Microsoft reinstates SwiftKey to the iOS App Store, six weeks after delisting it
Citing customer feedback, Microsoft has taken the decision to bring SwiftKey back to the App Store. Back at the beginning of October, the company delisted the iOS keyboard app resulting in complaints from the app's many users.
Not only has Microsoft reinstated SwiftKey, the company says that it is "investing heavily in the keyboard" but has not offered any specific details about what this means.
Apple is bringing more ads to the App Store this week
In the tech world, it Google that is most readily associated with ads, but it is far from alone. Apple is perhaps not quite as guilty of bombarding people with advertising as some companies, but starting October 25, the App Store will be used to display more ads than ever before.
Although Apple has not exactly shouted about the impending change -- one that is sure to irritate even the most devote fans of Apple -- details of what is happening have been shared in emails sent out to developers. As of Tuesday, the Today tab of the Apple Store will be home to adverts.
Big changes coming to the App Store later this year
2021 has proven itself to be a big year for mobile apps, and for iOS the approaching changes are even more substantial. A long-awaited update is coming to the App Store, namely the introduction of an A/B testing tool that allows developers to directly test different treatments of their product page on App Store Connect.
Although A/B testing has been available for developers on the Google Play Store through Google Play Experiments since May of 2015, Apple has continuously fallen short in offering a similar feature that allows for convenient testing. Instead, developers on the iOS App Store rely on deploying new builds to compare metrics before and after, utilizing third-party testing, or using conversion optimization via Apple Search Ads creative sets. This is all changing with the introduction of Custom Product Pages and Product Page Optimization.
Apple buys Dark Sky, and that’s terrible news for Android users
When a huge tech corporation like Apple or Microsoft buys a company, it can either go very well or terribly wrong for consumers. Microsoft’s purchase of Wunderlist in 2015 was bad, as the Windows-maker ended up killing it. Apple’s purchase of SoundJam MP in 2000, however, turned into iTunes and revolutionized the music industry. As you can see, it can go either way.
Today, Apple buys popular weather app Dark Sky and it seems to be terrible news. No, the iPhone-maker isn’t killing it entirely — it will still be available on iOS for the time being. Unfortunately, Apple is shuttering both the Android and Wear OS versions, leaving users of Googles’s mobile operating systems without access to the popular app.
Coronavirus pandemic: Apple details stringent App Store restrictions for COVID-19 apps
As coronavirus (COVID-19) makes it way around the world, governments are scrambling to contain the spread within their respective countries. Technology company are also reacting to the crisis, taking steps to clamp down on scams and misinformation.
Having already announced that all stores outside of Greater China will be closed for two weeks, Apple has now revealed strict limits on coronavirus-related apps in its App Store. The company say this is a move to try to ensure the credibility of health and safety information.
The iPhone-maker doth protest too much? Apple launches new site to wax lyrical about the App Store in the face of criticism
Apple has become more familiar with controversy than it might be entirely comfortable with in recent times. Once a near-untouchable company that could, in many people's eyes, do no wrong, there have been numerous scandals over the last few years -- legal battles, problematic hardware, canceled products, and accusations of anticompetitive behavior.
Faced with an antitrust legal battle after complaints of "monopolistic" practices in the App Store, Apple has launched a new site that appears to be a very public defense of what it stands accused of. The new "principles and practices" pages find Apple going out of its way, falling over itself to expose just how anticompetitive the App Store isn't. This is a company on the defensive.
US Supreme Court rules antitrust case can proceed against Apple's 'monopolistic' App Store practices
The US Supreme Court has said that consumers can sue Apple for allegedly violating antitrust laws with its App Store.
A group of iPhone owners were seeking to bring a class action lawsuit against the company, and now Justice Brett Kavanaugh has said they can do so. The group says that in charging a 30 percent commission, Apple was making users overpay for apps, and that the requirement for apps to be sold through the App Store was unfair.
Apple responds to parental control app removal controversy
Apple has been upsetting developers of parental control apps recently by asking them to restrict their offerings in various ways, or simply removing them from the App Store. Critics say that this is because the apps compete with iOS's Screen Time feature.
Apple has now responded to the criticism, denying that this is the reason for its interference with and removal of apps. The company insists its actions had nothing to do with killing off the competition, but says that several parental control apps were delisted because "they put users' privacy and security at risk".
After launching Screen Time, Apple is interfering with competing third party parental control apps
With iOS 12, Apple introduced Screen Time, a feature that serves as a parental control tool and encourages periods away from the screen. Tim Cook said last year that he thought he used his phone too much (more recently adding, "we don't want people using their phones all the time"), and Screen Time is Apple attempt to muscle in on the countering of "phone addiction".
For those who are concerned about how much they are using their phone, or who are concerned about their children, it seems like a great feature. But for app developers who have spent years crafting tools that offered these options before Apple, the news is not so good. A new report reveals that Apple is interfering with apps that compete with Screen Time, even going as far as de-listing them without warning.
Kaspersky reports Apple to antimonopoly authorities over the handling of its apps
Security firm Kaspersky has reported Apple to Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service. The complaint comes after Apple rejected the Kaspersky Safe Kids parental control app from the App Store, saying that the implementation of two "essential" features contravened store policies.
Kaspersky was surprised at the removal of the app as it had been sitting happily in the App Store for some three years. The company believes that Apple has forced the app out of the store because iOS 12 introduced its own Screen Time parental controls -- something Kaspersky views as restrictive and monopolistic behaviour.
Apple now lets you gift in-app purchases
While it has been possible for some time to give iOS apps to others as a gift, you have not been able to do the same with in-app purchases.
Now, however, if you want to buy in-app content as a Christmas present for friends or family (what greater sign of affection, eh?!) you can do so. Apple has changed its App Store Review Guidelines giving developers the option to enable the gifting of in-app purchases.
Check to see if Google has given you free Play Store credit
Every so often Google starts to feel a little generous and decides to give things away. It's happening again, and you might just find that you've been given a few dollars in free credit to spend in the Play Store.
Seemingly at random, Google is handing out between $1 and $5 to Android users -- so you should check to see if you're one of the lucky ones.
Facebook Lite for iOS is now a thing
Just as there is a trend for dark themes in software at the moment, there is also something of a movement of "Lite" apps that use less data and resources. Originally intended for parts of the world where connectivity iss an issue, such apps have become popular with more and more people; because if you can use less data, why not?
We've seen Twitter Lite, Facebook Messenger Lite, and Facebook Lite -- although, until now, this last app has only been available to Android users. Now, however, Facebook Lite is expanding its reach with the launch of an iOS app.
Trend Micro backtracks on browser history collection after its apps are removed from mac App Store
It recently came to light that a number of apps in the mac App Store were collecting data about users' browsing histories and uploading them to a remote server. Included in this list were several apps from security firm Trend Micro.
Apple responded by kicking the offending apps out of the App Store, and Trend Micro started an investigation into the privacy concerns raised about Dr Cleaner, Dr Cleaner Pro, Dr Antivirus, Dr Unarchiver, Dr Battery and Duplicate Finder. Confirming that these apps did in fact collect and upload browser data, the company at first defended the activity, but then went on to cease data collection.
Apple boots Alex Jones and Infowars out of the App Store
Having already removed its podcasts from iTunes, Apple has gone a step further and kicked Infowars out of the App Store.
The app -- which provided access to Infowars articles as well as livestreams of Alex Jones shows rants -- has been permanently removed from the App Store for violations of Apple's rule. The move by the iPhone-maker is just the latest in a string of setbacks for Jones who has already fallen foul of Spotify, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter's policies.
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