MacRumors

Apple updated its Digital Markets Act compliance plan in the European Union today, making changes related to external linking. Developers are now free to direct users to non-App Store purchase options for in-app content such as subscriptions, with no restrictions or control over the messaging to customers.

Apple made the update to comply with the European Commission's objection to its anti-steering rules, but there is a new fee structure that's complicated and not easy to digest. Shortly after Apple announced its new terms, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney took to social media to call Apple's commission "an illegal new 15% junk fee." He went on to say that the terms make it "completely uneconomical for developers to distribute their apps through both the Apple App Store and competing iOS app stores."

Sweeney has been outspoken about Apple's Digital Markets Act changes since the first updates were introduced in February, and he has long accused Apple of malicious compliance.

Spotify likewise didn't have anything nice to say about the updated link rules. In a statement to TechCrunch, Spotify said the revisions are "deliberately confusing," but "at first glance," Apple is continuing to "blatantly disregard" the requirements of the DMA.

We are currently assessing Apple's deliberately confusing proposal. At first glance, by demanding as much as a 25% fee for basic communication with users, Apple once again blatantly disregards the fundamental requirements of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The European Commission has made it clear that imposing recurring fees on basic elements like pricing and linking is unacceptable. We call on the Commission to expedite its investigation, implement daily fines and enforce the DMA.

According to Apple, the new initial acquisition fee that developers who use links have to pay reflects the value that the ‌App Store‌ provides when connecting developers to customers in the EU. The second store services fee reflects the ongoing services and capabilities that Apple provides developers, such as app distribution, ‌App Store‌ trust and safety, promotional tools, anti-fraud checks, and more.

EU developers who choose to use links to direct customers to purchase options outside of the ‌App Store‌ will pay between 10 percent and 27 percent commission, depending on the ‌App Store‌ terms they've agreed to and whether they belong to the ‌App Store‌ Small Business Program. Developers operating under the new DMA business terms that support alternative payment methods and distributing apps outside of the ‌App Store‌ must also pay the Core Technology Fee in addition to the store services fee and the initial acquisition fee.

The 10 to 27 percent commission for developers that adopt linking out is under the 15 to 30 percent commission that was required prior to any of the DMA changes, but ‌Epic Games‌ and Spotify do not feel that Apple's fees are fair. As ‌Epic Games‌ and Spotify are major companies, they would need to pay the 0.50 euro Core Technology Fee to Apple, which would cost tens of thousands per month.

‌Epic Games‌ plans to bring an Epic Games Store to the iPhone and iPad in the European Union, and Sweeney today said that the plan is still on track. The store is set to launch
"soon," and ‌Epic Games‌ will charge developers 12 percent for payments that it processes and 0 percent for third-party payments.

Earlier this year, the European Commission fined Apple $1.95 billion for not allowing streaming music apps like Spotify to tell users about cheaper subscription prices outside of the app. Apple in response created a Music Streaming Services Entitlement that would require Spotify to pay a 27 percent commission on website purchases made through the ‌App Store‌. The fee for the new Link Entitlement is the same for an app of Spotify's size.

Smart lighting company Nanoleaf today announced the launch of the EXPO Smart LED Display Case, a new product that it is debuting in partnership with design studio Fantaqi.

The EXPO has built-in multi-color lighting that highlights sneakers, figurines, or other collectibles. Each EXPO Case is made from ABS resin, and the cases are modular, so you can use several together with unique lighting scenes. Display cases can be set up in any arrangement, and up to 300 can be connected together.

Nanoleaf designed the EXPO with full-coverage lighting that is diffused across the ceiling of each case for uniform illumination that showcases the user's favorite items. A magnetic sensing door provides subtle lighting effects when the display lid is opened and closed.

Using the Nanoleaf app. The LEDs in the EXPO Cases can be set to animated colorways through multiple curated scenes like Hypno Beat and Flames. As with other Nanoleaf devices, the EXPO Cases support community created scenes and allow for custom user designed scenes. The EXPO Case layout is reflected in the Nanoleaf app for optimum display of lighting scenes across each custom layout.

Other supported features include the Rhythm music visualizer for timing light animations to the beat of music, Desktop Screen Mirror, and AI Magic Scenes for creating a scene based on a word or phrase. The EXPO Cases can also be controlled via Siri voice commands through HomeKit integration.

The Nanoleaf x Fantaqi EXPO Display Cases can be purchased from the Nanoleaf website as of today. A Smarter Kit with four cases is available for $299.99, and a one case expansion pack is available for $79.99.

Instagram today expanded the number of photos and videos that can be added to a single carousel post, reports The Verge. Standard grid posts have long been limited to a total of 10 images and videos, but the limit has now doubled.

On Instagram, carousel posts allow users to "photo dump" multiple photos and videos at one time, and a user's followers can use swipe gestures to view all of them. Multi-image posts show up on a user's page and in the Instagram feed.

Instagram rival TikTok supports posts with up to 35 photos, so the new limit brings Instagram closer to the TikTok's image options. Instagram has been testing higher image limits since earlier this year.

Support for more images in a single post is rolling out for users around the world as of today.

Samsung's newest 32-inch Smart Monitor M80D is being discounted to a new record low price today on Amazon, available for $448.08, down from $699.99. This sale is only available in the Warm White color, and it can be delivered as soon as August 10.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

This new deal beats the previous record low by about $50, and right now it's only available on Amazon. This version of the monitor launched back in June, and it retains many features of the previous model like USB-C charging connectivity, AirPlay 2 support, an integrated webcam, and several smart TV features that enable it to be used when not connected to a PC.

In terms of new features, the M80D includes a Multi Control feature that allows images and text to be moved between the display and a Galaxy Book, Tablet, or Phone. You can also pair Galaxy Buds to the monitor for a spatial audio experience with head tracking, as well as guided workouts when paired with a Galaxy Watch.

Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.

Apple is today announcing some updates to its Digital Markets Act compliance plan in the European Union, with changes to external linking that give developers more freedom to direct customers to non-App Store purchase options and sales.

EU developers that are operating under the new App Store business terms or the prior ‌App Store‌ purchase terms can update their apps to communicate and promote offers for purchases available through websites, alternative app marketplaces, other apps, and more.

Links to external sources can direct customers outside of the app or to a website with a web view that is available directly in the app. Apple is not directing the design of communications provided to customers, nor is the company dictating what developers are able to say.

Developers can provide information about lower prices outside of the ‌App Store‌, more affordable subscriptions, or any offer available in or outside the app. External links and offer pages can include explanations and instructions about how customers can subscribe to offers outside of the ‌App Store‌ app, though Apple says that communications have to provide accurate information on the digital goods or services available for purchase.

Links can be tapped, clicked, or scanned to take users to their destination, and developers have no restrictions on the number of URLs they include. Links with additional parameters, redirects, and intermediate links are allowed, but not for ad tracking purposes.

Developers do not have to opt in to the new terms with the Core Technology Fee to take advantage of these link entitlement changes, but must agree to the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement Addendum, which is coming this fall. These terms require developers to use the StoreKit External Purchase APIs, report external purchase transactions, and pay fees and commissions.

There are two fees that are associated with directing customers to purchase options outside of the ‌App Store‌. A 5 percent initial acquisition fee is paid for all sales of digital goods and services that the customer makes on any platform that occur within a 12-month period after an initial install. The fee does not apply to transactions made by customers that had an initial install before the new link changes, but is applicable for new downloads.

Apple says that the initial acquisition fee reflects the value that the ‌App Store‌ provides when connecting developers with customers in the European Union.

The store services fee, which is in addition to the initial acquisition fee, is a commission that developers pay Apple on all sales of digital goods and services that the customer makes on any platform that occur within a fixed 12-month period from the date of an install, including app updates and reinstalls.

According to Apple, the store services fee reflects the ongoing services and capabilities that Apple provides developers, including app distribution and management, ‌App Store‌ trust and safety, re-discovery, re-engagement and promotional tools and services, anti-fraud checks, recommendations, and ratings and reviews.

While the initial acquisition fee is the same for both developers that use the link entitlement under the new business terms and those that use link entitlements under the current terms, the store services fee varies. For the new business terms, the base fee is 10 percent, but it drops to 5 percent for ‌App Store‌ Small Business Program participants and auto-renewal subscriptions after one year. These fees are in addition to the Core Technology Fee of 0.50 euros per first annual install over one million first annual installs.

For developers who stick with the standard Apple Developer Program License Agreement, the standard store services fee is 20 percent, but it drops to 7 percent for ‌App Store‌ Small Business Program participants and auto-renewal subscriptions after one year. The standard ‌App Store‌ terms do not require a Core Technology Fee. Apple has a fee calculator that can help EU developers figure out what they'll need to pay.

• New business terms - Includes using alternative payment methods in the ‌App Store‌ or distributing outside of the ‌App Store‌ - 5% initial acquisition fee and 5% to 10% store services fee depending on app size, plus Core Technology Fee. Total is 10% to 15% commission, along with the CTF, though Apple estimates that 99% of developers will not be eligible to pay the CTF. There is also a payment processing fee of 3% when using the ‌App Store‌'s payment options.
• Standard business terms - 5% initial acquisition fee and 7% to 20% store services fee depending on app size. Total is 12% to 27% commission.

There is one other notable change that Apple is making, and that's giving customers an option to turn off in-app disclosure sheets. By default, Apple will still warn users when they are clicking a link that takes them to non-Apple purchase methods and options, but customers can choose to turn off these warnings when an app links to an external channel. An app that links to an in-app web view will only need to display the disclosure sheet once per session.

More information about these changes can be found on Apple's developer website and in the specific Digital Markets Act page that Apple updates regularly.

EU developers can begin planning external linking options for their apps now, and customers will have access to these changes with the launch of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, tvOS 18, visionOS 2, and watchOS 11 this fall.

As with all of the updates that Apple has made to comply with the Digital Markets Act, these changes are only applicable in the European Union. There are no ‌App Store‌ changes in other countries.

Apple is planning to debut completely redesigned Mac mini models with the M4 and M4 Pro chips later this year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.

The new ‌Mac mini‌ will be the first major design change to the machine since 2010, making it Apple's smallest ever desktop computer. The new ‌Mac mini‌ will apparently approach the size of an Apple TV, but it may be slightly taller than the current model, which is 1.4 inches high. It will continue to feature an aluminum shell. Individuals working on the new device apparently say that it is "essentially an iPad Pro in a small box."

Apple is said to have tested ‌Mac mini‌ models with at least three USB-C ports on the back, as well as an area for the power cable and an HDMI port. There will continue to be two versions of the ‌Mac mini‌: one with the standard M4 chip, similar to the ‌iPad Pro‌, and one with an M4 Pro chip. The base model is set to begin shipping from suppliers this month ahead of release later in the year, while the high-end model will not be ready until October.

The M4 generation of Apple silicon will purportedly be the first time that Apple has used the same chip generation across all of its Macs, with refreshes to add the M4 chip to the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro planned to take place over the next year.

Sonos will delay two major product releases that were originally planned later this year in order to focus on improving the quality of its app, according to the company's CEO.

Speaking on his third quarter earnings call, Sonos chief Patrick Spence told investors that it was "deeply disappointing for me personally" for the company to be on track for the first three quarters of the year, only to revise its expectations for the fourth quarter due to "challenges with our new app."

Sonos in May released its redesigned app with customizable home screen and a more personalized listening service, but Sonos customers quickly found that the app lacked several key features, and suffered from multiple bugs. Complaints across social media called the app a "step back" for removing playlist management, alarms, and other features.

As a result of the app problems, the Sonos chief said two major product releases – one of which was likely to be the successor to Sonos' flagship Arc soundbar, according to The Verge – would now be delayed to focus on improving the company's software.

Spence told investors:

"The app situation has become a headwind to existing product sales, and we believe our focus needs to be addressing the app ahead of everything else," said Spence. "This means delaying the two major new product releases we had planned for Q4 until our app experience meets the level of quality that we, our customers and our partners expect from Sonos. While this has the painful effect of reducing our Q4 sales expectations, we believe it will set our future products up for greater success over the medium to long term."

Spence reiterated an outline of future feature plans that he previously laid out in an apology to users last month, with Sonos planning to push updates on a bi-weekly basis. Among the scheduled plans, alarms are set to be addressed in September, while edit mode for playlists and a queue will come in September or October.

• Hands-On With the New Sonos 'Ace' Headphones

Spence said that Sonos is working hard to earn back customer trust through the continual app improvements. "I want to reiterate again that the entire team and I are committed to making this right with our customers and partners," he added. "It's my #1 focus, and I will not rest until we're in a position where we've addressed these issues and have customers raving about Sonos again."

Amazon this week has a massive sale across the MacBook Air lineup, including both the M2 and M3 MacBook Air models. We tracked many of these deals from Best Buy last week, but Amazon's sales this week don't require any exclusive membership, and in some cases they're even beating the low prices from last week.

13-Inch M2 MacBook Air

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Starting with the M2 MacBook Air, Amazon is offering up to $254 off these models, including a new all-time low price on the 512GB model. Prices start at $799.00 for the 256GB M2 MacBook Air in all colors, and increase to $944.16 for the 512GB MacBook Air in Midnight.

13-Inch M3 MacBook Air

For the newer models, Amazon is taking $249 off the 13-inch M3 MacBook Air with multiple all-time low prices. You can get the 256GB 13-inch M3 MacBook Air for $849.98 in every color, down from $1,099.00. Both 512GB models are on sale as well with best-ever prices.

15-Inch M3 MacBook Air

Finally, Amazon also has the 15-inch M3 MacBook Air for $249-$250 off every model. These start at $1,049.98 for the 256GB 15-inch M3 MacBook Air, down from $1,299.00, and again include both 512GB models. Overall, every 15-inch M3 MacBook Air deal from Amazon this week represents new all-time low prices on each model, beating the deals we saw just last week by about $50.

Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

Apple's Car Keys feature appears to be coming to future Lynk & Co models, based on code changes discovered by MacRumors in Apple's Wallet app backend.

‌Car Keys‌ allows an iPhone or Apple Watch with NFC capabilities to unlock a vehicle through the Wallet app. A digital version of a car key is stored in Wallet, and unlocking can be done simply by holding an Apple Watch or ‌‌iPhone‌‌ near a compatible vehicle's NFC reader.

2021 - 2024 Lynk & Co 01 vehicles already support Apple CarPlay. However, cars do not have NFC functionality by default, so this is a feature that would need to be implemented by the automobile manufacturer in future models.

The Z20 is believed to be Lynk & Co's next car launch – and the company's first electric vehicle – so support for ‌Car Keys‌ could well be introduced with this model, which is expected to launch in various European markets.

What can be done with ‌Car Keys‌ may vary by car manufacturer, but at a minimum, ‌Car Keys‌ can be used to unlock your car, lock your car, and start your car, which are the features available with a physical key.

Apple introduced ‌Car Keys‌ in 2022, and car manufacturers like BMW, Rivian, Kia, and Hyundai have all implemented support for ‌Car Keys‌. Apple maintains a full list of vehicles that support ‌Car Keys‌ on its CarPlay model availability webpage.

With iOS 18, Apple overhauled the Home Screen, introducing design changes that allow for more customization and personalization. One of the changes is the freedom to arrange icons and widgets with space between them, opening up a variety of new layout options.

In iOS 17, new apps added to the ‌Home Screen‌ automatically occupy the next available spot, and there is no way to space out icons on the same page. But with ‌iOS 18‌, you have more flexibility in arranging your ‌Home Screen‌.

You can now choose the exact location for new apps, allowing for app icon-sized gaps between apps, entire empty rows, or entire empty columns. However, due to the invisible grid system, icons and widgets cannot be placed with uneven spacing, so this should be considered when arranging your ‌Home Screen‌.

This design enables a variety of layouts: For example, you can place a single app in the center of a page, create a row of apps at the top and bottom, form a column of apps, and more. Apple's goal here is to let you organize apps and widgets around wallpapers and create more functional and visually appealing layouts.

Here's how to place your icons where you want in ‌iOS 18‌.

1. Long press an empty space on the ‌Home Screen‌ to enter jiggle mode.
2. Move your app icons into the desired positions within the invisible grid.
3. Tap Done.

In ‌iOS 18‌, you can also make your icons bigger by removing the app names from them. Click the link to learn how it's done. ‌iOS 18‌ is currently in public beta and will see a general release in the fall.

Apple reportedly plans to turn some Apple Intelligence features into paid subscription services, and some analysts believe the company could charge users up to $20 per month for the privilege.

Last month, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman said that while Apple Intelligence will be free to start, Apple's long-term plan is to launch something like "Apple Intelligence+," with extra features that users pay monthly fees to access, similar to iCloud+.

Speaking to CNBC, Counterpoint Research's Neil Shah said Apple could offer the features as part of a modified Apple One subscription, and he believes an additional figure of between $10 and $20 is a realistic possibility.

"Software and services makes it more lucrative for Apple to pass it on with the Apple One subscription model," Shah told CNBC in an interview last week.

Apple One costs $19.95 a month and gives users access to various Apple services like Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Fitness+, additional cloud storage, and more.

"Apple is one of the few connected devices companies that has successfully monetized the value-added services it offers," Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight, told CNBC.

"As a result, it has set a precedent with its users that they have to pay for more premium services. On this basis, it can't be ruled out that Apple may choose to charge for more advanced features within its Apple Intelligence offering."

Wood added that Apple Intelligence could give the company an option to launched a bundled subscription service with various services under a single price, akin to a new Apple One tier.

Apple in the June quarter saw a steep increase in services revenue at $24.2 billion, up from $21.2 billion a year ago and a new all-time revenue record. Analysts believe that making its own AI features another services revenue stream could allow Apple to compensate for the slower pace of hardware upgrades and also enable the company to pass the high cost of its investment in AI onto customers.

Apple has reportedly started building its own AI servers that use the M2 Ultra chip, and it is said to be developing its own AI server processor using TSMC's 3nm process for use as soon as 2025, which could enhance the performance of its data centers and future AI tools that rely on the cloud.

Apple is expected to spend several billion on hardware to support its artificial intelligence development in 2024, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo said he expects Apple to spend "at least" $620 million on servers in 2023 and $4.75 billion on servers in 2024.

Apple suppliers have ramped up mass production of iPhone 16 OLED panels ahead of the smartphone's launch in September, reports ETNews.

Both Samsung Display and LG Display began initial production of iPhone 16 OLED panels in June, and significantly ramped up production last month, according to the report.

Apple's iPhone 16 shipment forecast for this year is around 90 million units, while it's estimated that the number of OLED panels produced will be approximately 30% higher, at around 120 million units.

By the end of the year, Samsung Display is expected to supply about 80 million OLED panels, while LG Display is projected to supply around 43 million panels. Both companies are on track with their production schedules to meet these targets.

• 10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 17

The panels are being sent off to the factories in Apple's supply chain that will assemble the finished ‌iPhone 16‌ models in time for shipping. Going on previous year's, Apple will release the new models around mid-September, with Tuesday, September 10 being floated as a possible announcement date.

The ‌iPhone 16‌, ‌iPhone 16‌ Plus, ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌, and ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ Max will look similar to the iPhone 15 models, but Apple is increasing the size of the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ Max.

The ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ will have a 6.3-inch display (up from 6.1 inches) while the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ Max will have a 6.9-inch display (up from 6.7 inches). Display sizes for the standard ‌iPhone 16‌ models will not change, and the ‌iPhone 16‌ will measure in at 6.1 inches while the ‌iPhone 16‌ Plus will have a 6.7-inch display.

• 5 Biggest Changes Rumored for iPhone 16 Pro Max

Other new features rumored for the ‌iPhone 16‌ lineup include a new "Capture" button for taking images and videos in landscape mode, faster A-series chips, camera updates, and Wi-Fi 7 and faster 5G modems for some models.

More on what to expect from the ‌iPhone 16‌ can be found in our dedicated roundup.

iPad Pro models accounted for the majority of Apple's iPad sales in the June quarter, up from the same quarter a year ago, based on the latest report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP).

Apple updated the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models in May 2024 with the M4 chip, OLED display technology, and a thinner, lighter design. Pricing on the 11-inch OLED iPad Pro starts at $999, and pricing on the 13-inch OLED iPad Pro starts at $1,299.

In contrast, the "iPad" is Apple's low-priced mainstream iPad, last updated in October 2022 with a complete redesign, larger display, USB-C port, A14 Bionic chip, 12-megapixel camera, and more. The iPad starting price is $349, but the pricey M4 iPad Pro models are proving to be more popular, and even appear to have cut into iPad mini and iPad Air sales.

According to CIRP, in the June 2024 quarter, iPad Pro (both the 11-inch and 13-inch models) accounted for 43% of total iPad sales, an increase from 38% in the year-ago June 2023 quarter. Meanwhile, the iPad remained at 35% compared to the previous year. In the same time periods, iPad Air accounted for 12% of all iPad sales, down from 15% a year ago, and the iPad mini accounted for 10%, down from 12% in the June 2023 quarter.

It's worth noting that the iPad mini has not been updated by Apple since September 2021, yet the iPad Air was updated in May alongside the M4 iPad Pro.

Commenting on the figures, CIRP suggests early adopters are driving the strong iPad Pro sales: "As we've seen with many other Apple product launches, the first-acting consumers appear to have gravitated to the high-end, most expensive models available, in this case the iPad Pros." iPad users: Does that align with your own purchase decisions? Let us know in the comments.

Apple will choose Samsung Display as the main supplier of OLED panels for a new iPad Air, primarily due to its large production capacity compared to rival LG Display, reports The Elec.

Samsung already supplies Apple with OLED panels for the new M4 iPad Pro, which features a tandem design for improved brightness and power efficiency. Today's report adds that Apple will bring an OLED panel to the ‌iPad Air‌ alongside the ‌iPad mini‌ in 2026.

Samsung Display's A3 line, which mass-produces OLED panels for the iPhone and ‌iPad Pro‌, has a production capacity of 135,000 units per month. In comparison, LG Display's E6-1~3 lines, which produce OLED for the ‌iPhone‌, have a capacity of only 45,000 units per month, and the E6-4 line, which produces OLED for the iPad, has a capacity of just 15,000 units per month.

Apple's plans to transition the ‌‌iPad mini‌‌ and ‌‌iPad Air‌‌ to OLED displays are now widely rumored. According to research firm Omdia, the ‌‌iPad Air‌‌ is expected to adopt an OLED display in 2026, with the ‌‌iPad mini‌‌ following in 2027. However, Korea's ET News and ZDNET Korea both suggest that the two models will be updated with OLED displays simultaneously in 2026, though there's a possibility that Apple might delay the 13-inch ‌‌iPad Air‌‌'s OLED upgrade until 2027. While the OLED ‌‌‌iPad Air‌‌‌ is expected to retain its 11-inch display, the ‌‌‌iPad mini‌‌‌'s screen could increase in size from 8.3 inches to 8.7 inches.

Unlike the latest ‌‌iPad Pro‌‌ models, which use two-stack LTPO (Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide) OLED panels, the ‌‌iPad mini‌‌ and ‌‌iPad Air‌‌ are expected to feature single-stack LTPS (Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Silicon) panels. As a result, these displays may be dimmer and continue to lack ProMotion technology, but the lower specifications reduce manufacturing costs.

LG Display has an edge in the mass production of tandem OLED, but this advantage is unlikely to carry over to the ‌iPad Air‌. Today's Korean report cited an industry source speculating that since Apple needs to increase sales of the OLED ‌iPad Air‌, it will likely prefer Samsung Display, which can reliably produce large quantities of single-stack OLED panels.

Late last year, former Apple designer Imran Chaudhri and former Apple software manager Bethany Bongiorno launched one of the first AI wearables under their Humane brand. The $699 Humane AI pin did not go over well, and many reviews criticized its poor performance.

Humane is continuing to struggle, and now, returns are outpacing sales. According to The Verge, more AI pins were returned than purchased during the period between May and August. So many pins have been returned that there are only around 7,000 units still in the hands of consumers, with around 10,000 initially shipped out.

The company only sold around $9 million worth of AI Pins in total, and it is trying to deal with $1 million in returns. Humane cannot refurbish returned AI Pins due to a technical limitation with the cellular connectivity, and returned units are simply e-waste at this point.

Humane also faced a problem with the Charge Case for the device, which was found to pose a fire risk. Humane sent out emails to customers telling them to stop using the Charge Case Accessory. Refunds were not provided, but customers were given two free months of the Humane subscription service.

Humane raised more than $200 million from investors, and had planned to sell around 100,000 pins during its first year, but poor performance seems to have sunk the device. The Verge claims that pre-launch family and friends reviewers raised concerns about the functionality of the AI Pin, but it was launched despite the feedback.

A Humane spokesperson told The Verge that there were "inaccuracies" in the financial data that the site obtained, but specifics were not provided. Humane said that the company remains "committed to unlocking a new era of ambient and contextual computing," and that there have been software updates to address user feedback.

Disney plans start seriously cracking down on password sharing for the Disney+ streaming service in September, Disney CEO Bob Iger said in during today's earnings call (via The Verge).

Iger said that Disney would begin eliminating password sharing "in earnest" next month. Disney has actually been talking about getting rid of password sharing since last September, but the timeline has shifted a few times. Disney started rolling out a ban on password sharing in some countries in June, but it sounds like the company's efforts will expand to the U.S. and other countries in September 2024.

According to Iger, Disney wants to end password sharing to turn Disney+ into a growth business.

Cracking down on password sharing was successful for Netflix. Netflix stopped allowing multi-household password sharing in 2023, and saw strong subscriber growth in subsequent quarters. In April, Iger said that he admired what Netflix had done, calling the company the "gold standard in streaming."

"I actually have very, very high regard for what they've accomplished," said Iger. "If we can only accomplish what they've accomplished, that would be great." As for customers that have already been told they can't share their passwords anymore, Iger said that the company has had "no backlash at all."

Like Netflix, Disney plans to allow subscribers to pay extra to share their plans with someone outside of their household, but pricing has not yet been announced.

Disney this week also announced plans to raise prices for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ in October. Disney+ with ads will be priced at $9.99 per month, up from $7.99, and Disney+ ad free will be priced at $15.99 per month, up from $13.99.

Disney+ initially launched in 2019, right around the time that Apple TV+ launched. When the service debuted, Disney was charging $6.99 per month.

Social network Reddit could monetize by tucking some subreddits behind paywalls, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman suggested during the company's Tuesday earnings call (via Engadget).

Huffman said that Reddit plans to "unlock the door" for subreddits that could have "exclusive content or private areas."

I think the existing, altruistic, free version of Reddit will continue to exist and grow and thrive just the way it has. But now we will unlock the door for new use cases, new types of subreddits that can be built that may have exclusive content or private areas, things of that nature.

Huffman did not outright confirm that Reddit is going to charge for access to subreddits in the future, but that seems to be what he was hinting at.

Reddit also plans to test AI-powered search results later in 2024, with AI used to summarize and recommend content. Huffman said that the search tools would help "users dive deeper into products, shows, games and discover new communities on Reddit." Huffman believes that search could be a major source of advertising revenue going forward.

Reddit has already established deals with Google and OpenAI to allow the companies to train their AI models using Reddit content, and OpenAI's ChatGPT is now able to surface Reddit conversations in ChatGPT. Reddit attempted to reach a deal with Microsoft, but failed to do so, and later blocked Bing from accessing Reddit content.

Last year, Reddit started charging developers for accessing its API, which led to the shutdown of several popular Reddit clients, including Apollo. Apollo developer Christian Selig said that he would need to pay $20 million per year in fees to keep the app up and running, which was not feasible, and Reddit was not willing to work with him or provide a reasonable timeline to make changes.

Reddit began charging for API access ahead of when it became a public company in March 2024, and it continues to seek new ways to monetize content from its user base.

Earlier this week, a federal court ruled that Google's lucrative default search engine deal with Apple violates antitrust law. Google plans to appeal the decision and the court hasn't provided insight into how it plans to address Google's monopoly, but there is a chance Google will no longer be able to pay to be the default search engine on Apple devices.

Google's Payments to Apple

For many years, Google has paid Apple billions to be the primary search engine on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. When you use the Safari browser, Google Search is the default option, and that's because Google pays for the privilege. You can pop into the Settings app and swap to a different search engine like Bing or DuckDuckGo, but most people don't bother with that.

It's a deal that's lucrative for both Apple and Google. In 2022, for example, Google paid Apple $20 billion, which is around 36 percent of the total revenue that it earns from Safari searches. So Apple gets a big payout each year, and Google gets major reach from Apple's huge install base.

In its antitrust ruling, the court suggested that Apple has the "financial, technological, and human resources" to develop its own search engine, but has not done so because of the money that it receives from Google. The court acknowledges that Apple would have to take on other risks like risking brand reputation for an inferior product, but states that the revenue share payments "unquestionably" keep Apple "on the sidelines of search."

Apple Search Engine Rumors

So if Apple's deal with Google goes away, will Apple enter the search market?

Past rumors indicate that Apple has worked on a search engine. In November 2022, The Information said that Apple had been working on a web search engine since 2022, but Apple was still at least four years away from launching such a product. That report suggested Apple could use its own search product work as leverage during renegotiations with Google.

Apple has a dedicated search team because there are robust search tools for Spotlight, Siri Suggestions, and content provided by ‌Siri‌ to answer user queries. It's possible that Apple could spin some of its Spotlight technology into a web search feature in the future, or that it could leverage Apple Intelligence. With AI and the changes coming to ‌Siri‌ in 2024 and 2025, ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, and Mac users may start to transition away from traditional web searches anyway, relying more on other search tools.

Apple definitely has the money to enter into the search engine market, and the background is there too with Safari, but there are alternatives.

Other Search Engines

During the antitrust case, documents revealed that Microsoft tried for years to get Apple to switch over to Bing as the default search engine on Safari. Microsoft even pushed for a sale of Bing to Apple, but Apple did not think that Bing could compete with Google in "quality and capabilities."

Microsoft even offered to share 100 percent of Bing's revenue with Apple, but it was a no go. Apple's services chief Eddy Cue testified that there "wasn't a valid alternative" to Google, and that Apple has stuck with Google because "we've always thought it was the best." Trial documents further revealed that Cue believed that there was "no price that Microsoft could ever offer [Apple] to make the switch," with Cue blaming Bing's "inferior quality" and the "business risk of making a change."

Apple executives also discussed DuckDuckGo, specifically as the default for private browsing mode, but said it is "not a great search engine" and "not good enough."

Possible Search Solutions

Google could be told that it is not allowed to pay to be the default search engine on Safari, removing Apple's financial incentive to prioritize Google's search engine.

In Europe, the Digital Markets Act requires Apple to allow ‌iPhone‌ users to select a browser as their default during the device setup process, providing alternatives to Safari. The U.S. court could require a similar setup process for search engines, allowing users to choose a search engine from a list when activating a device for the first time.

In this situation, rather than Apple automatically setting Google Search as the default search engine, users would make the selection themselves at device setup. There would be no need for the extra step of opening the Settings app and finding the Safari options to swap search engines.

The lawsuit targets Google, so it's unlikely that the court would force Apple to provide search engine choice in this situation, but Apple might be willing to offer that option if it doesn't have a financial reason not to do so.

Appeals

Google is going to appeal the court's decision, so the deal between Apple and Google isn't in immediate danger because the rest of the lawsuit needs to play out.

Wrap Up

If the United States Justice Department and courts are correct that Apple's deal with Google is holding Apple back from developing its own search engine, putting a stop to payments could spur Apple to develop a search product.

It's clear that Apple is unlikely to establish a partnership with another company like Bing or even purchase a search engine because it sees all of the non-Google options as not good enough. Based on what we know right now, Apple's best move without Google revenue could be to get into search on its own.

Apple's projections (per the lawsuit) estimate that it could lose more than $12 billion in revenue during the first five years after a separation from Google, plus it would cost billions to build and maintain a search engine. Apple would need to create an ad platform and work to monetize searches, and Apple would need to make sure that it developed a search engine able to rival what Google can do.