be able to sideload apps... at the cost of major user freedom and loss of control over your own device you paid money for.

its the equivalent of saying "you should never use the internet at all because there's a chance you could get a virus", its an extremely flawed logic. i think the user should always be given a choice.

apple will definitely lose money from this and i think that's their concern with having to allow sideloading, definitely moreso than privacy or security lol. apple previously has been able to monopolize and take a commission on every single app purchase or microtransaction thanks to the app store. if people sideload or use alternate app stores, apple will lose this. + some advertising revenue will be lost if sideloaded apps aren't using apple's advertising platform, etc.
- The allowance for side loading isn't inherently less secure, it is the participation in side loading. But then again it would also allow for many FOSS apps, something like an F droid equivalent for iOS, which could actually be more secure alternatives to their proprietary counterparts.
Also if you are scared just don't sideload
you might be confusing the total user base with people commenting on MacRumours

The change will lose you money: PANIC

Let's be real, it's not even that the changes will lose corporations money, it's that the changes will lower their disgustingly bloated earnings by a marginal amount that makes them panic.
- Or the shareholders think the change will make them lose money

Alright, how many people here use their crap? Come out of the woodwork and confess your sins.

I got a macbook for free because it was broken. I don't know how but I fixed it. Currently trying to port coreboot
You know what, I'm gonna say it. I do enjoy working on MacBook when I'm away from home and I think the iPad Pro 12.9 is an excellent tablet.

And now they've made a headset... of course.

Dear got I hope they don't become the norm the way the iphone did. I hate VR

I don't know if I like this change. Not allowing for sideloading means a reduction in user freedom, sure, but how much freedom does the average user care to have anyway? With the state of Apple products as it is today, I would definitely recommend them to someone who isn't technologically savvy over something that grants more freedoms because of how fool-proof it is. For the rest of us who know our way around this stuff, we have Linux. The lack of freedom in Apple products doesn't take away from the freedoms of Linux users.

There is a EU law now that forces Apple to allow sideloading in the EU. Common EU W

They have no obligations to allow that outside of the EU though.