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 has allowed cloud gaming apps on the App Store since earlier this year, but cloud gaming services still haven't bothered making iOS apps. Microsoft recently explained why, telling UK regulators that it didn't bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to Apple's ‌App Store‌ because the rules are still too restrictive. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority is investigating mobile browsers and cloud...

Apple is making additional changes to its app ecosystem in the European Union to comply with the terms of the Digital Markets Act. The default browser selection experience that's already in place will be updated, Apple will allow EU users to set defaults for more types of apps, and core iOS apps like Messages and the App Store will also be deletable. iPhone owners in the EU can already set...

App Store vice president Matt Fischer is set to leave the company as Apple prepares for an ‌App Store‌ reorganization to deal with regulatory changes, reports Bloomberg. Apple plans to split its ‌App Store‌ group into two teams, one that handles the ‌App Store‌ and a second team that oversees alternative app distribution. As of earlier this year, Apple has supported iOS app downloads from...

The UK's Competition and Market Authority (CMA) today announced it had closed an investigation into Apple's App Store policies, as it expects to consider the concerns under a new digital markets competition regime which is expected to come into force later this year. Originally initiated in March 2021, the CMA's investigation set out to determine whether or not Apple has a dominant position...

Apple today reminded developers who plan to distribute apps in the European Union to submit their trader status, a requirement that will see the App Store sharing the address, phone number, and email address of each developer. The information will be displayed on a developer's ‌App Store‌ page. The Digital Services Act (DSA) in the European Union requires Apple to verify and display trader...

Patreon today confirmed upcoming changes to its iOS app, which will see fees for new subscriptions go up because Apple is enforcing its App Store rules on digital purchases. Apple is requiring Patreon to adopt the in-app purchase system, a process that Patreon started at the beginning of the year. In January 2024, Patreon started using in-app purchases and paying Apple a 30 percent fee on...

Apple is today announcing some updates to its Digital Markets Act compliance plan in the European Union, with changes to external linking that give developers more freedom to direct customers to non-App Store purchase options and sales. EU developers that are operating under the new App Store business terms or the prior ‌App Store‌ purchase terms can update their apps to communicate and...

Apple today refreshed its App Store Guidelines created for developers, modifying the emulator rules to include express permission for PC emulators to download games. Guideline 4.7 has been updated to state that PC emulator apps can offer to download games. The guideline previously said that console emulator apps could include the option to download games, but it did not explicitly cover PC...

Apple today announced that the second beta of iPadOS 18 extends alternative app marketplaces and other app-related changes to the iPad in the EU. Apple first introduced these changes on the iPhone in the EU with iOS 17.4 earlier this year, to comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act. The expansion of the changes to the iPad in the EU comes nearly two months after the European Commission said ...

Antstream Arcade has announced that its cloud-based game streaming service will be available on the iPhone and iPad starting Thursday, June 27. The app will provide subscribers with access to over 1,300 licensed games from a variety of retro consoles, including the Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, SEGA Genesis, and more. Earlier this year, Apple updated its guidelines to permit...

The European Commission plans to charge Apple for violating the Digital Markets Act after determining that the iPhone maker is not complying with obligations to allow app developers to "steer" users to offers outside of the App Store without fees, according to the Financial Times, which cites three people familiar with the matter. It appears that the EU is taking issue with Apple's Core...

Folium has become the first Nintendo 3DS emulator for the iPhone available in the App Store, although there are some caveats to be aware of. Foremost, this is the first Nintendo emulator on the App Store that costs money. Folium developer Jarrod Norwell is charging $4.99 for the app, which is a bold choice given that Nintendo recently sued the developers of Yuzu, a Nintendo Switch emulator...

As we prepare for the 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple today announced its finalists for the Apple Design Awards. Apple chooses the best apps and games annually, announcing the winners at WWDC. The Apple Design Awards are meant to highlight apps with outstanding design, innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement. Apps have been selected in the following categories: Delight...

Apple today published its second annual App Store Transparency Report [PDF], highlighting details like the number of apps that were rejected during the year, the number of customer and developer accounts deactivated, the number of apps removed from the ‌App Store‌, and more. In 2023, there were 1,870,119 total apps available, and Apple reviewed 6,892,500 app submissions. 1,763,812 apps were...

The developers behind the popular Game Boy emulator Delta for the iPhone said they updated the app's icon today to avoid potential legal action from Adobe. Delta's new app icon (left) and Adobe's logo (right) "Adobe threatened legal action unless we changed our app icon — so we did," say the release notes for the latest version of Delta on the App Store. Delta's former icon does look like...

In April, Apple updated its guidelines to allow retro game emulators on the App Store, and several popular emulators have already been released. The emulators released so far allow iPhone users to play games released for older consoles from Nintendo, Sony, SEGA, Atari, and others. A list of some popular emulators available on the App Store so far follows. Released Delta Delta is...

Apple today shared its fourth annual fraud prevention analysis, providing insight into how the App Store's rules protect users from fraudulent apps and other security issues. Apple says that it prevented over $1.8 billion in fraudulent transactions in 2023 alone, and $7 billion during the period from 2020 to 2023. Apple blocked more than 14 million stolen credit cards and banned more than...

Apple today confirmed that it will be bringing all of the app ecosystem changes made to iOS in the European Union to iPadOS in the fall. Earlier this week, the European Commission said that iPadOS is also a gatekeeper platform under the Digital Markets Act. EU developers will be able to distribute iPad apps outside of the App Store using alternative app marketplaces or websites, and all of...

Apple today announced that it is tweaking the terms of the 0.50 euro Core Technology Fee (CTF) that apps distributed using the new EU business terms must pay, introducing a solution that would keep small apps that go viral from being charged unreasonable fees. First, independent and small developers who earn no revenue at all will not have to pay the CTF. Students, hobbyists, and freeware...

Apple on late Thursday into Friday removed the popular messaging and social media apps WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, and Threads from its App Store in China at the request of the Chinese government, The Wall Street Journal reported. In a statement shared with several media outlets, Apple said China's national internet regulator ordered the removal of the apps from the App Store in the country...