Setapp Mobile launches as an invitation-only beta in the EU today, offering European iPhone owners a far easier way to get access to multiple apps for a single monthly subscription than the clunky US experience.

Even better, for the lucky ones given access to the early beta, it’s free for now …

The Verge got to try it out for a week ahead of today’s limited launch, and was impressed.

Setapp Mobile’s subscription-based approach opens up an exciting new way of using an iPhone, one where you can play with a range of apps without being stung by reduced features, ads, nags to upgrade, or spending money on something you may not even use. Well, if you live in the EU, of course.

The site’s Callum Booth contrasted this with the hoops Apple makes US iPhone users jump through to use the same service.

[In the US], getting the apps onto your phone is an awful experience. The process requires opening your Setapp account in a browser, going to your apps section, following a link that opens the iOS App Store, and installing said piece of software before returning to your account and activating it. 

In the EU, Apple still makes the process of installing an alternative app store as awkward as possible, but once you have Setup Mobile installed, you just tap the app you want, tap a button to install it, tap a confirmation, and then wait a few seconds for activation.

Right now, there aren’t many apps to choose from, but that will change.

In the version we tested, there were 13 apps available — Focused Work, CleanMyPhone, SideNotes, Itemlist, Taskheat, MonAI, Mindr, NeatNook, Subjects, BasicBeauty, Optika, Downie, and ClearVPN — all of them high-quality and feature-rich.

In the past week, that grew to 17, with MacPaw stating that there will be more than 30 by the time the beta opens to everyone in the summer. There are currently over 50 apps available in the US version, so it’s likely that these will follow.

It’s unclear as yet how much the monthly subscription will be. For beta users, it’s currently free, but the pricing at full launch hasn’t yet been announced.

Check out The Verge for screengrabs of the process.