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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 9th, 20-24. I'm Charles Martin, and we begin today with ... the new frontier.
Apple is rolling out its plans for compliance with the EU’s Digital Markets Act, and has opened submissions for developers who want to run alternative app stores serving the 27 countries that make up the European Union. Apple has supplied APIs to help third parties create App Stores that are compliant with App Store Connect, and can offer apps that want to exist outside Apple’s own App Store, and can start testing their third party app marketplaces using TestFlight.
The apps and app marketplaces are now free to use alternative browser engines, alternative payment processing companies, and external linking, but they are still required to submit all apps to Apple for notarization, meaning Apple checks them for malicious code and functionality. Apple is offering online consultations and labs to developers that need help getting started.
What’s still very unclear at the moment is whether or not setting up an independent App Store is actually going to be profitable for either the operator or the app developers. While the commission Apple collects for access to the iOS platform is somewhat reduced for paid apps and in-app purchases compared to Apple’s own store, there is a question about a small fee Apple has also mandated for all apps that have more than a million installs in a year, apparently including free apps.
The additional costs that app marketplaces will have to bear for their own hosting, payment processing, support costs and other expenses may lead many to find that they’re not saving much if any money, particularly for free apps, compared to Apple’s original option.
In rumour news, the leaker Majin Bu on XTwitter — a source with a mixed track record — is adding their agreement to previous rumours that a fourth-generation iPhone SE, now expected in 2025, could take on a new look that is very similar to the iPhone 14, with a single camera but adding Dynamic Island. This would represent a jump in size for the traditionally compact SE.
On the other hand, Apple’s camera technology has improved considerably since the last SE was introduced in 2022, so even a single camera could take up to 48 megapixel images. AppleInsider rates the various reports Bu is sourcing from as “Possible.”
In Apple TV+ news, Apple’s sprawling sci-fi drama “Foundation” remains shut down instead of resuming filming the third season, which was suspended due to the Writers’ Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes last year. According to trade publication Deadline, cast and crew reporting to Poland and Prague for filming have reportedly been sent home due to unspecified production issues, which may or may not include a desire by Apple to lower the budget of the showcase series, which reportedly costs around $5 million per episode, or $50 million per season.
In other Apple News, a former Apple engineer who pled guilty to stealing trade secrets related to the automotive technology project has finally been sentenced to 120 days in prison, three years probation, and $146,984 in restitution.
Specifically, Xiaolang Zhang stole a 25-page schematic of a circuit board for an autonomous vehicle back in 2018. He initially faced up to 10 years in prison and a quarter-million dollars in fines, but ended up with 120 days in jail, three years of supervised release, and $146,984 in restitution — less than prosecutors had asked for.
After supporting a right-to-repair bill in California that has since led the company to implement a US-wide self-repair program, Apple is now lobbying against a tougher right-to-repair bill coming out of Oregon.
The principle architect of Apple’s secure repair program, John Perry, argued against the bill in testimony to a legislative committee, arguing that current language in the bill that would bar a practice called “parts pairing” undermines the security, safety and privacy of Oregonians, Perry said. Specifically he was concerned that the bill effectively forces device manufacturers — like Apple — to allow the use of parts of unknown origin in consumer devices.
Parts pairing means that a screen or battery or other part that needs to be replaced in a device can only be replaced with authentic Apple parts. While this does protect consumers from inferior or counterfeit parts, critics argue that it potentially increases repair costs.
Perry’s presentation got some pushback from other experts, who agreed with the security arguments for certain parts but didn’t think swapping a battery or glass screen needed the parts-pairing practice. While we can’t speak to screen swaps, inferior battery or charger replacements have led to plenty of battery fires and explosive damage, as we’ve reported innumerable times on AppleInsider.
In a frustrating story, the iPhone’s ability to notify you if there is an AirTag that is not yours traveling with you helped a women discover that she had a stalker, but when she reported it to police they waited for almost a year to actually arrest the man who had planted the device inside her car.
The unnamed woman in Goshen, Connecticut reported to authorities in March of last year that she had found an AirTag hidden in the interior of her car’s wheel rim back in late March of last year. The police were able to identify the man who owned the AirTag through its serial number, but could not find him at his last known address.
Investigators finally made contact with suspect Anthony Magro in early May, who said he had moved to Bridgeport. He refused to meet with police in Goshen because he didn’t drive, he said.
Earlier this week, police in West Haven identified an active arrest warrant for Magro, who was now living there, and sent him to Goshen for questioning. He will finally be arraigned on February 16th.
Finally for today … fight fight fight! On the weekly AppleInsider podcast that came out on Friday, the two people on our staff with the most hands-on experience with the Apple Vision Pro got together to talk about it. Usual host Wesley Hilliard had editor Mike Wuerthele on to discuss their experiences with the device, and — surprise! — they had mostly differing opinions about it.
It’s definitely not a case that one hates it and the other loves it, but each of them had differing perspectives and thoughts on where Apple goes from here with the device, and what it could mean for computing generally in the future. We’d encourage you to have a listen to the full 57-minute episode, which is as much about Apple’s thought process and the headset’s purpose now and later as it is about what it can do and whether you need one.
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.
If you would like to support the AppleInsider Daily podcast, we are now accepting sponsorships. Contact information can be found in the show notes.
I've been Charles Martin, and THIS has been the AppleInsider Daily podcast for Friday, February 9th, 20-24. Thank you for listening.