Apple now allows App Store developers in South Korea to use third-party payment systems. The option is limited to apps distributed in the country.
The Cupertino giant is allowing alternative payment processors in the South Korean App Store to comply with the amended Telecommunications Business Act.
Apple bans apps like emulators and clipboard history on your iPhone, but there’s a clever way to sideload these apps without jailbreaking.
The official App Store is the only way Apple wants you to get apps on the iPhone. If there’s an app that doesn’t fit Apple’s strict rules, it doesn’t get on the App Store at all.
Apple strictly forbids a few categories of apps. Emulators — apps that play games from old consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System and GameBoy — are prohibited. Porn is not allowed either. System-wide features like clipboard managers — which are very popular and even downloadable on the Mac App Store — are not allowed on the iPhone. (My favorite is Maccy.)
That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to get these types of apps, though. You can install an alternative App Store for iPhone called AltStore right now with the help of a Mac or PC. With AltStore, you can install verboten apps like emulators and clipboard history without jailbreaking your iPhone.
June 10, 2013: Apple passes a major milestone in iOS history, as payments to app developers top $10 billion on the App Store’s fifth birthday.
Speaking at WWDC 2013, Apple CEO Tim Cook reveals that the company paid out half of this money in the previous year. He also notes that this outrageous total is three times more than all other app store platforms combined. With 575 million user accounts registered, Apple has more credit cards on file than any other company on the internet.
People have downloaded 50 billion apps in total out of a collection of 900,000 available, Cook says, with 93% of the apps downloaded at least once every month.
New data from a couple of analytics firms shows that it’s harder now than ever to get an app to the top of App Store rankings, thanks to stiffer competition.
But the data shows that gaming apps have an easier time of it than other types of apps.
Apple distributed a new set of fraud analysis data Wednesday. It indicated the App Store prevented 1.6 million “risky” and “untrustworthy” apps from defrauding users in 2021, stopping “nearly $1.5 billion in fraudulent transactions.”
As with other recent data compilations, Cupertino released the news at a time when the App Store’s strict policies have come under fire.
Apple’s bid to have Cydia creator Jay Freeman’s lawsuit dismissed was denied Thursday in California federal court.
The lawsuit alleges that Apple maintains an illegal App Store monopoly over app distribution on iPhones and iPads.
A bill aimed at regulating Big Tech is reportedly losing support in the U.S. Senate. The fate of the American Choice and Innovation Online Act is now in question.
It is a Democratic proposal but some Senate Democrats are leery about voting for it in an election year.
Games played on iPhone and Android represents 61% of the overall gaming market, according to two market analysis firms. And mobile’s lead over PC and console gaming is growing.
The total gaming market is set to hit $222 billion in 2022. For comparison, global film revenue for 2019 (the last pre-pandemic year) was $42.5 billion.
App Store revenue for smaller developers increased by 113% over the past two years – more than double the growth of large developers, according to a study financed by Apple.
And the iPhone app economy supported more than 2.2 million jobs in the U.S. in 2021.
Ahead of the June 30, 2022 deadline, Apple has reminded developers that if they offer users an option to create new accounts from their app, they must also provide a way to delete them.
Apple first announced this change in June last year, with the rule initially set to go into force by January 31, 2022. However, due to the complexity involved, the company delayed its implementation by five months to give developers additional time.
Apple has sent out emails to its customers in India informing them that it won’t be accepting credit and debit cards for payments on the App Store and other Apple services starting June 1, 2022.
The announcement comes ahead of the new regulations from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) going live.
Pay attention to renewal notices for App Store subscriptions because these are the only notification you’ll receive that the cost is going up. Developers are now allowed to increase iPhone app subscription prices without users having to opt in.
There are limits on how much the fees can go up, though.
Eddy Cue, Apple’s SVP of Services, is reportedly looking to restructure the company’s offerings to make a more significant push in streaming and advertising.
Apple’s services business has been growing rapidly over the last few years. It currently boasts more than 825 million paid subscribers.
Third-party iPhone apps scored significantly lower than their Android counterparts, according to an analysis of user reviews of 4,400 top mobile apps.
This does not necessarily mean that Android offers better third-party software, though. iPhone users simply expect more from their apps.
“The data shows iOS users are more critical of mobile apps than Android users are,” said David Kravets, senior content marketing manager for unitQ, the company that did the research, in an interview with Cult of Mac.
And after going through nearly 122 million reviews, unitQ analysts say there’s “lots of room for improvement” in mobile software.
Apple still intends to remove iPhone applications it considers outdated from the App Store, but has given developers more time to update their software. The deadline has changed from 30 days to up to 90 days.
And Apple says it focuses the App Store Improvements process on applications that are hardly ever downloaded.
The government of Japan said it’s considering new regulations to ensure fair app store competition amid the dominance of companies like Apple and Google. In response, Apple insisted its practices do not limit competitors.
Anyone experiencing trouble with the App Store or Apple Music on Monday can relax. Apple reports that it resolved the issues that plagued these services earlier in the day.
This is after they were down for about eight hours.
Numerous developers report that their applications that aren’t being actively updated will soon be kicked out of the App Store. This is apparently part of an ongoing effort by Apple to remove “outdated” software from the store.
Devs must submit new versions of their applications to stay in the store, which means they’ll have to comply with newer Apple policies.
The European Union may force Apple to make big changes to its App Store as well as services like FaceTime and Messages, if a leaked version of an EU antitrust proposal becomes law.
The draft is said to be the “final version” of the Digital Markets Act, provisionally approved by EU regulators in March. It seeks to restrict how tech giants operate in order to foster greater competition.
Apple CEO Tim Cook called privacy a key battle of our time during a speech Tuesday. He extolled Apple’s commitment to protecting its users’ data and condemned regulations that would force Cupertino to accept app sideloading on iPhones.
“We are deeply concerned about regulations that would undermine privacy and security in service of some other aim,” he said, referring to legislation that would force Apple to allow apps for its devices to bypass the App Store.
Cook made the comments during a wide-ranging keynote address at the International Association of Privacy Professionals Global Privacy Summit in Washington, D.C.
Read more about what he said and watch video of his speech below.
Plenty of third-party iPhone applications outperform Apple’s own on the App Store. That’s the conclusion of a report commissioned by Apple itself. The iPhone-maker’s offerings don’t even come in second place in categories like music streaming, navigation and instant messaging.
This might sound embarrassing for Apple, but the company has a reason to tout the strength of rival software.
Smart Voting, an app run by supporters of jailed Putin critic Alexei Navalny, has returned to the App Store in Russia following its removal last September.
Cupertino pulled the app after Russia made threats about prosecuting top Apple employees in the country. Google, which also removed the app after the Kemlin lashed out, allowed the app back into the Play Store soon after Russia’s election last year.
Apple’s newest iOS 15.5 update, which was first made available to registered developers on Wednesday, begins adding support for external payment systems inside third-party apps.
The change comes after Apple last week confirmed that it will give “reader” apps the ability to include links to external sites where users can manage their accounts and subscriptions, and make purchases outside of the App Store.
It would appear that large sections of the developer community are firmly behind Epic Games in its battle for a fairer, more open App Store. But not Roblox, which believes Apple’s strict controls enhance safety and security.
The online game platform, which calls itself a metaverse company and boasts almost 55 million daily active users, said in a legal filing this week that the App Store review process adds “greater legitimacy in the eyes of users.”
Apple this week revealed slightly more relaxed rules for Dutch dating apps that will make it easier for them to offer third-party payment options. It comes after months of fighting with Dutch regulators over new app laws.
One thing Cupertino won’t give up, however, is its 27% commission.