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The Negative-Impact Edition Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Apple Scores Legal Win In France Over App-Privacy Changes, by Sam Schechner, Wall Street Journal

“We can’t intervene just because there might be a negative impact for companies in the ecosystem,” said Isabelle de Silva, head of France’s competition authority, at a press conference. “At this stage, we haven’t found flagrant examples of discrimination.”

The authority said, however, that it plans to pursue an in-depth investigation to determine whether Apple’s changes could be regarded as “self-preferencing” by imposing stricter rules on third-party apps than it does on itself. That investigation could stretch to next year, Ms. de Silva said.

Apple And Redford Center Launch Youth Filmmaking Challenge On Environmental Justice, by Antonio Ferme, Variety

By placing students in the director’s chair, they will be able to provide their insights into a final Apple Clips filmmaking challenge. Additionally, Apple and the Redford Center will provide a platform to educators and students to share their ideas and inspirations in mini-challenges that develop student confidence and storytelling capacities throughout the school year.

Apple Touts Progress Of $4.7 Billion Clean Energy Investment, by Sami Fathi, MacRumors

In a press release today, Apple touted the significant progress it has made as part of its $4.7 billion Green Bond. Thanks to the bond, Apple has generated more than 1.2 gigawatts of clean power, removing an average of 921,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually.

Developer Relationships

Google Undercuts Apple With New 15% Revenue Share For Certain Play Apps, by Samuel Axon, Ars Technica

First of all, Google is almost directly matching—slightly beating, actually—Apple's offer to developers as the App Store and Google Play compete directly. Also, both Apple and Google have been subject to antitrust lawsuits and investigations over their grips on their respective app marketplaces.

Google And Apple Are Giving Up Less Than 5% Of Their Revenue From Apps With Payout Changes: Estimate, by Kif Leswing, CNBC

Neither company is leaving much money on the table with their fee reductions, compared to the scale of their app store businesses, according to a new estimate from app analytics firm Sensor Tower.

Stuff

Apple Maps Adds COVID-19 Vaccination Sites In The US, by John Voorhees, MacStories

Apple says that the feature currently includes over 20,000 locations and lists operating hours, address information, telephone numbers, and links to vaccine providers’ websites. The company will continue to update the list as new locations become available.

Siri Now Recommends Books Oprah's Reading, by José Adorno, 9to5Mac

Apple and Oprah are expanding their partnership with a new Siri feature for book recommendations while also promoting Oprah’s Book Club on Apple TV+.

Hands-on: Sofa Is A Beautiful iOS App To Neatly Organize All The Media You Want To Check Out, by Michael Potuck, 9to5Mac

One of our modern challenges is keeping track of the things we actually want to spend our time on with the massive amount of digital content that’s available. Sofa is a sharp iOS app that looks to solve that problem with a simple, yet customizable hub to organize movies, TV, music, books, podcasts, apps, games, and more to check out in the future.

Hands On: Quik Is GoPro's New App To Get The Most Out Of Your Photos & Videos, by Malcolm Owen, AppleInsider

Quik can be as easy as its name. If you don't want to do a lot of editing, you can import the pics you like, and the app will automatically compile a video that looks fantastic in just a few moments. But the added control is what sets Quik apart.

Notes

The State Of Apple TV And End Of HomePod Warrants A Home Strategy Roundtable, by Zac Hall, 9to5Mac

Apple’s Friday night statement that it’s happy with the response to HomePod mini and no longer producing the original HomePod needs a lot of follow up.

Bottom of the Page

Speaking of Apple and books, did Apple also gave up selling e-books? It seems there isn't much 'innovation' with Apple's e-book store, nor has it expanded beyond its existing markets.

Did Apple lost its ambition and taste for this market, or were it hampered by the ruling?

(The Singapore's version of Apple Books Store is still only 'selling' public domain e-books till this day.)

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Thanks for reading.