Apple’s efforts to encourage developers to use in-app subscriptions continued this week with a new video published to its developer portal.
“Developer Insights” highlights the benefits of a subscription model with reoccurring payments, and features testimonials from app makers who are already enjoying a subscription model. Apple has already held meetings with developers to warn them that one-time purchases are dying.
According to a post on the official App Store Twitter account, the celebrated puzzle adventure game Professor Layton and the Curious Village is on its way to iOS.
Released for the Nintendo DS in Japan back in 2007, and in North America the year after, Curious Village is the first title in the immensely popular Professor Layton series. It was ported to mobile for the Japanese market in June this year, but this is the first time we’ve heard about an English language version for iOS. And we couldn’t be happier!
Alex Jones and Infowars Official have been permanently banned from the iOS App Store.
An Apple spokesperson said it was because company guidelines prohibit software that’s “offensive, insensitive, upsetting, intended to disgust or in exceptionally poor taste.”
Evernote, the popular mobile app for note taking, organizing, tasks lists, and archiving, is going through some hard times. A new report reveals that it has lost multiple senior executives — including its Chief Technology Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Procurement Officer, and head of HR — in the last month.
A tipster told TechCrunch that that Evernote is in a “death spiral.” They claim that paid user growth and active user numbers remain flat, and that the company’s enterprise product offering has failed to catch on with customers.
Apple takes every opportunity to talk up its pro-privacy agenda — and if you’re a developer being hosted in the App Store you’d better show that same level of commitment to users.
According to a new report, Apple has started telling its developers that they will soon need to host a privacy policy in their apps’ metadata. This change will apply to all new apps and app updates from October 3, regardless of whether or not they connect to the internet.
Facebook has removed its Onavo Protect app from the App Store after reportedly violating Apple’s data-collection policies.
The VPN service was being used to gather information about how people use their devices outside of Facebook. Apple officials informed Facebook that Onavo violated new rules introduced in June, which are designed to limit data collection by app developers.
The App Store is a big money spinner for Apple, but that could change if more developers, helped by regulatory intervention, push back against the commission that Apple currently takes.
In a note to clients, Macquarie Research analyst Ben Schachter suggests that this could cost Apple up to $16 billion annually. This follows news that Netflix is currently experimenting with a way to circumvent the cash it has to pay Apple.
Apple’s worth a crazy amount of money these days, but what really separates it from previous eras is that it no longer lives or dies by one product. Look at any part of Apple’s business and you’ll find reasons to be optimistic.
The latest example of this comes from Bank of America, which bumped its price target on Apple stock from $230 to $250 a share. Why? Because the bank noticed that the App Store is booming — and not just in the category you might expect.
Apple has pulled a massive 25,000 apps from its Chinese App Store following state media complaints about the company. At least 4,000 of these were tagged with the word “gambling,” which is illegal in China outside of state-sanctioned lotteries.
“Gambling apps are illegal and not allowed on the App Store in China,” Apple said in a statement. “We have already removed many apps and developers for trying to distribute illegal gambling apps on our App Store, and we are vigilant in our efforts to find these and stop them from being on the App Store.”
Apple wants developers to stop selling iOS applications and start renting them instead. The reason is simple: this forces users to pay more for software.
Apple held a secret meeting in New York City last year to convince developers to give up charging users a one-time fee for apps, and go instead to reoccurring charges.
Google could miss out on a $50 million payday this year alone as a result of Epic Games’ decision not to distribute Fortnite for Android through the Play Store.
Android users must download the game directly from Epic‘s own website instead. This allows the company to sidestep Google’s 30 percent cut of all revenue.
Apple is cracking down on gambling content in the App Store. The problem is that some of the apps caught in the crossfire don’t have very much to do with gambling at all.
Several developers have noted on social media that their apps — ranging from a Polish magazine to a game that lets you send Xbox game clips to buddies — have been removed from the App Store as part of the purge.
Earlier this week, Apple booted five of Infowars‘ six podcasts out of iTunes and its Podcasts app, but made the decision to keep the company’s app in the App Store.
In a statement, Apple has said that it continues to support “all points of view” being represented in the App Store, but notes that it will continue to review the situation.
Apple has confirmed plans to drop apps and in-app purchases from its iTunes Affiliate Program by October 1.
The company feels that commissions are no longer necessary following the launch of its redesigned App Store, which has improved app discovery. However, everyone else believes it’s an ignorant and shortsighted move that won’t be good for anyone but Apple.
Apple’s weakest earnings report of 2018 is set to be revealed today but it might also contain a few clues about the 2018 iPhone launch this fall.
Tim Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri will talk to investors on an open call at 2 p.m. Pacific. Analysts don’t expect a huge boost in iPhone sales and revenue (in fact some are downright pessimistic). However, Apple could pull out a few surprises like it did the last two quarters.
Per usual, Cult of Mac will be here to live-blog all the action starting at 1:30 p.m. (That’s when the earnings report typically lands.) Come join the fun!
When Apple unveils its latest earnings report Tuesday, some analysts think the numbers may be even better than expected.
Q3 is usually Apple’s weakest quarter of the year as the iPhone sales cycle starts to come to an end. However, this week’s call may hold a number of surprises and hints about the 2018 iPhone lineup as Apple gives investors guidance on next quarter. As usual, Cult of Mac will liveblog the entire call with all the pithy analysis we can muster.
We’ll be watching for these key details in the report (and so should you).
The App Store is bigger than even Steve Jobs likely dared hope, but with around 2 million apps battling it out for your attention, there’s a discovery problem.
To help with this, Apple introduced a program called Search Ads a few years back to help highlight individual apps through advertisements. Apple is now rolling out its Search Ads service to new countries, bringing the total number of supported markets to 13.
Ten years ago, Apple co-founder and then-CEO Steve Jobs understood that smartphones were going to be a big deal. And he realized software would be an important part of that.
With 20/20 hindsight, it’s easy to dismiss that vision. But Jobs was talking in August 2008, a year after the release of the first iPhone, and only a month after the iOS App Store debuted. Most people had flip phones, and PCs dominated the computing landscape.
Apple has removed QDrops, a $0.99 paid app designed to promote a conspiracy theory about Hillary Clinton and a supposed child sex ring, from the App Store.
Despite its pro-free speech position, Apple was clear to distance itself from apps which break its user guidelines.
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was a visionary. That’s a phrase that gets tossed around a lot, but in Jobs’ case we have solid evidence.
Speaking at a conference in the early 1980s, a decade before the Internet became a household name, he described something we do everyday: buy software online.
We’re all accustomed to paying a simple, one-time fee for our iOS apps. But developers are increasingly turning to subscriptions. In fact, there were billions paid in app subscription fees in the past year.
Apple reported today that revenue from subscriptions is up 95 percent over last year.
GarageBand for iOS is one of the first Apple apps to add support for Schoolwork, giving teachers the ability to create GarageBand assignments and activities.
The version 2.3.4 update also allows you to view note labels on any Touch Instrument’s music keyboard.
Apple has confirmed that it plans to block iTunes and App Store payment information changes on old versions of iOS, OS X, and Apple TV Software.
As of June 30, those with really old devices could have trouble making purchases when their existing payment information expires. Apple says the change is to “ensure your financial data is protected when you make purchases.”
Amazon FreeTime Unlimited just made the jump to to the Apple App Store. This service for children ages three to twelve offers thousands of books, movies, and games for a flat monthly fee.
The service launched years ago on Amazon’s own tablets, but only became available for iPad and iPhone today.
Apple and now Google offer their very own News apps for iOS, but if you don’t like either, there’s now another option: Microsoft News.
Available today as a rebranded MSN app, the service provides users with curated news from more than 1,000 “premium publishers” and over 3,000 brands in major global markets.