App Store

Apple used to limit the size of App Store downloads over cellular to 150MBs to prevent iPhone users from accidentally downloading a large app over 3G or 4G networks and using up all their data allowance or running up data charges. In May 2019, Apple upped the limit of over-the-air downloads to 200MB, but offered no way to opt out of the limit at the time, leaving users with unlimited data...

It used to be the case that adding funds to your Apple ID required redeeming an iTunes Gift Card bought from a store, but Apple now lets you use a debit or credit card right on your iPhone or iPad to do the same thing. Adding funds to your Apple ID allows you to make purchases from the iTunes Store, iBooks Store, and App Store on any of your Apple devices. It's easy to add funds to your...

If you recently updated your iPhone to iOS 13 or your iPad to iPadOS 13 and you can't work out how to manually update your installed apps, then you've come to the right place. Apple has changed the way you update apps in iOS. In earlier versions of its mobile operating system, app updates lived in their own tab in the App Store app, but that has since had to make way for a new Apple Arcade...

Several TV and music services and other apps offer free trials through the App Store that automatically renew to become paid subscriptions after the trial period ends. If you want to prevent an App Store subscription from running beyond the trial period or cancel a subscription you're currently paying for, then read on. This article explains how to cancel any App Store subscription on iOS,...

Apple today announced updates to its App Store Review Guidelines to take into account some new features that are coming in iOS 14, such as App Clips, while also introducing new rules surrounding streaming game services and in-app purchases. According to Apple's updated guidelines, streaming game services like Microsoft's xCloud are allowed, but all of the games included in a streaming game...

Australia is now investigating app store policies as part of yet another antitrust inquiry into Apple and Google (via Gizmodo). The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced that it will investigate the competition between the Google Play store and Apple's App Store, access to platforms and consumers, fee structures, data collection, and price transparency. The...

Apple today announced that the iOS app economy has created nearly 300,000 new jobs in the United States since April 2019, citing research shared by Dr. Michael Mandel, chief economic strategist at the non-profit Progressive Policy Institute. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple said the App Store continues to provide economic opportunities, with apps supporting essential needs like remote...

Draft legislation submitted in Russia this week could see Apple's App Store commission cut by a third if it is ratified by the country's parliament. Reuters reports that the bill requires that commissions on the sale of apps by Apple and Google be capped at 20%. Apple has a long-standing policy of collecting 30% commission on all sales (including in-app purchases) in the App store. The...

Apple today began informing developers of upcoming App Store pricing changes in several countries due to tax changes, with the prices of apps and in-app purchases affected. Prices are shifting in Chile, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Chile: New value-added tax of 19% Mexico: New value-added tax of 16% Saudi Arabia: Increase in value-added tax from 5% to 15% Turkey: New...

Back in June at WWDC, Apple announced several changes to its handling of App Store review, noting that it would in most cases no longer hold up bug fix updates over violations of ‌App Store‌ guidelines, and that it would allow developers to challenge existing guidelines. In a note to developers today, Apple confirmed that those two changes have been implemented, encouraging developers to...

Apple blocked Facebook's attempt to tell users about the 30% fee that Apple would take of all in-app purchases made through a new online events feature, Facebook has told Reuters. Apple reportedly told Facebook the update violated an App Store rule that prevents developers from showing "irrelevant" information to users. Facebook planned to launch a new tool in its app that lets online...

Multiple startup companies in Korea are calling for an investigation into Apple and Google's in-app purchase practices, reports The Korea Herald. An alliance of app developers and small companies submitted a petition to the Korea Communications Commission earlier today, asking for an investigation into whether Apple and Google may be violating Korean laws on in-app purchases and...

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...

Apple is facing App Store scrutiny in Russia as the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) today said (via Interfax) that Apple abused its dominant ‌App Store‌ position and limited competition in the iOS app market by banning parental control apps. The FAS began investigating Apple's ‌App Store‌ policies back in August 2019 after Apple cracked down on parental control apps using Mobile...

Facebook today joined Microsoft in condemning Apple's App Store policies, after the company was forced to remove the games feature from its Facebook Gaming app, which launches today on iOS. Facebook Gaming app on Google Play Store In a statement given to The Verge, Facebook said it has had its Gaming app rejected multiple times by Apple in recent months, but Apple cited its App Store...

Microsoft's upcoming "Project xCloud" game streaming service is set to launch on September 15th, exclusively on Android devices. Despite extensive testing via TestFlight on iOS, xCloud's launch on iOS seems to have been postponed indefinitely. Project xCloud is Microsoft's "vision for game-streaming technology that will complement our console hardware and give gamers more choices in how...

Apple's services category, which includes iTunes, the App Store, Mac App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, AppleCare, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and more, continues to see major growth each quarter. According to today's earnings report covering the third fiscal quarter of 2020, Apple's services segment brought in $13.2 billion, up nearly $2 billion from the $11.5 billion earned in the third...

Apple offered Amazon lower App Store fees to convince it to launch its Prime Video app on the ‌App Store‌ and Apple TV, documents published by the U.S. antitrust subcommittee have revealed. According to email correspondence between Apple's services chief Eddy Cue and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Apple struck a deal to bring Amazon Prime Video into the ‌App Store‌ by agreeing to take a 15% revenue...

Apple once considered taking a 40 percent cut from some subscription apps, according to documents shared today by the House Judiciary Committee (via Bloomberg). Back in March 2011, Apple's services boss Eddy Cue emailed three other executives and suggested Apple should "ask for 40% for the first year only," but that a "few deals" needed to be worked out for Apple to "see what is right."...

Apple CEO Tim Cook was, as expected, questioned about Apple's App Store policies during today's antitrust hearing with the U.S. House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee. Cook primarily stuck to the talking points provided in his opening statement [PDF], but he did have some extra color to add. Cook was specifically questioned about email app "Hey" from Basecamp, which was at the center of a...

Apple in early 2019 removed or restricted many popular screen time and parental control apps on the App Store due to their use of Mobile Device Management, or MDM, which the company said put user security and privacy at risk. During today's antitrust hearing with the U.S. House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, Cook was questioned about Apple's decision to remove the parental control apps,...

Apple CEO Tim Cook is today testifying in an antitrust hearing with the U.S. House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, where he was questioned about Apple's App Store policies. Cook was hit with complaints from developers that the committee has spoken to. Apple was accused of making its ‌App Store‌ rules unavailable to developers, arbitrarily enforcing those rules, changing them at will,...

As Apple CEO Tim Cook prepares to speak in front of the U.S. House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee tomorrow, his opening statement has been made available. [PDF] Cook will say that Apple does "not have a dominant market share" in any market where it does business, and that consumers have many other choices when it comes to smartphones. "As much as we believe the iPhone provides the best...

Ahead of Apple CEO Tim Cook's testimony before U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday at an antitrust hearing, senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller has defended App Store policies, in an interview with Reuters. Schiller explained that the ‌App Store‌ was initially viewed at Apple as an experiment in offering "compellingly low commission" to attract developers. Small developers...