Yesterday the selfie camera of Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S25 Edge got revealed to be using the S5K3LU sensor with 1/3.2″ type size. Today the same source is back with confirmations of the main camera as well as the ultrawide, and thus the phone’s full camera package has now been outed (since it doesn’t have a […]
Read MoreIn a victory for Epic Games, Apple was today found to be in violation of a 2021 injunction that required it to allow developers to direct customers to third-party purchase options on the web using in-app links.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers, who has been handling the Apple vs. Epic Games dispute for the last five years, said that Apple is in “willful violation” of the injunction she issued to prohibit anticompetitive conduct and pricing. “Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated,” reads the ruling.
For background, Epic Games in 2024 accused Apple of violating the 2021 anti-steering injunction. Apple did allow developers to put a single link in their apps that leads to a website where customers can make a purchase without using the in-app purchase system, but Apple continued to charge a commission, requiring developers to pay between 12 and 27 percent for purchases made using these in-app links.
Epic Games asked that Apple be held in contempt of court for failing to comply with the order due to the fee and other strict rules surrounding the single link option available to developers. Apple, meanwhile, claimed that it was fully in compliance with the injunction, but the judge sided with Epic Games. In fact, the ruling is not at all favorable to Apple, highlighting in stark language how the Cupertino company failed to comply with the order.
To summarize: One, after trial, the Court found that Apple’s 30 percent commission “allowed it to reap supracompetitive operating margins” and was not tied to the value of its intellectual property, and thus, was anticompetitive. Apple’s response: charge a 27 percent commission (again tied to nothing) on off-app purchases, where it had previously charged nothing, and extend the commission for a period of seven days after the consumer linked-out of the app. Apple’s goal: maintain its anticompetitive revenue stream.
Two, the Court had prohibited Apple from denying developers the ability to communicate with, and direct consumers to, otherpurchasing mechanisms. Apple’s response: impose new barriers and new requirements to increase friction and increase breakage rates with full page “scare” screens, static URLs, and generic statements. Apple’s goal: to dissuade customer usage of alternative purchase opportunities and maintain its anticompetitive revenue stream.
In the end, Apple sought to maintain a revenue stream worth billions in direct defiance of this Court’s Injunction.
Judge Rogers said that the court “will not tolerate further delays,” and “Apple will not impede competition.” Apple must not impede developers’ ability to communicate with users or levy a new commission on off-app purchases. The ruling is effective immediately. Here are the terms that Apple must adhere to:
- Imposing any commission or any fee on purchases that consumers make outside an app, and as a consequence thereof, no reason exists to audit, monitor, track or require developers to report purchases or any other activity that consumers make outside an app;
- Restricting or conditioning developers’ style, language, formatting, quantity, flow or placement of links for purchases outside an app;
- Prohibiting or limiting the use of buttons or other calls to action, or otherwise conditioning the content, style, language, formatting, flow or placement of these devices for purchases outside an app;
- Excluding certain categories of apps and developers from obtaining link access;
- Interfering with consumers’ choice to proceed in or out of an app by using anything other than a neutral message apprising users that they are going to a third-party site;
- Restricting a developer’s use of dynamic links that bring consumers to a specific product page in a logged-in state rather than to a statically defined page, including restricting apps from passing on product details, user details or other information that refers to the user intending to make a purchase
The court is referring the case to the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California to “investigate whether criminal contempt proceedings are appropriate.” Apple has also been sanctioned in the amount of the full cost of Epic’s attorney fees through May 15, 2025.
This article, "Epic Games Wins Major Victory as Apple is Ordered to Comply With App Store Anti-Steering Injunction" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Read MoreApple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser that was first introduced in March 2016. Apple designed Safari Technology Preview to allow users to test features that are planned for future release versions of the Safari browser. Safari Technology Preview 218 includes fixes and updates for CSS, JavaScript, Lockdown Mode, […]
Read MoreBecause nothing says “I’ve still got it” like noise-canceling headphones that look straight out of an ‘80s gym bag.
Read MoreNIAID’s Integrated Research Facility is one of the few federal facilities charged with studying Ebola. Tuesday afternoon, all of its work was put on indefinite pause by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s department.
Read MoreNIAID’s Integrated Research Facility is one of the few federal facilities charged with studying Ebola. Tuesday afternoon, all of its work was put on indefinite pause by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s department.
Read MoreMotorola’s Edge 60 series is here, so it’s time to unbox the Edge 60. But before we get to the sceneted box, a word on what’s different between this green Pantone Shamrock Edge 60 and its blue Pro counterpart. The Edge 60 has the same display and camera system as the Pro, as well as […]
Read MoreMeta this week sent out an email (via The Verge) to Meta Ray-Ban customers informing them about upcoming privacy changes to the smart glasses, which will increase the amount of data that Meta is collecting by default.
Meta says that voice recordings are stored by default when using Meta AI, and used to improve Meta products. Meta has eliminated the option to disable voice recording storage, and recordings need to be manually deleted in settings. Further, unless Meta AI is disabled on the Ray-Ban glasses, photos and videos taken with the built-in camera will be analyzed by AI and used for improving Meta’s products.
From Meta’s email:
The Meta Ray-Ban glasses are not continually recording footage that’s accessible to AI, but Meta AI will store and use photos, videos, and voice recordings from Ray-Ban users who interact with Meta AI or use voice commands. With cloud processing on, media is also sent to Meta’s servers where it can be used to improve Meta services. Of course, uploading images and video to Instagram and other Meta apps also gives Meta the exact same access.
So if you say “Hey Meta, record a video,” by default Meta records the voice command and stores the recording and an audio transcript of it, a feature that is now turned on by default and can’t be turned off. If cloud processing is also on, or if you ask Meta AI a question about the video, Meta can access and use the video for AI training purposes.
Turning off Meta AI entirely on the Ray-Ban glasses and using manual controls for snapping photos and videos is the best method to ensure that Meta isn’t collecting excessive data. More information is available in Meta’s privacy policy.
This article, "Meta Now Collects More Data From Ray-Bans to Bolster AI" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Read MoreThere’s a lot of excitement for the upcoming Galaxy S25 Edge launch. It’s one of the thinnest smartphones that we’ve seen from Samsung yet and the striking design makes it a very compelling option for a lot of people. Samsung hasn’t officially confirmed as yet when this device is going to be launched. We exclusively […]
The post Latest Galaxy S25 Edge leak confirms May 13 launch appeared first on SamMobile.
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