Apple surprised everyone earlier this month with a change to the App Store guidelines that now allows retro game console emulator apps for its platforms, including iOS and tvOS. Following the success of Delta, the developers behind Provenance have now confirmed that they will soon release it on the App Store, bringing PlayStation emulation to iPhone and iPad users.
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The game emulation situation on iOS just got real. The oft rejected game emulator Delta has finally made its way to the App Store. Additionally, the Delta developer has also published their alternative marketplace, AltStore, in the EU today.
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Phil Schiller has told a court in an antitrust case that he doesn’t know for sure whether the App Store is profitable, and never considered the return on investment when launching it.
He’s also explained the reason that there are very few written records of decisions made around the launch of the store is because Apple co-founder Steve Jobs felt that meeting notes were unnecessary – and the company still doesn’t record minutes for meetings between senior execs …
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Earlier this month, Apple revised its App Store Guidelines to permit game emulator apps for the first time. On Saturday, one of the first such apps was approved: iGBA. This app allowed users to import and play ROMs download from the internet. On Sunday, however, the app was pulled from the App Store without full explanation.
Apple has now provided more clarity on why iGBA was removed from the App Store after initially being approved.
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Update: The app has now been removed from the App Store. Original story below.
Apple changed the App Store rules last week to seemingly permit game emulators on the iPhone for the first time.
Following that policy change, the first emulator apps are now appearing on the store. iGBA is a free Game Boy game emulator for iPhone and iPad, which can indeed load and play ROMs downloaded to the device — a category of application that Apple would have unequivocally rejected a fortnight ago.
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A UK court has ruled that a near billion dollar developer lawsuit against Apple will be allowed to proceed, after the iPhone maker attempted to get it dismissed.
The £785M ($979M) antitrust lawsuit was filed on behalf of more than 1,500 British developers, and alleges that Apple’s monopolistic control of the market for iPhone apps allowed the company to charge ‘abusive’ levels of commission on app sales …
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The European Union is investigating Apple’s response to a Spotify complaint, to determine whether the anti-steering changes made by the Cupertino company are sufficient to comply.
Update: GamesFray had suggested that this amounted to a fourth DMA non-compliance investigation into Apple, but it’s now my understanding that they have misinterpreted remarks made by a regulatory risk company …
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After the EU commission fined Apple $2 billion and announced that it’s not satisfied with the changes the company made to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple on Friday updated the App Store guidelines again. This time, the company is making it easier for music streaming apps to redirect users to an external website in the EU. And for the first time, Apple will allow game emulators on its platforms.
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If you’ve been experiencing problems when trying to access the App Store, it’s not just you. The App Store is currently down for users around the world. Although Apple is yet to acknowledge the problem, many people have been complaining about an ongoing outage affecting the App Store.
Update: Apple has updated its System Status to confirm that App Store is down. Apple Arcade, Apple Books, Apple Fitness+, Apple Music, Apple Sports, Apple TV+, and Apple Podcasts are also facing outages.
Update #2: Apple says that the outages have been resolved and its services are back online.
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Installing a third-party app store is now possible for iPhone owners in the EU – but it’s not exactly a quick-and-easy process.
It seems a safe bet that this is a deliberate move on Apple’s part to deter people from doing it – something which is likely to land the company in court on antitrust charges …
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With the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the EU, Apple was forced to allow developers to distribute their apps through alternative app stores (or App Marketplace) in member countries. However, these developers are required to pay Apple a Core Technology Fee after they reach a certain number of downloads. To make things easier for small developers, AltStore will offer Patreon-backed apps.
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As Apple continues to face App Store battles around the world, it’s leaning heavily on Phil Schiller, its former Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing. A new report from The Wall Street Journal gives an interesting look at how Schiller, who now holds the title of Apple Fellow, is still working 80-hour weeks to defend the App Store against antitrust allegations and developer criticism.
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The EU has today announced that it is not satisfied that Apple’s App Store changes comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and the company is now officially under investigation for non-compliance.
If that investigation confirms that Apple failed to comply with the antitrust law, then the iPhone maker could be fined up to 10% of its worldwide turnover – increasing to 20% for repeat infringements …
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Apple has responded to the Department of Justice lawsuit that has been expected for some time now. In the statement, Apple says the lawsuit threatens its identity and it will vigorously defend itself from it:
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The Parler app – which was removed by Apple after accusations that it was used to plan and facilitate the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 – is now back in the App Store. The Android version of the social media app has not yet been accepted back into the Google Play Store.
The company’s new CEO says that the app’s focus on completely unmoderated posts has now changed, though it’s unclear who actually owns and controls the business now …
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Following the release of iOS 17.4 a few weeks ago, iOS users have been noticing a discreet change when it comes to the App Store. More specifically, Apple has redesigned the App Store’s Purchase History page, which now provides more details about each purchase and also introduces new filters.
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It was already clear that Apple’s Core Technology Fee would come in for close scrutiny by the EU, but an interview with the bloc’s antitrust chief has revealed that the company could also be headed for trouble with its security warnings about alternative app stores.
While Apple was not directly named, there was little doubt who Margrethe Vestager was referencing when she described such warnings as “unwise” …
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During a workshop event in the European Union today, Apple shed new light on how the Core Technology Fee plays into its compliance with the Digital Markets Act. In particular, the company acknowledged concerns that the CTF could ultimately end up bankrupting small developers who have a free app go viral.
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If you’ve got big dreams about earning a living from creating iPhone apps, a new report makes for some sobering reading. The median monthly revenue generated by an app after a year on the App Store is less than $50 per month.
There is some encouraging news, though: There seems to be a tipping point if you can get an app to the point where it’s earning $1,000 per month …
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Last week, Apple released iOS 17.4 with big changes to the iPhone and App Store ecosystem to comply with the Digital Markets Act in the European Union. This includes things like support for alternative app marketplaces, new business terms and in-app purchase options, and more.
Now, Apple has announced a few additional changes in response to feedback it’s received from developers so far. Most notably, Apple will launch a new Web Distribution feature later this spring that lets developers offer their apps for download directly from their website.
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Apple is said to be testing an AI-powered ads platform with a select group of partners, via Business Insider.
The AI tool chooses where to place ads in the various App Store promoted ad placement slots. Right now, this is seemingly being used to improve advertiser campaign performance for App Store Search Ads. However, Business Insider speculates the technology could eventually be used elsewhere as Apple gradually expands its offering of ad-supported services.
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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has argued that for age-restricted apps, age verification should be Apple’s job. He’s now been joined in this view by the new head of trust and safety at Match, the company behind leading dating apps like Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, and Plenty of Fish.
Yoel Roth – who formerly had the same role in Twitter – said that Apple and Google are in a better position to accurately assess the age of their smartphone users …
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Apple appeared to threaten Epic Games, when the company cancelled its developer account for the second time, and cited the developer’s public criticisms of the iPhone maker as one of the reasons.
The European Commissioner, who heads up the executive branch of the European Union, has now suggested that this breaks the law …
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Apple’s Epic ban – which saw the iPhone maker again terminate a developer account used by the games company – is being questioned by EU antitrust regulators.
More details also emerged of follow-ups to Phil Schiller’s demand for written assurances of good faith by both Epic CEO Tim Sweeney and Apple’s lawyers …
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