LTA 141: May 2025

Panel:

• Bart Busschots (host) – @bartb.ie

This solo show starts with just a few quick followups on long-running stories we’re keeping an eye on before exploring just one new regulation and some news Apple indirectly made in a Google court case before moving on to a quick rundown of some stories related to Apple’s services and original content. The four main stories are the on-going US tariff omni-shambles, the ongoing regulatory and legal attacks on the App Store’s anti-steering rules on both sides of the Atlantic, an impressive set of accessibility enhancements coming later in the year, and the launch of CarPlay Ultra. The show finishes with just a handful of other quick stories that made the news in May.

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.

• Apple's self-repair program continues to expand: Apple adds iPad to self-service repair — sixcolors.com/… ( Apple PR)

• Apple's AI research arm continues to publish academic papers at an impressive rate:

  • FastVLM AI Model Shows Potential for Apple’s Smart Glasses — www.macobserver.com/… (a Visual Language Model that can process high-resolution images with remarkable speed and efficiency)

  • Apple research reveals potential of future Apple Intelligence tools — appleinsider.com/… — A pair of papers describing two more vision-related models:

    • "StreamBridge can answer different questions about a video in real-time"
    • Apple AI Model Matrix3D Generates 3D Scenes With Three Images — www.macobserver.com/…

  • Apple used human instructors with Apple Vision Pros to train humanoid robots — appleinsider.com/…

Regulatory Rundown

• Texas passes App Store age verification law, despite Tim Cook's concerns — appleinsider.com/…

  • Requires Apple to verify the ages of all users in the state, and if they're under 18, link their account to a parent or guardian's account, and comes into force next year
  • There's a similar but less demanding bill already in effect in Utah
  • This goes further than the enhanced parental control and age features Apple announced a few months ago (perhaps to try head off something like this)

Legal Latest

• US DOJ -v- Google (Search anti-trust): DOJ seeks to break up Google ad business after illegal monopoly ruling — appleinsider.com/… (now the formally requested remedy)

  • Eddie Cue's testimony in the remedies phase of the trail contained some interesting nuggets and caused a bit of a kerfuffle:

    • Eddy Cue: Apple iPhones May Not Needed in a Decade — www.macobserver.com/…
    • Apple working on adding AI-powered search to Safari — appleinsider.com/… (crude paraphrasing: no need to break up Google and deprive us of our revenue because their monopoly is withering anyway, we're considering moving Safari default search to AI)
    • Google hits back after Apple exec says AI is hurting search — arstechnica.com/… & Eddy Cue Causes a Stir for Google — www.macstories.net/…
    • Opinion: Eddy Cue, on the Stand in U.S. v. Google Trial, Says Apple Is Eying a Move to AI in Safari — daringfireball.net/…

Apple Services & Original Content Highlights

• Some interesting crossover features and promotions:

  • EA Sports FC Mobile to stream live MLS matches & offer Apple TV trial — appleinsider.com/…(in-game streaming of soccer + free AppleTV+ trial)
  • Promotion for the AppleTV+ F1 movie: Apple Maps gets in on F1 hype with Monaco update — sixcolors.com/… ( Apple PR)
  • Apple brings Sunday Night Soccer to Xfinity for free — www.cultofmac.com/… (just the one game a week for free, so in effect a promotion for AppleTV+)

• Apple Maps adds restaurant, hotel, golf course reviews from pros — www.cultofmac.com/… (includes: Apple Maps adds Michelin reviews to help you find fine food — appleinsider.com/…)

• Apple Arcade:

  • Apple Acquires Indie Video Game Studio RAC7 — www.macobserver.com/… & Apple Acquires Indie Videogame Studio RAC7 and Is Rumored to Be Working on a Dedicated Games App — www.macstories.net/… (the 2-person game studio behind the very popular Apple Arcade game Sneaky Sasquatch)
  • Five new family-centric games debut on Apple Arcade in June — appleinsider.com/… ( Apple PR)

• Apple Music:

  • Apple Music Launches Daily Viral Playlist Based on Shazam Data — www.macobserver.com/…

  • Apple Music’s Sound Therapy enhances songs to help you focus, relax and sleep — www.cultofmac.com/… ( Apple PR)

    • Hands-On with Sound Therapy on Apple Music — www.macstories.net/…

  • New Apple Music migration tool helps users shift away from Spotify — appleinsider.com/… ( Initial launch in Australia & New Zealand now, more to come later)

• Apple TV+:

  • Apple debuts Apple Vision Pro 'Bono: Stories of Surrender' at Cannes — appleinsider.com/… & Bono’s Stories of Surrender Becomes Apple’s First Full-Length Immersive Documentary — www.macobserver.com/…
  • First Peanuts musical in 35 years comes to Apple TV+ — www.cultofmac.com/…
  • Related: Danny Boyle shoots 28 Years Later sequel on 20 iPhones at once — www.cultofmac.com/…

• Apple Pay/Apple Wallet:

  • Users in more European countries can now receive tap-to-pay payments on their iPhones — appleinsider.com/… (Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Luxembourg & Malta)
  • Related: Curve Pay Becomes First Digital Wallet to Rival Apple on iOS in EEA — www.macobserver.com/…

Main Stories

1. The US Tariff Chaos continued un-abated in May, and even focused on Apple specifically for a while!

   • To illustrate the chaos, these are the headlines relating to the tariffs themselves and their immediate impact, in chronological order:

     • Apple's India imports to the U.S. doubled during April tariff trouble — appleinsider.com/… (based on leaked vendor reports to the Indian government)

     • US and China temporarily lower tariffs to start trade negotiations — appleinsider.com/…

     • Trump Claims Apple Will Build Plants in US with $500B Investment — www.macobserver.com/… (I think he misunderstood or perhaps put his own intentional spin on things to pressure Apple):

       "I spoke to Tim Cook this morning, and he’s going to, I think, even up his numbers" … "$500 billion, he’s going to be building a lot of plants in the United States for Apple. And we look forward to that" — Trump

     • Trump calls out Apple for building products in India — www.cultofmac.com/…

     • Trump is too busy for his own tariff negotiations, so will dictate terms instead — appleinsider.com/…

     • Trump demands 25% tariff on any iPhone not made in the US — appleinsider.com/…

     • California Attorney General threatens lawsuit over potential 25% iPhone tariff — appleinsider.com/…

       "It's almost like [Trump] wakes up in the morning and he says, Hey, I think Apple should build more Apple phones, and so maybe I'll tell their CEO that he should do that.' And then maybe tomorrow, he wakes up and he says, Hey, I was just kidding.' — CA AG Rob Bonta

     • Trump Adds Samsung to Tariff Threat, Says Apple Not Alone — www.macobserver.com/…

     • White House says Trump doesn't want to harm Apple and iPhone prices won't rise — appleinsider.com/… (nothing to back up these obviously nonsensical claims)

     • Apple CEO’s Absence on Trump’s Trip May Have Sparked Tariff Threat — www.macobserver.com/… (Trump explicitly called out Cook's absence during at least two events on his Middle-east tour)

     • India now leads iPhone exports to the U.S. as trade war reshapes supply chains — appleinsider.com/… & Apple’s iPhone Shipments from India to U.S. Jump 76% — www.macobserver.com/… (Canalys numbers)

     • Trump 'Liberation Day' tariffs blocked by U.S. trade court — appleinsider.com/… (Bi-partisan 3-judge panel)

       … a U.S. trade court has ruled that President Trump overstepped his authority. While it doesn't pass judgement on whether the tariffs would work as intended, the court does say they are not allowed according to federal law.

     • Trump tariffs return until June 9 after appeals court stays injunction — appleinsider.com/… (Not a rebuke of the ruling, just a pause to prepare to hear an urgent appeal against just the injunction)

     • President Trump lashes out at China for violating new trade agreement — appleinsider.com/… (Without specifying even a claim about how, let alone providing any evidence)

   • Meanwhile Apple's longer-term moves to diversify their supply chain continued, with all the May news focusing on India:

     • India AirPods manufacturer plans second plant — appleinsider.com/…
     • Apple Supplier Foxconn Invests $1.5 Billion in India — www.macobserver.com/…
     • Apple strengthens its India presence with new Bengaluru store plans — appleinsider.com/…

   • Related Opinion & Analysis:

     • It's still cheaper to import iPhones with 25% tariffs, than assemble in the US — appleinsider.com/…
     • Cook tries to find an off-ramp — sixcolors.com/…

2. The Assault on the App Store ramps up on both sides of the Atlantic

   • The fallout from the anti-steering injunction in the Apple -v- Epic case continued through May

     • Where things stood last month:

       • Epic lost almost all of its case against Apple

       • Apple lost on one point out of 11 — their anti-steering rules were anti-competitive, that is to say, the rule that blocked apps from not only linking to external payment options, but prevented apps from even mentioning their existence!

       • The court imposed an injunction on Apple forcing them to alter their rules on anti-steering to come into compliance with the ruling, even while the appeal slowly worked its way through the process.

       • Apple responded to the injunction with a new App Store Entitlement for the US only that allowed external links, but with conditions:

         • An arguably OTT warning dialog telling users they are leaving the app and going to the open web
         • One single link destination for every single out-bound link, no linking directly to specific products!
         • a 27% fee not just on all purchases made directly, but also all purchases made over the next 5 days
         • On-demand access to audited accounts so Apple could verify their cut

       • Epic filed an appeal against Apple's change saying it was so clearly designed to be so utterly unappealing that in effect, Apple did not remove their ban (a rare case where I agree with Epic!

       • In an utterly scathing ruling at the end of last month (April 2025) the judge agreed with Epic, and ordered Apple to just allow direct link outs, full stop, end of story.

       • Apple said they would appeal

       • Even though the injunction was purely about link outs, and not about all the other points in the case, Epic publicly promised to return Fortnight to the App Store in the US soon

       • The kinds of apps most affected by the onerous rules like Patreon released updates within days adding buy buttons to their US apps.

       • Related: A good presentation of the argument that the whole anti-steering thing was always nuts, and that Apple should have gotten off this train years ago — daringfireball.net/… (I agree with this, it's not about whether have the right to implement a dumb user-hostile rule, but whether they should)

     • As promised, Apple did file that appeal within days of the previous episode being published — appleinsider.com/…

       • Apple's filing refers to the injunction as 'Extraordinary' — daringfireball.net/…
       • Apple: “Hundreds of millions to billions” lost without App Store commissions — arstechnica.com/…

     • A little later in the month Apple also filed an appeal for a stay on the injunction while it's appeal is pending — appleinsider.com/…

     • Unsurprisingly, a class action soon followed: Lawsuit hopes to return 15 months of commissions to developers after App Store ruling — appleinsider.com/…

     • Equally unsurprisingly more companies in good standing in the US app store rolled out support for external payment options:

       • Spotify takes advantage of new App Store payment rules — www.cultofmac.com/…
       • Kindle app now provides “Get Book” button — sixcolors.com/…
       • 37signals’s Hey Is Finally for Sale (in the US) From Its iPhone App — daringfireball.net/…

     • More surprisingly, Fortnight did return to the US app store, bit it took some more drama!

       • Epic's US App Store account was banned at the very start of this drama, and Apple won the point in the case about having the right to throw Epic out for breaking the rules they happened to disagree with
       • Epic submitted an updated version of their app from their Swedish App Store Account that is in use in the US — www.cultofmac.com/… & www.macobserver.com/…
       • Apple ignored this submission because as developers Epic are not in good standing in the US app store, so Epic re-submitted again, and tied the submission to both app stores, then they removed their current EU app and said it was Apple's fault and that Apple had retaliated by not just continuing to block their US app but had now removed their EU one too — (This is what we've gotten used to seeing from Epic — appleinsider.com/…, appleinsider.com/… & www.macobserver.com/… (misleading half-truths bordering on outright lies!)
       • Epic submits a new motion to the court claiming Apple is breaking the injunction from the end of April by not letting them back into the store — www.macobserver.com/…(the actual wording does not say anything about letting rule breakers back in, I think, legally, this was a hail-Mary play, counting on pressure rather than the law)
       • The judge issues a terse ruling ordering Apple to let Epic in or show up in court to explain their basis for not doing so — www.macobserver.com/… (I really think Apple could have made a good legal argument here)
       • Apple decide to cut their losses and just let Fortnight back into the US App Store — appleinsider.com/… (Apple had utterly lost the PR-war on this one)
       • Analysis: an excellent description of what proved to be Epic's successful strategy published before this all played out — spyglass.org/…

     • In an Amicus brief filed in the case: Microsoft blames Apple's interference for why the Xbox mobile store has failed to launch — appleinsider.com/…

     • It's probably too early to tell what the real effect of this change will be, but for now, the data us noisy enough for people to see what they want to see:

       • Spotify Says New iOS Payment Option Boosted Subscriptions — www.macobserver.com/…
       • RevenueCat Report Suggests In-App Purchases Perform Noticeably Better Than Link-Outs to the Web — daringfireball.net/…

     • Related: Epic's loby group isn't done making trouble for apple: Florida Republican Congresswoman Kat Cammack Introduces 'App Store Freedom Act' to Mandate Third-Party App Stores on iOS and Android — daringfireball.net/…

   • Apple's battle with the European Commission over its compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) also continued in May:

     • Summary of where stings stood at the end of April:

       • The commission issued a preliminary ruling that Apple had not done enough to comply with the Digital Markets Act, and fined the company ~€500M
       • Apple responded angrily and promised to appeal

     • May started with Apple taking over the narrative with a strong appeal — appleinsider.com/…

       • Context: EU laws are initially drafted by the commission, but they then have to enter into negotiation with the parliament and the council of ministers to agree a final wording that can pass a vote in both of those bodies to become law. This process generally results in reasonable compromises between business and consumer interests.
       • The DMA took years to get approved, and there were a lot of tweaks and changes, resulting the commission not getting things its own way on everything, including the addition of wording that the commission should engage constructively with companies they deem to be breaching the law before resorting to fines.
       • Apple's appeal bluntly states that under now departed commissioner Margrethe Vestager, their attempts to work with the commission were ignored and even rebuffed, giving an example of an offer to completely remove the anti-steering provisions which they claim they were told to hold off on until the commission had time to hear from all parties.
       • The focus of the EU's finding against Apple is that very anti-steering rule Apple provided evidence of offering to remove.
       • Analysis & Opinion: Apple, Appealing €500M DMA Fine, Contends It Made a Series of Proposals to the European Commission Throughout 2024 but Did Not Receive Feedback — daringfireball.net/…
       • Opinion by Bart: my reading of all this is that Apple have a point here, Vestager really did appear to be openly hostile to Apple, and I think she wanted their scalp as a trophy to help her build her post-commission career.

     • The story is briefly derailed by some utterly wrong reporting that Apple had added a whole new warning in the EU as a poke in the eye to to the commission, they did no such thing, the warnings have been there since last year — daringfireball.net/… & www.macobserver.com/…

     • Later in the month the commission took back the narrative:

       • First, they announced Apple have until the 23rd of July to pay the fine or to face interest payments on the outstanding amount — www.macstories.net/…

       • The commission released the detailed version of their preliminary finding — www.macobserver.com/…

         • The detailed findings focused on Apple's anti-steering fix, which was very similar to the US fix in that it was clearly designed to be so onerous as to make it a non-option. Pithy summary from Bart: they commission argued that what I had described as cantankerous compliance was actually malicious compliance to the point of being non-compliance, and I think they have a point!

   • Related Opinion & Analysis:

     • A relevant argument is that the utter stagnation of App Store features is evidence of monopolistic behaviour because the free market would not tolerate that: Andy Allen on the App Store's Feature Stagnation — daringfireball.net/…
     • Apple Should Align Its Corporate Behavior with Its Stated Values — tidbits.com/… (sums up my overall opinion pretty well!)

   • Related: Apple release some pro-App-Store numbers:

     • Apple released their latest annual App Store Transparency Report, something they've done since earlier in this now years long App Store drama — Apple PR

       • Apple blocked over $9 billion in App Store fraud in five years — www.bleepingcomputer.com/…

       • Apple Releases 2024 App Store Transparency Report and the Numbers are Jaw-Dropping — www.macobserver.com/…

         • Nearly 2M apps now in the App Store, up nearly 5% since last year
         • Apple reviewed nearly 8M submissions (includes updates!), up nearly 13% since last year
         • Apple rejected nearly 2M submissions, up 9% since last year, so the proportion of submissions rejected is down
         • Nearly 840M apps downloaded each week (also includes updates presumably)
         • Nearly 52M registered developers, up over 20% since last year

     • Apple PR pimped the results of a study they funded: Developers’ App Store earnings double in past 5 years — www.cultofmac.com/… ($406Bn to developers in 2024 -v- $142Bn in 2019)

   • Related: Other countries are also continuing their attacks on the App Store:

     • Brazil Orders Apple to Allow Alternative Payments in App Store — www.macobserver.com/…
     • Japan moves closer to requiring third-party app stores — appleinsider.com/… (this bill has been working its way through the process for some time now)

3. As is now the norm for Global Accessibility Awareness Day (May 15th): Apple unveils powerful accessibility features coming later this year — Apple PR

   • Accessibility Nutrition Labels Come to the App Store
   • An All-New Magnifier for Mac
   • A New Braille Experience: "Braille Access is an all-new experience that turns iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro into a full-featured braille note taker that’s deeply integrated into the Apple ecosystem"
   • Introducing Accessibility Reader (new system-wide reader mode across iPhone, iPad, Mac & Vision Pro)
   • Live Captions Arrive on Apple Watch (turns the watch into a useful remote control for the existing features)
   • An Enhanced View with Apple Vision Pro (improved magnification options for the visually impaired, and useful-sounding AI interactions regarding the user's surroundings for voiceover users)
   • Lots more smaller tweaks

4. CarPlay Ultra officially launches — Apple PR

   1. What had been previewed as next generation CarPlay has arrived as CarPlay Ultra, not a replacement to regular CarPlay, but a more advanced alternative manufacturers can opt in to.
   2. Takes over all the screens, and Apple works closely with the manufacturer to design bespoke branded interfaces.
   3. The only launch partner is Aston Martin, but "many other automakers around the world are working to bring CarPlay Ultra to drivers, including newly committed brands Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis".

Quick Stories

• Apple's OSes got a point update:

  • iOS 18.5 ships with Mail refinements, new wallpaper — appleinsider.com/… & Everything new in iOS 18.5 — www.cultofmac.com/…
  • iPadOS 18.5 has arrived with bug fixes and little else — appleinsider.com/…
  • macOS Sequoia 15.5 lands with minor Mail, Screen Time improvements — appleinsider.com/…
  • watchOS 11.5 rolls out focusing on stability and quality updates — appleinsider.com/…
  • Apple releases 18.5 updates for tvOS, HomePod — appleinsider.com/…
  • visionOS 2.5 is here with new Immersive Video and 3D movie tab in Apple TV app — appleinsider.com/…

• Some of Apple's Software also got some updates:

  • Logic Pro’s big beat-making upgrades: Enhanced Stem Splitter, new Flashback Capture — www.cultofmac.com/… ( Apple PR)
  • Apple Upgrades Sports App With Real-Time Standings and More — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Apple’s Invites app just got its first new feature since launch — 9to5mac.com/… (can now embed external links in invites, which could be useful for things like gift lists)

• ️‍ Apple shows off colorful new Pride Collection watch band, faces and wallpapers — www.cultofmac.com/… ( Apple PR)

• Reminder: Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off June 9 — Apple PR & WWDC 2025 is very soon, and Apple is detailing the schedule — appleinsider.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.