Apple is planning to terminate Epic Games' entire access to its App Store and app development tools, Epic Games said today. Apple told Epic that by August 28, all access will be ended.
That includes Epic's access to the development tools necessary to create software for the Unreal Engine that Epic offers to third-party developers for their games.
Apple told Epic that its access to development tools would be cut off if the company did not “cure your breaches” to Apple’s licensing agreement, according to a letter from Apple that was shared by Epic. Failing to do so means that Apple will terminate Epic’s inclusion in the Apple Developer Program, a membership that’s necessary to distribute apps on iOS devices or rely on any Apple developer tools. The company won’t be able to notarize Mac apps either, a process that could make installing Epic’s software more difficult or block it altogether.
One of the core things developers want from a platform vendor is stability, in every sense of the word. If I were a game developer who depends on Unreal Engine, I’d be irate at Epic. They’re creating drama and eroding trust over a fight that Unreal Engine licensees aren’t a part of and didn’t sign up for.
I’d say the saga of Fortnite for Android specifically shows that Google’s Play Store does serve a role very much analogous to that of dedicated game console platforms. You can certainly argue that none of the deserve 30 percent of revenue, or that none of them should allow alternative payment services, but it doesn’t hold water to say that Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo’s rules are fine but Google Play Store’s are not.
Maybe it is just the sheer dominance of the iPhone in consumer culture, it touches lives far more deeply than any generation of PlayStation. I can’t fully vocalise why an iPhone is different to a games console, but it is. The ‘console argument’ may be a legitimate legal defence, but it doesn’t convince me.
My preferred outcome would see Apple maintaining its control of app installation. I treasure and depend on the openness of PCs and Macs, but I am also relieved that the iPhone is so dependable for those less technically savvy than me. What would be a far better outcome, at least from my perspective, would be Apple remembering that those same users that benefit from the iPhone being locked down should be the focus everywhere.
It was a gray day in late 2005. I was sitting at my desk, writing code for the next year’s iPod. Without knocking, the director of iPod Software—my boss’s boss—abruptly entered and closed the door behind him. He cut to the chase. “I have a special assignment for you. Your boss doesn’t know about it. You’ll help two engineers from the US Department of Energy build a special iPod. Report only to me.”
Apple today announced a revamp of its live radio strategy for Apple Music. The Beats 1 streaming service is being renamed to ‘Apple Music 1’, and Apple is launching two new stations: Apple Music Hits and Apple Music Country.
Apple has today launched its first bundle partnership for Apple TV+ subscribers. With an active Apple TV+ subscription, you can now subscribe to CBS All Access and Showtime for $9.99 per month via Apple TV Channels, a 50% saving over buying both channels separately.
Consumers currently have a chance to sign up to the warranty-and-support program within 60 days of buying an Apple product. This subscription window is increasing to up to a year now in the U.S. and Canada.
But the Xserve will always stand alone. It was the only Mac made specifically for that equipment rack. I’d ask for us to take a moment of silence to remember it, but you wouldn’t be able to hear yourself think over the fan noise.
Today, Apple announced that it will expand a program that gave third-party repair shops access to its own proprietary tools, diagnostics, and parts. Launched last year, the program initially only provided the resources for servicing iPhones. Now it will apply to Macs as well.
Eventbrite has been given until December to add Apple’s in-app purchase system to its iPhone app, The Telegraph understands. Apple requires apps that sell digital goods and services to use its payment mechanism, which takes a 30pc cut of transactions, instead of letting users pay with a credit card directly. It does not hold purchases of physical things such as clothes purchases or taxi rides to the same rules.
I am hoping for a classical or a music radio station from Apple. But at least we now know Apple is not going with a just-one-station model, and there may still be hope.
But now that Apple has renamed its original radio station to Apple Music 1, is it still going to name its rumored bundling effort Apple 1? If Apple venture into news radio, will it name the station Apple News 1? At least Apple TV, Apple TV app, and Apple TV+ all have something to do with TV... or something...
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While having dinner tonight, I counted the number of Teams meeting that I've done today: five. No wonder I could only clear my email inbox (as well as all other inboxes) 12 hours after I started in the morning.
I am tired now -- and I haven't done any 'real' work yet.
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Thanks for reading.