Spotify said today that it has submitted a new version App Store that shows pricing and feature information about the audio company’s different plans in the EU.
The update, which is pending approval from Apple, also includes a link for users to buy subscription plans from Spotify’s website.
Earlier this week, the European Commission fined Apple a massive €1.84 billion ($ 2 billion) for the company’s anti-competitive practices in the music streaming market.
Buoyed by this decision, Spotify has submitted this new version with information about subscriptions, offers, and a link to buy those, as per The Verge.
In response, Apple said it plans to appeal EC’s decision and said that Spotify has been “the biggest beneficiary” of the App Store.
Waze is adding a few new features that will help users navigate tricky roundabouts, get alerts when a speed limit is about to change and get warnings about speed bumps and sharp curves.
The new feature is rolling out globally to Android users this month and iOS users later this year.
Users will start to see alerts when a speed limit is about change along their route, giving them more time to adjust their speed.
This update is rolling out globally to all Android and iOS users this month.
These alerts are rolling out now globally to all Android and iOS users this month.
The European Union has fined Apple €1.84 billion for breaching antitrust rules in the market for music streaming services on its mobile platform, iOS.
The penalty is focused on Apple’s application of anti-steering provisions, which put restrictions on music streaming apps’ abilities to tell consumers about cheaper offers outside Apple’s App Store.
The iPhone maker has its own music streaming service, Apple Music, and rivals — such as Spotify — have argued the restrictions put them at a disadvantage compared to the platform operator.
A formal EU statement of objections duly followed, in April 2021, when the Commission accused Apple of operating its App Store in a way that distorts competition in the market for music streaming services.
Last month, the FT reported Apple was facing a €500M antitrust penalty over music streaming.
The move is notable given the pushback Apple has received on its compliance with the new EU regulation so far.
Though others have fought against Apple’s DMA rules, MacPaw has chosen to opt in — a one-way conversion that offers no ability, at present, to return to Apple’s existing rules.
The current version of Setapp offers dozens of apps for $9.99 per month and up, depending on the platform and number of devices.
While the service is being likened to an alternative app store, to be clear, it will involve a subscription for all-you-can access to its apps, which is not Apple’s App Store model.
As for developers looking for additional distribution, however, another channel for reaching iOS users could be beneficial if MacPaw’s terms are agreeable.
Tim Cook says Apple will ‘break new ground’ in GenAI this yearApple CEO Tim Cook is promising that Apple will “break new ground” on GenAI this year.
Some of the staff on the EV project were reassigned to work on various GenAI initiatives, according to multiple publications.
$AAPL COOK: APPLE WILL "BREAK NEW GROUND" IN GENERATIVE AI THIS YEAR — *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) February 28, 2024Apple, unlike many of its Big Tech rivals, has been slow to invest in — and ramp up — GenAI.
During the company’s Q1 earnings call, Cook said Apple was working internally with GenAI but that it was taking a slower, more deliberate approach to customer-facing incarnations of the technology.
Perhaps telegraphing Apple’s intensifying GenAI focus, engineers at the company have co-authored an increasing number of GenAI-related academic and technical papers.
For example, on February 25, 2024, Threads saw 486,803 installs on Google Play and 342,228 on iOS.
X, by comparison, saw 225,408 Google Play downloads and 112,625 on iOS, Appfigures data shows.
That’s nearly triple the downloads on iOS for Threads and more than double the downloads on Google Play.
Then, Threads had 382,999 daily installs on iOS versus just 113,649 installs of X on the same platform — or more than triple.
Threads’ Google Play downloads were 660,882 at this time, versus just 210,475 for X on the Play Store — also more than triple.
Caller identity company Truecaller has launched its call recording and transcription for paid users in India, the company’s biggest market.
The recording feature will be available to premium users on both Android and iOS, with support for English and Hindi transcriptions.
In June 2023, the company introduced call recording for premium users in the U.S., and now it is expanding the feature in India.
If you are using Truecaller on Android, the app’s own dialer will show a dedicated recording button.
The app calls another recording line, and then you will have to manually merge the calls to start the recording.
Opera revealed today that it will launch a new AI-powered browser built on its own engine for iOS in Europe.
The changes will allow developers to offer browsers that are not based on the WebKit browser engine.
Opera says the changes will allow it to provide iPhone users with an AI-powered alternative to Safari.
Last year, Opera introduced its “Aria” browser AI and redesigned its flagship desktop browser and called it Opera One, which will also be the name of the new iOS browser.
At the time, Opera said the new browser has elements that will make it ready for a “generative AI-based future.”
Among the changes in iOS 17.4 is support for auto-generated transcripts in the Apple Podcasts app, making it easier for listeners to follow along to their favorite shows.
Similar to how lyrics work in Apple Music, users can view a live text version of an episode, and the words are highlighted as they listen.
To pull up the transcript, users click on the new “quote” icon at the bottom of the Now Playing screen.
Creators can also release their own transcripts by changing the setting in Apple Podcasts Connect within the Availability tab.
Earlier this week, Apple made iOS 17.3 widely available, giving users access to its Stolen Device Protection feature and collaborative playlists for Apple Music.
Four years after leaving iOS, Fortnite is coming back — but only European players will be dropping in this time.
The endless beef between Epic Games and Apple over the company’s App Store fees took its most recent surprise turn on Thursday when the iPhone maker announced changes coming to iOS in the EU.
The plan to offer Fortnite for iOS dovetails with Epic’s news that it will launch a version of the Epic Games Store on the platform in the EU.
Beyond developing Fortnite and the Unreal Engine, Epic also runs the Epic Game Store, a digital storefront for PC games that’s also available on Macs.
That vision is increasingly coming into focus on Fortnite, which has evolved from being a few third-person shooter game modes into a full-fledged Roblox-like portal for digital games.
