iPad, Apple TV, Vision Pro, and Mac
Where iPhone sideloading advice transfers to other Apple platforms and where it does not.
This guide is iPhone and iPad first. The word sideloading means something different on other Apple platforms.
iPadOS
Most development-signing concepts match iOS. Hardware, multitasking, app-extension, and alternative-distribution availability can differ. The EU supports alternative marketplaces and Web Distribution on iPad; Japan and Brazil marketplace changes currently focus on iPhone.
Apple TV
tvOS apps have their own platform target, profile, device registration, and architecture. An iPhone certificate does not cover an Apple TV, and an iPhone IPA is not a tvOS app. For setup, see sideloading on Apple TV.
Vision Pro
visionOS supports Xcode development, TestFlight, App Store distribution, ad hoc registered-device deployment, and managed enterprise apps. Developer Mode and correct visionOS provisioning still apply. An iPad-compatible app may run on Vision Pro, but that is a compatibility decision by the developer and platform, not generic IPA conversion.
Apple Watch
Watch apps normally arrive as part of an iPhone app or through App Store/TestFlight workflows. Extensions and paired-device provisioning make generic “remove all extensions” advice particularly destructive.
Apple silicon Mac
An Apple silicon Mac can run some iPhone and iPad apps when developers allow it. PlayCover is the maintained community route for running compatible IPA files on M series Macs, with keyboard and controller mapping. Compatibility stays app specific: apps can detect the Mac environment or altered signing and refuse to log in or start. Use the official repository, not third party download sites. Sideloadly also advertises IPA installation to Apple silicon, but compatibility and account rules differ from iOS.
Native macOS apps
macOS uses Gatekeeper, Developer ID, notarization, quarantine, and user override controls. It does not use the iPhone three-app/seven-day model for ordinary downloaded Mac apps. Apple explains that Gatekeeper checks Developer ID, notarization, tampering, and revocation (Apple Support).
Do not apply iPhone certificate or DNS advice to a native Mac application.