After a long legal dispute, the US Supreme Court ruled today that Apple will have to relax some of its App Store policies. More specifically, the company now has to let developers offer alternative payment methods. Still, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney isn’t happy with the final terms and says the company will contest Apple’s “bad-faith compliance plan.”

iMessage is certainly one of the most popular messaging platforms in the US, which has resulted in long-standing discussion about its interoperability with non-Apple devices. While some users are waiting for the iPhone to get RCS support later this year, it seems that Meta has been taking advantage of this situation as WhatsApp’s daily active user base has grown in the U.S. But will it ever overtake iMessage?

In light of the US Supreme Court denying to hear Apple’s appeal in its legal battle with Epic Games, Apple has announced a handful of changes coming to the App Store Guidelines. Starting today, Apple is updating the App Store Guidelines to comply with the outcome of the 2021 Apple vs. Epic trial.

The changes reform Apple’s guidelines to relax its anti-steering rules that have previously prohibited developers from linking to alternative payment systems in their apps.

Back in 2022, Apple began sending customers payments after settling a long-running class action lawsuit over its AppleCare replacement devices. As it happens, the $95 million settlement isn’t done yet as a second round of payments is being sent now to impacted customers. Here are all the details.

If you were hoping for Ultra Wideband and Wi-Fi 6E or 7 chips in Apple Vision Pro, well, those are very specific expectations. Also, Apple Vision Pro appears to lack those chips, based on the official FCC filing from today.

Whether you’re wondering how your MacBook battery health is doing or having regular issues with battery life, it’s easy to check in macOS Settings. Read along for how to see MacBook battery health, tips on when to get a replacement, charge cycle expectations, and more.

Apple Vision Pro pre-orders in the US start on Friday, and reporters are getting their twelfth round of hands-on time with the hardware. That officially makes Vision Pro the most reviewed Apple hardware before journalists publish their actual reviews of Vision Pro.

What’s different this time, however, is Apple has allowed reporters to share photos of them actually using Vision Pro. Whether or not that helps or hurts the product is up to you.

A few months ago, developers with access to an Apple Vision Pro Developer Kit were given access to the App Store to download compatible iPhone and iPad apps. As Vision Pro arrives in stores in February, Apple has made it possible for developers to submit their apps to the App Store. Starting today, these visionOS apps are now rolling out to users.

A month after the iPhone 15 lineup launched we saw the Pro models come out on top as the fastest smartphones for mobile download speeds. Now after measuring Q4 data, Ookla has shared that the iPhone 15 Pro Max remains the king of cellular speed. Here’s how much iPhone 15 Pro Max is ahead of the top Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel smartphones.

Ookla has unveiled its Q4 2023 US mobile Internet report and T-Mobile has kept its top spot for the fastest download and upload speeds, lowest latency, best consistency, video experience, and more. Here’s how much faster and better T-Mobile performed than Verizon and AT&T in the new report.

Apple Vision Pro has officially been given FCC approval in the United States. The FCC today published filings from Apple and test reports, confirming that Vision Pro can be sold in the United States.

As previously announced, pre-orders are set to begin on Friday, January 19 with a full release to follow on Friday, February 2.

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All of today’s best Apple deals are here after the holiday weekend, dropping Apple’s new 24-inch M3 iMac in price for one of the first times at $1,380. The new AirPods Pro 2 are also on sale for $189, offering more than just a USB-C charging case with 5GHz audio streaming from Apple Vision Pro. Or you could just go score last year’s Samsung M80 Smart Monitor, now that it’s $220 off. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break.

The outcome of the much publicized 2021 Apple vs. Epic trial saw Apple winning on most counts, except for the fact the judge did rule that Apple must relax its App Store anti-steering policy and allow developers like Epic Games to include links to alternative payment systems in their apps.

Apple delayed implementation of this judgement by submitting an appeal to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court today refused to consider Apple’s appeal, which means the original decision should be upheld.

Vision Pro Immersive Video makes it the ultimate entertainment device, according to Apple, as the company highlighted the entertainment capabilities of its spatial computer.

The company previewed “immersive, first-of-its-kind original stories, produced with Apple Immersive Video” which were first demonstrated to the media in the form of Alicia Keys: Rehearsal Room …

While Apple Vision Pro is set to debut in the United States on February 2, Apple hasn’t shared details about international availability just yet. In a new report published on Tuesday, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the wait might not be too long for those international buyers…

Apple supplier Goertek has firmed up plans to move a substantial amount of production from China to Vietnam, after the Cupertino company urged it to do so. The company currently makes AirPods, and is also believed to have been lined up as a Vision Pro supplier.

The company said last year that it had been receiving almost daily queries about how quickly it could move production from China to Vietnam …

A new supply-chain report says that OLED iPad production is now underway. LG is said to have recently started manufacturing displays for the 13-inch iPad Pro, with OLED panels for the 11-inch model expected to begin any day now.

Samsung is reportedly beginning its own production of OLED iPad panels sometime this week, as we approach a reputed spring launch …

The two main market intelligence companies both report that for the first time ever, Apple beat Samsung in global smartphone sales.

The last time Samsung didn’t top the rankings was some 13 years ago, when the top-selling cellphone brand was … Nokia!

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In this episode of Apple @ Work, I talk with Harald Monihart from SAP about their open source macOS apps for Apple IT admins.