Privacy warning: Meitu photo app is spyware sharing your phone's data
There has been a sudden craze for freaky-looking photos created using the Chinese app Meitu. The images the app creates are either cutesy or horrific, depending on your point of view, but it's what's going on in the background that has people concerned.
While Meitu has been popular in China for several years --amassing a huge following -- it has only just caught on over here. What many users are unaware of is that while they are busy applying virtual makeup to their face in the app, data such as a phone's IMEI, Mac address, users' precise location and much more is being gathered and shared. The advice? Ditch the app if you're concerned about your privacy.
Apple hikes UK App Store prices by 25 percent post-Brexit
The financial turbulence that followed the UK's vote to leave the European Union has seen the value of the pound tumbling. With the pound and the dollar almost reaching parity, Apple has again been forced to increase prices.
While the US and UK currencies may not quite have reached parity, the price of apps in the two regions will very soon do just that. Apps that cost $0.99 in the US would have cost £0.79 in the UK pre-Brexit -- now this will jump to £0.99. Information about the price hike came in an email to developers, and it will take effect over the next seven days.
Spotify is the top-grossing iOS app, Line takes first spot on Google Play
There are lots of really successful paid apps, but which one generates the most net revenue? According to a Sensor Tower report, Spotify comes out on top overall in 2016. The music streaming service only led the pack on the App Store, but that was enough to push it all the way to the top. On Google Play, it was messaging service Line which took top honors in this category.
Line actually came second overall, and in third place on the App Store. It is interesting that Spotify managed to come out ahead despite the fact that it is nowhere to be found in the top ten grossing apps on Google Play. This suggests that iOS users spent far more than Google Play users did on Spotify subscriptions.
Apple sued over iOS app distribution 'monopoly'
It is no secret that iOS is a tightly controlled ecosystem. There is not a whole lot that users can do to customize their iPhones, and there are not that many options for developers wanting to sell their apps outside of the App Store. In fact, if you do not want to reach a very small audience, who likes to jailbreak their devices, your one and only bet is the App Store.
A number of customers believe that that is a problem so serious that they sued Apple over its perceived iOS app distribution monopoly. A complaint was filed all the way back in 2011, but only now did a court allow the lawsuit to go forward.
Apple paid $20 billion to developers in 2016
Apple users tend to spend a lot of money on apps. That much is obvious by looking at how much App Store developers earned last year. Apple puts the figure at a massive $20 billion, which, after taking into account the fact that it takes a 30 percent cut, would mean that the App Store generated -- at least -- $28.5 billion in revenue in 2016.
The actual revenue is likely to be higher -- though not by much -- because Apple also makes money in other ways, like through ads shown in the App Store's search results or Developer Program subscriptions. It just goes to show why so many major developers like it.
Apple will not approve updates and new apps during winter holidays
The winter holidays are fast approaching and, just like other workers, many folks in the tech industry are looking forward to their vacation days. But, before employees can celebrate and unwind, companies have to adjust their schedule accordingly and prepare their customers for the limited (or lack of) office hours.
Apple announces its schedule today, advising developers to submit their updates and new apps for approval in time, to avoid any delays and inconveniences.
Duolingo introduces chatbots to help iPhone users learn a foreign language
There are many ways to try to learn a new language, ranging from audio books and text books, to software and web-based options. One learning tool that's proving popular at the moment is Duolingo, and a new feature has been introduced that helps to provide an immersive linguistic experience.
It is said that one of the best ways to learn a language is to visit the country that speaks it and surround yourself with native speakers. As this is not always possible, Duolingo's new chatbot feature could be the next best thing.
Apple is cleaning up the App Store by clearing out abandoned apps and limiting name length
Starting next week -- September 7 specifically -- Apple is starting to clear the crap out of the App Store. What does this mean? It means removing what Apple describes as "problematic and abandoned apps", as well as changing the way apps can be named to prevent developers using SEO'd titles for their creations.
Moving forward, app titles will be limited to just 50 characters, reducing the chance of naming them in a deceptive way. Apple appears to have quite a task ahead of it as it plans to review every app currently featured in the App Store, before contacting developers about those with problems.
Pokémon Go begins its European invasion
Pokémon Go is undoubtedly the hottest mobile game at the moment. In the first week after its release it has skyrocketed to the top of the free and top grossing charts on both the App Store and Google Play in Australia, New Zealand and United States.
Pokémon Go has already reached over 10 million installs on Google Play, which is very impressive when you consider that it is officially available only in the three aforementioned countries. However, this changes today as the makers of the game just added one more market to the list.
Apple updates App Store with faster app approvals, improved subscription rates... and search ads
Apple has announced a series of major changes to the App Store including speeding up the app review process to get developers' product out there faster. This is something that benefits both developers and users, but developers also have improved subscription rates to look forward to.
The current 70/30 split is changing so that after the first year Apple will take just 15 percent of subscription fees. Subscriptions are also opening up to the full gamut of apps, rather than being restricted to particular categories. But it is the changes that are being made to app discovery that will be the most apparent.
Apple suffers outage that knocks App Store, iCloud, iTunes and more offline
Many of Apple's online services are currently out of action, with the App Store and Apple TV being just two that people are struggling with. Some users are reporting that Apple Music is out of action, but the most common complaint is that App Store purchases cannot be complete.
Apple says that it is aware of the problems and is investigating, but at the moment has given no hint at what the cause might be. The company's System Status page highlights numerous issues, with a fluctuating number of listings tagged "Service may be unavailable for some users". Apple Support's recently launched Twitter account is going into meltdown responding to an endless stream of complaints from users.
Apple could add paid search in App Store
In 2008 Apple debuted its App Store to help its users discover, purchase and download new apps for their iOS devices.
While the store has seen many tweaks and upgrades over the years it has yet to have a complete overhaul. Now the company has formed a secret team to explore changes to the store, including a paid search model that could cause quite the stir amongst app developers and the way iPhone and iPad users discover new apps.
App stores to generate over $100bn in revenue in five years
When apps first came to smartphones, it completely changed the ways users interacted with their devices. Mobile phones went from being just phones that could make calls and send short messages to devices that resembled miniature computers.
Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store saw a dramatic rise in the number and quality of the apps they offered almost instantly. For many users, apps have become commonplace and they no longer hold our interest or excitement as they once did.
Samsung to plant Trojan horse in Apple's yard
Samsung already has a bunch of its apps on iOS, but this year the company plans to bring the majority of its apps to the App Store. In fact, it's quite possible that all of Samsung's apps will be available for iPhones and iPads soon.
To many, this decision comes across as counterintuitive considering Samsung's rivalry with Apple. However, there’s no reason for Samsung not to make money off of Apple. In fact, it’s a smart decision that will support its position on the market, while Apple will likely take a hit, which may not seem quite that obvious.
Google Play gets more downloads, but Apple's App Store leads in revenue
Apple's App Store generated 75 percent more revenue than Google Play in 2015, but the latter is now responsible for 100 percent more downloads, according to a new report on the state of the app ecosystem in 2015 by App Annie. Both numbers are higher compared to the previous year.
App Store has increased its revenue lead to 75 percent from 70 percent in 2014, while Google Play saw its downloads lead rise from 60 percent in the same year. The most important markets were, in Apple's case, China, US and Japan, while for Google the drivers were Brazil, India, Indonesia and Mexico.
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