Apple to raise price of apps and in-app purchases in India, Brazil, and more countries

Posted on by Prakhar Khanna

As part of new taxes and foreign exchange rates, Apple is raising prices on the App Store. The price of apps and in-app purchases will increase in Brazil, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Russia, and South Africa. These changes exclude auto-renewable subscriptions. Moreover, Apple will be updating these prices in Iceland and Albania to align with pricing used in other markets selling in U.S. dollars with value-added tax. However, there is no mention of services like Apple Music and iCloud subscription, and we don’t know if they will also have the price readjusted.

In a blog, Apple explains that prices in the App Store have been readjusted in these countries due to the exchange rate of local currencies, as well as an increase in taxes. The company said, “when taxes or foreign exchange rates change, we sometimes need to update prices on the App Store. In the next few days, prices of apps and in-app purchases (excluding auto-renewable subscriptions) on the App Store will increase in Brazil, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Russia, and South Africa.“

The price of Apple Music and iCloud subscription remains unchanged.

Apple says that in India, the readjustment includes an equalization levy of 2% in addition to the existing goods and services tax of 18%. On the other hand, in Indonesia, there’s a new 10% tax for foreign developers. If you are a developer, you can access the new price list for these countries, and find out how your apps will be affected. However, if you offer subscriptions, you can choose to preserve prices for existing subscribers. 

Apple is yet to specify when the new prices will be applied for users. Once the new changes go into effect, the Pricing and Availability section of My Apps will be updated, Further, the users’ proceeds will be adjusted accordingly and calculated based on the tax-exclusive price. 

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iPhones and iPads can now stream games from an Xbox One via Microsoft’s new app

Posted on by Nadeem Sarwar

The status of xCloud game streaming service’s arrival of on iPhones and iPads is still in limbo, with App Store policies providing to be the bone of contention between Microsoft and Apple. However, there is now another way you can enjoy Xbox games on your iPhone and iPad without worrying about any tussles. That new way is Micorosft’s new Xbox app, which enables remote play from your Xbox One console to an iPhone or iPad. This capability was rolled out widely on the Android platform last month, and is now finally making its way to the iOS platform.

No xCloud, no problem!

To stream console games straight on your iPhone or iPad, you need to connect it with your Xbox One and must have a stable connection with over 10Mbps downlink speed. Now, you need to pair the Xbox Wireless Controller with your iPhone or iPad over Bluetooth. You can find complete step-by-step instructions in the Xbox app itself, or you can visit the official support page for more information. Here’s how the feature looks in action:

All games installed on your Xbox One console – including the Xbox Game Pass titles – can be played on an iPhone or iPad without any further downloads required. Just pair it, link the controller, and you’re good to go. In addition to streaming games from your console to a mobile device, the new Xbox app also allows you to stay in touch with your gaming buddies, share game clips on social media, and get notifications for game invites, party chat, and more.

You still need an Xbox One console to enable remote play on your iPhone

However, do keep in mind that Xbox Remote Play is different from xCloud. The new Xbox app only allows remote play, which means you need an Xbox One console on which games are downloaded to stream them on your iPhone or iPad. xCloud, on the other hand, will let you play Xbox games anywhere on your iPhone or iPad, even over cellular networks and without having to pair it with a console. However, you will need an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Xbox Live Gold membership to enjoy Xbox games on your mobile device even if you don’t own a console. 

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Apple grants Facebook’s paid online events temporary exemption from its App Store fee

Posted on by Nadeem Sarwar

Facebook introduced a new feature last month that would allow businesses to host paid online events and announced that it won’t charge any fee as a goodwill gesture to support them during the pandemic. However, Apple charged its standard 30% App Store fee for transactions made during such online events, which led to some ugly back-and-forth. Facebook even accused Apple of robbing small businesses of their hard-earned revenue and also claimed that it was blocked from telling users that Apple took a 30% fee for online events. Now, in a surprising turn of events, Apple has announced that it will grant a temporary exemption to Facebook’s paid online events.

What this means is Apple won’t take its 30% fee and 100% of the money raised by these events will go to businesses. “This is a difficult time for small businesses and creators, which is why we are not collecting any fees from paid online events while communities remain closed for the pandemic,” Facebook spokesperson Joe Osborne was quoted as saying by CNBC. “Apple has agreed to provide a brief, three-month respite after which struggling businesses will have to, yet again, pay Apple the full 30% App Store tax.” 

An Apple spokesperson reportedly told CNBC that it is making a reversal to temporarily waive off the App Store fee for paid online events on Facebook “due to the pressures businesses are facing from the pandemic.” The Apple spokesperson added that the company seeks to give businesses some more time so that they can adapt to digital business models. 

However, Apple is not waiving off the App Store tax for gaming-related events, because the company thinks that the gaming industry has not been affected by the ongoing global health crisis. Facebook, on the other hand, has announced that it won’t charge any fee for paid online events by game creators on its Facebook Gaming platform until August 2021, but only on desktop. Facebook is apparently not happy with Apple excluding gaming events from its App Store fee exemption for paid online events. 

“Apple’s decision to not collect its 30% tax on paid online events comes with a catch: gaming creators are excluded from using Facebook Pay in paid online events on iOS. We, unfortunately, had to make this concession to get the temporary reprieve for other businesses,” Facebook Gaming VP, Rajat Sharma, was quoted as saying by Variety. To recall, Apple rejected the Facebook Gaming app from getting listed on the App Store. 

Apple has lately been involved in another war with the likes of Microsoft and Google over allowing cloud gaming services such as xCloud and Stadia on the App Store. The tussle is over Apple’s 30% App Store fee and app review policies, something that has been called anti-competitive by many stakeholders in the gaming industry. Apple recently claimed that cloud gaming services violate App Store policies. However, Apple eventually budged earlier this month and said it will allow these apps on the App Store, but laid out some conditions that are still deemed unacceptable by publishers and developers. 

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Apple permits game streaming services like Stadia and xCloud on iOS, but doubts remain

Posted on by Nadeem Sarwar

Apple has been at the receiving end of barbs from the likes of Microsoft, Facebook and NVIDIA when it comes to cloud-based game streaming services, thanks in no part to App Store policies which are reportedly anti-competitive and prevent them from offering a optimal experience to users. Microsoft had to pause the beta testing of its xCloud service on iOS just weeks before its global launch, Facebook had to remove the gaming capability of its Facebook Gaming app as soon as it was listed on the App Store, while Google’s Stadia never made it to iPhones or iPads. Apple has previously noted that these services could violate App Store policies. Now, Apple has updated its App Store policies to allow these apps on the App Store, but with some demands that would likely still be the bone of contention.

“Streaming games are permitted so long as they adhere to all guidelines — for example, each game update must be submitted for review, developers must provide appropriate metadata for search, games must use in-app purchase to unlock features or functionality, etc.” Apple’s updated guidelines say. “All the games included in the catalog app must link to an individual App Store product page,” the company adds. What this means is all games offered by a game streaming service must also have a individual listing page on the App Store and they must be submitted individually for review by Apple’s team. What this means is if you’re a Google Stadia subscriber, you’ll have to downloaded each game’s app separately on your iPhone or iPad to play them, aside from downloading the Stadia app.

Apple’s updated App Store policy addressing game streaming services.

Another important caveat is that all these services must offer Apple’s own in-app payment system that follows the App Store guidelines. So essentially, Apple will take its standard 30% cut for all in-app purchases. And then there is also a possibility that the company could also take an equal cut when users pay to renew their monthly xCloud or Stadia subscription. As wild as it sounds, the possibilities of it happening are actually not too far-fetched. The gist is that Apple is unwilling to part ways with its 30% cut, but the App Store policies means Apple will charge the game developers and publishers 30% of their revenue from in-app payments, and will also charge service owners such as Microsoft or Google who already have revenue sharing deals with those publishers in the first place.

Needless to say, not everyone is happy about it, which includes Microsoft as well as Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney. “This remains a bad experience for customers. Gamers want to jump directly into a game from their curated catalog within one app just like they do with movies or songs, and not be forced to download over 100 apps to play individual games from the cloud. We’re committed to putting gamers at the center of everything we do, and providing a great experience is core to that mission,” Microsoft said in a statement. And here’s what Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney had to say regarding the policy update:

The caveats mentioned in the updated App Store policies are essentially what Apple had demanded in the first place. “Our customers enjoy great apps and games from millions of developers, and gaming services can absolutely launch on the App Store as long as they follow the same set of guidelines applicable to all developers, including submitting games individually for review, and appearing in charts and search,” an Apple spokesperson was quoted as saying by Business Insider last month. It remains to be seen how Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and other names in the game streaming business process the change. In contrast, all these services are already flourishing on Google’s Android operating system.

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Epic Games asks court to force Apple put Fortnite back on the App Store

Posted on by Nadeem Sarwar

The Epic Games-Apple feud over Fortnite has taken a new turn. Epic Games has filed for a preliminary injunction against Apple, asking the court to force Apple put back Fortnite on the App Store. “Today we ask the Court to stop Apple from retaliating against Epic for daring to challenge Apple’s misconduct while our antitrust case proceeds,” Epic Games said in a statement. And as expected, Epic Games is not pulling any stops and is calling Apple a ‘monopolist’ that forces developers into silence with its retaliatory stance.

To give you a quick background, Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store when Epic Games introduced its own in-app payment system in the game, something that goes against the App Store policies. Epic followed it up with a lawsuit against Apple, and soon after, Apple terminated Epic Games’ developer account in what appears to be an ugly spat between the two companies, a feud in which Epic Games is trying to position itself as the savior for the whole developer community that is losing revenue opportunities due to strict Apple Store policies.

Apple is a monopolist and standing up to them is a necessary step to free consumers and developers from the unlawful restrictions Apple has imposed over app distribution and in-app payment processing on iOS. For too long, developers have not spoken out because they fear Apple’s retaliation. The company’s recent actions show that if you challenge Apple’s monopoly, Apple will attempt to destroy your business. We are committed to speaking up and securing lower cost, competitive access for all.

Epic Games

Apple, on the other hand, claims that the whole dispute is Epic Games’ own making, adding that the developer demanded a special deal from the company, something Apple didn’t accept. The Tim Cook-led company has also made it clear that Fortnite can return to the App Store if Epic Games agrees to the App Store policies and removes its own in-app payment system from the game. 

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Apple and Google would start getting less money from app sales in Russia

Posted on by Samuel Martinez

Apple and Google are already feeling pressure from the issues generated by the latest Epic Games drama. However, that’s nothing compared to the possibility of facing the laws of a country. The new Russian bill would reduce Apple and Google’s percentage of app sales from 30% to 20%.

A new piece of Russian legislation could hinder the profits Apple and Google make out of app sales. According to a report from Reuters, politician Fedot Tumusov has proposed to cap the commission on app sales to 20 percent. It would also require that a third of the commissions from in-app purchases go toward an IT specialist training fund. If approved, it would reduce the App Store and the Play Store’s earnings from 30 percent to just 20 percent, and it would also be a growth opportunity for developers.

If the bill passes, it could force the companies to reduce their earnings from app sales or even stop offering app downloads in the country. Russia is an important smartphone market. One that isn’t pleased with the effects Apple and Google’s policies have on Russian developers. Imagine what would happen if more countries decide to follow this example.

Source Android Authority

Via Reuters

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Pocketnow Daily: Apple vs Epic Games: CHECKMATE! (video)

Posted on by Samuel Martinez
https://youtu.be/f3nkn17yg5E

Today’s deals include Apple’s 27-inch iMac, laptops, tablets and more

Deals. Amazon is currently having a back-to-college sale on their own devices. For example, the Echo Dot is $20 off, leaving it at $30 shipped. The Echo is $30 off as well, leaving it at $70 shipped. The Echo Plus is half off, leaving it at $75 and the Echo Show is $50 off, leaving that at $180. They also have deals on Kindles, Fire Sticks and more. Moving on, the 27in 5K iMac is $120 off, leaving the Intel Core i7, 8GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD variant for $2180. Finally, Gigabyte’s Aero 15X gaming laptop is now $700 off it’s original price, leaving it at $1487. We have deals on Razer keyboards, iPads and more, in the links below.
Buy 27-inch iMac Core i7
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Here’s your first clear glimpse of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G, and it looks pretty darn cool

Speaking of Samsung, There’s been a bunch of rumors on the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE. So far, we’ve gotten some leaks on both Exynos and Snapdragon variants, as well as some leaked specs like the 6.4in display running at 120Hz, the 8GBs of RAM and the 4500 mAh battery. We also got a render of the front from Evan Blass but, now we get some full blown CAD renders of the whole device from OnLeaks. It brings bigger bezels than the S20 but, they’re still pretty slim. The camera array also looks pretty similar to the S20+ but, the sensors seem smaller inside the stove. We’re expecting this phone to come out some time in October so, we’ll keep you posted if we get some more leaks.

New executive order gives ByteDance 90 days to sell TikTok

Let’s talk about the whole Tik Tok ban situation. Last week we covered how the President signed an executive order, giving Tik Tok 45 days to sell their US operations to a company like Microsoft or they would be banned, possibly being forced out of the App Store and Play Store globally. This morning, the President signed a new executive order, giving them 90 days to sell their operations. According to him, there is credible evidence that ByteDance might take actions that threaten to impar the United States security. This new order gives Tik Tok to iron out whatever their plan is, whether that is selling to Microsoft or taking legal action. Apple also presented their concerns about the WeChat ban but, they just dismissed them and the 45 day order seems to still be on for Tencent.

New iPhone 12 lineup could look just like the iPhone 4

And, let’s start talking about Apple as, there’s a lot to cover today. We have a new gallery of pictures of iPhone 12 dummies from a tipster on Facebook. We’ve gotten dummies on two occasions prior to this but, these are probably the realest-looking ones. On these new images we can see the 4 different models, two with dual camera and two with the triple camera array. As expected, they all look pretty boxy, reminiscent of the iPhone 4 and the newer iPad Pros. All of these dummies are for case makers so we only get to see the back of them. Some of the things we’re also expecting that aren’t included here are the LiDAR sensor and some smaller notches for the Pro models. We’re expecting these phones to come out some time in October and November so, we’ll keep you posted.

Epic Games CEO calls Apple a middleman that separates gamers from game creators

On Friday we covered how Epic Games is taking on both Apple and Google and suing them for anti-competitive practices due to the high fees they put on developers. Well, you won’t believe who’s the next company denouncing Apple, it’s Facebook. On Saturday, Facebook announced that businesses and creators can host paid online events to help them make money and survive during the pandemic. What’s really good about this is that Facebook is letting these people keep 100% of the money they make from this events, saying that they won’t be charging any fees for at least a year. However, this is apparently only happening on Android phones as Apple won’t let them achieve this goal. According to them, they asked Apple to waive their infamous 30% tax or allow them to use Facebook Pay so that they could absorb the costs and let creators keep the revenue but Apple dismissed both of these requests, meaning people who do this on Apple devices will only keep 70% of the money. Facebook will now disclose this issue with users, if you make a payment on an Android device it will say “Facebook doesn’t take a fee from this purchase” but if you do it from an iPhone, it’ll say “Apple takes 30% of this purchase”. We’ll see how Apple moves as, this means there’s three people on their back, Spotify, Epic and Facebook.

Story of the day:

Epic could lose all access to Apple’s App Store and app development tools

Speaking of Epic being on Apple’s back, it looks like Apple has decided to strike back. According to a new PDF from Epic’s Court Filing, Apple told Epic that by August 28th, they will be cutting off Epic’s access to “all development tools necessary to create software for Apple’s platforms” and, this even includes the Unreal Engine which Epic offers to third party developers. Apple sent out a letter to Epic where they said they reviewed the situation and have found several violations to the Apple Developer Program License Agreement, therefore their account will be terminated if these violations aren’t cured in 14 days. Epic is currently asking the court to prevent Apple from taking “any adverse action” which includes terminating Apple’s License to the Apple Developer Program as well as modifying the Fortnite code. They’re also working on a solution as, Unreal Engine doesn’t really violate any of the terms like they did with the Fortnite app, and it shouldn’t be removed as it will also affect third-party developers. As for right now, Fortnite remains banned, an Epic has to work something now during these 14 days unless the court rules something against Apple. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/pocketnowsub http://pocketnow.com Follow us: http://flipboard.com/@Pocketnow http://facebook.com/pocketnow http://twitter.com/pocketnow http://google.com/+pocketnow

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Epic could lose all access to Apple’s App Store and app development tools

Posted on by Samuel Martinez

The recent battle between Apple and Epic Games has gotten more interesting. Cupertino removed Fortnite from its App Store after Epic Games included an option to make in-app purchases directly from their store, instead of paying Apple’s 30 percent fee. This also led to more legal problems for Apple, as Epic Games sued it for anti-competitive restrictions and a cool video mocking Apple’s 1984 Macintosh ad. However, things don’t end here, as Apple is taking further actions to block Epic from its platform completely.

Apple has notified Epic Games that it will lose all access to its development tools on August 28. This means that Epic won’t have the tools required to create software for the Unreal Engine that the company offers to third-party developers for their games. Epic Games has filed a court order in a Northern California court looking to stop Apple from removing Epic’s App Store access.

The filing explains that:
“Apple told Epic that by August 28, Apple will cut off Epic’s access to all development tools necessary to create software for Apple’s platforms–including for the Unreal Engine Epic offers to third-party developers, which Apple has never claimed violated any Apple policy.”

Apple’s letter to Epic explains how the company can avoid losing its access to its platform.

“Upon further review of the activity associated with your Apple Developer Program membership, we have identified several violations of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement. Therefore, your Apple Developer Program account will be terminated if the violations set forth below are not cured within 14 days. […]

“If your membership is terminated, you may no longer submit apps to the App Store, and your apps still available for distribution will be removed. You will also lose access to the following programs, technologies, and capabilities:

– All Apple software, SDKs, APIs, and developer tools
– Pre-release versions of iOS, iPad OS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS
– Pre-release versions of beta tools such as Reality Composer, Create ML, Apple Configurator, etc.
– Notarization service for macOS apps
– App Store Connect platform and support (for example, assistance with account transition, password reset, app name issues)
– TestFlight
– Access to provisioning portal for certificate generation, and provisioning profile generation
– Ability to enable Apple services in-app (i.e. Apple Pay, CloudKit, PassKit, Music Kit, HomeKit, Push Notifications, Siri Shortcuts, Sign in with Apple, kernel extensions, FairPlay Streaming)
– Access to Apple-issued keys for connecting to services such as MusicKit, DeviceCheck, APNs, CloudKit, Wallet
– Access to Developer ID signing certificates and Kernel Extension signing certificates
– Developer Technical Support
– Participation in Universal App Quick Start Program, including the right to use the Developer Transition Kit (which must be returned to Apple)
– Engineering efforts to improve hardware and software performance of Unreal Engine on Mac and iOS hardware; optimize Unreal Engine on the Mac for creative workflows, virtual sets and their CI/Build Systems; and adoption and support of ARKit features and future VR features into Unreal Engine by their XR team

We hope that you are able to cure your breaches of the Apple Program License Agreement and continue to participate in the program.”

Epic is also trying to prevent Apple’s restrictive actions, as losing access to Mac and iOS developer tools may have a considerable impact on the apps and games using Epic’s Unreal Engine. It is also trying to stop Apple from removing the Fortnite app or modifying the Fortnite code, but right now, it can only wait for the court to decide on the matter.

Source MacRumors

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Pocketnow Daily: Fortnite EXPOSES Apple and Google’s Monopoly… (video)

Posted on by Samuel Martinez

Apple’s MacBook Air, iPad Pro and more devices on sale today

Deals. Best Buy is currently running a major 3-Day Anniversary sale on Apple products. You can find up to $300 off on MacBook Pros, up to $150 on MacBook Airs and even some deals on the iPhone SE. Moving on, B&H also has the 2018 12.9in iPad Pro for $350 off, leaving the 64GB, Wi-Fi + Cellular variant for $800 shipped. We also have deals on Sony earbuds, Razer Gaming keyboards and more in the links in the description.
Buy MacBook Air
Buy MacBook Pro
Buy iPad Air
Buy iPhone SE
Buy iPhone XS/ XS Max
See complete listing Best Buy’s 3-Day Anniversary sale
Buy 12.9-inch iPad Pro
See complete iPad Pro deals
Buy Sony WF-SP800N Truly Wireless Sports headphones Buy Razer BlackWidow Elite gaming keyboard

Microsoft Surface Duo gets 3 years of Android updates, and a new demo video

For those of you guys interested in buying the Microsoft Surface Duo and you’re not so sure yet. Well the company officially announced it 2 days ago and now, they shared a full 35 minute demo video of Panos Panay showing you what the product can do. According to them, their aim with this product is not to “reinvent the phone” but is a vision of better mobile productivity for the Surface fans and people who love Office, Teams and Outlook. Microsoft also announced that they will be committing to 3 years of software updates for the Duo, as they should for the $1400 price tag. Thing is, I mean I love Excel on anything but Android.. But other than that I know of no human being that can claim that they love productivity apps. We’ll see.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 won’t include ToF sensors

And, we know that Samsung ditched their whole ToF approach with the Galaxy Note 20 as, well, we all know what happened with the S20 Ultra. According to a new report from the Elec, the ToF sensor won’t be making it to the Galaxy S21 either but, Samsung isn’t giving up in the technology. According to this report, the reason why the S20’s ToF wasn’t doing so hot is because it wasn’t as powerful as direct ToF which is what other companies like Apple are using from companies like Sony. Apparently Samsung is now working on their own ToF solution and now, the “technological advancements” will depend on them and not third party companies. We’ll see if they are able to develop something for the Note 21.

Facebook is now sued over allegedly gathering biometric data on Instagram

Let’s talk about what Facebook has done with Instagram… yeah that sounds about right. For starters, the company is being sued in the state of California for “collecting, storing and profiting” off biometric data of more than 100M users, specifically for facial recognition technology. The lawsuit claims that Instagram uses a “face-tagging” tool which uses facial recognition to create “face templates” which are stored in Facebook’s database without the user’s consent. They even use your tagged pictures so, you didn’t even have to post it yourself for this to happen. According to Bloomberg, they’re facing up to $5K per violation, meaning do the math when you multiply that times 100M. On another note, TechCrunch is reporting that there’s a “bug” in their system which would retain deleted photos and messages on their servers for over a year. Now, the bug has been conveniently patched but, apparently there was no evidence of abuse, if that even means something.

Apple without WeChat could mean disaster for the iPhone in China

Earlier this week we covered some predictions from Ming Chi Kuo over how the US ban on WeChat could affect Apple on a major scale. Well, according to a Bloomberg report, things could pan out the way Kuo predicted. Apparently there was a massive survey conducted on Chinese iPhone users and 95% of them said that they would replace their iPhone if WeChat was banned from the App Store. This translates to around 1.2M users from the survey alone. Most of them made comments over how this ban “would force them into switching their phones as WeChat is very important to them” with someone even saying that the ban would turn the iPhone into simple “electronic trash” as WeChat is one of their most essential apps. The details of the ban still aren’t clear yet as, it could just be a thing in the States but if it’s completely banned from the App Store, it looks like Apple will be suffering. It also looks like Apple, Disney, Ford and other companies have warned the White House about what this ban would mean so, let’s see how it plays out.

Story of the day:

Epic Games claims Google forced OnePlus, LG to scrap Fortnite deals

Epic Games mocks Apple’s 1984 Macintosh ad after Fortnite’s removal from App

Store Fortnite removed from Google Play Store after getting kicked off the App Store

Now, let’s talk about Fortnite… yeah you heard that right. Yesterday, the game was removed from both, the App Store and Google Play, as the company added a direct payment option in the game that would save customers 20% on their in-app purchases, preventing Apple from taking their 30% cut from each purchase. You guys know the Amazon Kindle story where it was banned years ago until Amazon removed the in-app purchase model and forcing you to use a browser to make purchases. As for Google, apparently Epic was working on a deal with both OnePlus and LG, to offer the Fortnite launcher pre-installed in their phones and Google reportedly forced them to back out of the deal as well as the direct payment option in the app. Epic Games is reportedly filing a lawsuit against both of them for anti-competitive restrictions on their stores. Android Users at least have the advantage of being able to side load the APK and Samsung Devices still have it available on the Galaxy Store, but iOS users are screwed. Epic even put out a short video mocking Apple’s famous 30-year old “1984” ad and ending theirs with “Epic Games has defied the App Store Monopoly, Apple is Blocking Fortnite to billions of devices. Join the fact to stop 2020 from becoming 1984″ as a reference to George Orwell’s novel. Other companies like Spotify which have had issues with the App Store and Apple in the past have come out in support of Fortnite. We’ll keep you posted. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/pocketnowsub http://pocketnow.com Follow us: http://flipboard.com/@Pocketnow http://facebook.com/pocketnow http://twitter.com/pocketnow http://google.com/+pocketnow

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Apple removes Fortnite from App Store, gets sued by Epic Games

Posted on by Nadeem Sarwar

Epic Games announced a new payment system today called Epic direct payment that allows Fortnite players (on mobile) to save 20% on in-app purchases if they opt for it instead of paying via the App Store or Google Play Store. It uses the same payment system that is used to make purchases in the game’s console and PC versions.

The 20% price cut is not a discount. It is just the new price of V-Bucks or real-money offers in the game’s console and PC versions, and can also be availed on mobile if players pay using Epic direct payment. Epic Games says Apple and Google collect a 30% fee on in-app purchases, which is why it has launched Epic direct payment to pass on the benefit of those savings to players.

Apple, obviously not happy with the move, has removed Fortnite from the App Store – something Epic Games calls “Apple’s punishment to developers” who offer direct payment options. In return, Epic Games has sued Apple seeking to “taken legal action to end Apple’s anti-competitive restrictions on mobile device marketplaces.”

Additionally, Epic Games has asked players to trend the hashtag #FREEFORTNITE on social media and also tag the official App Store handle in their messages. Fortnite says those who have Fortnite already installed on their mobile will have no trouble playing the game, but they won’t be able to play the Chapter 4 of Season 2 which arrives soon via an update.

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iPhone shipments could decline by up to 30% if Apple axes WeChat from App Store: Kuo

Posted on by Nadeem Sarwar

US President Donald Trump issued an executive order last week that prohibits any transactions related to WeChat by an American entity after September 20, effectively moving towards its potential removal from devices made by US brands. Now, noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that Apple’s global iPhone shipments could nosedive by 25–30% if the company removes WeChat from the App Store.

“Since WeChat is very critical to Chinese users, integrating communications, payments, e-Commerce, social software, news reading, and productivity functions, we believe that the move will tank ‌iPhone‌ shipments in the Chinese market. We estimate that global ‌iPhone‌ shipments will decline by 25–30%. Global shipments of other Apple hardware products, including AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac, will decline by 15–25%,” Kuo mentioned in his report (via Macrumors).

WeChat has over a billion users and it is wildly popular in China where it is used for instant messaging and mobile payments among other services. And with China being one of the biggest markets for Apple, the sale of iPhones is expected to take a big hit in the country where the absence of WeChat from a smartphone will definitely be a red flag for many. However, Kuo notes that if WeChat is banned only in the US, the global iPhone shipment will ‘only’ take a 3-6% hit.

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