App Store

Apple’s App Store payment platform monopoly is ending in South Korea after an antitrust law was passed, affecting both the iPhone maker and Google. This is expected to encourage other countries to enact similar laws.

Currently, the App Store is the only way for developers to sell iOS apps, and they are not allowed to direct users to any third-party payment platform within their apps. That will now change …

China has announced sweeping new rules for online video games, and the changes could have implications for Apple and the App Store. China’s National Press and Publication Administration says that with these new rules, kids under 18 years old will be limited to playing online video games for just three hours per week.

A new study reveals that consumers globally spent $41.5 billion on the App Store in the first half of 2021, which is almost double that of the Google Play Store.

According to data acquired by Finbold, consumers spent an estimated $41.5 billion on apps from the Apple App Store during the first six months of 2021, which is almost double compared to $23.4 billion spent by Android consumers.

Update: Bloomberg tech reporter Sohee Kim tweeted that the vote has been postponed due to extra time needed for a separate bill designed to tackle ‘fake news.’

Apple’s App Store commission is under threat from a new antitrust law in Korea that is “almost certain” to get the necessary votes today.

It would allow developers to choose their own payment platforms, and avoid the 15% or 30% cut they currently have to pay to Apple for app sales and in-app purchases.

Apple’s App Store changes, announced yesterday, succeeded in settling a lawsuit – but do nothing to offer the company any protection against the far bigger threat of antitrust legislation.

Apple wants to give the impression that it has addressed one of the key antitrust concerns, something known as anti-steering, but it hasn’t really. The company literally did the absolute least it could have done …

Apple announced on Thursday some changes coming to the App Store after a class-action lawsuit from US developers. In addition to these changes, the company also announced a Small Developer Assistance Fund that will pay up to $30,000 to some developers. Read on as we detail how to check if you are eligible for this new program.

South Korea may be close to approving an amendment to its Telecommunications Business Act that would force companies like Apple and Google to allow third-party payment options in their app stores. With a final decision coming as soon as Wednesday, August 25, Apple has shared concerns about what the bill would mean for the App Store.

FlickType announced today it’s discontinuing its iPhone keyboard app for blind users after Apple didn’t approve its latest update and failed to reply back to the developer.

Earlier this week, a group of bipartisan US senators introduced a sweeping piece of legislation taking aim at Apple’s App Store. The US House of Representatives is now following suit, with a group of bipartisan representatives introducing a similar companion bill dubbed the Open App Markets Act.

It’s been a few months since the last bill tried to break Apple and Google’s app store monopoly on their respective platforms. Now, a bipartisan bill seeks to bring more competition to the app store market and would require Apple to open the iPhone to third-party app stores and sideloading.

App Store users and developers in Australia have reported today that Apple has featured scam apps on the App Store. This time, in a “Slime Relaxations” story, the company is promoting apps that have $10+ weekly subscriptions, many of which don’t do anything.

One of the features coming with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 is the possibility to discover in-app events through the App Store. As spotted by graphic designer Brahm Shank, while running iPadOS 15, he found a featured TikTok in-app event. This feature is launching with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 later this fall.

Apple has removed an app called “Unjected” from the App Store for violating its guidelines around COVID-19 and misinformation, according to a new report from Bloomberg. The app, which billed itself as a place for “like-minded people that support medical autonomy and free speech,” was available in the App Store until Bloomberg reached out for comment.

In the process of denying he asked Tim Cook to be CEO of Apple during an alleged conversation about a Tesla acquisition, Elon Musk has turned his attention to Apple’s App Store, saying Epic Games is right and that Apple holds a “de facto global tax on the Internet.”

Right after Snapchat went down, it seems that some Apple services are also experiencing issues on Thursday night. Apple just confirmed that the App Store and iTunes Store are not available right now for some users, as shown on the System Status webpage on Apple’s website.

Update (4:43 PM PT): Apple says the outage has now been fixed. You can read the original article below.

After a lot of back and forth and Apple rejecting Facebook’s standalone iOS app version of its gaming service, the social media platform has followed in the footsteps of Microsoft and launched a web app of its young gaming platform for iPhone and iPad.

Apple on Friday removed the Fakespot app from the iOS App Store. Fakespot, which is a service for filtering and hiding fake product reviews on Amazon, launched its iOS app last month, but now, the app has been taken down following a request from Amazon itself.