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The Verge
3 days ago
- Business
- The Verge
Apple is on defense at WWDC
It's early June and the vibes are decidedly off in Cupertino. The hype leading up to Apple's last two developer conferences felt much different. There was anticipation in 2023 for a potentially groundbreaking new headset. In 2024, there was a sense of urgency leading up to the company's AI announcements and whispers that Siri might actually, finally be good at something. But 2025? Well, things are different. The Vision Pro was the big announcement at that 2023 show, and it's, uh, still around. Apple has reportedly cut production due to slow sales, and you can get one at a steep discount on eBay. Maybe the price is wrong. And the big AI announcement last year? How's that going? As it stands, Apple Intelligence is stalled out. The features that Apple managed to deploy are underwhelming, and the meaty update to Siri has been delayed — maybe even for years. It sounds like the whole thing was a real fiasco inside Apple, and publicly, the company took down an ad showcasing Siri features that simply don't exist yet. Ouch. And then there's the legal stuff. In 2021, a court in California ordered Apple to let developers add links allowing customers to make purchases outside of their apps. The company was also supposed to come up with a rationale for whatever commission it decided to take on those purchases. Apple's subsequent compliance with this order was so poor that Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers got fed up and blocked the company from taking any fees on those purchases and recommended the case for criminal contempt proceedings — all detailed in a seething 80-page decision. Meanwhile, in the EU, regulators have fined Apple for practices that fail to comply with the DMA's antitrust rules, Fortnite is back in the App Store, and oh yeah, President Donald Trump keeps waving tariffs around in Tim Cook's face with a cockamamie plan to convince him to build iPhones in the US. What's a beleaguered tech CEO to do in times like these? Here's what I'd like to see at WWDC: Apple showing a little humility. I do not want to see a two-minute Hollywood production of Craig Federighi jumping out of a helicopter or whatever with his expensive haircut flapping in the wind. I would like to see Tim Cook take the stage and own up to the company's recent missteps. Doesn't he owe this particular audience some kind of apology after a judge put him on blast for choosing the worst option for developers at every turn? Shouldn't he at least acknowledge that the company got out over its skis showing us Apple Intelligence demos on the same stage last year that, by some accounts, were pure vaporware? I do not want to see a two-minute Hollywood production of Craig Federighi jumping out of a helicopter or whatever It would be the right thing to do, but one early indication makes it seem unlikely Apple will choose this path. Daring Fireball 's John Gruber's annual Talk Show episode usually features guest appearances by Apple executives who provide color on the big WWDC announcements. But Gruber says that this year, for the first time since 2015, Apple has declined the invitation to join. Notably, Gruber published a blog earlier this year taking critical aim at Apple's mishandling of AI features. Coincidence, I'm sure! This is a strong indicator that Apple will choose the more familiar option: project confidence and keep smiling. Instead of a sincere acknowledgement of its misjudgments, we'll probably see it paper over the disastrous Apple Intelligence rollout with a sleek new redesign and a new OS naming convention for funsies. They'll keep pretending that the Vision Pro is a beloved innovation and not just collecting dust on the shelves of early adopters. They'll keep insisting that notification summaries and a text prompt image generator constitute a worthwhile AI feature set. The trouble is, I don't think it'll be enough this time. Apple's force of personality has sustained it through past missteps, but I don't think the same playbook will work through the current crisis. The stock price is down from its highs earlier in the year — about flat from last June — a federal judge is breathing fire at Tim Cook, and it's obvious to anyone with an iPhone 16 that Apple Intelligence is half-baked at best. And the vibes? Way, way off. But the thing about a vibe is that you can turn it around. WWDC is Apple's chance to talk directly to arguably its most important audience: developers. Apple executives would do well to remember that it was apps that made the iPhone what it is today. If developers are going to follow Apple into the next era of AI or XR or whatever the shift may be, then now would be a good time to show them a little humility.
TechCrunch
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- TechCrunch
Epic Games asks judge to force Apple to approve Fortnite
Epic Games is escalating its efforts to pressure Apple to allow its game Fortnite into its App Store, with a new court filing asking Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to require that Apple 'accept any compliant version of Fortnite onto the U.S. storefront of the App Store.' Epic and Apple have been engaged in a years-long legal battle over Apple's App Store policies, particularly the commissions Apple charges for in-app purchases. The Fortnite publisher scored a major victory last month when Judge Rogers ruled that Apple was in 'willful violation' of an injunction on anti-competitive pricing — a ruling that seemed to pave the way for Fortnite to return to the App Store, and more broadly, for developers to offer alternative payment options in their apps. However, Apple said it will appeal the ruling, and on Friday, Epic said Friday the company is blocking Fortnite from both its U.S. App Store and preventing it from being released on the Epic Games store in Europe: 'Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it.' Apple disputed this characterization, specifically the suggestion that it was blocking Fortnite outside the United States. Instead, the company said it asked Epic Sweden to 'resubmit the app update without including the U.S. storefront of the App Store so as not to impact Fortnite in other geographies.' But why block Fortnite in the United States? Epic released a letter signed by Mark A. Perry, an attorney representing Apple, telling Epic's lawyers that 'Apple has determined not to take action on the Fortnite app submission until after the Ninth Circuit rules on our pending request for a partial stay of the new injunction.' In its filing, Epic argues that Apple is denying it 'the ability to take advantage of the pro-competitive rules it helped usher in,' and 'punishing' Epic 'by shutting it out of the very market it has fought so hard to open — while sending a clear message to other developers not to challenge Apple's practices.'
Phone Arena
10-05-2025
- Business
- Phone Arena
An "epic" comeback is in the making as Fortnite is returning to the App Store
By including this option with Fortnite, Epic was allowing game players to make in-app purchases at lower prices through Epic. That's because the game developer was able to bypass the 15%-30% "Apple Tax" that the tech giant was collecting from developers for such purchases. Recently, a judge ruled that Apple must stop collecting fees for in-app purchases and subscriptions made outside the App Store. Epic's celebration following this ruling included the announcement of Fortnite's App Store return. Epic also announced that it will not collect a commission from developers on the first $1,000,000 in revenue an app generates each year. Tim Sweeney, Epic's CEO, said that Fortnite will be returned to the App Store worldwide if Apple allows the judge's ruling to take effect around the world. Apple, as you might suspect, has not only filed an appeal but also filed an emergency motion asking the federal appeals court to temporarily hold off on making any changes to the App Store's operations and how it collects payments. Epic responds to Apple's request to pause any changes changing how the App Store collects payments. | Image credit-X Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued a contempt order against Apple for failing to follow the order she made during 2021's Epic v. Apple case. That order demanded that Apple stop its anti-competitive actions and pricing and allow App Store users to pay using payment options outside the App Store. Last week, the judge said that Apple is purposely flouting her demands. On Wednesday, Apple told the judge that blocking Apple from charging commission on purchases made outside the App Store "will cost Apple substantial sums annually." Additionally, the tech giant said that restrictions against it are based on conduct that has not been found to be unlawful. The company also said, "A federal court cannot force Apple to permanently give away free access to its products and services, including intellectual property." Epic, on the other hand, said that since Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued her contempt ruling, "Apple has faced a surge of genuine competition as developers have updated their apps with better payment methods, better deals, and better consumer choice." Earlier this month, Apple announced that it will allow developers to add links to apps that take consumers outside the App Store to make payments allowing them to skip Apple's payment system thus avoiding the Apple Tax. This is exactly what Judge Gonzalez Rogers wanted with her initial ruling in September 2021. Apple subsequently allowed developers to include a link that would send users out of the App Store to make payments but it still charged developers a 27% commission on those payments. Apple also warned users leaving the App Store that once these users were sent to the web, Apple was no longer responsible for the user's privacy or security. This was considered a tactic by Apple to scare users away from using payment options outside of the App Store.
