WWDC is set to start on Monday, June 8, and ahead of the keynote event, Apple has announced the winners of its annual Apple Design Awards. The Apple Design Awards recognize apps and games for their innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement.


Apple chose one app and one game for each of the six award categories.

• Delight and Fun - Grug (App) and Is This Seat Taken? (Game)


• Innovation - NBA: Live Games and Scores (App) and Blue Prince (Game)


• Interaction - Moonlitt: Moon Phase Tracker (App) and Sago Mini Jinja's Garden (Game)


• Inclusivity - Guitar Wiz (App) and Pine Hearts (Game)


• Social Impact - Primary: News in Depth (App) and Consume Me (Game)


• Visuals and Graphics - Tide Guide: Charts and Tables (App) and Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition (Game)

More details on the winning apps and games and the developers behind them can be found on Apple's website. Apple also has a selection of apps and games that were selected as finalists before the winners were chosen.

WWDC will begin on Monday, June 8 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
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Apple today formally asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the series of rulings that led to changes to App Store linking rules and fees in the United States.


In 2021, Apple largely won its legal dispute with Epic Games, but Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ordered Apple to relax its anti-steering rules and let developers link to alternate payment options in apps. Apple complied, but charged a 12 to 27 percent fee on link-outs instead of its standard 15 to 30 percent fee. When taking into account fees from payment processors, there was little to no discount to developers, and few opted in. Apple also restricted button design, limiting developers to a single plain text link.

‌Epic Games‌ went back to Gonzalez Rogers and said Apple was in violation of the court's order, and she agreed. In April 2025, she found Apple in contempt of court for willfully violating that 2021 injunction. Apple was then barred from collecting any fees on links in the U.S. ‌App Store‌, and it has collected no money for link-outs in third-party apps since then.

Apple appealed, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed Apple was in contempt of court, but said Apple should be able to charge a reasonable fee for its intellectual property. Apple does not want courts deciding the fees it is able to collect, so it is now asking the Supreme Court to hear the case.

Apple has two main issues with the appeals court ruling. First, Apple says holding it in civil contempt was not appropriate because the original injunction did not prevent it from charging developers a fee when linking to third-party payment options. The district court and the appeals court agreed that Apple violated the "spirit" of the injunction by charging a high fee. Apple argues that prior court decisions have only held a party in civil contempt when an order has been "clearly and unambiguously" violated. A contempt ruling based on "spirit" is a "recipe for abuse," Apple says.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65 reinforces this understanding by demanding specificity in injunctions to ensure clear notice. The Ninth Circuit's spirit-based inquiry is antithetical to these requirements. Under that rule, the potent weapon of contempt turns on an amorphous, know-it-when-you-see-it inquiry that permits a court to impose contempt merely by declaring a violation of an order's "spirit."

As it has done in several other court filings, Apple also cites Trump v. CASA, a ruling that said lower courts do not have the authority to issue universal injunctions to block nationwide policies. Apple says the court ruling requiring it to drop fees for all developers goes far beyond the scope of the ‌Epic Games‌ case, and any relief ordered by the court should be limited to ‌Epic Games‌.

Yet the injunction here enjoins Apple and the commissions it can charge with respect to millions of registered worldwide developers that are not parties to this case. It does so even though Epic never brought a class action and never attempted to show that enjoining Apple's conduct against all other developers—like Microsoft or Spotify, who have nothing to do with Epic—was somehow necessary to provide relief to Epic.

According to Apple, the contempt ruling based on "spirit" and the order applicable to all developers "have combined to create an injunction that may reshape the global app marketplace."

‌Epic Games‌ and Apple agreed to an expedited schedule and Apple's petition will be considered on June 25. Apple expects a decision on whether the Supreme Court will hear the case by the time the justices recess for the summer in late June or early July.

Apple previously asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on its legal fight with ‌Epic Games‌ in January 2024, but the justices declined to hear the case. Justice Elena Kagan also recently denied Apple's request for a stay of the fee calculation mandate while Apple waits to hear from the Supreme Court.

Update: In a statement to MacRumors, ‌Epic Games‌ Director of Corporate Communications Natalie Munoz said the following:

The Supreme Court has already rejected Apple's attempt to overturn the injunction in this case. This challenge to the contempt order is one last Hail Mary to delay a conclusion to this case and avoid opening up the gates to payment competition for the benefit of consumers. The court proceedings and Apple's own documents made it clear that Apple intentionally designed its sham compliance with the District Court's order to prevent competition, clearly violating the District Court's injunction.

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Fortnite is back on the App Store in every country except Australia, Epic Games announced today, as the company declared it is entering the "final battle" of its long-running legal dispute with Apple.


Epic said the decision to push Fortnite back onto iOS globally was prompted by Apple's own words to the U.S. Supreme Court, in which Apple acknowledged that "regulators around the world are watching this case to determine what commission rate Apple may charge on covered purchases in huge markets outside the United States." Epic CEO Tim Sweeney framed the move as a strategic provocation, writing on X that the return marks "the beginning of the end of the Apple Tax worldwide."

The return follows Fortnite's reinstatement to the U.S. App Store in May 2025 after nearly five years off the platform. The return was forced after District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers threatened to require the Apple official overseeing app decisions to appear in court, which prompted Apple to approve the submission. Today's worldwide rollout extends that comeback to most remaining markets, with Epic expressing confidence that an upcoming court-ordered transparency process will expose what the company calls Apple's "junk fees."

Apple knows the U.S. federal court will force it to be transparent about how it charges its App Store fees. Fortnite is returning to the App Store now because we are confident that once Apple is forced to show its costs, governments around the world will not allow Apple junk fees to stand.

In late April, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a stay that had allowed Apple to pause its compliance with rulings on ‌App Store‌ fees, sending the case back to Judge Gonzalez Rogers to determine what commission Apple can charge on purchases made via external links, if any.

Epic said it will "continue to challenge Apple's anticompetitive ‌App Store‌ practices of banning alternative app stores and competition in payments," pointing to regulatory momentum in Japan, the European Union, and the United Kingdom. The company alleged that Apple has "evaded the laws with scare screens, fees and onerous requirements" in each of those jurisdictions.

Australia is the one major market where Fortnite has not returned. Epic said it won its court case there and that an Australian court found many of Apple's developer terms to be unlawful, but Apple continues to enforce those terms regardless. Epic said it cannot return "under an illegal payment arrangement" and is waiting for a court order to compel Apple to comply.
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An Indian court has ruled that Apple must cooperate with a government investigation into its App Store practices, rejecting the company's attempt to put the case on hold (via Reuters).


The Delhi High Court ruling keeps a probe by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) alive, which found in 2024 that Apple had abused its dominant position in the iPhone apps market. The CCI wants Apple's financial data to calculate potential penalties, but Apple has refused to hand it over so far.

Apple's argument is largely procedural; it is separately challenging the legality of India's penalty framework in court, and says the CCI should wait until that challenge is resolved. India's updated competition law allows fines to be based on a company's global revenue rather than just local earnings, which given Apple's scale could mean enormous exposure.

The court did not give Apple the pause it wanted, but it did prevent the CCI from issuing a final ruling before July 15, buying the company some time. Apple also succeeded in getting certain documents placed on the legal record, though the court order didn't say what they were.

India is one of Apple's most important growth markets. Counterpoint Research puts the company's iPhone market share there at 9%, up from just 4% two years ago. Apple has also been ramping up iPhone manufacturing in the country through Foxconn and Tata as it reduces its dependence on China. A hostile regulatory environment complicates that ambition.

It is also the latest front in a years-long global battle over ‌App Store‌ rules. Apple faces similar scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe, where regulators and courts have pushed back on its control over app distribution and in-app payments.
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Apple is looking into ways to better support apps that include AI agents and AI coding capabilities in the App Store, reports The Information. Apple is designing a system that would maintain its security and privacy standards while allowing for AI app features, but details on how the system will work are unavailable.


Apple started blocking updates for some popular vibe coding apps in March because those apps violated ‌App Store‌ rules that prohibit apps from executing code that alters their own functionality or that of other apps. Vibe coding apps let users build apps and websites with little to no coding experience, using AI agents and natural language prompts. Vibe coding has become popular, and Apple's rules have not been able to keep up.

Apps that include AI agents present similar problems for Apple. AI agents can autonomously complete complex actions and make mini apps using tools and capabilities that would not traditionally be supported under Apple's ‌App Store‌ rules. Apple will need to make changes to keep up with the software trends that developers and users want.

Apple wants to incorporate AI agents into the ‌App Store‌ while preventing some of the issues that people have run into with rogue AI agents deleting content and causing other problems.

As it works to prepare for future AI apps, Apple is also developing its own AI capabilities. Siri is set to get a major overhaul in iOS 27, making it smarter and better able to compete with Claude and ChatGPT. Apple has partnered with Google to use custom Gemini models to power ‌Siri‌.

The Information says Apple has started contacting app developers to integrate app capabilities like booking flights and sending calendar invites into the new version of ‌Siri‌ and Apple Intelligence. Some developers are hesitant to work with Apple to integrate their apps into ‌Siri‌ because they are worried about providing new ways for Apple to collect commissions. Apple is telling some developers that it does not plan to charge commissions during the early stages of the partnership, but that fees are a possibility in the future. Apple has held talks with Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent about ‌Siri‌ integration in ‌iOS 27‌, but the companies do not want to end up paying fees to Apple.

Apple also plans to allow users to select from multiple chatbots to use with ‌Siri‌, instead of limiting people to OpenAI's ChatGPT. AI models from companies like Anthropic or Google could be used for Image Playground and Writing Tools the way ChatGPT can be used today.

It is not clear if Apple plans to open up more of iOS to third-party chatbots, but OpenAI has reportedly been disappointed with Apple's limitations. ChatGPT can be used to generate images and text through the iOS integration, but it cannot access user emails or other personal information. Customers are also rarely using the functionality, according to The Information.

Apple's new version of ‌Siri‌ is expected to be unveiled at the WWDC keynote on June 8, and the plans that Apple has for agentic AI apps in the ‌App Store‌ could also be discussed at the same time.
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Apple privately warned Elon Musk's xAI company in January that it would remove the Grok app from the App Store unless the company put a stop to the chatbot's nude and sexualized deepfakes, according to a letter Apple sent to U.S. senators and obtained by NBC News ($).


Earlier this year, Grok's AI capabilities came under scrutiny after X users shared nonconsensual sexualized images of women and children created by the app, many of which were based on photos of real people.

What followed was a confusing rollout of moderation changes to Grok, some of which could be easily bypassed. Publicly, Apple did not comment on the controversy at the time, but it did respond, and was in fact the instigator of the changes. Internally, the company had found both X and Grok in violation of its App Store guidelines and demanded its developers submit a content moderation plan, the letter reveals.

According to the letter, Apple rejected an initial fix from xAI as insufficient, saying the "changes didn't go far enough," and Apple warned it that additional alterations were required or Grok would be removed. After further back-and-forth, however, Apple eventually concluded that a later submission of the app had improved enough for it to be approved.

The disclosure was apparently prompted by a January letter from Senators Ron Wyden, Ben Ray Luján, and Edward Markey, who urged Apple and Google to pull both apps, arguing the imagery violated App Store rules barring offensive, sexual, and exploitative content.

The senators also said that Apple's response would test its own arguments, since the company has long defended its curated App Store by claiming its review process keeps users safer. Letting Grok continue to generate this kind of imagery, they argued, would undermine that case in the eyes of the public and in a court of law.

After NBC News published its report, X posted the following statement on its platform:

"We strictly prohibit users from generating non-consensual explicit deepfakes and from using our tools to undress real people. xAI has extensive safeguards in place to prevent such misuse, such as continuous monitoring of public usage, analysis of evasion attempts in real time, frequent model updates, prompt filters, and additional safeguards."

While the amount of sexualized deepfakes created by Grok and posted to X appears to have decreased significantly, NBC News found that Grok is still able to generate similar imagery, with some users apparently having simply updated their prompt tactics to get around the safeguards. You can read that report in its entirety by following this link.
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Apple removed scam app Freecash from the App Store this week after the app spent months harvesting data from iPhone users, reports TechCrunch.


Freecash reached the number two spot on the U.S. ‌App Store‌ charts in January after being heavily marketed on TikTok. It promised users up to $35 per hour for watching TikTok content, but it was collecting swaths of user data. Back in January, Wired covered Freecash's deceptive marketing, and MalwareBytes pointed out that the app was gathering data like race, religion, health, and biometrics, with extra data harvested through mobile games that Freecash pushed users to install.

Users tricked into downloading Freecash with the promise of free cash found that they could not earn money by using TikTok, but instead were able to earn tiny amounts of cash by playing games like Monopoly Go and Disney Solitaire. The goal was to push users to make in-app purchases or watch paid ads in the apps. Freecash advertised itself as a platform for matching game developers with users likely to spend money in their games.

After the Wired report, TikTok pulled the Freecash ads, but Apple did not take action to remove the app. Freecash stayed in the ‌App Store‌ until TechCrunch contacted Apple on Monday, which is when Apple removed the app from the ‌App Store‌. Apple said Freecash violated its guidelines prohibiting scam practices and misleading marketing.

Freecash parent company Almedia denied using deceptive marketing techniques and said it was in compliance with Apple's ‌App Store‌ rules.

Our apps are fully compliant with the Apple App Store and Google Play Store policies, as demonstrated by the fact that they are live and regularly pass platform reviews. We do not comment on internal product strategy regarding specific app listings.

Freecash was downloaded by 5.5 million people across the Apple ‌App Store‌ and Google Play in January 2026, and it has remained high on the ‌App Store‌ charts since then. In addition to using misleading TikTok ads, the app appears to have used bots and fake ratings to drive traffic. The app's developers may have also acquired an existing ‌App Store‌ app to get around Apple's app review system, as the Freecash app was banned at one point in 2024 before an existing ‌App Store‌ app was renamed Freecash and updated with the same functionality.

TechCrunch's full report has more information on Freecash and the scammy tactics the company behind the app used to lure in users.
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A fake Mac app designed to look like the real thing snuck past Apple's app review team, costing users $9.5 million in cryptocurrency.


According to CoinDesk, a fake macOS version of the Ledger Live crypto wallet app scammed people into handing over access to their cryptocurrency wallets. More than 50 people fell victim to the fake app between April 7 and April 13.

Ledger has an official Mac app, but it is distributed via the Ledger website and not through the Mac App Store. The real app does not ask users to enter their seed phrases like the fake app did, nor do other legitimate cryptocurrency apps. The stolen money was routed through the KuCoin crypto exchange, and hackers used a mixing service known as AudiA6, which charges high fees to launder cryptocurrency.

Three of the victims lost seven-figure sums, which is an unusually high amount of money to lose in a fake app scam. ZachXBT, who investigated the scam and shared the info on Telegram, suggested Apple could be subject to a class-action lawsuit in the future due to the amount of money lost.

Apple removed the fake Ledger Live app from the ‌Mac App Store‌, but it was live for approximately two weeks. It is not known how it passed Apple's app review process, and Apple hasn't commented.
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Apple appears to be quietly updating some apps, based on curious new update notes that have appeared on the App Store.


Over the last week, some app updates have included notes that suggest the update is coming from Apple rather than an app developer. "This update from Apple will improve the functionality of this app. No new features are included," reads the description.

Some of the apps that have been updated include Candy Crush Soda Saga, Sentry Mobile, Catan Universe, Bluetti, Mortal Kombat, Duet Display, VLC, and many more.


It's not clear what functionality Apple is improving with each app update, if any. One developer on Reddit said that Apple inserted the text into an app update that had the same version number and content as a prior update.

The update text is appearing on apps that have not been updated in some time, as well as apps that received recent updates, so it's not clear what the apps have in common. When analyzing the code of one of the apps that received an Apple update, MacRumors could not find what had changed.
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Apple plans to ask the United States Supreme Court to weigh in on the App Store fee restrictions and contempt of court ruling levied against it in the ongoing Epic Games vs. Apple legal battle.


In a filing on April 3 (via TechCrunch), Apple asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to hold off on a plan that would see the U.S. Northern District of California decide on a reasonable commission for Apple to charge developers for purchases made from a link in an app. Apple is concerned that the district court will decide on a fee, only to have the Supreme Court then reverse the ruling in its entirety.

Apple says that it does not want to make multiple major changes to its ‌App Store‌ fee structure. Instead, Apple proposes that the current no-commission setup remain in place until Apple hears back from the Supreme Court. Developers can currently include links to non-App Store purchase options in their apps and Apple charges no fee from purchases made using those links. Apple wants to continue fee-free links and hold off on the long legal battle to determine a fee for the time being.

Apple has not petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the case yet, and there is no guarantee that the Supreme Court will do so. Back in 2024, both Apple and Epic Games asked the Supreme Court to make a ruling in their ongoing dispute, but the Supreme Court denied the request. Apple is going to ask the Supreme Court to hear the contempt aspect of the case, and there's a non-zero chance the Supreme Court will agree.

Back in April 2025, Apple was found to have violated a 2021 injunction requiring it to let developers direct customers to third-party purchase options on the web with in-app links. The injunction stemmed from the ‌Epic Games‌ legal battle, which Apple won almost entirely. Apple was not found to have a monopoly, but the judge overseeing the case, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, ordered Apple to relax its "anti-steering" link rules.

Apple implemented new App Store rules, but only slightly lowered its fees. Apple charged a 12 to 27 percent commission instead of a 15 to 30 percent commission for purchases made via a web link, and the high fee combined with third-party payment fees meant almost no developers opted to add links. ‌Epic Games‌ accused Apple of charging "unjustified fees," and asked the court to decide whether Apple was complying with the injunction. The court found that Apple was in "willful violation," and Gonzalez Rogers banned Apple from collecting any fee on links at all.

Apple immediately appealed the ruling, but dropped link fees in April 2025. Apple argued that the ruling was unconstitutional and that it should receive compensation for its technology. In December 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals handed down a mixed ruling, agreeing that Apple violated the injunction, but questioning the severity of the response. The appeals court suggested Apple should be able to charge a reasonable fee, and tasked the district court with deciding what the fee should be.

Apple is hoping the Supreme Court will do what the appeals court did not, and vacate the district court's ruling entirely. Apple plans to challenge the contempt ruling and the scope of the injunction, which Apple argues should not extend to all developers nationwide, instead applying only to developers connected to ‌Epic Games‌. Apple is questioning the civil contempt ruling and the court's ruling that Apple violated the "spirit" of the injunction rather than the direct text. Apple says that it should not be held in contempt because the injunction had no specific wording about commissions. It's possible the spirit vs. plain text dispute will catch the Supreme Court's attention.

If the appeals court agrees to Apple's plan, the fee calculation hearing in the district court will be put on pause until the Supreme Court makes a decision. After an appeals court ruling, the Supreme Court is the last stop. If the Supreme Court decides not to hear the case, the appeals court ruling will stand and the district court will be able to proceed with deciding on a fee.

Should the appeals court not grant Apple's request for a stay, the district court will start the fee calculation process while Apple simultaneously petitions the Supreme Court and waits to hear back.
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As of April 1, payment processing is no longer available for purchases made across the App Store and other Apple services in Russia, according to Apple.


In a new support document, Apple said new purchases, in-app purchases, and subscription renewals are no longer available in Russia unless a user already has funds in their Apple Account balance, which can continue to be used.

This change affects the following services and items:

• Apple Arcade


• Apple Fitness+


• Apple Music


• Apple Podcasts subscriptions


• Apple One


• App Store purchases and subscriptions


• Apple TV purchases and subscriptions


• iTunes Store purchases


• iCloud+


• Ringtone & Tone purchases

Apple said apps and content that users previously bought will remain available, and it ensured that iCloud data will remain accessible after an iCloud+ subscription ends. More details are available in Apple's support document.

Apple reportedly took this action in response to an order from the Russian government, which allegedly hopes that the lost services revenue from Russian users will pressure the company to add some popular Russian apps back to the App Store, after those apps were removed due to sanctions arising from Russia's war with Ukraine. The order would presumably end if Apple were to make those apps available again.
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Apple collected nearly $900 million in App Store fees from generative AI apps in 2025, according to data from analysis firm AppMagic, covered by The Wall Street Journal ($).


The overwhelming majority of Apple's AI app commission revenue came courtesy of ChatGPT downloads leading to subsequent subscriptions, which alone accounted for around 75 percent of the above total. Elon Musk's Grok app came a distant second, making up just 5 percent of the revenue.

Apple is now said to be on course to earn $1 billion in generative app revenue this year. Given how behind the company is in the AI race, highlighted by the sluggish progress of its enhanced Siri rollout, it's a tidy sum indeed.

Of course, the reason Apple benefits from the popularity of AI apps built by other companies is that the iPhone remains the smartphone market leader. Most AI apps still have to go through its App Store, where Apple takes a commission of up to 30 percent on subscriptions. As the report notes:

"Its Siri chatbot is still weak by modern AI standards. What Apple does have that the other AI players don't is a dominant position making devices. However fancy OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and xAI make their chatbots, iPhones are still a primary way to deliver them to consumers."

The revenue stands in contrast to Apple's relatively modest AI spending compared to rivals like Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta, all of whom have poured tens of billions into AI infrastructure, with little to no profit yet to show for it. Meanwhile, Apple's capital expenditures have remained comparatively flat, thanks to its prioritization of investment in on-device AI over large data centers filled with GPU processors.

The strategy won't enable a more capable Siri, but Apple appears to be happy to lean on Google to provide the necessary AI infrastructure for that. The two companies announced in January that Gemini will power a revamped version of Apple's virtual assistant, coming later this year. The financial terms of the partnership haven't been disclosed, but Bloomberg reported last year that the deal would be around $1 billion annually. That will give Apple access to a 1.2 trillion parameter model that dwarfs its in-house capabilities.

Perhaps the deeper irony is that Google already pays Apple around $20 billion per year to remain the default search engine on iPhones, so now money is flowing in the other direction too, albeit at a drastically lower rate.

Still, some investors see the App Store approach as a more viable long-term strategy. Charles Rinehart, chief investment officer of Johnson Asset Management, told WSJ that if Apple "can act as a toll road for providers of AI, then they'll probably end up looking good long-term."
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Apple today provided an update on its age assurance tools for developers in Brazil, Australia, Singapore, Utah, and Louisiana. Developers in these areas will face new age assurance and parental consent obligations, and Apple's APIs will help them meet these upcoming requirements.


As of February 24, Apple is blocking users in Australia, Brazil, and Singapore from downloading apps rated 18+ unless they have been confirmed to be adults through an App Store age confirmation process that uses "reasonable methods." Age confirmation is done automatically through the ‌App Store‌, but developers may also need to independently confirm their users are adults with the Declared Age Range API.

In Brazil, apps that have loot boxes will have their age rating adjusted to 18+ in the Brazilian storefront, as Brazil's new age-related app store laws prevent apps from offering loot boxes to children. Developers can see a user's age group when the user or user's parent opts to share it, with Apple including a new signal about the method of age assurance.

In Utah and Louisiana, there are upcoming regulations that require developers to establish a user's age with the Declared Age Range API to restrict children from downloading apps that are not age appropriate. Apple has updated the API to help developers determine whether age-related regulatory requirements apply to a user, and whether the user is required to share age range. There's also a new notice if an app is required to get a parent or guardian's permission for significant app updates for an app downloaded by a child.

In some cases, developers are required to inform parents when apps receive a major update with new functionality, and the parents have to provide permission for the child to use the app, even if permission was previously granted.

Utah's ‌App Store‌ Accountability Act requirement starts on May 6, 2026, while Louisiana's House Bill 570 begins on July 1, 2026, and both laws are applicable only to new Apple Accounts.

Several countries and U.S. states have started implementing strict child protection laws, some of which require app store operators like Apple to confirm user age and obtain parental consent before minors are allowed to download apps.

Developers can face fines for not complying with age assurance requirements. In Utah, for example, parents can recover damages of up to $1,000 per violation, while Louisiana can fine developers up to $10,000 per violation after a 45-day grace period.

Apple could also be fined millions of dollars for non-compliance in Brazil, Australia, and Singapore, where there are now platform-level requirements.

Apple fought against platform-level legislation because of the privacy issues raised by the age verification process. Apple does not want to verify age through methods like ID submission due to data collection concerns, and the company also does not want to share age information from every user with developers.
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In an email to developers this week, Apple indicated that it will begin showing additional ads in App Store search results starting Tuesday, March 3.


The extra ads will first appear in the App Store in the U.K. and Japan, followed by other markets like the U.S. by the end of March, according to Apple.

Apple first announced that it would be expanding the number of ad slots in the App Store search results last month, but it had not provided an exact date for the change until now. Currently, developers can only pay to have an app appear in a single slot at the top of the search results, but Apple said there will now be multiple slots further down.

Apple shared more details on its website:

Search is the way most people find and download apps on the App Store, with nearly 65 percent of downloads happening directly after a search. To help give advertisers more opportunities to drive downloads from search results, Apple Ads will introduce additional ads across search queries. The additional ads will roll out in phases, appearing across all markets by the end of March. You don't need to change your campaign in order to be eligible for any new positions. Your ad will run in either the existing position — at the top of search results — or further down in search results. If you have a search results campaign running, your ad will be automatically eligible for all available positions, but you can't select or bid for a particular one.

Additional ads equals additional services revenue for Apple.

The extra ad slots will be visible on iPhone and iPad devices running iOS 26.2 or iPadOS 26.2 and later. Apps with paid placement have an "Ad" label.

Ads are also shown in the App Store's "Today" tab, in a "You Might Also Like" section at the bottom of individual app listings, and in the search tab's "Suggested" section. Apple rebranded its "Search Ads" business as "Apple Ads" last year, as it reportedly prepares to begin showing ads in more places, such as Apple Maps.
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Apple will next year introduce more ads in the App Store "to increase opportunity" in search results, the company has announced.


According to an update to Apple's Ads website, additional ads will appear across search queries, appearing at the top as well as further down in App Store results, and existing campaigns won't need to do anything to be eligible.

Search is the way most people find and download apps on the App Store, with nearly 65 percent of downloads happening directly after a search. To help give advertisers more opportunities to drive downloads from search results, Apple Ads will introduce additional ads across search queries. You don't need to change your campaign in order to be eligible for any new positions. Your ad will run in either the existing position — at the top of search results — or further down in search results. If you have a search results campaign running, your ad will be automatically eligible for all available positions, but you can't select or bid for a particular one.

Apple explains that the ad format will remain the same – a default or custom product page, and an optional deep link. Advertisers and developers won't see a change in their billing, which will remain based on Apple's cost-per-tap model, so developers only pay when a user taps on an ad. Apple displays ads based on a combination of bid amount and an app's relevance to the search query, with ad matching done automatically.

The new App Store ads will appear on devices running iOS 26.2 and later from the beginning of 2026. For further details, check out Apple's Ads website.

(Via 9to5Mac.)
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Australia's new social media law goes into effect on December 10, 2025, and ahead of that date, Apple is sharing information on developer tools that are designed to help social media apps adhere to the law.


Children under the age of 16 will no longer be allowed to use Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, YouTube (except for YouTube Kids), Snapchat, X, Twitch, Threads, and Kick in Australia, and those apps have to take "reasonable steps" to remove underage users from their platforms starting Wednesday. Apps will also need to prevent new signups from users under the age of 16, and there is a one-year transition period before penalties will begin.

To assist developers, Apple provides the Declared Age Range API, which gives developers access to the age range of users. Other tools available include an option for an age suitability URL that provides more information on the app and its age-related content, app description pages that indicate age restrictions, and tools for setting higher minimum age ranges.

Platforms that don't deactivate accounts created by children will face serious fines. Australia may also add more apps to its banned list over time, depending on the apps that kids adopt after not being able to access their current favorites.

Australia is the first country to implement a total social media ban for children.

More information is available on Apple's developer website.
This article, "How Apple is Helping Apps Comply With Australia's Social Media Ban for Kids" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple today shared its 2025 App Store award finalists, recognizing 45 standout apps and games selected by the App Store editorial team.

"We're thrilled to celebrate the App Store Award finalists, a diverse and talented group of developers from around the globe," said Carson Oliver, Apple's head of App Store Worldwide. "Their commitment to excellence is an inspiration, resulting in experiences that empowered users to tap into their creativity, achieve more through technical innovations, and discover new adventures through the world of gameplay."

Apple selected top games and apps for each of its platforms, along with the best Apple Arcade titles. There's also a category recognizing apps that had a cultural impact by fostering greater understanding and giving users more ways to interact with their communities. Finalists are listed below.

iPhone App of the Year

• BandLab


• LADDER


• Tiimo

iPhone Game of the Year

• Capybara Go!


• Pokémon TCG Pocket


• Thronefall

iPad App of the Year

• Detail


• Graintouch


• Structured

iPad Game of the Year

• DREDGE


• Infinity Nikki


• Prince of Persia Lost Crown

Mac App of the Year

• Acorn


• Essayist


• Under My Roof

Mac Game of the Year

• Assassin's Creed Shadows


• Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition


• Neva

Apple Arcade Game of the Year

• Katamari Damacy Rolling LIVE


• PGA Tour Pro Golf


• WHAT THE CLASH?

Apple Vision Pro App of the Year

• Camo Studio


• D-Day: The Camera Soldier


• Explore POV

Apple Vision Pro Game of the Year

• Fishing Haven


• Gears & Goo


• Porta Nubi

Apple Watch App of the Year

• GO Club


• Pro Camera by Moment


• Strava

Apple TV App of the Year

• HBO Max


• PBS KIDS Video


• Super Farming Boy 4K

Cultural Impact Finalists

• Art of Fauna


• A Space for the Unbound


• Be My Eyes


• Chants of Sennaar


• despelote


• Focus Friend


• Is This Seat Taken?


• Retro


• StoryGraph


• Venba


• Whoscall


• Yuka

The winner in each category will be announced in the coming weeks. More information about each app can be found on Apple's website.
This article, "Apple Names 2025 App Store Awards Finalists Across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple recently sent a letter to the European Commission (EC), criticizing recent inquiries into whether the App Store complies with the Digital Services Act (DSA) amid the separate Digital Markets Act requirements that Apple has been required to put in place.


The Commission asked Apple for information on how it locates fraudulent content, what it does to reduce the risk of financial scams in apps, and how it verifies the identity of businesses. It separately requested details on the policies Apple has in place to protect minors. Both requests were part of an inquiry into whether companies are complying with Digital Services Act requirements.

Apple's response, penned by Apple VP of Legal Kyle Andeer, answers all of the EC's questions and includes the relevant information to satisfy the request, but also points out the hypocrisy of questioning ‌App Store‌ consumer protections while requiring Apple to support sideloading functionality that isn't subject to those protections.

Andeer says that it is "difficult to square" the DSA investigations with the EC's "aggressive interpretation and application of the Digital Markets Act," and that the probe into Apple's ‌App Store‌ safeguards "defies all logic" in light of the DMA requirements. He also argues that the European Commission needs to enforce the DSA and DMA as a whole, rather than as separate policies.

It does not make sense for the Commission to press Apple to protect users, including minors, from fraud within the App Store while at the same time requiring Apple to create functionalities like link-outs and web views that increase the risk of fraud without necessary safeguards.

The Commission cannot both prohibit Apple from taking the steps it has found essential in mitigating the risk of scams and fraud on the App Store while simultaneously scrutinizing Apple for not providing even more measures to mitigate these risks on the App Store. It does not make sense for one EU law to encourage Apple to mitigate as much as possible the risk of exposing consumers to fraud or minors to potentially harmful apps through the App Store, only for another EU law to prevent Apple from using those same measures to mitigate the same type of risks just because they exist outside of the App Store. This paradoxical situation creates a regulatory structure that endorses leaving iOS and iPadOS users at risk if they choose not to use the App Store, when developers choose to use link-outs, or when users opt to use third-party products to interoperate with iOS or iPadOS. [...]

If the Commission does not consistently prioritise protecting consumers from online harms like fraud, or minors from online harms like pornography or other unsafe apps, in all enforcement contexts, including the DMA, nor use the tools it has at its disposal to resolve these fundamental frictions, the objectives of the DSA will be underachieved, no matter how sufficient Apple's measures are to comply with this specific regulation.

For context, the Digital Services Act requires very large online platforms like Apple to offer protection against disinformation or election manipulation, cyber violence against women, and harms to minors online. It also has provisions to counter fraud and mitigate dissemination of illegal content, among other requirements.

The separate Digital Markets Act requires Apple to support alternative app marketplaces and adhere to interoperability rules that Apple has continually argued weaken privacy and security. Andeer says that the Digital Markets Act "exposes users to fraud and scams" on third-party platforms, and the EC has been warned that the DMA enforcement is "reckless and even dangerous."

Apple's App Review team removed 37,000 apps for fraudulent activity in 2024, rejected 115,000 apps for unsafe experiences, and rejected 320,000 app submissions that copied other apps, were found to be spam, or misled users in some way. Further, 139,000 developer enrollments were rejected, and 146,000 developer accounts were terminated due to fraud concerns.
This article, "Apple Calls Out EU for Contradictory App Store Rules Under DSA and DMA" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple engaged in anticompetitive behavior by charging App Store developers "excessive and unfair prices" for app distribution services, the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled today [PDF] (via Reuters).


The Tribunal found that Apple abused its market power by overcharging developers from October 2015 through the end of 2020. Developers were forced into using Apple's in-app purchase system and had no alternative to paying up to a 30 percent commission during that time period. The excessive fees ultimately led to higher prices for consumers.

According to the CAT, Apple had a monopoly over iOS app distribution and in-app payments. Apple's argument that Android and other platforms were viable alternatives for consumers and developers was rejected. The Tribunal also did not accept Apple's argument that its rules and fees were required for user security and privacy.

The end of 2020 in the UK's timeline corresponds with the launch of the App Store Small Business Program that saw Apple reduce ‌App Store‌ fees for independent developers and small business owners. The program reduced the commission that Apple collected from developers earning under $1 million per year to 15 percent, down from 30 percent. It's also when Apple began implementing other ‌App Store‌ changes in response to cases like Epic Games v. Apple.

The class action lawsuit was first filed in 2021 by Kings College London academic Dr. Rachael Kent, and the claim seeks up to £1.5 billion in damages. The period between 2015 and 2020 was selected in order to determine how much Apple will need to pay to UK consumers.

A damages trial is scheduled for November. Apple said it will appeal the ruling.
This article, "Apple Loses UK Antitrust Lawsuit Over App Store Fees, Faces £1.5 Billion in Damages" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple today outlined changes that it is making to the App Store for users and developers located in Texas to comply with the state's ‌App Store‌ Accountability Act (SB2420).


Starting on January 1, 2026, Apple users located in Texas will need to confirm whether they are 18 years or older when creating an Apple account. Apple Accounts for users under 18 will be required to join a Family Sharing group, and parents will need to provide consent for all ‌App Store‌ downloads, app purchases, and in-app transactions.

Developers will also need to make changes to their apps to comply with the law. To assist developers, Apple plans to update the Declared Age Range API to provide the required age categories for new account users in Texas. Apple is also creating APIs that will let developers invoke a system experience to allow the user to request that parental consent be re-obtained. Parents will also be able to revoke consent to prevent a minor from using an app.

Apple has been fighting against age assurance requirements in Texas and other states like Utah and Louisiana, because of the data collection required to determine user age. Apple says that SB2420 will force users to share personally identifiable information to download apps.

While we share the goal of strengthening kids' online safety, we are concerned that SB2420 impacts the privacy of users by requiring the collection of sensitive, personally identifiable information to download any app, even if a user simply wants to check the weather or sports scores. Apple will continue to provide parents and developers with industry-leading tools that help enhance child safety while safeguarding privacy within the constraints of the law.

Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly contacted Texas Governor Greg Abbott to ask him to veto the legislation, but Abbott was not persuaded and he signed the act into law in May.

In an attempt to head off child protection laws that vary from state to state, Apple introduced new child safety measures at the beginning of 2025. Apple created an updated age rating system, added a simpler way for parents to set up child accounts, made changes to what kids see on the ‌App Store‌, and developed the Declared Age Range API to provide a privacy-focused way for developers to confirm the age range of app users.

Apple's Declared Age Range API prevents apps from having specific information about children, such as their date of birth. Apple has continually said that it does not want to collect information like date of birth at the ‌App Store‌ level because all users would need to hand over that information regardless of whether they want to use an age limited app.

SB2420 requires app store platforms to "use a commercially reasonable method of verification" to determine a user's age during account creation. Texas does not define what a commercially reasonable method of verification entails, and Apple hasn't specified how age verification will work.
This article, "Apple Details App Store Changes to Comply With Texas Age Verification Law" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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