Apple will launch its online store in India next week

Apple will launch its online store in India on September 23, bringing a range of services directly to customers in the world’s second largest smartphone market for the first time in over 20 years since it began operations in the country.

The company, which currently relies on third-party online and offline retailers to sell its products in India, said its online store will offer AppleCare+, which extends the warranty on its hardware products by up to two years, as well as a trade-in program to let customers access discounts on purchase of new iPhones by returning previous models. These programs were previously not available in India. Customers will also be able to buy Macs with custom configuration. 

“We know our users are relying on technology to stay connected, engage in learning, and tap into their creativity, and by bringing the Apple Store online to India, we are offering our customers the very best of Apple at this important time,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail + People, in a statement.

TechCrunch reported in January that the iPhone-maker was planning to launch its online store in India in Q3 this year. A month later, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed the development, adding that Apple will also launch its first physical store in the country next year.

On its website, Apple says it also plans to offer financing options to customers in India, and students will receive additional discounts on Apple products and accessories. Starting next month, it will also let customers check out free online sessions on music and photography from professional creatives. And if they wish, they can engrave emoji or text on their AirPods in several Indian languages.

The launch of the online store will mark a new chapter in Apple’s business in India, where about 99% of the market is commanded by Android smartphones. The iPhone-maker has become visibly more aggressive in India in recent years. In July, the company’s contract manufacturing partner (Foxconn) began assembling the iPhone 11 in India. This was the first time the company was locally assembling a current-generation iPhone model in the country.

Assembling handsets in India enables smartphone vendors — including Apple — to avoid roughly 20% import duty that the Indian government levies on imported electronics products. Lowering the cost of its products is crucial for Apple in India, which already sells several of its services including Apple Music and TV+ at record-low price in the country.

The starting price of iPhone 11 Pro Max is $1,487 in India, compared to $1,099 in the U.S. The AirPods Pro, which sell at $249 in the U.S., was made available in India at $341 at the time of launch.

We know how important it is for our customers to stay in touch with those they love and the world around them. We can’t wait to connect with our customers and expand support in India with the Apple Store online on September 23! https://t.co/UjR31jzEaY

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 18, 2020

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A closer look at the new Apple Watches

I’m very much still working on a full review of the new Apple Watches — specifically the Series 6. As of this posting, I’ve had the wearables in my possession (and on my person) for a little under 24 hours. It’s a special circumstance attributable to the virtual nature of this week’s event.

Simply put, it has given me significantly more time than I would traditionally get amid the press scrum after an Apple event, but not nearly enough to feel comfortable calling this a full review. It’s important to spend some quality time with any device you’re planning to review — and that’s doubly true for a wearable.

The Apple Watch Series 6 arrives Friday, priced at $399

A smartwatch needs to be a part of your life for a bit before you can feel comfortable using the word. I have, however, been living with watchOS 7. I’ve also spent plenty of time with the Series 5 and feel comfortable discussing some of the key differences between operating systems and devices.

The design language has remained more or less consistent across the life of the line, with some subtle aesthetic refinements over the years. Given how many of these things Apple has sold — and how the company continues to dominate the category — it’s easy enough to understand why it hasn’t messed too much with the formula here. That goes double for the lower-cost SE, which has a lot of common DNA with the discontinued Series 5.

Image Credits: Brian Heater

There are some new case colors, however. Blue and a new (Product)RED join silver, space gray and gold aluminum. Apple sent the former, and honestly, I’m a bit surprised at how subtle and deep the blue is. In most lighting, the color looks more like a blueish hue than a louder shade. For most users, that’s probably for the best. The deep blue is something more appropriate for a wider range of situations. From what I’ve seen, the red is a bit louder — more akin to the color on (Product)RED iPhones.

And there’s always the bands if you really want to stand out. It continues to be a proprietary design, but there are a ton of choices on the market at this point — and a lot of third-party options (though I admit I recently had a bad experience with one that tore after a week or so). Solo Loop is probably the biggest addition on the band front, removing the buckle/Velcro from the equation.

There are two primary styles (and a bunch of different colors). I’m partial to the braided version. It more closely resembles the fabric bands I prefer, while adding a little additional design into the mix. I’m less of a fan of the straight-up silicone model — I’ve never really been a fan of the rubbery silicon bands. The Loops are nice and stretchy, but you’ll still want to find which of the 12 sizes best fits you. You can measure and approximate from home, but honestly, it’s going to be a lot easier to deal with when more Apple Stores open for in-person sizing.

Apple introduces the Apple Watch SE, a cheaper Apple Watch

The biggest addition for the Series 6 on the hardware front is a blood oxygen sensor. Apple’s hardly the first smartwatch maker to offer the functionality, but it arrives at a key time, when more people are tuned into such numbers amid COVID-19. Here’s how Apple describes it,

The new blood oxygen sensor is made up of four LED clusters and four photodiodes. Incorporated into the completely redesigned back crystal, this new sensor works in concert with the Blood Oxygen app to determine your blood oxygen level. The testing will work in the background, or you can enable it through the app. The process takes about 15 seconds, though there are a lot of variables that can mess up a reading, including how much you move and the tightness and placement of your band. I found myself having to repeat it a couple of times to get a good reading.

It would be great if Apple offered up more contextual information about what blood oxygen levels actually mean. I assume a vast majority of people don’t know what constitutes a healthy level. It’s a tricky line to walk, however. Healthy levels vary from person to person, and Apple certainly doesn’t want to position itself as diagnosing people. The company did, however, mention COVID-19 a few times with regard to health monitoring.

Image Credits: Brian Heater

It is participating in some early studies, but again, for obvious reasons, it can’t come out and say it’s going to diagnose you with the condition. Rather, like the rest of the vitals, it can offer early detection of potential underlying problems. The SE, meanwhile, drops ECG monitoring altogether, which may or may not be worth the price differential, depending on what you’re looking to get out of such a device.

My biggest disappointment with Tuesday’s news (and the hands-on thus far) is that the battery life hasn’t changed much. I was really hoping the company was going to announce a big upgrade this time out, to coincide with new sleep tracking. Instead it suggests that users charge right before bed or in the morning (watchOS will pop up a warning if you need a charge before bedtime).

Image Credits: Brian Heater

There were some early reports that the company upgraded the battery just slightly, but the current official stated life is 18 hours (same as the 5). I’ve been wearing the watch for about eight and a half hours as of this writing and am at 74%, with the cellular running. The company has stated, however that the S6 processor is more battery efficient than its predecessor. The Watch can also be charged faster, with a full charging in around 90 minutes, which should help with topping up before bed.

Looking forward into more depth with sleep tracking and fitness features soon (though the Fitness+ service will sadly have to wait a bit). I have exactly one night with the Watch under my belt. I apparently slept seven hours and 31 minutes — which is surprisingly good for me. Chalk it up to Disrupt/Apple week exhaustion. The tracking is pretty basic so far, though I imagine it will offer a fuller picture over time. Right now it’s limited to time in bed and time asleep, attached to iOS’s new bed time features. It will also show you what your heart rate looked like over the course of the night.

Apple began work on the Watch’s handwashing feature years before COVID-19

The hand-washing feature introduced with watchOS 7 works reasonably well, though there’s still so much variation in bathroom acoustics and sinks it can sometimes be an issue, even while listening for the sound of soap squishing between your fingers. For instance, it had a little trouble with my bathroom sink, but was happy to start the 15-second countdown when I wash my hands (or the dishes) in the sink. The Health app collects hand washing metrics over time, including the average time washed and the number of times per day. It’s an odd thing to see mapped out, but Apple’s timing couldn’t have have been better.

So far, the Series 6 isn’t a giant leap forward, but it’s nice to see Apple taking health more and more seriously — and again, it’s going to be great to revisit the hardware when Fitness+ drops. The Series 6 is available starting Friday at $499 for the cellular version and $399 without. The SE, meanwhile is $329 and $279, respectively, while the old standby Series 3 starts at an extremely accessible $199.

The new Watches go on sale tomorrow. Full review soon, seriously.

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New iOS 14 widgets you can try today

Despite the surprise release of iOS 14 that left app developers unprepared, an ambitious few have managed to push their way through — or even pull an all-nighter — in order to make their apps available with iOS 14 support on launch day. For the first time in years, the new version of iOS offers a new way for consumers to organize their home screens. Now, your less frequently used apps can be shuffled away to the App Library on the iPhone’s back screen, while those apps offering information and updates can feature their content through new home screen widgets.

In time, widget support will be a standard feature for a large number of apps. But due to the way Apple chose to release iOS 14 this year, there may not be as many app widgets offered on day one.

Below are some of the first apps launching today alongside iOS 14 that include interesting iOS 14 widgets. These apps and their widgets should be available today shortly after the iOS 14 release.

Aviary

Twitter client Aviary released widgets that allow you to view either 1, 2 or 4 of the latest tweets (depending on which widget size you select) from your Twitter timeline. The widgets will update periodically by themselves, as well. The app will be available today after iOS 14 rolls out.

Image Credits: Aviary (widget shown in top right)

Brief

Unbiased news app Brief is keeping to its promises to avoid clickbait with its minimalist, monochromatic widget designed to stop attention hijacking. The “Front Page” widget’s content will be carefully curated by its news team, so only the most important stories of the day will show up on your home screen.

A second “Election Snapshot” widget will let you keep track of the current presidential, house and senate races at a glance. Users can customize this widget to track their own most-watched races, like those in their home state, for example.

Image Credits: Brief

Soor

Soor, a premium music player app for iPhone users, has released three widgets in various sizes. The “Now Playing” widget shows the current song and what’s up next, and updates in near real time. There’s also a “Magic Mixes” widget for your mixes and a “Music Collection” widget that can be configured to show eight types of curated content.

Image Credits: Soor

Readdle: Spark Mail, Calendar 5, Documents

Readdle has released widgets for its Calendar iOS app that show your appointments and the month.

Image Credits: Readdle/Calendar 5

Its Spark Mail app offers widgets for email and calendar, too.

Image Credits: Readdle/Spark Mail

And Documents by Readdle is adding widgets for quick access for file actions like VPN, music, player, browser, etc.

Image Credits: Readdle

Cheep

Cheep’s app lets you know about mistake fares or other ridiculously discounted flight deals. Its new iOS 14 widgets can be customized to feature deals from your airports and can be stacked together to make it easy to see the deals without opening the app.

Image Credits: Cheep

Dice

Dice, from PCalc, is a physics-based simulation of polyhedral dice for use in tabletop role-playing games. The app’s new widgets bring its dice to your home screen allowing you to open the app with just a tap.

Image Credits: PCalc

Twilight Dice

Another dice app also has its widgets live today.

Image Credits: Twilight Dice

Weather Line

Forecasting app Weather Line already offers a lot of visual data related to weather and forecasts. Now it’s bringing its insights and graphs right to the iOS 14 home screen. The app’s all-in-one weather widget delivers current conditions, forecasts and other content like high/low, sunrise/sunset, incoming rain, extreme weather warnings and more.

Image Credits: Weather Line

Nighthawk

Nighthawk’s Twitter client will release its first widget today. “Vanity” lets you keep an eye on your Twitter profile metrics, like how many followers you have and how many you’re following.

The first Nighthawk widget for iOS 14, “Vanity,” is coming today, along with big enhancements to Smart Filter made possible by new iOS features! We have so much more on the horizon, but things are still up in the air a bit.

Get it? Air? Birds? Aw f pic.twitter.com/MzzlJoQ8O8

— Team Nighthawk (@NighthawkApp) September 16, 2020

Apollo for Reddit

Popular Reddit client app Apollo is offering a collection of widgets, including a Post widget that shows a post from a Reddit feed of your choosing, a Multiple Posts widgets that will show several posts from your favorite feed, a Post Feed Grid that presents posts in a more visual, grid-style layout, a Wallpaper widget that will rotate through photos from image-heavy subreddits you like, as well as Showerthoughts and Jokes widgets that put a little humor on your home screen.

Image Credits: Apollo for Reddit

Carrot Weather

The iOS 14 release of Carrot’s humorous weather app brings a forecast widget, hourly and daily widgets, a weather maps widget and — in true carrot fashion — a snark widget that delivers your weather with the app’s classic snarky comments.

[gallery ids="2047623,2047626,2047624,2047625"]

Tangerine

Habit and mood tracking app Tangerine will offer a variety of widgets to remind you about your progress on your day’s goals, like your commitments to run, exercise, drink water or whatever else you may be tracking.

Image Credits: Tangerine

Nudget

Nudget’s mobile budgeting app will introduce widgets for keeping up with your household budget, including things like those categories where you’ve spent too much or have dropped your spending, and how much money you have left this week.

Image Credits: Nudget

Birch

Organized photo notes app Birch includes a Featured Photo widget that lets you put a photo on your home screen — a neat trick, since there’s not a way to do so with the iOS Photos app. (Submitting today)

Image Credits: Birch

Card Pointers

<a href=”https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cardpointers/id1472875808”>Card Pointers, an app that helps users get the most points and cash back from their credit cards, is launching with three widgets that will help people track their cards, know when to use one to maximize their benefits, and stay on top of the free statement credits being offered.

Image Credits: Card Pointers

FunnMedia’s apps

FunnMedia’s health tracking apps, HabitMinder, WaterMinder, Calory App and Healthview all have released widgets today to help you track movement, water intake, and other health goals.

[gallery ids="2047801,2047800,2047799,2047798,2047797,2047796"]

SmartGym

SmartGym arrives today with several new widgets including your week’s workout summary, simpler workout widgets with more graphics, and even one that delivers motivational quotes. The widgets can also be stacked in case you can’t decide which to choose.

[gallery ids="2047790,2047791,2047789,2047792"]

The above apps should be live today after iOS 14 releases, barring some unforeseen rejection.

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TouchWood puts versatile, unobtrusive interfaces inside your desk, table and walls

Everything we do seems to have an associated app these days, and all day they vie for your attention, pinging and lighting up in their needy ways. TouchWood wants to tone down this exhausting non-stop competition with a quiet, simplified interface built right into the natural material of your desk or wall.

Co-founders Matthew Dworman and Gaurav Asthana were fed up with the idea that making your home or workplace smarter usually meant adding even more stuff: a smart speaker that sits on your desk, a smart watch constantly telling you your step count, a smart fridge that slips advertisements into your morning routine. Not only that but these devices and apps are constantly drawing you away from what you want to do, whether that’s work or trying not to work.

They wanted (they told me) something like the enchanted sword Sting from Lord of the Rings: It’s just a sword 99 percent of the time, but it’s also an orc radar if and when you need it, and even then it just glows. Why doesn’t the digital world similarly only appear when you need it, and in the least obtrusive fashion possible?

Dworman previously worked in high-end furniture design, and with Asthana developed the idea of interacting with tech via “a slab of wood instead of an app,” as the latter put it.

Image Credits: TouchWood

“What we’ve created is a modular tech platform that uses high-intensity LEDs with capacitive touch sensing. This allows us to embed it in essentially opaque material,” Dworman explained. “The wall, countertop, desk, in the home, the office, retail, transportation, we see so many ways to provide information and completely invisible controls.”

The surface would appear completely normal when the display is off, and indeed it is. Mui Labs, which demonstrated at CES its own natural material display, requires a specially perforated wood surface that you probably wouldn’t want to spill coffee on. A TouchWood display is just that: wood — or many other common surface materials.

A TouchWood surface in action. (The lines are an artifact of the camera’s framerate.)

It’s not meant to be a second display, but a friendly overflow for the information avalanche presented to us via our desktops, laptops, and phones… and speakers, watches, coffee makers, robot dogs, and so on.

“We’re not trying to put a computer in a surface — we want to provide you with a better touchpoint for your existing devices, to enhance their capabilities by taking away some of the information pressure that’s put on them,” said Asthana.

Image Credits: TouchWood

Perhaps you, like me, constantly flick your eyes towards the tabs in your browsers, or the apps arrayed on the bottom of your screen, to see if there’s any change — a new email, a message on Slack, a calendar item. A TouchWood desk would let those notifications take alternative routes, like a glowing circle off where you put your coffee or mouse. Tap it there and get a summary, or go to the content, or swipe it away — but you never have to switch tabs, or go to a different app, or unlock your phone. And when it’s done, the desk is just a piece of wood again.

Dworman sees the transition as natural. “Touchscreens the way we know them have really only been around for 10 or 11 years. But because they’re so ubiquitous we kind of take them for granted,” he said. “When you watch sci-fi films, this tech is still being used 500 years in the future! But it shouldn’t be. In car terms, the iPhone as it is now is like the Model T.”

TouchWood aims to be a platform eventually, but needs to launch a product of its own first. It plans to have a nice sit/stand desk with two large display areas available next year for somewhere in the $2,000 region. Expensive, yes — but you may be surprised what people will happily spend on new furniture, especially something like a major component of a newly important home office.

After proving out the concept with a flagship product, they can start working their way into other niches and working with partners. Embedding an invisible display in a countertop, wall, or of course a restaurant table leads to all kinds of use cases. Here’s hoping TouchWood’s tech leads to a future with slightly fewer screens in it — at least ones we can see.

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iOS 14 is now available to download

Apple has just released the final version of iOS 14, the next major version of the operating system for the iPhone. It is a free download and it works with the iPhone 6s or later, both generations of iPhone SE and the most recent iPod touch model. If your device runs iOS 13, it supports iOS 14. The update may or may not be immediately available, but keep checking because people are now receiving the update.

The company is also releasing major updates for the iPad, Apple Watch and Apple TV today. So you can expect some new features with iPadOS 14, tvOS 14 and watchOS 7 as well.

The release of those updates caught many developers by surprise. Apple announced yesterday that iOS 14 would be ready for prime time today. Usually, the company announces the release date a week or two in advance. This way, developers have enough time to fix the last remaining bugs and submit updates to the App Store.

If you update your iPhone today, don’t be surprised if you encounter a few bugs here and there from third-party apps. There are some major changes under the hood and nobody expected such a short turnaround.

The update is currently rolling out and is available both over-the-air in the Settings app, and by plugging your device into iTunes for a wired update. But first, back up your device. Make sure your iCloud backup is up to date by opening the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad and tapping on your account information at the top and then on your device name. Additionally, you can also plug your iOS device into your computer to do a manual backup in iTunes (or do both, really).

Don’t forget to encrypt your backup in iTunes. It is much safer if somebody hacks your computer. And encrypted backups include saved passwords and health data. This way, you don’t have to reconnect to all your online accounts.

Once this is done, you should go to the Settings app, then ‘General’ and then ‘Software Update.’ Then you should see ‘Update Requested…’ It will then automatically start downloading once the download is available.

The biggest change of iOS 14 is the introduction of widgets on the home screen, a new App Library to browse all your apps and the ability to run App Clips — those are mini apps that feature a small part of an app and that you can run without installing anything.

There are also many refinements across the board, such as new features for Messages, with a big focus on groups with @-mentions and replies, a new Translate app that works on your device, cycling directions in Apple Maps in some cities and various improvements in Notes, Reminders, Weather, Home and more.

If you want to learn more about iOS 14, I looked at some of the features in the new version earlier this summer:

iOS 14 gets rid of the app grid to help you find the app you’re looking for

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Four perspectives on Apple’s new service bundle

Apple’s hardware event yesterday wasn’t particularly eventful for its most popular devices, bringing only iterative changes to Apple Watch and the iPad. But the company tipped its hand as to a new, aggressive approach to services with a fitness product and new unified subscription called Apple One. What are the implications of this shift?

For one thing, Cupertino is engaging in a form of future-proofing to offset slowing hardware sales and potentially a loss of App Store income.

And yet some of the services may not survive the next few years. What happens when no one wants to pay for Apple Arcade or TV+? Will its newest service, Fitness+, impact self-employed fitness workers who are building their own brands by undercutting them and offering exclusive watchOS integration?

Lastly, the whole deal may look different depending on what country you live in — and no one likes to feel left out.

TC staff dilate on these possibilities below:

• Brian Heater: This is Apple’s new bread and butter.
• Kirsten Korosec: If you’re a self-employed fitness pro, Apple just ate your lunch.
• Lucas Matney: Apple One is doomed from the start.
• Devin Coldewey: Apple’s increasingly complex global ecosystem.

This is Apple’s new bread and butter

Brian Heater

Image Credits: Apple

Of course Apple’s not at any risk of losing money on the hardware front. It still sells a ton of iPhones, a lot of computers and more smartwatches than anyone else. But certain categories are seeing a slow down. The iPhone in particular — the long-time tentpole product of Apple’s hardware offering — has been impacted as smartphone sales have plateaued and slowed down nearly across the board.

Accordingly, services have become an increasingly important piece of Apple’s quarterly revenue. Earlier this year, the company noted a year-over-year sales increase of 17%, due in no small part to recent additions like Arcade and TV+. Today’s addition of Fitness+ will no doubt juice the numbers even further, arriving at a perfect moment for in-home workouts amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Apple burns developer goodwill with surprise release of iOS 14

Apple’s developer relations have hit another sour note. At the company’s hardware event on Tuesday, where it announced new Apple Watch devices and iPads, Apple surprised developers with the news that it would be releasing the updated versions of its major software platforms, iOS 14, iPad OS 14, watchOS 14, and tvOS 14 on September 16, giving them less than a day to prepare.

The unexpected and accelerated timeline left many developers scrambling to ready their apps for App Review and has complicated developers’ plans for the iOS 14 launch day.

Good morning to everyone except Apple Developer Relations.

— josh avant (@joshavant) September 16, 2020

Some, like popular podcast player, Overcast, simply informed its users that its planned iOS 14 features won’t be ready.

Others are less forgiving, noting that Apple’s decision to release iOS 14 without looping in the developer community has added, as developer Steve Troughton-Smith put it, “a whole lot of unnecessary stress on developers in an otherwise stressful year.”

In addition, Apple’s decision impacts those developers who choose to wait to support iOS 14.

Typically, developers will often leverage an iOS launch day to promote their apps’ new features via press releases, blog posts, and social media. News coverage from app review sites may even include round-ups of notable updates to favorite apps, or highlight those apps that have taken advantage of new iOS features in interesting ways.

This year, instead, the developer community can’t worry about chasing press and accolades, as they now have to get their app ready for the iOS 14 update ahead of schedule.

I get how whiny this sounds, but I think this is the most negative I’ve felt after an Apple event.

I don’t push myself that hard, but I did do a lot of work to prepare to hit the “day one” release for iOS 14 with hopes of a reward in the shape of making some lists or something

— Charlie Chapman (@_chuckyc) September 15, 2020

Sorry, my iOS 14 features aren’t ready yet.

Since it’ll be a while before most of my customers use iOS 14, I spent the summer prioritizing bug fixes and my family’s pandemic/school logistics (we’re OK, just busy).

Like you all, I’m just doing what I can this year. More soon.

— Overcast (@OvercastFM) September 16, 2020

Only now do submissions to the App Store work. It is 10PM UK time; iOS 14 launches tomorrow. App Review can be anywhere from an hour to several days. This is a whole lot of unnecessary stress on developers in an otherwise stressful year https://t.co/O1NrtipW4k

— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) September 15, 2020

Wonder how many millions in potential revenue for third-parties Apple might have wiped off the table by undercutting every launch day and press review

— Matthew Cassinelli (@mattcassinelli) September 16, 2020

Consumers may also be impacted by the surprise release, as well, as some app makers are warning users their apps may not work properly on the new OS until they’re updated for compatibility. One high-profile example is Nintendo, who tweeted that its Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp game won’t function following the update and is asking users to wait before moving to iOS 14.

iPhone owners, however, are quick to update their software to the latest release. Ahead of Apple’s developer conference this summer, Apple released new iOS figures that indicated its iOS 13 operating system, which debuted in September 2019, had since been installed on 91% of all iPhones released within the last 4 years, and on 81% of all compatible iPhones.

That means there’s little time for iOS developers to update their apps before a majority of the iOS user base has moved to the new version.

I thought I was being smart by submitting an update built with the 13 SDK on Monday, a day before the likely 14 GM release and rush of submissions.

I think it backfired. 14 SDK apps are being prioritized and reviewed in record time. I bet 13 apps are at the bottom of the queue.

— Marco Arment (@marcoarment) September 16, 2020

Cannot believe they are just shadow dropping iOS 14. That feels so horrible as a developer.

— Sawyer Blatz (@SawyerBlatz) September 15, 2020

Every iOS developer:

Apple: pic.twitter.com/caJj2SuuQ1

— Jesse #AbolishPolice (@jesse_squires) September 16, 2020

Apple just ruined everyone’s day with the news that iOS 14 is dropping tomorrow. No developer is ready. You’ll want to hold off on this update for a bit.

— Daniel Sinclair (@_DanielSinclair) September 15, 2020

This latest gaffe follows months of heavy-handed App Store rejections on Apple’s part, which even lead to a huge blow-up between Apple and Basecamp over its modern email app, Hey, which was rejected over in-app purchase rules. Apple’s increased attention to potential in-app purchase losses also saw it rejecting the WordPress app at one point, forcing the company to issue a rare apology after being called out publicly.

Now, Apple is battling in court with Fortnite maker Epic Games over Apple’s right to commission Epic’s business when there’s no other means of addressing the iPhone market outside of Apple’s App Store. A company as large as Epic doesn’t need to rely on the services Apple provides, like distribution and Apple Pay, it argues, but is forced to by Apple’s terms.

Developers have also been taking note of how Apple describes its App Store business in its court filings, calling it something developers “reap the benefits from” — a turn of phrase that rubbed some developers the wrong way. After all, people buy iPhone for a number of reasons, but its ability to run apps is high among them.

Developers have watched, too, as Apple attempted to yank away Epic’s Apple Developer accounts, including those for its related game development platform, Unity, as well as Epic’s ability to support its users through “Sign in with Apple.” These hardball tactics on Apple’s part made it apparent to developers that Apple is ready and willing to leverage developers’ dependence on Apple’s tools to punish any developers who step out of line.

Then there’s the fact that Apple has been the focus of antitrust investigations into its App Store business which revealed how the company cut special deals, despite its claims that the App Store is “an even playing field.”

Recently, Apple updated its App Store rules to better spell out its terms around commissions and to find a path for new game streaming services to join the App Store. But the result is that its rules have now grown so complex, with so many carve-outs and exceptions, that some developers may be confused about what’s permitted.

In addition to this growing swell of developer resentment, Apple sprung the next-day release of iOS 14 on a developer community who, like everyone else, is trying to function during the coronavirus pandemic — a crisis has completely upended people’s day-to-day lives. Many developers are now working remotely and homeschooling children. They may be directly impacted by COVID-19, perhaps with sick family member.

I wouldn’t say that. It’s two eternal problems:

– Apple’s hardware release dates dictate their software release dates, not the software quality or readiness.

– Most of Apple seems to have *far* too little of an idea of the challenges and conditions faced by outside developers. https://t.co/uWGwlkYEvl

— Marco Arment (@marcoarment) September 16, 2020

Apple hasn’t explained to either the public or developers the reason behind its decision for the surprise launch.

 

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