Apple’s opposition to the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) antitrust legislation took a turn back in September when the company started arguing that the law should be repealed. It also suggested that more new features would be delayed for EU customers, and perhaps even new hardware.
The company is now claiming a new study proves that the DMA fails to live up to one of its core promises: reducing app prices …
Apple’s monopoly on the sale of iPhone apps is set to be further eroded according to a new tweet showing third-party app stores in the iOS 26.2 beta in Japan. This follows a ruling by Japan’s Fair Trade Commission in August that both Apple and Google must allow alternative app stores.
This will make Japan the 29th country to get third-party app stores for the iPhone, with others set to follow as courts and antitrust regulators continue to issue rulings …
Update, November 8, 9:46 a.m. ET: The GitHub repository and its forks have been taken down. The original story follows below.
Just hours after Apple launched a revamped web interface for the App Store, a GitHub project was released with the site’s entire front-end source code. Here’s how that happened.
Apple has launched a dramatic new web interface for the App Store. You can now get the full App Store experience right in your browser, with dedicated pages for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision, Watch, and TV app libraries.
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Update, November 1, 10:59 a.m. ET: Apple has removed the sketchy ChatGPT clone app mentioned below. I’ve also received unverified claims that many other copycats have been taken down too.
Around this time two years ago, OpenAI’s incredibly popular GPT-4 API was spreading like wildfire all over the App Store. It wasn’t long before AI-powered productivity apps, chatbot companions, nutritional trackers, and basically anything else you could think of dominated the charts, garnering millions of downloads. Fast forward to today, many of those vibe-coded, opportunistic apps have disappeared, partly due to cooling hype but also Apple’s tougher stance against knockoffs and misleading apps.
However, this week, security researcher Alex Kleber noticed that one misleading AI chatbot, impersonating OpenAI’s branding, managed to achieve top marks in the Business category. Albeit on the less popular Mac App Store, this is still significant and warrants a brief PSA to be cautious when sharing personal information with these apps.
Today, Apple informed developers that prices for apps and In-App Purchases will be adjusted in Poland, Switzerland, and Türkiye starting next month. Here are the details.
Apple is rolling out a round of enhancements that will make it easier for developers to submit, manage, and market their apps on the App Store. Here’s what’s new.
A landmark case in the UK concerning Apple’s App Store practices has just been decided, with a London tribunal ruling against the company in a move that could cost Apple up to $2 billion.
Remember Tea, the dating safety app that leaked private chats and photo IDs in July? Months later, Apple has removed the iPhone app from the App Store.
A new state law in Texas will soon require apps to enforce a form of ‘age assurance’ with users, and in response, Apple has announced changes coming for apps available in Texas.
Although Apple is on record as saying that it wants to see the EU’s Digital Markets Act either repealed or substantially revised, it is reportedly close to reaching a settlement with the antitrust regulator.
In public, the two have engaged in a pretty fierce war of words, but a new report claims that they are close to reaching a behind-the-scenes agreement …
The controversy over Apple removing ICEBlock from the App Store is showing no signs of ending. The latest development is a former Apple marketing veteran challenging Tim Cook on the company’s human rights values.
Wiley Hodges worked for Apple for more than 20 years, the last 15 of them as a director of marketing and product management, and he’s written an open letter to Cook expressing his dismay at the decision …
ICEBlock, an app that alerts people to sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in their area, has been removed from the App Store at the request of the US Attorney General Pam Bondi. Here are the details.
Apple was unable to convince a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit accusing it of promoting, hosting, and profiting from illegal casino-style apps in the App Store. Here are the details.
A new study says there has been a dramatic rise in the number of fraudulent mobile apps on both iOS and Android. Many of these appear to have been either generated with, or powered by, AI tools.
So far in 2025, there’s been a 300% increase in fraudulent apps on iOS, and a 600% increase on Android …
Apple has frequently cited insecure and scam apps as justification for wanting all iPhone apps to be sold exclusively in the company’s own App Store.
Numerous reports, however, have found that there is no shortage of scam apps making it through Apple’s app review process, and the company is now under fresh legal scrutiny in the EU over this issue …
Update September 23, 2025, 10:41am PT: Apple has issued the following statement to 9to5Mac:
“As digital threats have evolved in scope and complexity over the years, Apple has expanded its antifraud initiatives to address these challenges and protect users. Every day, teams across Apple monitor and investigate fraudulent activity and utilize sophisticated tools to stop bad actors. Unfortunately, the European Commission is undermining our efforts by forcing Apple to allow alternative app distribution and payments, despite warnings that this puts users at greater risk of fraud and scams. While the regulator focuses on issuing misguided and counterproductive threats of investigation and fines, we will continue to advocate for the safety and security of our users.”
Apple says that in the last five years, the App Store has prevented over $9 billion in fraudulent transactions, including over $2 billion in 2024 alone.
We last month learned that Epic Games had won its antitrust case against Apple in Australia, with the court ruling that the iPhone maker must permit side-loading and third-party payments.
The full reasoning for that decision has now been published – all 900 pages of it – and Apple has accused the judge of underestimating the privacy and security risks to users …
From the United States to the United Kingdom, from Brazil to Japan, and in many countries in between, Apple has been facing a series of antitrust probes, particularly over its App Store rules. Now, Colombia is also joining in. Here are the details.
Apple has been under fire from legislators for its App Store practices for years. But while it’s been forced to make iPhone changes in the EU and the US might soon follow, Google is now trending the opposite direction with its Android policies.
