MacRumors

Epic Games today announced that it has introduced a new direct payment option in the Fortnite app for iPhone and iPad, allowing players to purchase 1000 V-Bucks for $7.99 rather than $9.99 through Apple's in-app purchase mechanism.

It is unclear how Epic Games is managing to offer this option, as Apple's App Store Review Guidelines indicate that apps offering in-game currencies must use Apple's in-app purchase mechanism. Apps are also not allowed to include buttons, links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase:

3.1.1 In-App Purchase:
- If you want to unlock features or functionality within your app, (by way of example: subscriptions, in-game currencies, game levels, access to premium content, or unlocking a full version), you must use in-app purchase. Apps may not use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality, such as license keys, augmented reality markers, QR codes, etc. Apps and their metadata may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase.

The direct payment option is available in the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and many other countries.

In a FAQ, Epic Games described Apple's and Google's 30 percent commission on in-app purchases as "exorbitant," leading it to introduce this alternate payment system so that it can offer the same permanent discount of up to 20 percent on V-Bucks that it is now offering to players on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Mac, and PC.

Epic Games notes that apps that offer real-life goods and services like Uber and StubHub are not required to use Apple's in-app purchase mechanism, and it believes that Fortnite is entitled to receive this same treatment:

Thousands of apps on the App Store approved by Apple accept direct payments, including commonly used apps like Amazon, Grubhub, Nike SNKRS, Best Buy, DoorDash, Fandango, McDonalds, Uber, Lyft, and StubHub. We think all developers should be free to support direct payments in all apps. In operating Fortnite on open platforms and operating the Epic Games Store, Epic has processed over $1,600,000,000 of direct payments successfully, and uses industry trusted encryption and security measures to protect customer transactions.

Clearly Apple and Google acknowledge that third party payment services are safe and acceptable for goods and services. Epic direct payment simply offers players the same kinds of payment options as these other apps.

The move will certainly add fuel to the fire as the App Store faces anti-trust scrutiny in both the United States and Europe.

Update: Fortnite is no longer available on the App Store as of Thursday afternoon.

Apple plans to launch a fitness subscription service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, as part of an upcoming "Apple One" subscription service bundle.

The service would offer virtual fitness and workout classes via an app for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. This would rival existing virtual classes services provided by Nike and Peloton. Peloton shares reportedly dipped 4.7 percent in early Thursday trading after the report was published, while Apple was up just less than one percent. The fitness service is expected to be bundled with other Apple subscription services in Apple One.

In March, MacRumors discovered a new fitness app hidden within iOS 14 code for iPhone, Apple Watch, and ‌Apple TV‌, titled with the codename "Seymour." The app was found to be separate from the existing Activity app. Gurman has today confirmed the identity of the "Seymour" app discovered by MacRumors as the upcoming fitness subscription service. The app may be named "Fit" or "Fitness" when released.

MacRumors found that the app will offer a wide range of activity types, including indoor running, cycling, rowing, stretching, core training, strength training, outdoor walking, dance, and yoga. The app is designed to let users download guided fitness-related videos that will walk them through various workouts and activities. Apple Watch appears to be used in the app to track progress through each workout routine, similar to how Apple Watch can track existing fitness activities through the Activity app.

The new fitness subscription service and accompanying app is likely to launch alongside ‌Apple One‌ in October.

Apple will launch a new range of subscription service bundles called "Apple One" as soon as October, according to a new report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

The series of bundles would allow customers to subscribe to several Apple digital services together. This is expected to result in a lower monthly price than when the services are subscribed to individually. Bloomberg reports that the ‌Apple One‌ subscription bundles are planned to launch in October alongside new iPhone models.

Gurman explains that there will be different ‌Apple One‌ subscription tiers. A basic package will include just Apple Music and Apple TV+, while a more expensive variation will add Apple Arcade. The next tier up will add Apple News+, followed by a more expensive bundle featuring iCloud storage. ‌Apple One‌ is not expected to include AppleCare support.

Apple is also believed to be developing a new service for virtual fitness classes that can be used via an app for the iPhone, iPad, and ‌Apple TV‌. The fitness service will be offered in the higher-end subscription bundle. Currently codenamed "Seymour" internally, the workout service would be set to rival virtual classes offered by the likes of Nike.

‌Apple One‌ will work with Apple's Family Sharing system that provides access for as many as six people. The bundles are expected to save customers around $2 to upwards of $5 a month, depending on the specific bundle chosen.

The motivation behind bundling subscription services would be to encourage customers to subscribe to multiple Apple services, generating more recurring revenue. ‌Apple News‌+ and ‌Apple TV‌+ in particular has not seen substantial growth, so bundling subscriptions would help to drive subscriber numbers. In late 2019, Apple experimented with creating a bundle of ‌Apple Music‌ and ‌Apple TV‌+ for students, with the latter being freely included.

Files found in iOS 13.5.5 referred to a "bundle offer" and a "bundle subscription." These files were not present in earlier versions of iOS. The files were said to be related to the "management system of Apple's own services subscriptions like ‌Apple News‌+." Apple has been rumored to be working on some kind of services bundle since 2018, and most of the rumors have indicated that the company will include ‌‌Apple Music‌‌, ‌‌Apple TV‌‌+, and ‌‌Apple News‌‌+ in the bundle offering.

Apple shipped approximately 15 million iPhones in the United States in the second quarter of 2020, according to a new report shared by Canalys, setting a new domestic record.

Apple shipped 15 percent more iPhone 11 devices than last year's equivalent, iPhone XR. Most strikingly, iPhone SE was responsible for growing Apple's quarterly market share to 47 percent. Overall, Apple shipped 10 percent more devices compared to the same quarter of last year.

Vendors shipped 31.9 million smartphones in the United States in total. This represents a 5 percent year-on-year decline, but an 11 percent quarter-on-quarter increase. The reopening of manufacturing facilities in China at the end of March and retail stores reopening in May and June were key contributors to growth. Around 70 percent of smartphones shipped in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2020 were made in China, up 60 percent from the last quarter.

5G adoption was low in the second quarter of 2020, but is expected to increase as more 5G-connected devices come to market in the coming months. Apple is expected to contribute to this drive for 5G adoption with the release of 5G-enabled iPhones this fall.

"As the coronavirus pandemic forced consumers to stay at home, 5G adoption in the U.S. failed to take off. Store closures and virus fears limited interaction with demonstration models, tight consumer budgets further constrained spending power, and with scarce 5G network coverage in American suburbia, consumers saw plenty of reasons to buy a 4G device instead," Canalys Analyst Vincent Thielke said. "Despite the lackluster 5G roll-out so far, strong carrier marketing in coming quarters will be instrumental in catalyzing a multi-year transition period from LTE to 5G."

Canalys also noted the "perpetual state of uncertainty" hanging over smartphone vendors due to an escalation of tensions between the U.S. and China, but explained that this largely does not affect Samsung and LG.

"The worsening relationship has resulted in extreme instability that has global onlookers eagerly awaiting November's presidential election. This may guide the U.S.-China trade war into a new phase of détente – or reignite flare-ups," Thielke explained.

Apple and Samsung together account for seven out of every 10 devices sold. The average price of a smartphone in the U.S. dropped 10 percent compared to last year, down to $503. Canalys found that distributors are increasing orders for ultra-low-end Android smartphones from lesser-known brands, such as Unimax and Wiko. Google and other Android brands are increasing their exposure to the low-end and mid-range segments, and in addition to the success of iPhone SE, it appears that the sub-$400 segment is poised to gain more prominence.

Apple last month confirmed that this year's iPhone 12 models will launch outside of their normal September timeframe and will be "available a few weeks later," which has led to speculation about when an event might be held.

Leaker Jon Prosser, who sometimes shares accurate knowledge of Apple's plans, today said that Apple will hold its iPhone 12 event during the week of October 12, with preorders to take place later that week and shipments to start the week after that.

If these dates are accurate, Apple could hold an event on Tuesday, October 13, accepting preorders for new the lower-cost iPhone 12 models on October 16, and delivering the new devices starting on October 23.

There have been multiple rumors suggesting the possibility of a staggered release that will see some models launch before other models, which Prosser also says is the case. While the iPhone 12 models will ship in October, Prosser claims the iPhone 12 Pro models will not be available until an unspecified date in November.

Prosser also claims that Apple will release the Apple Watch Series 6 and an unspecified new iPad via press release during the week of September 7. It would be unusual for Apple to unveil the Apple Watch ahead of new iPhones because in past years, iPhone events have also included the Apple Watch.

Prosser says that this info is "in the system," but the staggered release date and the "uncertainty of final dates for the Pro models" means the dates could "slip/change." Last month, Prosser claimed that the iPhone 12 models and new iPads would launch in October.

While Prosser has in the past correctly predicted some of Apple's launch plans, he has also shared incorrect information. In June, he inaccurately claimed that Apple was planning to rename iOS to "iPhoneOS," and he shared images of what he claimed was Apple's AirPower charging mat, with those images later turning out to be a clone device that wasn't the ‌AirPower‌ at all.

Some of Prosser's claims have also been somewhat outlandish, such as his suggestion that Apple is working on a set of Steve Jobs heritage edition Apple Glasses modeled after the glasses that Jobs wore.

The Wall Street Journal has been one of the few newspaper publishers to participate in Apple News+, and according to statements from the company's CEO, Robert Thomson, The ‌Wall Street Journal‌ has no plans to end its Apple partnership.

As relayed by The New York Post, ‌Apple News‌ has brought the newspaper a "significantly new audience" that includes more women and younger people who might not otherwise read the WSJ.

"That Apple News partnership allows us to focus on that tier of content and bring in a significantly new audience that we would hope to graduate to a paid WSJ subscription over time," Thomson said in an earnings call last week. "And it is a genuinely different audience. It's actually, of late, more women than men. For The Wall Street Journal ­itself, it's more men than women."

Thomson's comments come a little over a month after The New York Times announced that it was ending its partnership with ‌Apple News‌ because the service does not "align with its strategy of building direct relationships with paying readers."

Articles from The New York Times no longer show up in the ‌Apple News‌ app, and the site has accused Apple of providing it "little control over business" and "little in the way of direct relationships with readers."

Apple has struggled to score deals with newspaper publishers for ‌Apple News‌+ and so far has sites like The ‌Wall Street Journal‌ and The Los Angeles Times on board.

Apple is facing a trademark battle in Brazil as the Brazilian Supreme Court is set to determine whether Apple is allowed to use the iPhone trademark in Brazil.

The Brazilian Supreme Court will rule on the issue following a constitutional appeal by IGB Electronica, an electronics company that registered the iPhone trademark in Brazil in 2000.

Under the name Gradiente, IGB Electronica produced a line of IPHONE-branded Android smartphones in Brazil in 2012, and there was a period of time where the Brazilian company was given exclusive rights to the iPhone trademark.

There was a trademark battle and ultimately, Apple and IGB Electronica were both provided rights to use the name in the country. Since then, there's been continual back and forth fighting with each company attempting to gain exclusive rights to the trademark, but a 2018 decision upheld a 2013 ruling that gave both brands permission to use the trademark.

Earlier this year, IGB Electronica revived the dispute in an attempt to get the 2018 decision reversed by Brazil's Supreme Federal Court, and the court has agreed to hear the case. IGB argues that allowing Apple to use the trademark first filed by IGB "punishes creativity."

"Allowing a company to claim a trademark submitted in good faith by another one punishes creativity, distorts free competition and runs over Brazilian intellectual property authorities," says IGB's lawyer Igor Mauler Santiago in the petition. He also alleges the violation of free initiative and of trademarks protection, principles expressly prescribed in the Brazilian Constitution.

Apple has claimed that it was inappropriate for the National Institute of Industrial Property to grant the trademark to Gradiente in 2008 even though it was filed in 2000 because at that point, the iPhone existed.

It's not yet clear when the Brazilian Supreme Court will hear the case and come to a decision. IGB has been struggling for years and has lost close to 1 billion Brazilian Reals since 2018, so the ultimate goal may be a payout from Apple to end the dispute. Today's press release announcing the court's decision highlights commercial deals Apple has made in other countries to acquire rights to the iPhone trademark.

Apple's Brazilian dispute comes just after news that Apple has opposed the trademark application for Prepear, a recipe and meal planning app that uses a pear for an Apple logo. Apple fears people who encounter the pear logo will associate it with Apple.

Apple today released iOS and iPadOS 13.6.1, minor updates that come a month after the release of the iOS 13.6 update with Car Keys and Audio Apple News+ stories.

The iOS and ‌iPadOS‌ 13.6.1 updates are available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the updates, go to Settings > General > Software Update.

iOS 13.6.1 addresses an issue that could cause unneeded system data files to not be automatically deleted when storage is low, and it addresses a thermal management issue that caused some iPhone displays to exhibit a green tint. It also has a fix for a bug that could cause Exposure Notifications to be disabled for some users.

Apple's full release notes for the update are below:

iOS 13.6.1 includes bug fixes for your iPhone.

- Addresses an issue where unneeded system data files might not be automatically deleted when available storage is low
- Fixes a thermal management issue that caused some displays to exhibit a green tint
- Fixes an issue where Exposure Notifications could be disabled for some users

Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

iOS 13.6.1 is likely to be one of the last updates to the iOS 13 operating system as Apple has transitioned to working on iOS 14, an update that is set to be released this fall.

Apple today released a supplemental update for macOS Catalina 10.15.6, with the update coming a month after the original launch of macOS Catalina 10.15.6.

The ‌‌macOS Catalina‌‌ 10.15.6 Supplemental Update can be downloaded from the Mac App Store using the Update feature in the System Preferences app.

According to Apple's release notes, the update fixes a problem that could cause virtualization apps like VMware to crash. It also fixes an issue that could cause the 2020 iMac to appear washed out after waking from sleep. Apple's full release notes are below:

macOS Catalina 10.15.6 supplemental update includes bug fixes for your Mac.

- Fixes a stability issue that could occur when running virtualization apps
- Resolves an issue where an iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) may appear washed out after waking from sleep

macOS Catalina 10.15.6 will likely be the last update to the macOS Catalina operating system as Apple transitions to macOS Big Sur, the newest version of macOS set to be released in the fall.

England is developing a contact tracing app that uses Apple and Google's Exposure Notification API, and while there are still bugs to be worked out, it's set to be trialed in a few areas in the country starting tomorrow.

According to the BBC, the app will be trialed on the Isle of Wight and in one other area with a volunteer group. The experiment is being launched quietly as there's no word on when a formal national rollout might happen.

Even as the app enters a trial period, engineers are struggling to address a problem with Bluetooth distance calculations. Apparently the app wrongly flags people of being within 6.6 feet of one another when they're not, which could lead to people quarantining when they don't need to.

Apple and Google do not provide raw Bluetooth signal strength data to app developers to better protect user privacy. Multiple countries have asked for relaxed restrictions.

Part of the problem with the Apple-Google framework is that the tech firms have decided that developers should not get access to raw attenuation data - a measure of changes in Bluetooth signal strength.

Instead, it provides a more basic set of readings that an app can use to calculate its own risk scores - the idea being that this helps preserve users' anonymity.

But one consequence of this, is that engineers have not been able to take advantage of a technique developed by researchers at the UK's Turing Institute and the University of Oxford. It filters the data to give a better indication of proximity.

England's app engineers are hoping to be able to improve accuracy to a degree that will be usable by the end of the year.

As with other ‌Exposure Notification‌ solutions, the app will use Bluetooth to determine when two people come into contact with one another to track possible coronavirus exposures. If a person is diagnosed with COVID-19, the app allows them to notify all of the people they've been in contact with, cutting down on the spread of the virus.

The app England is developing will also ask users to scan a QR code when entering properties as a way to later alert them if they've visited a location linked to multiple infections.

The UK did not initially plan to use Apple and Google's ‌Exposure Notification‌ API and was instead pursuing a different approach, but a June report suggested the National Health Service had changed its mind and was working on an app using the Apple/Google API.

The original app was hobbled by restrictions that Apple imposes on Bluetooth apps, which would have prevented an app that doesn't use the ‌Exposure Notification‌ API from accessing Bluetooth in the background. Because Bluetooth was not continually available, the app that was initially in development only detected four percent of iPhones in situations where the app was asleep and the two devices involved had not been recently used.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Dropbox today announced that it has made three new features available to the public following beta testing, including a password manager, file vault, and automatic computer backup functionality on the Mac and PC, as noted by The Verge.

An overview of the new features:

• Dropbox Passwords: Similar to 1Password, this password manager allows you to save your account usernames and passwords and sync them across your devices, with autofilled or suggested passwords when you sign into websites and mobile apps. Dropbox Passwords is available as a desktop app, mobile app, and browser extension for Dropbox Plus and Dropbox Professional subscribers.
• Dropbox Vault: This feature allows users to create a location in Dropbox with an additional layer of security for sensitive files. The vault is protected by a PIN and can be shared with trusted contacts. Vaults can only be opened from Dropbox.com and the Dropbox mobile app. This feature will only be available for Dropbox Plus users.
• Dropbox Computer Backup: This feature allows users to automatically back up certain key folders on their Mac or PC, such as Desktop, Documents, and Downloads, to Dropbox. This feature is being made available to all Dropbox users.

More details can be found in Dropbox's blog post from June.

China will no longer be the world's manufacturing epicenter going forward, according to Apple's largest supply chain partner Foxconn, which has been gradually expanding its operations in other countries amid the U.S.-China trade war.

"No matter if it's India, Southeast Asia or the Americas, there will be a manufacturing ecosystem in each," said Foxconn chairman Young Liu, according to Bloomberg. Liu boldly proclaimed that while China will continue to be a key location for Foxconn's factories, the country's "days as the world's factory are done."

The report claims that Foxconn's manufacturing capacity outside China is now 30 percent of its total, up from 25 percent last June. Foxconn is one of several Apple suppliers that has expanded operations in India and Vietnam in particular.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Foxconn has commenced its seasonal hiring spree to assist with iPhone 12 production. Apple is widely expected to announce four ‌iPhone 12‌ models this year, including a 5.4-inch model, two 6.1-inch models, and a 6.7-inch model, all with OLED displays, 5G connectivity, and a new flat-edged design.

While new iPhones usually begin shipping in late September, Apple recently indicated that supply will be available "a few weeks later" this year. Foxconn expects a dip in its third quarter earnings results as a result of this delay.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Facebook, owner of Instagram, is facing a lawsuit over allegedly harvesting the biometric data of users, according to Bloomberg.

Last month, Facebook offered to pay a $650 million settlement in a similar lawsuit in which it was accused of illegally collecting biometric data via Facebook's photo-tagging feature. The settlement has not yet been approved by the judge, but if it is, affected users could be paid up to $400 each.

The new case was filed in California state court on Monday. Facebook was specifically accused of collecting, storing, and profiting from the biometric data of over 100 million Instagram users. Crucially, users did not give consent and were not aware of this alleged data-harvesting. Users were only made aware of biometric data collection on Instagram at the start of this year, but it is believed to have occurred for some time before that.

The lawsuit adds that unauthorized collection of biometric data would be a violation of Illinois privacy law, in which case Facebook could be forced to pay up to $5,000 per violation. Facebook did not respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg.

Google-owned navigation app Waze today announced that it is expanding railroad crossing alerts to additional countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Israel, Brazil, Mexico, and others, according to The Verge. The safety feature quietly launched in the United States, Canada, and Belgium earlier this year.

Enabled by default, the alerts pop up in the Waze app when a driver is approaching a railroad crossing on a street. The feature can be disabled in Waze's in-app settings under Map display > Reports > Railroad crossing > Alert me while driving.

Waze is available for free on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.

In related news, Google Maps will be returning to the Apple Watch in the coming weeks. The app supports estimated arrival times and step-by-step directions on ‌the Apple Watch‌ when using saved destinations like Work or Home. Other destinations require navigation to start on the iPhone, with the directions then picked up by the ‌Apple Watch‌.

Last week, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple camera lens suppliers Genius Electronic Optical had discovered issues with cracking coatings on the wide-angle camera lens destined for the lower-end 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch ‌iPhone 12‌ models. Kuo noted that the issue was unlikely to have an impact on the iPhone 12 shipping schedule.

Genius Electronic Optical has since refuted the report, maintaining that its production is still running without issues and that demand from its clients remains normal, according to DigiTimes. In any case, Apple also has Largan Precision as a camera lens supplier for iPhone 12 models, so customers are unlikely to see any impact regardless.

Apple is widely expected to announce four ‌iPhone 12‌ models this year, including a 5.4-inch model, two 6.1-inch models, and a 6.7-inch model, all with OLED displays and 5G connectivity. While new iPhones usually begin shipping in late September, Apple recently indicated that supply will be available "a few weeks later" this year.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Apple's largest manufacturing partner Foxconn commenced its seasonal hiring spree to assist with iPhone 12 production.

Read our iPhone 12 roundup for an overview of rumored features and specs.