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The Narrow-Exceptions Edition Saturday, September 12, 2020

Apple Updates Multiple App Review Guidelines Addressing Game Streaming Services, In-App Purchases, Advertising, And More, by John Voorhees, MacStories

There are other modifications to the App Review Guidelines including a few very narrow exceptions to the requirements that developers use In-App Purchases, but it’s clear from the changes that the primary goal of them is to clarify Apple’s stance on game streaming services. While not precluded outright, the requirement that they include a separate App Store app puts substantial requirements on service providers that many may not be able to comply with our for technical or practical reasons.

Microsoft Snubs Apple’s Olive Branch To Cloud Gaming: ‘A Bad Experience For Customers’, by Tom Warren, The Verge

“This remains a bad experience for customers,” says a Microsoft spokesperson in a statement to The Verge. “Gamers want to jump directly into a game from their curated catalog within one app just like they do with movies or songs, and not be forced to download over 100 apps to play individual games from the cloud. We’re committed to putting gamers at the center of everything we do, and providing a great experience is core to that mission.”

Apple Codifies Policy For Game Streaming Services On App Store, by Dan Moren, Six Colors

From Apple’s point of view, it now has explicit rules to point to, but honestly, all this really means is that there won’t be game streaming services on the App Store. Neither Microsoft nor Epic is going to spend the time or money on what is not an insignificant amount of work and have to hand over the 30 percent cut to Apple on top of that. Just not going to happen.

Coming Soon

Recent Hints Point Toward Apple Card International Expansion, by Hartley Charlton, MacRumors

Over a year after its U.S. launch, MacRumors has uncovered a range of evidence to suggest that Apple Card may soon be launching internationally.

Notes

Apple Pledges Additional Donations To West Coast Wildfire Relief, by Wesley Hilliard, AppleInsider

Cook in a tweet said that Apple would be providing more money to firefighting and recovery, and that the fires are "an urgent reminder that we must act together to protect the plane we all share."

Apple's Rising Class Of Leaders Will Shape A Post-Tim Cook Era, by Mark Gurman, Bloomberg

As Cook begins his 10th year at the helm, his management group is filled mostly with senior vice presidents who have worked at Apple for more than two decades, made tens of millions of dollars and are at or near the ages of 55 to 60 when many previous executives have stepped aside. That, along with typical corporate planning, has spurred the Cupertino, California-based company to cultivate its next class of top managers, said people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified talking about internal company discussions.

Bottom of the Page

Apple really should rethink its whole approach to the App Store policies, to make it simplier and more predictable. Possibly at the expense of Apple collecting less money.

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Thanks for reading.