Apple is facing a new multibillion-euro lawsuit out of The Netherlands that alleges the company overcharges users who purchase apps and in-app subscriptions through the App Store and accuses Apple of partaking in "market dominance" and "anti-competitive practices."
The foundation spearheading the lawsuit is the Consumer Competition Claims Foundation, which describes itself as "an independent non-profit foundation that is committed to protecting consumers against unfair commercial practices and violations of consumer law."
On its website, the foundation says that Apple, through its App Store policies, is overcharging users who pay for apps and in-app services, adding that users should "demand" refunds for purchases.
By using anti-competitive practices, Apple has been able to charge excessively high prices and impose restrictive conditions. Apple excluded all competition and withheld choice for consumers on their App-store and in-app purchases.
The foundation points to what is commonly referred to as the "Apple tax," a 15% or 30% commission that Apple takes for all digital purchases made on and through the App Store. The foundation says that the commission forces developers to increase prices for users. "iPhone and iPad owners pay the price for Apple's App-store abusive monopoly," the foundation states.
Bloombergreports the foundation believes the lawsuit will lead to upwards of $5.5 billion in damages sought for all EU iPhone and iPad users who have made a purchase through Apple's App Store. On its website, the foundation asks customers to join their efforts to "hold Apple accountable."
The new lawsuit is one of several legal battles brewing for Apple in Europe. Apple continues to be fined by the Dutch consumer and markets authority for its failure to comply with a previous ruling, which allows for third-party payment methods for Dutch dating apps. The authority says that despite Apple's announcement and plan to let eligible developers use a third-party payment method for in-app purchases, Apple still fails to comply with the new ruling. Apple has been fined €50 million as a consequence.
Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app.
Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website.
Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50.
We have outlined some examples below:
Device
New Value
Old Value
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Up to $630
U ...
Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action.
Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features.
Notification Summary Changes
Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines.
For...
Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr.
The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models:
iPhone 16
iPhone 16 Plus
iPhone 16 Pro
iPhone 16 Pro Max
iPhone 15
iPhone 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 14
iPhon...
Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by Juli Clover
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
Sunday January 19, 2025 6:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to expand the iPhone's redesigned Mail app to the Mac starting with macOS 15.4, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
The first macOS 15.4 beta should be made available in the coming weeks, and Apple has previously suggested that the iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4 series of software updates will be released to the public in April.
The revamped Mail app debuted on all...
Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon.
Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...
Quick question, are you happy with your utility prices?
A lot of people buying gas and diesel might differ on that point.
Far cry from the dev charging 99p instead of 70p for a flappy birds app- don’t you think? No one is forced to buy anything from the App Store or from Apple itself. No one is forced to buy an iPhone. And Apple should not be forced to give away anything. It’s business - suck it up.
