Posts in news

Podcast Rewind: Focus, Groundhogs, Gladiators, and an Apple Watch Anniversary

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

Chris achieves a new level of focus on the Mac with a familiar app, Matt finds comfort for his sore fingers, and Niléane leads the hardest challenge ever put forth on the show.

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico and I compare wildlife notes, I get set up to work outdoors, Federico has an album to share, and I recommend a movie about ancient Rome.

This episode is sponsored by:

Textastic – The Powerful Code Editor for iPad and iPhone — Now Free to Try

Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund and Devon highlight the premiere of French-language Apple Original series Carême, discuss the Apple Watch’s tenth anniversary and how the device plays into their TV-viewing, and recap Dope Thief.

Read more

Developers and Platforms React as App Store Rules Change in the U.S.

On Wednesday evening, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rodgers held Apple in contempt, ordering, among other things, that it immediately drop the 27% fee it was charging developers who linked users to the web for purchases. As the judge put it:

This is an injunction, not a negotiation. There are no do-overs once a party willfully disregards a court order. Time is of the essence. The Court will not tolerate further delays.

(Contempt Order at pg. 3).

As Chance Miller reported at 9to5Mac, those changes are already reflected in Apple’s App Review Guidelines. In an email sent to anyone with a developer account, Apple explained:

The App Review Guidelines have been updated for compliance with a United States court decision regarding buttons, external links, and other calls to action in apps. These changes affect apps distributed on the United States storefront of the App Store, and are as follows:

  • 3.1.1: Apps on the United States storefront are not prohibited from including buttons, external links, or other calls to action when allowing users to browse NFT collections owned by others.
  • 3.1.1(a): On the United States storefront, there is no prohibition on an app including buttons, external links, or other calls to action, and no entitlement is required to do so.
  • 3.1.3: The prohibition on encouraging users to use a purchasing method other than in-app purchase does not apply on the United States storefront.
  • 3.1.3(a): The External Link Account entitlement is not required for apps on the United States storefront to include buttons, external links, or other calls to action.

(Source: Apple email to developers on May 1, 2025).

Notably, the changes affect only the U.S. App Store, further fragmenting App Store rules along geopolitical boundaries which began with regulations in China, South Korea, Japan, the Netherlands, and the EU.

Probably the best evidence that Apple’s former rules were restraining competition is the flurry of additional news since Judge Gonzalez Rodgers’ ruling:

  • As I predicted in my story, Patreon has said it will submit an update to its app to allow creators to accept payments outside its iOS app, something that was possible until last summer when Patreon was forced to retrofit its app to account for Apple’s In-App Purchases and payments through its website in what was an inelegant solution that forced creators to either charge more on iOS or absorb Apple’s fees on what are often small monthly payments to begin with.
  • Spotify posted on its blog that it has already submitted an update to its app that will let users see how much a Spotify subscription costs from inside the app and link out to Spotify’s website to upgrade or change their subscription plans.
  • Payment processor Stripe whipped up documentation guiding developers through the process of setting up subscription and digital goods sales outside their apps.
  • Beginning in June, the Epic Games Store will handle payment processing for developers at no cost up to the developers’ first $1 million of revenue. After $1 million of revenue the split will be the existing 88% to developers and 12% to Epic Games. In June, Epic Games will also offer developers the ability to set up their own webshops for ‘out-of-app purchases.’ The webshops will be available to iOS developers in the U.S. and EU and users making purchases in them will get 5% back in Epic Rewards for their purchases. Epic Games has not said how much it will charge developers who set up a webshop.

These moves by big players aren’t surprising, and I’m sure we’ll see more companies explore ways to take advantage of Wednesday’s ruling. Over time, though, the more interesting consequence of Wednesday’s ruling will be whether and how it changes the business models of indie developers and other small businesses that offer apps.

Apple Reports Q2 2025 Financial Results

Today, second-quarter 2025 earnings are out and Apple reported record revenue of $95.4 billion, a 5% year-over-year gain. The diluted earnings per share was $1.65 an 8% year-over-year gain.

Tim Cook had this to say:

Today Apple is reporting strong quarterly results, including double-digit growth in Services. We were happy to welcome iPhone 16e to our lineup, and to introduce powerful new Macs and iPads that take advantage of the extraordinary capabilities of Apple silicon. And we were proud to announce that we’ve cut our carbon emissions by 60 percent over the past decade.

These results, which beat Wall Street expectations, may strike some as odd given the overhang of tariffs on goods entering the U.S., but it’s the threat and delays that have caused consumers to accelerate purchases, pulling sales into the last quarter that might have been deferred otherwise. It’s a little like COVID, which caused a similar tech purchasing spree. However, sales pulled into the last quarter are sales that won’t be made later, especially if the U.S. government follows through and imposes tariffs on Apple products.

Another threat to future earnings is the decision by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rodgers. That decision has the potential to upend the dynamics of the App Store, but it’s going to take a while before any effects are felt in earnings because, as the Court found, few developers currently offer links to goods outside the App Store.

So, for now, Apple’s earnings are good and its stock price is stable, but the threat of tariffs and the disillusionment of developers are very real storm clouds on Apple’s horizon that very well may have a negative impact on its future earnings. Come back in three months to see what happens.

Podcast Rewind: Tracking Apps, Switch 2 Pre-Order Chaos, and Setting Up a New Mac

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and I tackle tracking apps. From database apps to media trackers, we consider what makes a good tracking app no matter what you’re tracking.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • WaterMinder – The Best Water Tracker App for Your Hydration Needs!

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, looming tariffs cause more handheld makers to pause shipments to the U.S., demand for the Switch 2 outstrips supply, I explain what the U.S. pre-order process was like, and we marvel at the restoration of a vintage Game Boy kiosk.

This week on NPC XL, Brendon shares his brief time with the Retroid Pocket Flip 2 and all three hosts compare videogame streaming notes from GeForce NOW on handhelds to Game Pass on an LG TV.

Ruminate

I have a hot headphone tip, then we discuss the Slate EV truck, and finally how we go about setting up new Macs.

Read more

Podcast Rewind: The Action Button, Fixing Finder, Vision Pro Antics, Crypto, and the Siri Remote

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

Matt finally found a new use for the action button, Niléane is here to fix your Finder, and Chris raises the bar in the challenge in a way no one saw coming.

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico gets silly with the Vision Pro, and John learns about crypto – typical Unwind stuff.

Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund and Devon share their hopes for the next Siri Remote and recap Apple Original medical drama Berlin ER.

Read more

Podcast Rewind: Practical Uses for AI and Summertime Handheld Gaming Fun

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and I revisit the fast-paced world of artificial intelligence to describe how we use a variety of AI tools in our everyday workflows.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Notion – Try the powerful, easy-to-use Notion AI today.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Federico and I hold down the fort without Brendon, discussing U.S. Switch 2 pre-orders, Super Mario Kart World, upcoming hardware from Epilogue, Playdate’s Season 2, Razer Remote Play, and more.

NPC XL

This week on NPC XL, Federico and I flip out over the Retroid Pocket Flip 2, sharing their first 24-hours with the clamshell handheld.

Read more

EU Fines Apple €500 Million for Digital Markets Act Violations

In a press release issued today, the European Commission (EC) announced that it has fined Apple €500 million for violations of the EU’s Digital Markets Act. The EC also fined Meta €200 million.

The EC’s press release explains that:

Under the DMA, app developers distributing their apps via Apple’s App Store should be able to inform customers, free of charge, of alternative offers outside the App Store, steer them to those offers and allow them to make purchases.

The Commission found that Apple fails to comply with this obligation. Due to a number of restrictions imposed by Apple, app developers cannot fully benefit from the advantages of alternative distribution channels outside the App Store. Similarly, consumers cannot fully benefit from alternative and cheaper offers as Apple prevents app developers from directly informing consumers of such offers. The company has failed to demonstrate that these restrictions are objectively necessary and proportionate.

In addition to the fine, the EC has ordered Apple:

…to remove the technical and commercial restrictions on steering and to refrain from perpetuating the non-compliant conduct in the future…

The Commission also closed its investigation into Apple’s user choice obligations under the DMA, finding that the company’s browser choice screen and interface for setting new default apps to satisfy the DMA’s requirements.

An unnamed Apple representative speaking to CNN criticized the fine:

A representative for Apple said the fine is “yet another example of the European Commission unfairly targeting” the company and forcing it to “give away (its) technology for free.” It added that it plans to appeal the decision.

We have spent hundreds of thousands of engineering hours and made dozens of changes to comply with this law, none of which our users have asked for. Despite countless meetings, the Commission continues to move the goal posts every step of the way.

The EC’s fines aren’t surprising given the long history and tenor of the investigation. What remains open as a point of potential future disputes is Apple’s compliance with the EC’s new order. As stated by its representative to CNN, Apple also plans to appeal today’s decision.

Podcast Rewind: A Spicy Browser Extension, iPad Feels, a Fancy 4K OLED Display, Marathoning in the Mountains, and Government Cheese

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

Niléane brings a spicy browser extension, Chris works through some iPad feelings, and Matt made the gang decide what app they consider “undefeated”.

MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico shares all the details about his new 4K OLED display, and John is obsessed with documentaries about the Barkley Marathons.

Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund and Devon highlight new Apple Original series Government Cheese, discuss streaming series cancellations in light of recent Mythic Quest news, and recap the second season of Surface.

Read more

How Federico Turns Voice Recordings into Searchable Obsidian Notes with Shortcuts, Hazel, and LLMs→

Automation on the Mac is powerful because you have so many choices when building a workflow. Now, with large language models, you can do even more, which is the approach Federico took in his latest Automation Academy lesson for Club MacStories Plus and Premier members:

I built a hybrid automation to bridge spoken words and Markdown – a system that combines the non-deterministic nature of human language and messy voice recordings with the reliability of Shortcuts, the power of Hazel rules on macOS, and the flexibility of LLMs, which are ideal for processing natural language. The system revolves around a shortcut called Process Transcript that takes the raw transcript of a voice recording and turns it into a structured note in Obsidian, complete with a summary, action items, an embedded audio player, and an internal link to the full transcript.

It’s an amazing automation that takes his audio notes, transcribes them into text, structures the results in an Obsidian template that includes extracted tasks, and embeds the original audio file and transcript for reference. Along the way, Federico used Simon Willison’s llm CLI, Google Gemini 2.5 Pro Hazel, Shortcuts, and other tools. It’s a great example of how to make the most of automation on the Mac.

Automation Academy is just one of the many Club MacStories perks.

Automation Academy is just one of the many Club MacStories perks.

Automation Academy is just one of many perks that Club MacStories Plus and Club Premier members enjoy including:

  • Weekly and monthly newsletters 
  • A sophisticated web app with search and filtering tools to navigate eight years of content
  • Customizable RSS feeds
  • Bonus columns
  • An early and ad-free version of our Internet culture and media podcast, MacStories Unwind
  • A vibrant Discord community of smart app and automation fans who trade a wealth of tips and discoveries every day
  • Live Discord audio events after Apple events and at other times of the year

On top of that, Club Premier members get AppStories+, an extended, ad-free version of our flagship podcast that we deliver early every week in high-bitrate audio.

Use the buttons below to learn more and sign up for Club MacStories+ or Club Premier.

Join Club MacStories+:

Join Club Premier:

Permalink