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Remembering Apple’s ‘sweet solution’ for iPhone apps before the App Store

In the summer of 2007, developers were anxious to hear how they fit into the iPhone story. Steve Jobs told developers at WWDC 2007 that Apple had come up with a “sweet solution” for developers to make their own software for iPhone. That solution was web apps in Safari. This didn’t go over very well with developers and users, but it led to some interesting new features getting added to the iPhone before the App Store was ultimately launched the following summer.

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Internal emails show Apple once considered a 15-inch MacBook Air; more about App Store

The Epic v. Apple trial has now officially been adjourned, but it brought several documents that revealed sensitive information about both companies. Interestingly, in one of the emails Steve Jobs sent back in 2007, it is confirmed that Apple was working on a 15-inch MacBook Air (which was never officially released), plus some more discussions about the App Store.

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iOS app rating flaw lets apps refuse to open without 5-star review

iOS app rating flaw

An iOS app rating flaw lets developers create apps that cannot be opened until the user gives it a five-star review.

It’s the latest discovery by FlickType developer Kosta Eleftheriou, whose Twitter bio now describes him as “Professional AppStore critic.” Eleftheriou has indeed made a name for himself identifying high-profile scam apps that made it through app review, some of which have made millions of dollars for their developers

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EU watching Epic Games trial closely as its own antitrust investigations proceed

EU watching Epic Games trial

The European Union is watching the Apple versus Epic Games trial closely, says the head of the EU’s competition watchdog, but its own investigations will proceed regardless of the outcome.

European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said that both of the EU’s antitrust investigations into Apple were progressing …

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Parler returning to the App Store today, will exclude content found to be offensive or objectionable

Last month we learned that Apple had approved the latest update that Parler had submitted, giving the green light to allow the social media platform back on the App Store. However, Parler hadn’t released the update and the app wasn’t available – until today. Here’s how Parler was able to “address Apple’s concerns without compromising” its “core mission.”

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Apple says App Store prevented $1.5B in fraud in 2020, new tools deployed to combat fake reviews

Amid growing scrutiny of the App Store and the prevalence of scam and rip-off applications, Apple has published a new press release today highlighting the measures it takes to protect users. In the press release, Apple claims that the App Store stopped more than $1.5 billion in “potentially fraudulent transactions in 2020.

Apple also says it recently deployed new tools to combat fake reviews on the App Store.

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Comment: Epic vs. Apple case reveals how hollow tvOS and watchOS App Stores are

App Store

As the Epic court case goes on, we have been learning more details about internal discussions within Apple business. With the testimony of Trystan Kosmynka, one of the heads of the App Store, on Friday, we have been able to discover more about the App Store numbers, and we can say that the iPhone App Store is Apple’s only big hit. Here’s why.

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Emails reveal 128 million iOS users were affected by ‘XcodeGhost’ malware

iPhone app privacy

You may not remember, but a modified copy of Xcode that surfaced on the web in 2015 was responsible for injecting malware into several iPhone and iPad apps that were subsequently uploaded to the App Store. Now, thanks to the Epic vs. Apple trial, internal Apple emails have revealed that more than 128 million iOS users were affected by the “XcodeGhost” malware.

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App Store review process has over 500 human experts; less than 1% of rejections are appealed

App Store

As the Epic Games v. Apple court case goes forward, we have been learning more details about internal discussions within each company about their business models and more. With the testimony of Trystan Kosmynka, one of the heads of the App Store, more information about the App Store review process has been revealed.

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Apple banned Shadow app after Microsoft used it as an example to get xCloud for iOS approved

Microsoft tried to launch its xCloud game streaming service on the App Store for iPhone and iPad users, but Apple rejected the app due to its strict guidelines. Now emails revealed in the Epic vs. Apple trial on Wednesday show that Apple even removed a similar app from the App Store after its existence was mentioned by Microsoft.

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Report: 10,000 apps have already enabled App Tracking Transparency; most of them are games

The long-awaited App Tracking Transparency feature became available to iPhone and iPad users this week with the release of iOS 14.5, and users can now opt out of being tracked by third-party apps. Now, app analysis firm AppFigures has revealed some statistics on the adoption of this feature.

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Apple testing new tags feature in the App Store for improved granularity in search [Offiically rolling out]

Apple appears to be testing a notable change to the App Store as part of its efforts to improve the Search experience. While not fully rolled out yet, some iPhone users are now seeing tags in the App Store when searching for popular terms.

Update 4/29: Apple is officially rolling out the feature starting today.

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Apple antitrust hearing: Tile likens Find My network to a ‘hostage’ program, App Store scam apps, more

App Store

The latest antitrust hearing looking into concerns about Apple and Google’s market power is underway. Along with the companies getting a grilling from the Congressional subcommittee on antitrust, representatives from Spotify, Tile, and more are testifying about how they see the two tech giants as stifling competition.

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