Apple and Google have been asked to provide compliance plans for a newly amended law in South Korea that bars both tech giants from forcing developers to using their in-app purchase payment system for their respective app distribution platforms, Reutersreports.
In August, South Korea passed an amendment to an existing law that bans Apple and Google from mandating developers to use their own proprietary in-app purchasing system. Apple's in-app purchasing system gives the company a 15 to 30% commission for all purchases made and has been a hot topic for Apple and the discussion around the App Store for some time. Under the new law in South Korea, which is yet to go into effect, Apple and Google will be required to allow developers to use third-party payment methods within their app.
Apple has in recent weeks made some concessions to its App Store policy, most notably pivoting to allow developers to add links in their apps to external websites where purchases can be made. Those concessions come short of the mandate created by South Korea, which permits developers to add third-party payment methods directly within their app.
Apple has continued to call its in-app purchasing system the most trusted and safest way for customers to make purchases. Still, in light of recent decisions in its lawsuit against Epic Games, the Cupertino tech giant is being forced to rethink its model.
Apple operates the App Store under a single set of policies worldwide, and while the law passed in South Korea pertains to South Korean users, it will undoubtedly play a domino effect across the globe. With the mid-October deadline now set in South Korea for Apple and Google, we'll likely see how this decision could have repercussions around the world for Apple users soon.
Tuesday November 19, 2024 12:12 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
Sunday November 17, 2024 5:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development.
Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag.
Timing
Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
Sunday November 17, 2024 3:03 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false.
The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:10 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 come three weeks after the launch of iOS 18.1.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iOS 17.7.2 for...
Wednesday November 20, 2024 3:42 am PST by Tim Hardwick
AT&T has begun displaying "Turbo" in the iPhone carrier label for customers subscribed to its premium network prioritization service, according to reports on Reddit. The new indicator seems to have started appearing after users updated to iOS 18.1.1, but that could be just coincidence.
Image credit: Reddit user No_Highlight7476
The Turbo feature provides enhanced network performance through ...
Monday November 18, 2024 1:07 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick.
"We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote.
If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be ...
Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:52 am PST by Juli Clover
The iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 updates that Apple released today address JavaScriptCore and WebKit vulnerabilities that Apple says have been actively exploited on some devices.
With the JavaScriptCore vulnerability, processing maliciously crafted web content could lead to arbitrary code execution. The WebKit vulnerability had the same issue with maliciously crafted...
Here's a plan to allow for outside payment: remove your app from whichever app store, launch it on your own platform, and accept payments through that. "But then I'd have to build my own platform and it wouldn't have hundreds of millions of users like Apple and Google do." Yeah, that's the point - you have to give in order to get, I don't understand developers wanting all the benefits of these world class ecosystems but without paying into them. I'd love to drive a Lambo at the price of a Civic but I don't live in South Korea so I'd never win that court case.
I wish I could sell product on amazon without paying fees to amazon. Or have a space in a department store at no cost. These guys are pushing apple and google to do the same thing.
