MacRumors

As Apple battles with Epic Games over its App Store fees, Facebook is joining the fight over its new Paid Online Events feature, which allows small businesses in 20 countries to charge Facebook users to attend online classes and events.

Facebook wants Apple to waive its 30 percent fee taken from in-app purchases or let Facebook process event payments with Facebook Pay, both of which Apple has refused.

We asked Apple to reduce its 30% App Store tax or allow us to offer Facebook Pay so we could absorb all costs for businesses struggling during COVID-19. Unfortunately, they dismissed both our requests and SMBs will only be paid 70% of their hard-earned revenue. Because this is complicated, as long as Facebook is waiving its fees, we will make all fees clear in our products.

When a business owner schedules an event through Facebook on iOS, Facebook will make it clear that Apple is taking a 30 percent cut of the purchase price. Facebook is waiving its own fees for the feature "for at least the next year."

Transactions done on the web or on Android where Facebook Pay is available will allow business owners to keep 100 percent of revenue generated from paid online events. The feature is meant to allow Facebook Page owners to create an online event, set a price, promote the event, collect payment, and host the event all on Facebook.

Without calling out Apple directly, Facebook's announcement for the new feature says that businesses "shouldn't have to worry about fees charged by platforms" and points out that Apple's fees will make it so businesses will only be paid "70 percent of their hard-earned revenue."

Other companies, including Airbnb and ClassPass, have made similar complaints about Apple's refusal to waive in-app fees for virtual classes and features that have been forced to transition to online due to the ongoing pandemic.

ClassPass, for example, normally allows users to book classes at local gyms, but has instead moved its business online and started offering virtual classes. Under Apple's ‌App Store‌ rules, virtual classes require providing Apple its 30 percent commission, which ClassPass has balked at. ClassPass ultimately pulled virtual classes from the iPhone app.

Airbnb offers online experiences like virtual cooking classes and meditation sessions, which Apple also collects fees from. Apple has refused to grant special permission to apps like ClassPass, Facebook, and Airbnb in the name of fairness for other developers who are subject to the fees.

"Next Stop Nowhere," the latest exclusive to hit Apple Arcade, has been released today.

Next Stop Nowhere is a road trip adventure story set in a colorful, cutthroat vision of outer space. The game follows the character of "Beckett," a courier living a simple life until a chance encounter with a former bounty hunter throws him into an unexpected adventure. The game features an "intelligent conversation system" with branching dialogue that changes the story based on every decision, and touts its "completely unique version of space."

The game comes from award-winning studio "Night School Studio," known for the critically-praised titles "Oxenfree" and "Afterparty." Cross-device play is enabled via ‌Apple Arcade‌.

More games, such as "Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time," "The Last Campfire," and "World's End Club," are expected to come to ‌Apple Arcade‌ soon.

Apple has begun selling discounted refurbished 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro models through its online store in the United States for the first time, with up to $200 savings available on some base configurations compared to brand new models.

Currently, Apple's refurbished options for the latest 13-inch MacBook Pro lineup are limited to models with the 8th-generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors (not the faster 10th-generation CPUs), but this spec does come with Apple's new scissor switch Magic Keyboard, which has been positively received by users, especially following the butterfly keyboard troubles of earlier models.

Apple says refurbished ‌MacBook Pro‌ models are thoroughly inspected, tested, cleaned, and repackaged with a USB-C power adapter and USB-C cable in the box. In our view, a refurbished ‌MacBook Pro‌ is virtually indistinguishable from a brand new model, so this represents a good opportunity for savings directly from Apple.

Keep in mind that third-party resellers frequently offer better deals than Apple's refurbished prices, so be sure to monitor our deals roundup.

A refurbished ‌MacBook Pro‌ comes with Apple's standard one-year warranty effective on the date the notebook is delivered. The warranty can be extended to three years from the refurbished purchase date with AppleCare+ at a cost of $269 for the ‌MacBook Pro‌.

(Thanks, Shanmugam Senthivel!)

Just hours after Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store, Google has also pulled the Fortnite app from its Google Play Store.

Epic made the same in-app changes in the Google version of the app that it made in the App Store version, allowing players to bypass Google’s in-app purchase system. Subverting the Play Store in-app purchase system is against Google’s rules. From Google’s guidelines:

Developers offering products within a game downloaded on Google Play or providing access to game content must use Google Play In-app Billing as the method of payment.

Google in a statement to The Verge said that it has policies about in-app purchases that are designed to keep the Play Store safe for users. The statement is very similar to Apple’s, in fact.

The open Android ecosystem lets developers distribute apps through multiple app stores. For game developers who choose to use the Play Store, we have consistent policies that are fair to developers and keep the store safe for users. While Fortnite remains available on Android, we can no longer make it available on Play because it violates our policies. However, we welcome the opportunity to continue our discussions with Epic and bring Fortnite back to Google Play.

According to The Verge, Google clarified that it has no issue with Epic distributing the game on Android devices through other channels, but the rules for the Play Store must be followed for the app to be available through it.

Even though the app has been removed from the Play Store, it can still be used on Android. Fortnite can be downloaded through the Epic Games app or through the Samsung Galaxy Store.

Update: ‌Epic Games‌ has also levied a lawsuit against Google for removing Fortnite from the Google Play Store.

North Dakota, Wyoming, and Alabama are all launching contact tracing apps that take advantage of Apple and Google's Exposure Notification API to cut down on the spread of the coronavirus, reports Reuters.

North Dakota's app, Care19 Alert, is launching today, while Wyoming plans to launch an app on Friday. Alabama's app, which has been in testing with university students and staff, will market its app statewide starting on Monday.

Virginia earlier in August became the first U.S. state to debut an app that uses the ‌Exposure Notification‌ API when it launched COVIDWISE. Virginia state department health official Jeff Stover told Reuters that 316,000 people have downloaded the app so far.

Washington and Pennsylvania are two other states that are expected to launch contact tracing apps that use the ‌Exposure Notification‌ API in the coming weeks. Right now, many of these apps are not designed to work across state lines, with North Dakota's app being the first in the U.S. to support the functionality.

The apps are designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus by using Bluetooth to track who people come into contact with. The idea is that when a person comes down with COVID-19, an alert can be sent out to everyone they were around so those people can quarantine and watch out for symptoms.

Multiple countries, including Switzerland, Latvia, Italy, Germany, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Croatia, Denmark, and Canada have also launched apps that use the ‌Exposure Notification‌ API.

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.

Spotify, which has also faced off with Apple over Apple's App Store policies and fees, today weighed in on Epic Games' fight with Apple over Fortnite's removal from the ‌App Store‌.

Unsurprisingly, Spotify has sided with ‌Epic Games‌, applauding Epic's decision to "take a stand against Apple." From a statement provided to Recode's Peter Kafka:

We applaud Epic Games' decision to take a stand against Apple and shed further light on Apple's abuse of its dominant position. Apple's unfair practices have disadvantaged competitors and deprived consumers for far too long. The stakes for consumers and app developers large and small couldn't be higher and ensuring that the iOS platform operates competitively and fairly is an urgent task with far-reaching implications.

The fight between Apple and ‌Epic Games‌ heated up quickly over the course of the day. This morning, Epic added a feature to Fortnite that allowed players to purchase V-Bucks in the Fortnite app with a direct payment that skirted the ‌App Store‌ rules prohibiting developers from accepting payments outside of the in-app purchase system.

It turned out to be a planned change that sparked a rapid response from Apple. Hours after the direct payment option was added, Apple pulled the Fortnite app from the iOS ‌App Store‌.

Right after that happened, Epic announced a pre-prepared lawsuit against Apple, accusing Apple of being a "behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition, and stifle innovation" and imposing "anti-competitive restraints" and using "monopolistic practices in markets" against ‌‌App Store‌‌ developers.

‌Epic Games‌ also shared a "Nighteen Eighty-Fortnite" short as part of its swift and forceful PR campaign against Apple. The video, which is available on YouTube and in the Fortnite game, is based on Apple's iconic 1984 ad and calls on Fortnite players to "join the fight to stop 2020 from becoming 1984."

When the Fortnite app was removed from the ‌App Store‌, Apple in a statement to MacRumors said that Epic has benefited from "the ‌App Store‌ ecosystem" and its tools, testing, and distribution, and that Apple's guidelines "create a level playing field for all developers and make the store safe for all users."

It's not yet clear if Epic's lawsuit against Apple, which calls for "injunctive relief" for developers from Apple's ‌App Store‌ policies and fees, will be successful, but it does put ‌App Store‌ rules back in the spotlight at a time when Apple is already facing a U.S. antitrust investigation into the ‌App Store‌.

Apple and Spotify have also had public disputes in the past, with Spotify launching a complaint against Apple with the European Commission in 2019. Spotify has long been unhappy with the 15 to 30 percent cut that Apple takes from Spotify subscriptions, especially when Apple does not have to pay the same fees for Apple Music.

Apple has made concessions in its fight with Spotify, launching a feature that allows Siri to work with non-Apple Music services. With iOS 14, Apple is also allowing third-party music services like Spotify to work with the HomePod as an alternative to ‌Apple Music‌.

Samsung last week unveiled new flagship smartphones and the new bean-shaped Galaxy Buds Live, a set of wireless earbuds with Active Noise Cancellation that are designed to rival Apple's AirPods Pro. We got a set of the new Galaxy Buds Live and compared them to the ‌AirPods Pro‌ in our latest YouTube video.

Priced at $179, the Galaxy Buds Live have a unique look with a jelly bean-like design that matches the contour of the ears. We found them to be comfortable even for long periods of time, and the multiple ear tips available will allow them to work with most ear sizes.

Samsung added 12mm drivers to the Galaxy Buds Live along with three built-in microphones and a voice pickup unit, with the microphone quality demoed in the video above.

When it comes to sound quality, the Galaxy Buds Live sound decent (and better than the AirPods), but the ‌AirPods Pro‌ win out with more balance and clarity. The Galaxy Buds Live have more noticeable bass, but it can cause songs to sound a bit muddy. Sound can be adjusted with equalizer settings available in the Galaxy Buds app, but we didn't see much of an improvement tinkering with these settings.

One of the main selling points of the Galaxy Buds Live is Active Noise Cancellation, a feature also offered in the ‌AirPods Pro‌, but the Galaxy Buds Live ANC functionality was mediocre, at least with our unit.

It's hard to tell when ANC is enabled or disabled on the Galaxy Buds Live because the feature just doesn't seem to be blocking out much ambient noise. There's no comparison to the ‌AirPods Pro‌, which offer much better Active Noise Cancellation. It's better than no ANC at all, but it's so subtle that it can't compare to competing products.

There are several gestures available for the Galaxy Buds, which are similar to the gestures available on ‌AirPods Pro‌. One tap pauses, two taps skips a song, and three taps goes back. A long press can be set to turn Active Noise Cancellation on or off, activate Siri, or control the Volume.

The Galaxy Buds Live offer eight hours of battery life before needing to be recharged, while the ‌AirPods Pro‌ offer 4.5 hours of listening time. The square-shaped case that houses the Galaxy Buds Live and provides extra battery life is compact and pocketable, plus it has a USB-C port for charging. It adds an additional 21 hours of playback time, while Apple makes about 20 hours of additional battery life available with the ‌AirPods Pro‌ case. In total, the Galaxy Buds offer 29 hours of battery life while the ‌AirPods Pro‌ offer 24.

Galaxy Buds Live have useful features for Samsung users, such as one tap pairing and seamless switching, but on an iPhone they function as standard Bluetooth earbuds. There's a Galaxy Buds app in the iOS App Store for connecting and to provide firmware updates and equalizer settings, but since these are designed for Samsung devices, Apple features are limited.

Galaxy Buds owners who have iPhones are going to want to download the app and update the Galaxy Buds Live software right away because we found the Active Noise Cancellation and gestures weren't working properly until an update was installed.

Even with the less than stellar Active Noise Cancellation functionality, the Galaxy Buds Live sound decent, fit well, and are some of Samsung's best true wireless headphones. At $179, they're cheaper than the $250 ‌AirPods Pro‌, but if you're an ‌iPhone‌ user, you'd be better off with Apple's more expensive option.

Android users seeking a solid set of true wireless earbuds should take a look at the Galaxy Buds Live as a potential option.

Apple is planning to launch an Apple TV Channels bundle that features CBS All Access and Showtime at a discounted price, reports Bloomberg.

The bundle, which aims to spur usage of ‌Apple TV‌+ and the ‌Apple TV‌ Channels feature, will be priced at $9.99 per month. It is set to roll out as early as Monday, and will be available to those who have an ‌Apple TV‌+ subscription.

Apple already offers access to both CBS All Access and Showtime through ‌Apple TV‌ channels. On a standalone basis, CBS All Access is priced at $9.99 per month and Showtime is priced at $10.99 per month, so this will be a significant savings for those who choose to subscribe through the ‌Apple TV‌ app.

Introduced last year, Channels is an ‌Apple TV‌ app feature that lets Apple device users sign up for and watch various subscription television services right within the ‌Apple TV‌ app.

Users still need to pay for the streaming services, but without the hassle of downloading an app and signing up separately. Some of the Channels available in addition to CBS All Access and Showtime include Starz, Nickelodeon, Mubi, The History Channel Vault, Epix, Comedy Central Now, and more.

Channels is offered alongside ‌Apple TV‌+, Apple's $4.99 per month streaming service that houses Apple original content.

Just hours after Epic Games introduced a new direct payment option for Fortnite that skirts Apple's in-app purchase rules, Apple has pulled the Fortnite app from the App Store.

Fortnite is no longer available for download on the iPhone or the iPad, and Apple provided a statement to MacRumors on Fortnite's removal:

Today, Epic Games took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designed to keep the store safe for our users. As a result their Fortnite app has been removed from the store. Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services.

Epic has had apps on the App Store for a decade, and have benefited from the App Store ecosystem - including it's tools, testing, and distribution that Apple provides to all developers. Epic agreed to the App Store terms and guidelines freely and we're glad they've built such a successful business on the App Store. The fact that their business interests now lead them to push for a special arrangement does not change the fact that these guidelines create a level playing field for all developers and make the store safe for all users. We will make every effort to work with Epic to resolve these violations so they can return Fortnite to the App Store.

This morning, ‌Epic Games‌ began letting players purchase 1,000 V-Bucks in the Fortnite app for $7.99, with the purchases going directly to ‌Epic Games‌ rather than using Apple's in-app purchase system.

At the time, it was not known if ‌Epic Games‌ had some kind of special permission from Apple to introduce such a feature as it is a clear violation of Apple's ‌App Store‌ rules surrounding in-app purchases. Given that the app has now been pulled from the ‌App Store‌, it appears that ‌Epic Games‌ willingly violated Apple's requirements by offering the direct payment plan.

Rule 3.1.1 of Apple's ‌App Store‌ guidelines states that apps that offer in-game currencies need to use the in-app purchase mechanism. Apps are prohibited from including buttons, links, or other calls to action that ask customers to use non-Apple approved payment methods.

3.1.1 In-App Purchase:
- If you want to unlock features or functionality within your app, (by way of example: subscriptions, in-game currencies, game levels, access to premium content, or unlocking a full version), you must use in-app purchase. Apps may not use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality, such as license keys, augmented reality markers, QR codes, etc. Apps and their metadata may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase.

Epic Games made the direct payment option available in the in the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and other countries, and said that because apps that offer real-life goods and services like Uber and StubHub are not required to use Apple's in-app purchase mechanism, Fortnite should be entitled to the same treatment. ‌Epic Games‌ has also called Apple and Google's 30 percent commission on in-app purchases "exorbitant."

In response to Apple's statement and the removal of Fortnite from the ‌App Store‌, ‌Epic Games‌ announced a new Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite short premiering at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, which appears to be a riff on Apple's famous 1984 ad.

‌Epic Games‌' stand against Apple comes as Apple is facing a U.S. antitrust investigation over its ‌App Store‌ rules and policies and as Apple is recovering from another very public dispute over the "Hey" email app.

Update: ‌Epic Games‌ has filed a lawsuit against Apple for pulling Fortnite from the ‌App Store‌. [PDF]

In the filing, ‌Epic Games‌ accuses Apple of being a "the behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition, and stifle innovation" and imposing "anti-competitive restraints" and using "monopolistic practices in markets" against ‌App Store‌ developers.

Apple imposes unreasonable and unlawful restraints to completely monopolize both markets and prevent software developers from reaching the over one billion users of its mobile devices (e.g., iPhone and iPad) unless they go through a single store controlled by Apple, the App Store, where Apple exacts an oppressive 30% tax on the sale of every app. Apple also requires software developers who wish to sell digital in-app content to those consumers to use a single payment processing option offered by Apple, In-App Purchase, which likewise carries a 30% tax.

With the lawsuit, ‌Epic Games‌ says it is not aiming for a cash payout, but instead wants to secure "injunctive relief" in the iOS App distribution market and payment processing market for " hundreds of millions of consumers and tens of thousands, if not more, of third-party app developers."

Update 2: The Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite short is now available on the Fortnite YouTube channel, encouraging people to "join the fight to stop 2020 from becoming 1984." The ad is also available in Fortnite.

‌Epic Games‌ has also created an FAQ explaining the lawsuit it has filed against Apple and why ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌ users can't access the Fortnite app.

As a ban on WeChat and other apps originating in China looms, companies who do business in China and iPhone users in the country are concerned about how the ban could impact device sales and daily device usage.

It's still unclear whether the ban applies to the WeChat app only in the United States or if it will result in the removal of the WeChat app from iPhones across the globe. Tencent, which owns WeChat, said it believes the ban applies only in the U.S., but it is seeking clarity. The wording in the executive order is vague, banning any transaction that is related to WeChat, and it is up to the Commerce Department to work out the details.

A WeChat ban in the United States has the potential to cause a minor drop in sales, but a WeChat ban in China would be devastating for Apple as many Chinese ‌iPhone‌ users feel their devices would be useless without the WeChat app.

In a Weibo survey highlighted by Bloomberg, for example, 95 percent of the 1.2 million people who responded said they would switch to an Android smartphone over an ‌iPhone‌ rather than give up WeChat. WeChat has more than 1.2 billion monthly active users, many of them in China.

One user in Hong Kong, Kenny Ou, told Bloomberg that a WeChat ban would turn the ‌iPhone‌ into "electronic trash," while another, Sky Ding, said WeChat is so important that most Chinese users would prefer to swap phones. "My family in China are all used to WeChat and all our communication is on the platform," said Ding.

Many U.S. companies, including Apple, Ford, Walmart, and Disney have been aiming to convince the Trump administration not to ban WeChat. According to The Wall Street Journal, more than a dozen U.S companies raised concerns in a call with White House officials on Tuesday, with Apple included in the call.

"For those who don't live in China, they don't understand how vast the implications are if American companies aren't allowed to use it," said Craig Allen, president of the U.S.-China Business Council. "They are going to be held at a severe disadvantage to every competitor," he added.

In a recent note to investors, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that global ‌iPhone‌ shipments could decline by 25 to 30 percent if Apple is forced to remove WeChat from its App Store worldwide. If WeChat is only removed from the U.S. ‌App Store‌, however, ‌iPhone‌ sales could be impacted by 3 to 6 percent.

The Trump administration is aiming to ban all U.S. transactions with ByteDance (which makes TikTok) and Tencent. The ban was announced on August 7 and there are 39 days left before it goes into effect.

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.

Back in 2018, it was revealed that noted YouTuber and former NASA engineer Mark Rober had been quietly working in Apple's special projects group on several projects related to virtual reality.

While Rober has since left his position at Apple, the company has continued to pursue patent applications based on his team's work, and a newly published application today relates to the team's efforts to create VR-based solutions for motion sickness experienced by riders in vehicles.

The patent, which is titled "Immersive Virtual Display" and is a continuation of a previously filed one on the same topic, shows that Apple has made some changes to the technical claims of the patent, deleting the original 20 claims and adding 20 new ones in an ongoing attempt to protect the concepts developed by the team.

Apple's patent application describes a VR system for vehicles with multiple uses. Simply, the system would provide virtual views that match visual cues with the physical motions that a passenger experiences. The VR experience would be immersive, replacing the view of the real world with a virtual environment. In addition to the obvious opportunities for entertainment, this virtual environment would be able to adjust in real time to accommodate a passenger suffering from motion sickness.

The VR system, which could involve a headset or projection onto a window or other surface, would generate virtual content for providing a view of the virtual environment. Users would be able to select a simulated route from a different location based on the route from the real environment. To do this, the system would compare the turns and curves of the route in the other location to the turns and curves of the route in the real environment, and ensure that they at least partially match.

When this is not possible, the system would augment the simulation of the selected simulated route to ensure that it matches the real-world route. The motions and accelerations of the virtual content would therefore be synchronized with the real-world motions and accelerations of the vehicle. The vehicle itself would require a sensor to be coupled to it to facilitate this.

The filing explains that the vehicle's systems and controls could also be integrated with the VR system to provide physical effects with the virtual experience. The patent makes clear that this would include control of throttle, brakes, suspension, and steering. Furthermore, the fan speed, temperature, and direction of heating and air conditioning could also be changed to provide physical effects to the virtual experience. Plans for the inclusion of sound effects via the car's audio system are also included.

Simulated environments would be stereoscopic to create an illusion of depth, and adjust in real time to provide the illusion of the user moving within the scene. All of this would allow users to feel as if they were physically in a different environment.

The patent specifically outlines how slight changes to perceived motion in the simulated environment that differ from the motions of the real world would treat and prevent motion sickness. For example, visual cues that indicate flow past a passenger may be slowed down or sped up when compared to the actual speed or acceleration of the vehicle to mitigate sickness. In addition to adapting the mapping ratio to help prevent motion sickness, visual, sensory, and audio techniques may be used to increase the comfort passengers suffering from motion sickness.

The filing also refers to a potential mixed reality application of this technology, which may potentially indicate its use in the rumored Apple Glasses product. Alternately, the patent mentions use of this VR system in autonomous vehicles, which could refer to Apple's long-rumored vehicle project.

The patent application says that windows in vehicles are "inherently unsafe and not structurally sound, and add cost to vehicles." Providing a virtual view of the real environment or of a simulated environment would eliminate the need for windows in autonomous vehicles completely. The VR system could also provide passengers with the sensation that they are riding in a larger vehicle than its actual size, which the patent says "may provide passengers with a more pleasant and secure-feeling experience when riding in a small autonomous vehicle."

Apple files dozens of patents application weekly, but patent filings are not always indicative of Apple's immediate plans. Given the complexity and outlandish nature of this filing, it is very unlikely that any of the features outlined in it will come to market any time soon. Nonetheless, it offers insight into Apple's current areas of research and development.