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,...

Seven years after first launching on the PlayStation 3 to critical acclaim, thatgamecompany's "Journey" has today launched on the iOS App Store for $4.99 [Direct Link]. The iOS port includes touch controls, and supports the original game's feature that lets you anonymously interact with another player online. In the game, you play as a character who is exploring the remnants of an unknown...

Apple's mobile apps are often first in App Store search results ahead of competitors, according to a new analysis done by The Wall Street Journal. For basic searches like "maps," Apple's apps ranked first more than 60 percent of the time in the WSJ's testing. Apps that generate revenue like Music or Books showed up first in 95 percent of related searches. Apple, in response to questioning ...

In a surprise move tied to the App Store's 10th anniversary last year, Apple has revived its classic "Texas Hold'Em" game for iPhone. As noted by 9to5Mac, version 2.0 of the game was released on the ‌App Store‌ today. Apple says it has completely redesigned, rebuilt, and re-rendered the game to use high-resolution graphics, as well as added new characters, more challenging gameplay, and...

When Apple has to make a difficult decision regarding an app in the App Store, its fate is determined in a meeting of a group called the Executive Review Board or ERB, led by Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller. The detail was shared in a CNBC report on how the ‌App Store‌ works, which gives an inside look at Apple's ‌App Store‌ review team. The Executive Review Board meets once per week...

Apple is facing a new class-action lawsuit from iOS developers who claim that the company uses its monopoly in the App Store to impose "profit-killing" commissions. Filed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose, the lawsuit argues that the tech giant's practice of instating a 30 percent commission rate on all app sales is anticompetitive and...

Apple Music, the App Store, and the Mac App Store are experiencing outages affecting "some users," according to Apple's system status page, one day after Apple seeded the first betas of iOS 13 and macOS Catalina to developers. Apple says some users are "experiencing a problem" with each service. The company is investigating and will update the statuses of each service as more information...

The European Commission is awaiting a response from Apple after Spotify accused the iPhone maker of anticompetitive business practices in relation to its App Store, said the European Union's antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager. "We are looking into that and we have been asking questions around in that market but of course also Apple themselves, for them to answer the allegations. And when...

Each year, Apple provides up to 350 students with a free ticket to WWDC and lodging for the conference. The lucky winners are selected based on the quality of their Swift Playground coding submission and written answers. Apple has now highlighted dozens of WWDC 2019 scholarship winners and their apps in an editorial in the App Store under the Today tab. This year's winners hail from over...

Apple has increased the over-the-air download limit for the App Store to 200MB, up from 150MB. The download limit is now 200MB for iPhones and iPads. The limit affects the maximum size of an app that can be downloaded over 3G or 4G networks. The file size limit is designed to prevent iOS users from accidentally downloading a large app over cellular and using up all their data allowance...

Apple has faced increasing scrutiny as of late over the way it runs its App Store, ranging from Spotify's anticompetitive complaint in Europe to a class action lawsuit accusing Apple of operating an App Store monopoly in the United States, which the Supreme Court recently allowed to proceed. Apple has now responded with a new page on the ‌App Store‌ section of its website titled Principles...

When Background App Refresh is enabled, some iOS apps are using the feature to regularly send data to tracking companies, according to a privacy experiment from The Washington Post that explores the relationship between apps and tracking companies. The Washington Post's Geoffrey Fowler teamed up with privacy firm Disconnect and used specialized software to see what his iPhone was doing and...

Apple Pay is now an accepted payment method for iTunes, App Store, and Apple Books purchases, as well as Apple Music and iCloud storage subscriptions, as reflected in a recently updated Apple support document. To link any credit or debit cards set up in the Wallet app with your Apple ID account, navigate to Settings > iTunes & ‌App Store‌. Next, select your ‌Apple ID‌ email and then tap View ‌...

Just one week after Apple surprised us all with its first iPhone game since 2008, starring billionaire investor Warren Buffett, the game has been pulled from the App Store outside of the United States with no confirmed reason. Warren Buffett's Paper Wizard is a simple game that tasks players with flinging newspapers to collect Warren Bucks. The game gradually increases in difficulty as...

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled 5-4 against Apple in an anticompetitive case involving the App Store, allowing iPhone users to move forward with their class action lawsuit against the company, as first reported by CNBC. From the Supreme Court's ruling:In this case, however, several consumers contend that Apple charges too much for apps. The consumers argue, in particular, that Apple...

Apple has begun offering users the chance to add 10 percent extra credit to their App Store and iTunes accounts this week, similar to past offers from the company. For this deal, you'll have to add money to your Apple ID account from a credit or debit card connected to your account. To add the funds on your iPhone, visit the ‌App Store‌, tap your profile picture, and then tap "Add Funds to ‌A...

A number of iPhone and iPad users this morning are taking to Twitter and Reddit to report an issue with the App Store that prevents them from downloading or updating apps. The problem starts when a user taps the Get button on an app listing, whereupon a pop-up informs them that "Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions have changed" and that they must read and accept them to continue. An ...

Apple has introduced an extra confirmation step when App Store users purchase an app available on a subscription basis or tap to subscribe to a premium service in an app, making sure no accidental subscription purchases occur. The new subscription feature was highlighted on Twitter by developer David Barnard this afternoon and appears to have been implemented recently. With this new...

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets, or ACM for short, today announced that it will investigate whether Apple abuses its position in the App Store by, for example, giving preferential treatment to its own apps. ACM says the investigation will initially focus on Apple because the majority of anticompetitive allegations it has received from other companies and developers have...

Apple today announced Apple Arcade, a new subscription-based games service for mobile, desktop, and the living room, featuring hundreds of titles from top video game publishing houses including Disney, Sega, Lego, Cartoon Network, and Konami. A subscription to Apple Arcade includes access to over 100 new and exclusive games that can be played both online and offline across iPhone, iPad, Mac, ...

Apple today announced that all new and updated iPhone and iPad apps submitted to the App Store on and after March 27, 2019 must be built with the iOS 12.1 SDK or later and support the ‌iPhone‌ XS Max and/or the latest 12.9-inch iPad Pro. ‌App Store‌ screenshots for those devices will also be required. Likewise, all new apps and app updates for Apple Watch will need to be built with the...