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Apple is more than just the iPhone manufacturer. This $2 trillion company's decisions impact many facets of technology, financials, and everyday life. When the company is rumored to be getting into something new, the entire world pays attention. And since 1997, AppleInsider has been covering this fascinating electronics maker from every possible angle. From details of the next-generation iPhone and MacBook to key indicators expected to drive the company’s stock price, AppleInsider Daily has you completely covered on a daily basis.
Welcome to the AppleInsider Daily podcast for Friday, February 16th, 20-24. I'm Charles Martin, and we begin today with ... Fortnite returns to iOS, kind of.
Apple has opted to re-grant Epic Games a developer license, three years after it kicked the company out of the App Store for violating its contract terms. However, the developer license is for the EU only, and Epic has been required to sign a new agreement with Apple saying that it accepts and will obey all the rules as Apple requires.
It’s likely that Fortnite wil return to the EU markets through an App Store Epic itself will set up, but that still means they will pay Apple at least a Core Technology Fee, which is half-a-Euro per first installs annually, with the first million installs waived from the fee. It’s unclear how popular the 2017 title will be with Apple’s audience after all this time, but it’s probable that Epic can achieve a million installs on iOS in Europe, at least in the first year of availability.
We have an update for yesterday’s story about Kanye West’s latest album being pulled from the various streaming music outlets, after a dispute between West and his now-former music distribution partner, Fuga. The album has now been returned to any music services it was pulled from, and “Vultures 1” is now being distributed by Label Engine, who West originally used to distribute the pre-release singles for the album.
If you’re in the market for a next-generation iPhone SE, it looks like you’ll have to wait for another yet to get one. Trade papers, rumourmongers, and supply sources all seem to be agreeing that Apple is currently accepting bids from screen companies for the larger screens a new SE would require, but this would indicate that production will begin late this year for an expected debut in the spring of 2025.
Not that we needed any more clues that Apple will be ramping up its machine learning and generative AI this year, but new reports suggest that XCode, the programming tool for Apple developers, will be gaining the ability to predict and complete blocks of code, and possible using the technology to generate code for testing applications. CEO Tim Cook has suggested that Apple’s approach to the AI craze has been more selective and methodical with a goal to assist users, rather than just showing off simple tricks or gimmicky applications.
Shifting to Apple TV+ news, Apple Original Films will bring its box office hit “Napoleon” to the TV+ service early next month. The film, which focuses on Bonaparte’s rise to power and his relationship with Josephine, debuted in cinemas last November and, despite mixed reviews, has received several award nominations and had a successful theatrical run.
The service also announced a new thriller series called “Prime Target” that centers around a mathematician who develops a theory that could break the security of every computer in the world. Leo Woodall will play Edward Brooks, the young math postgraduate working on a real-world application of the Riemann hypothesis, and there are of course powerful forces who either want to stop Brooks, or steal his work if he is successful. No debut date has yet been released.
Finally for today, a couple of Apple Vision Pro that cover the high and the low. For the low, we have the rate of returns of the Apple Vision Pro by buyers. Some people who have returned their headsets have claimed that there are significant numbers of other people doing the same thing. AppleInsider has good sources for the Apple Stores who could speak off-the-record about returns, and the data they’ve shared with us is that the Vision Pro’s return rate does not seem to be any higher than for other products.
Based on that data, people who return the Apple Vision Pro tend to fall into two main groups, with the main one being people who turn out to be sensitive to the visual and motion aspects of the product, and experience discomfort with the headset. The second group tends to be YouTubers, who use the purchase as a short-term free rental.
Apple employees we’ve spoken to are particularly not fond of the secondary group. For the record, nobody at AppleInsider who has one plan on returning theirs, and our colleague Wesley Hilliard in particular is practically living in his, as you can hear on the latest edition of the weekly AppleInsider podcast.
So, given that some people can have nauseous reactions to the Vision Pro, it may perhaps turn out to be an unwise move that Beond Airlines will offer the Apple headset to passengers flying on its flights. If you’ve never heard of Beond, that’s because you’re not rich.
They are a premium leisure airline where every seat is business-class, featuring gourmet meals and — for some passengers, the use of an Apple Vision Pro in-flight. It is likely to be offered primarily to passengers who do not require corrective lenses for their vision, and hopefully the airline will screen out any passengers who might be susceptible to motion sickness.
You can hear more news and analysis from AppleInsider on the WEEKLY AppleInsider podcast that’s out every Friday, as well as our HomeKitInsider podcast that's out every Monday -- links to both shows are in the notes for this one.
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I've been Charles Martin, and THIS has been the AppleInsider Daily podcast for Friday, February 16th, 20-24. Thank you for listening.