LTA 106: June 2022 1

Panel:

• Bart Busschots (host) – @bbusschots
• Allison Sheridan from the NosillaCast Podcast – @podfeet
• Adam Christianson from The Mac Cast – @maccast

The show starts with the usual followups and updates on long-running stories. That’s followed by a notable number, a collection of Apple-related legal stories, one Apple HR story, and some highlights from Apple’s services. The four main stories are four aspects of WWDC — the future of CarPlay, goodies for developers, goodies for users, and new hardware. The show ends with a quick rundown of some other Apple-related stories that made the news in June.

You’ll find detailed show notes below the fold, and if you enjoy this free show, please consider clicking on the donate button at the top of the left side bar – the show is free for you to listen to, but not for Bart to Produce!

Updates & Followup

Quick updates to long-running stories the show continues to track, and to stories covered in recent shows.

• Pegasus/NSO Group: 🇪🇺 An interim report from an EU investigation into the Pegasus spyware finds that at least 5 EU countries used the software — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Related: 🇮🇹 iPhone users targeted by Italian spyware, says new report — www.imore.com/… & Apple Shuts Down Hermit Spyware Distributed as Fake Enterprise App on iOS Devices — www.macobserver.com/…
• Regulatory pressure continues:
  • 🇬🇧 The UK Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has opened an investigation into Apple & Google’s market power via their app store. On the Apple side, the CMA are focusing on mobile gaming and Apple’s requirement that all browsers use WebKit — www.imore.com/… & www.macobserver.com/…
  • 🇩🇪 Germany joins the list of countries investigating App Tracking Transparency on competition grounds — www.imore.com/…
    • Opinion: German Regulators Open Investigation Into Apple’s App Tracking Transparency — daringfireball.net/…
  • 🇺🇸 Spurred by Roe overturn, senators seek FTC probe of iOS and Android tracking — arstechnica.com (based on a total misunderstanding of IDFA 🙁)
    • Opinion: Four Democratic Lawmakers Want the F.T.C. to Investigate Apple and Google Over Mobile Surveillance Advertising — daringfireball.net/…
  • Related: Two cases resolved:
    • 🇳🇱 The Dutch competition authority now consider Apple in compliance with their orders, so no more weekly fines in the Netherlands — www.imore.com/…
    • 🇰🇷 Apple Now Allows Third-Party Payment Systems in the South Korean App Store — www.macobserver.com/… (Limited set of pre-approved processors & 26% commission!)
• Apple Employee Relations Developments:
  • 🇺🇸 Apple Proposes Flexible Retail Store Working Schedules Amidst Workers’ Unionization Efforts — www.macobserver.com/…
  • 🇺🇸 Atlanta Apple Store Union Vote Just Postponed, Not Cancelled — www.macobserver.com/…
  • 🇺🇸 CWA, not Workers United now helping Apple Store Grand Central union — www.imore.com/…
  • 🇬🇧 Glasgow Apple store staff seeking to form Apple’s first UK union — www.imore.com/…
  • 🇺🇸 Apple TV+ workers join growing number trying to unionize — www.imore.com/…
  • 🇺🇸 Apple Retail Store in Towson, Maryland Becomes the First to Have a Worker’s Union in the US — www.macobserver.com/…
    • Report: Apple to bargain with Maryland store that has formed a union — www.imore.com/…
    • First unionized Apple Store in U.S. now ready to bargain with the company — www.imore.com/…
    • Analysis: For New Apple Store Workers Union in Towson, Maryland, the Journey Has Only Begun — www.macobserver.com/…
    • Related: President Biden is ‘proud’ of the first Apple Store to unionize — www.imore.com/…
  • Tim Cook admits Apple’s remote work policy could change — www.imore.com/… (“the mother of all experiments”)
• USB-C Mandates continue to gather pace:
  • 🇪🇺 The EU parliament & council of ministers have agreed to go forward with legislation mandating that phones, tablets and other portable devices must support USB-C charging by the end of 2024, with laptops to follow later (40 months after the policy is formally adopted) — arstechnica.com/…
  • 🇧🇷 Brazil Proposes USB-C as the Standard Charging Port for iPhone — www.macobserver.com/…
  • 🇺🇸 US Senators Want a Universal Charger Standard, Similar to EU — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Related: 🇬🇧 The UK will not be following suit — www.macobserver.com/…

Notable Numbers

• HomePod mini Was Single Best-Selling Smart Speaker for 1Q22 — www.macobserver.com/… (Worldwide estimates from Strategy Analytics)

Legal Latest

• 🇺🇸 Judge Approves $100 Million Settlement Between Apple and Developers, Questions $27 Million Attorney Fee — www.macobserver.com/…
• 🇪🇺 Apple deal with Qualcomm vindicated in massive EU court ruling, $1 billion fine overturned — www.imore.com/…
• 🇬🇧 Apple -v- Ericsson: Apple Faces 5G Patent Infringement Case from Ericsson in UK — www.macobserver.com/…
• 🇺🇸 Shock Apple Watch ruling could see the device banned in the U.S., but it’s unlikely — www.imore.com/… & Apple Watch ECG Technology Infringes on AliveCor’s Patents, ITC Rules — www.macobserver.com/…
• 🇪🇺 Apple loses EU ‘Think Different’ legal challenge — www.imore.com/…
• 🇺🇸 Judge Rules Apple May Benefit from Gift Card Scams, Lawsuit Moves Forward — www.macobserver.com/…
• 🧟 🇬🇧 Battery-gate rides again: Own an iPhone in the UK? You could be owed compensation — www.imore.com/…
• 🇬🇧 A UK judge has allowed a £1.5Bn ($₁.8Bn) class action suit against Apple claiming the 30% app store cut damaged UK consumers to proceed to trial — www.imore.com/… (Reminds me of a Dutch case that was filed in late March)
• 🇺🇸 Former Apple Securities Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Six Counts of Insider Trading — www.macobserver.com/… (Apple are not implicated in this guy’s alleged schemes)

Apple HR & Acquisition News

• Disney hooks Apple Arcade exec to head ‘Next Generation Storytelling’ — www.imore.com/…

Apple Services & Original Content Highlights

• 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 🇨🇦 Apple Music Student Plan Gets a Price Increase in US, UK and Canada — www.macobserver.com/…
• Apple TV+
  • 🇺🇸 Apple extends free Friday Night Baseball through July — www.imore.com/…
  • 🇺🇸 Apple Signs 10-Year Deal to Stream All Major League Soccer Games Worldwide — www.macobserver.com/…
  • For Streaming Services, Apple TV+ Has the Highest-Rated Content for the Second Year in a Row — www.macobserver.com/… (based on IMDB ratings)
• 🇩🇪 Apple Maps’ new rating system is now live across Germany — www.imore.com/…
• Related: Apple’s iPhone subscription page is now much easier to use and read — www.imore.com/…

Main Stories (The WWDC Big-Picture)

1. The future of CarPlay — www.imore.com/…, www.macobserver.com/… & arstechnica.com
2. Related: Apple CarPlay could completely change how you buy gas — www.imore.com/…
3. Apple’s new CarPlay might not come to Mercedes-Benz after all — www.imore.com/…
4. Goodies for Developers
   Aside: Apple Developer Center Opens Prior to WWDC22 Featuring Rooms Named After macOS Releases — www.macobserver.com/…
   & Here’s a look inside the new Apple Developer Center at Apple Park — www.imore.com/…
   1. Apple killed passwords with new passkeys on iPhone, iPad, Mac, & Apple TV — www.imore.com/…
   2. Related: 1Password has joined the FIDO Alliance — blog.1password.com/…
   3. CCATP #728 — Bart Busschots on Why FIDO Passkeys Rock
   4. Apple are implementing a new API that gives developers a human-friendly alternative to CAPTCHAs for their Apple users — www.imore.com/…
   5. Apple’s new MetalFX Upscaling system will compete with AMD FSR, Nvidia DLSS — arstechnica.com & Apple’s Metal 3 update to allow AAA games to run better than ever — www.imore.com/…
   6. Apple makes the Siri part of Shortcuts automatic (and tries to fix Siri in the process) — www.imore.com/…
   7. iPadOS 16 Allows Device Makers to Develop Drivers for iPad Thanks to ‘DriverKit’ — www.macobserver.com/…
   8. And more … Apple launches developer tools including Xcode Cloud, Metal 3, WeatherKit — www.imore.com/…
5. Goodies for existing Apple Users
   1. iOS gets a customisable Lock Screen with widgets — www.imore.com/…
   2. With WidgetKit developers can code once for iOS 16’s Lock Screen and Apple Watch — www.imore.com/…
   3. Edit/un-send messages (15 mins) – www.imore.com/…
   4. Stage Manager for macOS & iPadOS (M1-only) — tcrn.ch/…
   5. Craig Federighi explains why Stage Manager doesn’t work on all iPads — www.imore.com/…
   6. Continuity Camera — www.imore.com/…
   7. You can now 3D print Apple’s macOS Continuity Camera mount — www.imore.com/…
   8. Medication Tracking (iOS & watchOS) — arstechnica.com/… & www.imore.com/…
   9. Multi-stop routing in Maps (across platforms) — www.imore.com/…
   10. Everything new with HomeKit from WWDC 2022 — www.imore.com/…
   11. Safety Check is a new iOS 16 feature to help people in abusive relationships — www.imore.com/…
   12. Apple simplifies System Settings for macOS Ventura, moves many items — appleinsider.com/…
   13. 🇺🇸 Apple Pay Later (up to $1K split into 4 payments over 6 weeks) — www.imore.com/…
   14. Apple Pay Later launch sees PayPal fight back with extended payment options — www.imore.com/…
   15. More …
   16. Here’s all of the ways you can rewatch the WWDC 2022 keynote — www.imore.com/…
   17. Here’s everything Apple announced at WWDC 2022 — www.imore.com/…
   18. Here’s everything Apple killed at WWDC22 — www.imore.com/…
   19. iOS 16: Everything you need to know! — www.imore.com/…
       * iOS 16: 7 features you may have missed — www.imore.com/…
       * Here’s What’s New With Apple Music in iOS 16 — www.macobserver.com/…
   20. iPadOS 16: Everything you need to know — www.imore.com/…
       * iPadOS 16: 5 features you may have missed — www.imore.com/…
   21. Apple announces macOS 13 Ventura, the next major software update for the Mac — arstechnica.com
       * macOS 13: 5 features you may have missed — www.imore.com/…
       * macOS 13 Ventura: more reasons why you’re going to love this update — www.imore.com/…
   22. watchOS 9: Everything you need to know — www.imore.com/…
       * watchOS 9: 5 features you may have missed — www.imore.com/…
   23. tvOS 16: Everything you need to know — www.imore.com/…
6. New Hardware
7. Apple announces its next-gen M2 chip, promising 18% faster performance than M1 — arstechnica.com
8. Apple unveils BRAND NEW MacBook Air at WWDC 2022 — www.imore.com/…
   * Reviews — arstechnica.com/… & www.imore.com/…
9. Apple just announced a new MacBook Pro at WWDC 2022 — www.imore.com/…

Quick Stories

• 🇺🇸 Steve Jobs to Posthumously Receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom — www.macobserver.com/…
  • The official announcement: President Biden Announces Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom — www.whitehouse.gov/…
• Apple’s new two-port USB-C power adapters are now on sale — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple’s new 35W dual-port USB-C chargers use smarts to adjust power based on what you plug in — www.imore.com/…
• iWork 12.1 adds handy features to Pages, Numbers, and Keynote — www.imore.com/…
  • Mail Merge returns to Pages after nine years – Six Colors — sixcolors.com/…
• 🇪🇺 Apple’s new way to buy gift cards finally arrives in Europe — www.imore.com/…
• 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 Apple launches its Back to School promotion, $150 gift cards on offer — www.imore.com/…
• 🇺🇸 Rune Labs Receives U.S. FDA Clearance to Use the Apple Watch for Monitoring Parkinson’s Symptoms — www.macobserver.com/…
• Apple Support app adds support for one of the world’s most spoken languages — www.imore.com/… (Arabic)
• Apple launches the Community+ program — www.imore.com/…
• 📌 Apple will hold its Q3 2022 earnings call on the 28th of July — www.imore.com/…

Legend

Note: When the textual description of a link is part of the link it is the title of the page being linked to, when the text describing a link is not part of the link it is a description written by Bart.