Chance Miller

Update: Apple tells Joe Rossingol that this is a bug and will be fixed. In iOS 17.4, users will not receive this alert when they download from their default app marketplace. “App installation sheets are automatically turned off for installations from a user’s default marketplace,” Apple says on its website.

iOS 17.4 includes a number of changes that come in response to the Digital Markets Act in Europe. One of those changes is support for alternative app marketplaces, and Apple is making a change to its own App Store too.

As spotted by Niléane from MacStories on Mastodon, iOS 17.4 in the EU includes a new splash screen when you want to install an app from the App Store.

Over the weekend, it was reported that the EU commission is preparing to hit Apple with a $500 million fine over anticompetitive App Store policy for music streaming services. The decision from the EU investigation comes following a complaint from Spotify that began in 2013.

In a new statement to 9to5Mac today, Apple reiterated its belief that Spotify’s complaint is about it “trying to get limitless access to all of Apple’s tools without paying anything for the value Apple provides.”

Updated 6:42pm ET with Spotify’s statement.

After a day-long outage, AT&T says that it has officially restored service to all of its customers. The widespread outage left AT&T customers across the United States without service. This also impacted people’s ability to place calls to emergency services with 911.

The Apple news cycle continues apace this week, with the company launching a brand new app, Sports, for sports scores. The iPhone 15 battery is now rated for twice as many charge cycles, along with a redesigned Battery UI in iOS 17.4. Apple is reportedly planning new AI features for both Spotlight search and Xcode code completion, and the EU readies a $500 million fine for Apple’s anticompetitive behavior in music streaming market. Benjamin and Chance break down all that and more in this week’s episode.

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Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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Apple has reversed course and is now demanding a 30% cut of donations sent to teachers in the popular Insight Timer meditation app. The change apparently comes after Apple allowed the app to use its own Stripe-based in-app purchase system for over a year.

You might soon be able to AirPlay content from your iPhone to your Meta Quest headset. In a post on social media this week, Meta’s vice president of VR said that the company is “asking Apple for the permission for Quest to be an AirPlay receiver.”

As this year’s MLS season kicks off today, Apple is promoting its MLS Season Pass subscription service in full-force. Hidden in today’s launch, however, is a tidbit for Vision Pro users for the “first-ever sports film captured in Apple Immersive Video.”

If you were hoping to secure free access to MLS Season Pass via T-Mobile this year, you’re unfortunately out of luck. Despite offering customers complimentary MLS Season Pass last year, the carrier has confirmed that this offer won’t return for the 2024 MLS season.

Two people have been found guilty of a “sophisticated scheme to defraud Apple out of millions of dollars’ worth of iPhones,” according to the United States Department of Justice. The scam was based around submitting counterfeit iPhones to Apple for repair, which were then replaced by Apple with genuine iPhones.

Apple released iOS 17.4 beta 4 to developers today with a few notable changes. The update makes tweaks to the Settings app, adds a new personalized splash screen when you reboot, and more.

In addition to changes to the Battery Health settings in iOS 17.4, Apple has more iPhone battery news to share today. Apple says that it is updating the battery cycle lifespan for iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro.

Apple initially said that the iPhone 15’s battery would retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles. Now, the company tells 9to5Mac that the iPhone 15 can retain 80% of its original capacity at 1000 complete charge cycles.

Apple is making changes to the Battery and Battery Health information shown in the Settings app with iOS 17.4. Apple now makes it clear when iPhone battery health is “normal” right from the top-level Battery screen in Settings.

Apple today released iOS 17.4 beta 4 to developers, and it includes a notable new CarPlay feature. According to Apple, Apple Maps in iOS 17.4 will show a “new instrument cluster experience with information about upcoming maneuvers” with supported CarPlay vehicles.

A retired accountant in Lawrenceville, New Jersey says that his Apple Watch SE – which he initially bought “to be cool” – turned out to be a life-saving purchase.

“I wanted to be cool, I always thought these were really sharp looking. They’re hip, they’re in style,” 73-year-old Frank Haggerty told CBS News Philadelphia about his Apple Watch purchase.

While Apple may not put a huge emphasis on gaming on Apple Vision Pro, that doesn’t mean it’s not possible. John Voorhees at MacStories explores all the options in his new “comprehensive guide to gaming on the Apple Vision Pro.”

Apple is about to begin a big update to Apple Maps in the UK. The company revealed its plans to iMore on Tuesday, saying that it is kickstarting an eight-month project in the UK to collect new data and imagery to improve the Apple Maps experience in the country.

You can see more information about Apple’s data collection plans for Apple Maps on its website.

Apple Music appears to be beta testing integration with a service called SongShift, for transferring music from other services into Apple Music. The feature is currently being A/B tested in the latest beta version of Apple Music on Android, according to user reports on Reddit.

Apple’s Beats brand is teaming up with Major League Soccer as part of a new multi-year partnership. In a press release, Beats says that it has selected eight teams to produce custom headphones for – Atlanta United, Columbus Crew, Inter Miami, LAFC, Nashville SC, NYCFC, St. Louis City SC, and Toronto FC – with more to follow.

The MLS season is set to kick off on February 21, and fans can watch every game via Apple’s MLS Season Pass subscription service.

Jason Snell has published his excellent Six Colors report card, recapping and scoring Apple’s performance through 2023. Jason was kind enough to ask me, along with my colleagues Benjamin Mayo and Zac Hall, to partake in the survey this year.

Head to Six Colors to read the full thing. You can also find a breakdown of average scores for each category and how those scores have changed over the last nine years. Full comments from me, Benjamin, and Zac are below.

As iPhone 16 Pro rumors continue to heat up, this could be our first look at Apple’s plans for new titanium colorways. According to a new rumor on social media today, Apple is planning two new color options for the iPhone 16 Pro: “Titanium Gray” and “Desert Titanium.” The image above shows renders of those new colors.