MacRumors

Apple has expanded its smartphone market share in China on the back of strong iPhone 13 sales, despite a slowdown in the Chinese mobile market as a whole this year.

According to Strategy Analytics, 14 million smartphones were sold during the country's annual "6.18" online shopping festival in June, down 25% year on year. Chinese brands including Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo all experienced substantial shipment drops, but iPhone sales remained relatively stable.

Apple outperformed its rivals, selling nearly 7 million iPhones during the festival, and the company was ranked top by revenue share across all major merchant platforms. "Apple solidified the leadership at the expense of Chinese brands," said the industry analyst firm.

The market in China reflects a global trend: According to a recent Canalys report, worldwide smartphone shipments fell 9% year on year in the second quarter of 2022, and yet Apple achieved 17% market share, up by 3% year on year. While Samsung also increased its share to 21% by the same amount, Chinese vendors Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo all saw their share of the market drop to drop to 14%, 10% and 9%, respectively.

The data shows surprisingly resilient iPhone 13 demand in China despite the widespread supply chain issues and economic headwinds affecting the tech industry. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes iPhone 14 demand is expected to maintain Apple's momentum, particularly given Huawei's exit from the Chinese high-end 5G smartphone market, which Apple now dominates.

All in all, Apple's position in the Chinese market is looking like good news for the iPhone 14, which is expected to launch this September. The lineup is expected to include the 6.1-inch iPhone 14, 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max, 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro, and 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Netflix in the second quarter of 2022 lost 1.3 million subscribers in the United States and Canada, according to new data shared today during the company's earnings call. Netflix had 73.28 million paid memberships during the quarter, down from 74.58 million in the first quarter of 2022.

With subscriber additions in some other areas, Netflix in total dropped 970,000 subscribers worldwide. That's more than the 200,000 customers that it lost in Q1 2022, but it is ultimately a win because Netflix was expecting to lose as many as 2 million subscribers.

Netflix has been raising its prices, which has resulted in some customers turning away from the service. In January, Netflix increased the prices for all of its plans. The basic standard definition plan went from $8.99 to $9.99, the Standard HD plan went from $13.99 to $15.49, and the 4K plan went from $17.99 to $19.99.

Despite the U.S. subscriber loss, revenue was up nine percent year over year, which Netflix says is the direct result of an increase in average revenue per membership. In the third quarter of 2022, Netflix is expecting to add one million subscribers.

Netflix blames its subscriber loss on connected TV adoption, account sharing, and competition, and to continue to improve revenue growth, the company says that it is focusing on evolving monetization.

A lower-priced ad-supported tier is in the works and is set to launch in early 2023, and the lower-cost plan could draw in some of the subscribers that have abandoned Netflix because of the rising costs. Netflix says that it is also working to monetize the 100 million+ households that are "currently enjoying, but not directly paying for, Netflix."

The company is aiming to find an "easy-to-use paid sharing offering" that can be rolled out in 2023. Right now, Netflix is experimenting with a $3 fee to add an additional household to a Netflix plan in Latin America.

With the M2 MacBook Air now available for purchase, repair site iFixit picked one up and decided to do one of its traditional teardowns on the machine to give us a look inside.

A prior teardown already revealed the biggest potential issue with the base model 256GB ‌M2‌ ‌MacBook Air‌ - a single storage chip, which is confirmed in iFixit's teardown. Rather than using two 128GB NAND storage chips like the prior-generation 256GB M1 ‌MacBook Air‌, the new machine has a single 256GB NAND flash chip.

The 256GB NAND flash chip in the ‌M2‌ ‌MacBook Air‌ demonstrates 30 to 50 percent slower SSD speeds in benchmark testing than the prior-generation ‌MacBook Air‌ with two 128GB NAND chips, but Apple has claimed that despite the benchmark results, overall real-world performance is "even faster."

Along with the 256GB NAND storage chip, iFixit's teardown revealed other logic board components that include the 64-bit 8-core ‌M2‌ chip, an Apple-designed Thunderbolt 3 driver, a USI Bluetooth and WiFi chip, and curiously, an accelerometer. There's no word yet on what the accelerometer might be for.

iFixit did not find a heat spreader, and the site is unclear on the passive cooling mechanism that Apple might be using for the ‌M2‌ ‌MacBook Air‌.

How does this thing cool down? Sure it has a lot of thermal paste and graphite tape, and yeah the M2 is efficient, but this shield is super thin, so it's not helping much, and the case is lighter than last year. Maybe the M2 Air is secretly an iPad, or maybe Apple is just letting it run hot.

Like the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, the ‌M2‌ ‌MacBook Air‌ features easy access adhesive pull tabs to secure the battery, making it simpler and quicker to remove. The ‌M2‌ ‌MacBook Air‌ includes a 52.6-watt‑hour battery, up from the 49.9-watt-hour battery offered in the ‌M1‌ version of the ‌MacBook Air‌.

All of the ports in the ‌MacBook Air‌ are modular and not glued down, but the SSD and the ‌M2‌ chip are soldered, as expected, and cannot be easily upgraded or replaced. iFixit's full teardown can be watched on YouTube, and includes additional details on the battery and the build of the ‌MacBook Air‌.

Every so often a new smartphone makes waves in the tech world because of an eye-catching design or innovative features, and this month, the Phone 1 from Nothing is starring in reviews and videos thanks to its LED-laden transparent design and affordable price point. We picked up a Nothing Phone 1 to see how it measures up to Apple's iPhones.

Since Nothing is a relatively new company, we'll give a little back story first. OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei founded Nothing in 2020, and in 2021, the company purchased Essential Products, the Andy Rubin-founded firm that manufactured the now-discontinued Android-based Essential Phone in 2017. From there, Nothing partnered with Swedish electronics company Teenage Engineering, known for its synthesizers, and the result is the Nothing Phone 1, introduced in March.

Priced starting at £399 ($475), the Nothing Phone 1 is more affordable than most of Apple's iPhones, and it is closest in price to the $429 iPhone SE and the $499 iPhone 11. Measuring in at 6.55 inches with an OLED display and a 120Hz refresh rate, the Phone 1 comes in black or white, and it has a series of LEDs at the back that form what the company says is a "glyph interface." The LED lights serve as visual notifications, letting you know who is calling or messaging.

The Nothing Phone 1 has an undeniably iPhone-like body with squared edges, camera placement, and antenna bands, but those LEDs set it apart. LEDs can be paired with different sounds for even more customization, and they're fun to play with, but there's no color, so you're limited to pattern recognition. You can set the LEDs up to display a different pattern for different apps and people, but then you need to learn each light pattern, which is easier said than done.

The LEDs also work alongside the 50-megapixel wide and ultra wide cameras that have features that include optical image stabilization, night mode, portrait mode, and macro shot support. At the front, there's a 16-megapixel selfie camera, and it has an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Inside, the Nothing Phone 1 has a Snapdragon 778G processor from Samsung, and the base model comes with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. Other features include an IP53 water resistance rating and a 4500mAh battery. The specs are fine, but won't match the performance of higher-end smartphones from Apple and Samsung.

The Nothing Phone 1 runs Nothing OS, a version of Android that promises no "bloatware." An Android-based phone is not going to be of interest to those who are deeply entrenched in the ‌iPhone‌ ecosystem, but all in all, the Phone 1 is one of the best mid-tier Android phones on the market. For those who are looking for a change or those who want something affordable with a rich feature set, the Nothing Phone 1 is competitive with its unique lighting system and higher-end components.

Make sure to watch our full video up above for a look at Nothing OS and to see the LEDs in action. What do you think of the Nothing Phone 1? Let us know in the comments.

Launched in 2017, the iPhone X was a major evolution of the iPhone. The device replaced the Home button and Touch ID with swipe-based navigation and Face ID, while introducing new features like an OLED display, Animoji, wireless charging, and more.

Even five years later, the iPhone X is still a capable smartphone. If you've been holding on to your iPhone X and are considering upgrading to the iPhone 14 Pro when it launches later this year, check out our list below for a recap of the many new features and changes to expect. The list includes major new features added to the iPhone XS, 11 Pro, 12 Pro, and 13 Pro, as well as rumored features for the iPhone 14 Pro.

Also be sure to check out our similar iPhone 11 Pro vs. 14 Pro and 12 Pro vs. 14 Pro comparisons.

iPhone X vs. iPhone 14 Pro:

• Over 2x as fast A16 chip: The A15 chip in the iPhone 13 Pro is already over 2x faster than the A11 chip in the iPhone X, according to Geekbench 5, and performance should improve even more with the A16 chip in the iPhone 14 Pro. Apple also uses a 16-core Neural Engine in the latest iPhones for faster machine learning compared to the three-core Neural Engine in the iPhone X.
• Larger display: iPhone X is equipped with a 5.8-inch display, while the 14 Pro is expected to have a 6.1-inch display.
• Much brighter display: Compared to the iPhone X, the 14 Pro's display will have at least 375 nits higher peak brightness for standard content.
• No more notch: Rumors suggest Apple will replace the notch with a pill-shaped cutout and a hole for Face ID and the front camera on the iPhone 14 Pro.
• Heavier: The iPhone X weighs 0.38 pounds, while the iPhone 13 Pro weighs 0.45 pounds.
• 3D Touch removed: On the iPhone 11 Pro and newer, Apple removed the 3D Touch feature that allowed you to press deeply on the screen to pop open menus or other "hidden" features. 3D Touch was replaced with Haptic Touch, which is more limited and relies on a press-and-hold gesture instead of a deep press.
• Faster Face ID: On the latest iPhones, Face ID is faster and supports more angles.
• ProMotion: Introduced on the iPhone 13 Pro, ProMotion allows for a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz for smoother appearing content and scrolling.
• Always-on display: Rumors suggest the iPhone 14 Pro will feature an always-on display mode that shows the time, date, and iOS 16's new Lock screen widgets.
• Ceramic Shield: Introduced on the iPhone 12 Pro, Apple said the Ceramic Shield front cover increased drop performance by 4x compared to previous models.
• Longer battery life: Already, the iPhone 13 Pro gets 22 hours of video playback vs. 13 hours for the iPhone X, and rumors suggest that iPhone 14 Pro models could feature even larger battery capacities.
• Triple-lens rear camera system: While the iPhone X has a dual-lens rear camera system, the iPhone 11 Pro and newer feature a triple-lens rear camera system with an added Ultra Wide lens for zoomed-out photos.
• 12-megapixel front camera: The front camera on the iPhone X is a 7-megapixel lens, while the iPhone 11 Pro and newer have a 12-megapixel front camera.
• Night mode: Introduced on the iPhone 11 Pro, Night mode allows for greatly improved low-light photography in the Camera app.
• Increased optical zoom: On the iPhone 13 Pro, you can zoom in up to 3x on photos without any blurriness, compared to up to 2x on the iPhone X.
• Numerous other camera improvements: iPhone X users upgrading to the 14 Pro will get a slew of other camera upgrades, including a rumored 48-megapixel Wide lens with support for 8K video recording, an upgraded front camera with autofocus, sensor-shift image stabilization, Smart HDR, brighter True Tone flash, Macro mode, Cinematic mode, ProRAW photos, ProRes videos, and more.
• Flat edges: While the iPhone X's stainless steel frame has round edges, Apple has switched to flat edges with the 12 Pro and newer.
• 5G and Gigabit LTE: While the iPhone X is limited to LTE Advanced, the iPhone 14 Pro will support 5G and Gigabit LTE for faster cellular data speeds.
• Dual SIM support: iPhone XS models and newer have both a physical nano-SIM card slot and a digital eSIM, allowing you to have multiple lines of service/phone numbers on a single iPhone. This feature is useful for having personal and business lines on a single iPhone, or for using pay-as-you-go data plans while traveling.
• Wi-Fi 6E: iPhone 14 models are rumored to support Wi-Fi 6E, which extends Wi-Fi into the 6 GHz band, in addition to the existing 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.
• MagSafe: iPhone 12 and newer models feature MagSafe, a system that lets you magnetically attach accessories to the back of the iPhone, such as Apple's own MagSafe Charger, MagSafe Wallet, and MagSafe Battery Pack.
• Up to 2x faster wireless charging: iPhones with MagSafe can wirelessly charge at up to 15W speeds with Apple's MagSafe Charger, while wireless charging on the iPhone X is limited to up to 7.5W speeds.
• U1 chip: iPhone 11 Pro and newer models are equipped with Apple's U1 chip for spatial awareness functionality. For example, users can hold a U1-equipped iPhone near a HomePod mini to hand off music playback, or precisely track the location of an AirTag using the Precision Finding feature.
• Increased storage: iPhone X started with 64GB of storage, but the 14 Pro should have at least 128GB of base storage.
• LiDAR Scanner: Introduced on the iPhone 12 Pro, the LiDAR Scanner is situated next to the rear camera and offers faster augmented reality experiences and improves autofocus by 6x in low-light photos and videos, according to Apple.
• Power Reserve for Wallet app: On the iPhone XS and newer, a Power Reserve feature lets you use transit cards, state ID cards, student ID cards, home keys, car keys, and other items stored in the Wallet app with Express Mode turned on for a short period after an iPhone has run out of battery life.
• Improved water resistance: Apple says the iPhone X has IP67-rated water resistance up to a depth of one meter for up to 30 minutes, while the 12 Pro and newer have IP68-rated water resistance up to a depth of six meters for up to 30 minutes.

Apple will pay $50 million to settle a 2018 class-action lawsuit over the faulty butterfly keyboards that were used in MacBook machines between 2015 and 2019, reports Reuters. Customers in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Washington claimed that Apple knew about the faulty butterfly mechanism and concealed it while continuing to sell computers with the keyboard.

MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and MacBook models adopted the butterfly keyboard across 2015 and 2016, with Apple touting the thinness of the keyboard and the superior key feel and stability. Not too long after the keyboards started launching, customers learned that they were prone to failure.

Thousands of customers ran into issues with keys repeating, sticking, and otherwise failing when dust and other particulates got into the butterfly mechanism, resulting in a huge controversy over the butterfly technology.

Apple ultimately launched a keyboard repair program in June 2018, but it only covered MacBook, MacBook Pro, and ‌MacBook Air‌ models for four years, and Apple would only replace butterfly keyboards with another butterfly keyboard, so some customers have run into repeat failures that are no longer covered. The lawsuit alleged that Apple's repair program was not sufficient.

Apple tried to iterate on the butterfly mechanism to make it more durable and there were three generations of the butterfly keyboard, but all of them experienced issues. Apple ultimately started replacing butterfly keyboards with scissor switch keyboards, and phased out the last butterfly keyboard in 2020, and now all Mac models that are available use the more reliable scissor switch mechanism that predates the butterfly keys.

The lawsuit covers only customers in the above-mentioned states, and lawyers are expecting maximum payouts of $395 to customers who replaced multiple keyboards, $125 to people who replaced one keyboard, and $50 to people who replaced key caps. The settlement is preliminary and will need to be approved by the judge overseeing the case.

In response to the Digital Markets Act receiving final approval from the Council of the European Union this week, Google today announced that it now allows developers of non-gaming apps to offer alternative billing systems to users in the European Economic Area (EEA), including countries in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

Google will reduce its commission by 3% for in-app purchases made through an alternative billing system in the EEA. Google says this policy means 99% of developers will be charged a fee of 12% when a customer completes a transaction through a third-party payment processor, compared to 15% through Google Play's billing system. Google said this reduced fee supports the company's investments in Google Play and Android.

Google said it expects to expand its alternative billing system program to developers of gaming apps for users in the EEA in advance of the Digital Markets Act's effective date, which is at least six months away, according to the European Council.

Google Play's billing system will continue to be required for all apps distributed through the store in all other countries, including the United States.

Developers must complete a declaration form to offer alternative billing systems in the EEA. Starting August 1, 2022, developers will be required to report to Google Play the amount of all paid transactions from the alternative billing system.

Developers interested in learning more about the program and signing up can visit this support document on Google's website. Google said additional program requirements and safety measures will be shared in the coming weeks.

Apple has yet to announce any plans to allow App Store apps to offer alternative billing systems to users throughout the EEA. To comply with regulations in the Netherlands, Apple allows dating apps to offer alternative billing systems in that country, with Apple reducing its commission by 3% for transactions. Last month, Apple also started allowing developers in South Korea to offer alternative billing systems to users in that country.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Today we're tracking a deal on Apple's AirPods 3, available at both Amazon and B&H Photo. At these retailers, the headphones have dropped to $159.99, down from $179.00.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

On Amazon, shipping is delayed by about two weeks, and stock on the AirPods 3 has been fairly low ever since Prime Day. If you need the headphones faster, B&H Photo is offering free expedited shipping with delivery available for this week for most locations in the United States.

We've seen the AirPods 3 at a lower price previously this year, most recently during a brief sale for Prime Day, but that sale disappeared quickly and stock has been low ever since. Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

While some iPhone 14 components are facing supply chain issues, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes the issues will have a limited impact on upcoming mass production of iPhone 14 models, which are expected to be announced in September.

In a tweet, Kuo said other suppliers can help to make up for component shortages. For example, Kuo said Samsung Display and BOE can largely fill the initial supply gap caused by LG Display's issues with the appearance of iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max display panels. Kuo also said it should not take much time for LG Display to address the issue.

All in all, Kuo's commentary is good news for iPhone 14 availability later this year. The lineup is expected to include the 6.1-inch iPhone 14, 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max, 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro, and 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max.

This month, Adobe is offering first-time subscribers of the Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps plan a 25 percent discount. With this sale, you'll pay $39.99 per month for the plan, down from $54.99 per month, and this price will last through your first year.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Adobe. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

You can also choose to pay for the entire year upfront at the price of $479.88 per year, down from $599.88 per year. After your first year ends, your subscription will automatically renew at the standard rate unless you change or cancel the subscription. This sale ends July 24.

When signing up for Creative Cloud All Apps, you gain access to more than 20 creative apps, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects, InDesign, and Acrobat. You also get templates, cloud storage, and thousands of Adobe Fonts.

These programs can be subscribed to individually as well for a monthly fee, but the new offer is only for Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps. Adobe is not discounting individual services. Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.

Apple today shared three new ads highlighting the security benefits of Apple Pay on the iPhone compared to physical credit cards.

The short ads emphasize that physical credit cards can be stolen, used by anyone, and leave your card number exposed to other people. The message behind the ads is that all of these security risks with using credit cards can be avoided by using Apple Pay.

Apple shared the videos on its YouTube channel in the U.K. — the videos have yet to be uploaded in the U.S. or other countries.

Apple Pay is at the center of a new class action lawsuit filed against Apple in California this week. The complaint alleges that Apple violates U.S. antitrust law by blocking rivals from accessing NFC technology on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, thereby preventing availability of competing tap-to-pay payment services on its devices.

Hacker group The Odyssey Team has announced an upcoming jailbreak tool called "Cheyote" that will work with devices running iOS 15 for the first time.

Sharing the news on Reddit, one of the developers involved in the tool said the jailbreak itself is "making good progress" and should be rolled out to the jailbreaking community in the near future.

If the claims are true, that would mean some of Apple's latest devices like the iPhone 13 series and iPad mini 6 will be capable of being jailbroken for the first time, although there are still some limitations to do with OS versions.

According to the developers, the Cheyote tool will initially only work with iOS 15.0 to iOS 15.1.1, which was released in November last year. The group says they will continue to work to support versions up to iOS 15.4.1, but this is likely to take some time, since Apple has made the jailbreaking process a lot tougher in recent versions of its mobile operating system.

While jailbreaking removes restrictions and allows iOS device users to modify the software and side-load apps, it is a violation of Apple's End User License Agreement that every iOS user agrees to. While not illegal in the United States, due to an exemption in the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, jailbreaking also technically voids a device's warranty coverage.

Apple's cat-and-mouse game with the jailbreaking community has been ongoing for over a decade, with advancements in iOS security and added customization built into Apple's software having decreased interest in jailbreaking in recent years.

The Brazilian Supreme Court has issued a favorable opinion to Apple in a long-running dispute over the exclusive use of the iPhone brand in the country, local media reports.

For those unfamiliar with the case, Brazil's highest court accepted a constitutional appeal in 2020 by ISB Electronica, an electronics company that registered the ‌‌iPhone‌‌ trademark in Brazil in 2000.

Under the name Gradiente, IGB Electronica produced a line of IPHONE-branded Android smartphones in Brazil in 2012, and there was a period of time where the Brazilian company was given exclusive rights to the ‌‌iPhone‌‌ trademark.

The appeal resulted in a trademark battle that saw both Apple and IGB Electronica given the rights to use the name in the country, but that didn't prevent back and forth judicial fighting between the two, with each company attempting to gain exclusive rights to the trademark.

A 2018 decision upheld a 2013 ruling that gave both brands permission to use the trademark, but then IGB Electronica revived the dispute in an attempt to get the 2018 decision reversed by Brazil's Supreme Federal Court.

In the latest development in the case, Brazilian Prosecutor General Augusto Aras last Friday gave his assent to Apple's position. Aras said that even though IGB Electronica applied to register the ‌iPhone‌ trademark several years before Apple's smartphone was launched, the "‌iPhone‌" brand has since become a globally recognized name, and therefore plays an important role in the world electronics market.

For this reason, Aras said the use of the ‌iPhone‌ brand should not be subject to the traditional question of who registered the name first, but instead the "supervening context and relevant factual changes" should be considered before a decision is made.

According to Tilt (via MacMagazine), the Prosecutor General's opinion has now been delivered to the Brazilian Supreme Court, which will hear the case and come to a decision, although a date for the hearing has not been scheduled.

Netflix is working to crack down on account sharing between households, and is now testing an added fee for Netflix users in Latin America who have provided their passwords to people outside of their immediate home. As reported by Bloomberg, Netflix customers who share their passwords in Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic will need to pay additional money.

Netflix had previously been testing an add-on fee for account sharing in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, but the test is now expanding to additional countries. In Argentina, customers will need to pay 219 pesos ($1.70), while the fee will be $2.99 in other countries.

Netflix's terms of service do not allow for multi-household account sharing, but Netflix has tended to look the other way as password sharing is a common practice. The company is no longer willing to allow the practice to go on because it has been losing money as of late.

In the first quarter of 2022, Netflix lost subscribers for the first time in 10 years, and the losses are expected to continue. As a result, Netflix is ending account sharing and is also working on an ad-supported streaming tier that will be more affordable.

An estimated 222 million paying households are sharing with an additional 100 million households that are not being monetized, and Netflix is planning to implement "more effective monetization of multi-household sharing" as part of a strategy to increase revenue.

Customers in countries where Netflix is testing added fees will have the option to pay the fee for access or move to a new, paid account. Netflix is allowing people to access their accounts while traveling, but if a person uses an account in a place that is not one of their paying households for over two weeks, the company will send an in-app notification requiring them to add a household for a fee or change the primary household.

Netflix has said that it is working to understand how the password-sharing crackdown will work in test countries before expanding the fee to additional countries.

Netflix continues to be the only major streaming service that charges by streaming quality. In the United States, Netflix charges $9.99 for the Basic no-HD plan that allows for streaming on a single device, $15.49 for a Standard HD plan that allows for two people to watch at the same time, and $19.99 for a Premium plan with Ultra HD streaming and support for four simultaneous viewers.

A proposed class action lawsuit filed against Apple today accuses the company of violating U.S. antitrust law by ensuring that Apple Pay is the only available mobile wallet for making tap-to-pay payments with an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch.

The complaint, filed by law firms Hagens Berman and Sperling & Slater, alleges that Apple is illegally profiting at least $1 billion annually by blocking rivals from accessing NFC technology on its devices, thereby preventing competing services like Google Pay or Samsung Pay from offering tap-to-pay payment functionality on Apple devices.

For every Apple Pay transaction completed with a U.S. issuer's payment card, the issuer must pay Apple a fee of 0.15% for credit cards and half a cent for debit cards, the complaint alleges. By comparison, Google allows multiple mobile wallets on Android smartphones and does not collect a fee from U.S. card issuers for tap-to-pay payments.

"When you compare the functionality of Apple Pay to mobile wallets available on Android devices – Google Pay, Samsung Pay – you're essentially holding up a mirror; they are essentially identical," said Steve Berman, Hagens Berman co-founder and managing partner. "And yet, the same service on Android that card issuers pay absolutely nothing for costs them a collective $1 billion annually through Apple Pay."

Apple would not be able to sustain its "substantial fees" for Apple Pay transactions if the service faced competition on Apple devices, the complaint argues.

Filed in U.S. district court in Northern California, the complaint specifically accuses Apple of multiple violations of the federal Sherman Act by "tying" Apple Pay to its mobile devices and monopolizing the "tap and pay iOS mobile wallet market."

The complaint seeks monetary relief for all U.S. card issuers that paid Apple a fee for any Apple Pay transaction made with any of its payment cards.

Hagens Berman said this is the third time it has sued Apple for antitrust violations. In 2015, the law firm secured a combined $560 million settlement against Apple and publishing companies regarding price fixing of e-books, and earlier this year it secured a $100 million settlement from Apple on behalf of iOS developers who alleged that Apple's then-standard 30% commission on App Store purchases was excessive.

Apple Pay has faced similar scrutiny in other regions, including Australia and Europe. In May, the European Commission informed Apple of its preliminary view that it abused its dominant position in the "mobile wallets on iOS devices" market by limiting access to NFC technology on Apple devices for contactless payments in stores.

The full complaint is available in PDF format on the Hagens Berman website.

Apple recently added a "Leaving Arcade Soon" section to its Apple Arcade App Store service, signaling that approximately 15 games are going to be removed from ‌Apple Arcade‌ at some point in the near future.

Apple did not provide details on why the games are leaving or what happens to the games downloaded onto the devices of ‌Apple Arcade‌ customers, but MacRumors spoke to an inside source that was able to offer some insight into what's going on.

When ‌Apple Arcade‌ first launched, Apple signed three-year deals with a number of developers, entering into contracts that provided a fixed payment and ongoing royalties. Those contracts are now ending, and Apple is opting not to renew some of them. Many of the games that are being removed were launch titles or were added to ‌Apple Arcade‌ soon after it debuted.

Developers retain the rights to their games and can re-release them on the ‌App Store‌ and/or through other platforms, but games that are removed from ‌Apple Arcade‌ won't be accessible under the ‌Apple Arcade‌ service.

Games can be re-added to the ‌App Store‌ on the same day that they're removed from ‌Apple Arcade‌, but the games will be uploaded with a new bundle ID. That means ‌Apple Arcade‌ subscribers can redownload the games, but they won't have access to the same game that was available through ‌Apple Arcade‌.

It is not yet clear if saved progress will be able to transfer over from the ‌Apple Arcade‌ version of the game to the new version should the developers choose to reintroduce their games to the ‌App Store‌, as that will depend on whether developers implement support for data transfer.

Games leaving ‌Apple Arcade‌ include Spelldrifter, Projection: First Light, Lifeslide, EarthNight, Cardpocalypse, Dead End Job, and more.

Update: Apple has shared a support document with more details about what happens when games are removed from ‌Apple Arcade‌.

Apple plans to slow hiring and spending next year in some divisions due to potential economic downturn, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The report claims the decision is not a companywide policy and will not affect all teams within Apple.

The report claims that Apple is giving select teams a "lower-than-expected budget" for spending on research and development, resources, and hiring in 2023, and adds that some teams will not be expanding or maintaining their headcount next year.

Apple is still planning an "aggressive" schedule of product launches in 2023, including a widely rumored AR/VR headset, according to Gurman.

Apple's alleged plans to slow hiring and spending in 2023 comes amid especially uncertain times, with the COVID-19 pandemic, Russo-Ukrainian War, and high inflation driving concerns about lower consumer spending and a recession.

Apple shares were trading nearly 2% lower following the report.

A few months ago, Apple reported its best March quarter ever, with $97.3 billion in revenue and $25 billion in profit. Apple is set to report its earnings results for the June quarter on July 28 at approximately 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time.

Bloomberg updated its report with additional information. This story has been updated accordingly.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple today seeded a second release candidate version of macOS Monterey 12.5 to developers for testing purposes. The new version comes six days after the original release candidate version of macOS Monterey 12.5 and three days after second release candidate versions of iOS 15.6 and iPadOS 15.6.

Registered developers can download the beta through the Apple Developer Center and after the appropriate profile is installed, betas will be available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences.

There's no word yet on what new features or changes might be included in ‌macOS Monterey‌ 12.5, and nothing new of significance was documented in the beta testing period. It's likely this update focuses on bug fixes and other minor improvements to the operating system.

The release candidate update should represent the final version of macOS Monterey 12.5 that is expected to be released to the public as soon as later this week.