The new Meet with Apple Experts program helps Apple developers easily find and join workshops, labs and one-on-one consultations to help them build great apps, Apple said Tuesday.
The new dedicated resource builds on other programs for developers, incorporating their programming.
Apple quietly added a helpful new “Apps by Apple” section to its website last week. Cupertino’s new guide breaks down the world of great Apple apps into helpful sections all in one place.
Some people wonder if it’s part of Apple’s response to the European Union’s moves to force sideloading of apps on iPhones.
Now that iOS and the App Store have been labeled “gatekeepers” by the European Commission, the EU’s Digital Markets Act requires Apple to allow users to install applications directly onto iPhones. And sideloading is just one of the sweeping changes resulting from the DMA. Users apparently will be able to replace Siri with one of its rivals, for example. Other services, like iMessage, might require modification later.
One thing’s clear: The iPhone won’t be the same after the Digital Markets Act goes into effect in spring 2024.
There certainly will not be a dearth of apps for the Vision Pro when it launches — Apple said Tuesday that every compatible iOS and iPadOS application will be automatically listed in an upcoming App Store for the AR headset.
That means there’ll be “hundreds of thousands” of apps for Vision Pro at its debut early next year, according to Apple.
The U.S. National Park Service turns 107 on Friday. And, as usual, Apple is running its donation campaign to the National Parks Foundation to celebrate.
Each purchase made with Apple Pay in the Apple Store and on Apple sites through Sunday, August 27, donates $10 to the National Parks Foundation.
August 10, 2008: The developer of I Am Rich, a pointless iPhone app that sold for a whopping $999.99, defends his notorious creation as “art.”
After Apple removed I Am Rich from the App Store in the wake of controversy over the app’s outrageous price and total lack of usefulness, its creator, German developer Armin Heinrich, says he made it as a sort of joke.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a request by Epic Games that would have required Apple to immediately get rid of its “anti-steering” rule for third-party applications — a major change. Instead, the Mac-maker can wait until there’s a final decision by the high court.
This means Apple doesn’t have to change its policy that prevents developers from sending customers from their applications to their websites to pay for subscriptions or services … yet.
Elon Musk wants creators on X to make more money. And for this, he plans to talk to Apple CEO Tim Cook about lowering the App Store fees for creators on Twitter X.
The billionaire wants Apple to only charge its 30% commission on the amount that X keeps, not the money a creator receives.
Apple warned all App Store developers that it’s starting a crackdown on using device fingerprinting for user tracking.
As a means of preventing this invasive tracking, Apple will soon require devs to justify the inclusion of all APIs in software submitted to the App Store.
July 20, 2007: Just a month after the original iPhone goes on sale, the first third-party app gets compiled and launched for the new platform.
Called “Hello World,” the software serves more as a proof of concept than a serious tool. But it demonstrates that third-party apps will become a cornerstone of the new iPhone economy. It’s a shame Apple doesn’t get the memo.
Apple is hoping to take its lawsuit with Epic Games all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and on Monday received permission to hold off on making a significant change to the App Store ordered by lower courts until there’s a final decision by the high court.
This means the Mac-maker won’t have to change its App Store policy that prevents developers from sending customers to their websites to pay for apps or services… yet.
July 11, 2008: The iPhone 3G goes on sale. Expectations for the smartphone sequel run high, and Apple delivers with the addition of GPS, faster 3G data and a higher-quality build.
To make things even better, Apple’s second smartphone runs on a new mobile operating system. iPhone OS 2 introduces a better Mail app, turn-by-turn navigation and a little something called the App Store.
July 10, 2008: Apple launches the App Store, an online hub that lets iPhone owners browse and download apps made by third-party developers.
Transforming the iPhone from a locked-down platform to a generative one, the App Store means that every iPhone user can have his or her own “killer app” depending on the software they want — from social networking to composing music to playing games.
One of the most significant launches in Apple history, the App Store opens up a whole new revenue stream for Cupertino. It’s hard to believe that Steve Jobs was originally dead-set against it!
July 7, 2011: Three years after its launch, the App Store passes 15 billion downloads.
This represents a major milestone for Apple. The App Store offers more than 425,000 apps, which give the iPhone and iPad incredible capabilities and add to the devices’ wide appeal.
June 26, 2008: Apple sends an email to developers, calling for software that will be distributed in the forthcoming App Store.
Devs around the world greet the news with excitement. They hurry to submit their apps and get in on the looming App Store gold rush. Many rake in small fortunes when the App Store goes live less than a month later.
An independent study found App Store developers generated $1.1 trillion in total billings and sales last year as part of the system’s robust year-over-year growth of 29%, Apple said Wednesday.
More than 90% of the money went to developers, without any commission paid to Apple, the company said.
Apple has announced several tax changes for the App Store that go into effect starting May 31. The new rules will affect app developers in Ghana, Lithuania, Moldova, Brazil and Spain.
In Spain and Ghana, taxes on the proceeds earned from apps and games have increased. While in Lithuania and Moldova, the VAT rate on e-books and audiobooks has gone down.
Keeping bad applications out of the App Store is a monumental task — Apple says it denied 1.7 million apps submitted for approval in 2022. That’s out of 6.1 million, and it’s an increase from the previous year.
And Apple also blocked nearly 3.9 million stolen credit cards from being used to make fraudulent purchases on the App Store. Plus, the iPhone-maker blocked millions of fake reviews.
Small developers around the world saw revenue from Apple’s App Store grow 71% between 2020 and 2022, according to researchers.
Revenue growth over that span for small devs in the United States was even higher: 83%.
Apple reports that the App Store is has a problem that might prevent users from buying applications. That includes the iOS and Mac App Stores. And the same issue could affect attempts to buy ebooks.
A similar problem is causing problems with buying subscriptions.
UPDATE: Fixed after about 14 hours.
April 23, 2009: Less than a year after opening its virtual doors, the App Store reaches 1 billion downloads.
Peer-to-peer file sharing app Bump becomes the 1 billionth app to be downloaded. As a result of his purchase, 13-year-old Connor Mulcahey of Weston, Connecticut, wins a “1 Billion App Countdown” promotion.
He takes home an assortment of Apple products valued at more than $13,000, including a $10,000 iTunes gift card, a 32GB iPod touch, a Time Capsule and a 17-inch MacBook Pro.
5 Movies, likely the first iPhone app generated almost entirely by ChatGPT, was approved by Apple and published on the App Store late Thursday night.
Morten Just, an independent developer of Mac apps who’s based in Switzerland, guided ChatGPT through the creation of the movie-recommendation app. Just said he told the AI what he wanted, then pasted its output into an Xcode project, writing only an estimated 2% to 5% of the code himself. The chatbot even fixed bugs as Just pasted in error messages.
“What matters to me is creating software that is useful and solves real problems,” Just told Cult of Mac after his 5 Movies app went live. “If I can do that faster with AI, I will.”
The Federal Trade Commission wants to make cancelling subscriptions as simple as starting them. The US government agency proposed a “click to cancel” rule that would make it easy for consumers to escape recurring subscriptions and memberships.
Apple users can easily leave subscriptions they signed up for thorough the App Store. That’s not necessarily true for ones started elsewhere.
How do you reinstall Apple apps like Music, Podcasts, Weather, Maps and Find My onto your iPhone or iPad? If you can’t find them, it’s possible you uninstalled them and your device needs to download them again. Or they might have simply disappeared from your Home Screen, and are now hiding in the App Library.
There are also a few iPhone apps that Apple hasn’t made available on iPad. This was the case with Weather until very recently, so you may need to install an update to get it.
I’ll walk you through all the possibilities, showing you how to get Apple’s stock apps back on your iPhone or iPad.
App Store prices will soon go up in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Colombia, Egypt, and a few other countries. The hike will come into effect starting February 13, 2023.
The changes will apply to both prices of apps and in-app purchases (IAP). Recurring subscriptions are not affected, though.
