'Sign In with Apple' FAQ Published by TechCrunch

Sarah Perez, writing for TechCrunch, has published a detailed set of answers about Apple’s upcoming ‘Sign In with Apple’ feature on iOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS and to an extent, Android and the web.

The ‘Sign In with Apple’ feature is one of the most exciting announcements to come out of WWDC ’19 for me, and I’m really looking forward to its release. However, I do have a few concerns, all of which still remain unanswered.

  • What happens to your account when you sign out of iCloud and Sign In with another Apple ID?
  • What happens when you want to use a developer’s app on multiple devices that don’t use the same Apple ID?
  • Will Apple allow you to choose/specify a custom email address that is separate from the Apple ID to receive marketing emails from the developers?

I believe that SIWA is a phenomenal new feature and I see a majority of developers adopt this feature for their apps. I just hope that SIWA doesn’t end up being the only Sign In option in apps going forward.

June 12, 2019 ✚ Permalink

Apple Publishes a New App Store “Principles and Practices” Page

With WWDC ’19 just around the corner, Apple has just published a new “Principles and Practices” page that attempts to make a case for how the company runs the App Store.

We created the App Store with two goals in mind: that it be a safe and trusted place for customers to discover and download apps, and a great business opportunity for all developers.

The page features and details positive things about the App Store and lists stats about how many apps Apple reviews every week, and how many apps are approved or rejected.

As part of our rigorous app review process, we use a combination of automated systems and hundreds of human experts. This team represents 81 languages across three time zones. We work hard to maintain the integrity of the App Store. In fact, since 2016, we have removed over 1.4 million apps from the App Store because they have not been updated or don’t work on our most current operating systems. This helps unclutter the search for new apps, and makes it easier for users to find quality apps.

Apple is also listing several apps that the company says competes with Apple’s own apps, although the company fails to mention how the company still has the upper-hand in most of those cases.

Apple App Store Mail Apps

Let’s take the case of mails apps, for example. There’s no way Gmail, Spark, Outlook and Yahoo! Mail are on the same level playing field as the built-in & native Mail.app on iOS. You can’t set either of those apps are the default mail app on iOS instead of Apple’s Mail app, so all mailto: links still open Mail.app. Similarly, Apple’s own web-browser Safari and messaging app Messages have the upper-hand over other “competing” apps.

And then there’s this:

Apple App Store Principles and Practices Page

84% of apps are free, and developers pay nothing to Apple.

I get what Apple is trying to say here, but the “developers pay nothing to Apple” bit is highly misleading when you consider that one simply cannot publish an app on the App Store without paying $99/year to Apple for the Apple Developer Program membership. Even if one has to publish a free app for iOS, they need to shell out over ₹ 7000/year just to sign up for the membership.

May 29, 2019 ✚ Permalink

Apple Updates its iPod touch with a Faster Processor and More Storage

Apple iPod touch 2019 Lineup

The iPod touch isn’t dead!

Just when you thought that the iPod touch was dead and forgotten, Apple swoops in with a surprising update to the little music player.

The 2019 iPod touch now features an A10 processor (the previous one had A8) and goes up to 256 GB of storage (up from 128). That’s it! That’s all there is to add to the “What’s New” section if one was to create it for the iPod touch 2019.

It still features a 4″ display with big ugly bezels on the front, it still boasts a boring 8MP camera from the yesteryears, and is even available in the same set of vibrant colors as it has always been. The A10 processor is as old as the iPhone 7 series, but you do get the added benefit of Group FaceTime and ARKit support now.

I’m actually quite surprised Apple chose to update the little guy at all, but from what I’ve read so far, this makes for the perfect entry-level iOS device for kids and retail, especially considering the upcoming launch of Apple Arcade at the end of this year.

iPod touch 2019 India Pricing

The iPod touch 2019 pricing in India is as follows:

  • 32 GB Model – ₹18,900/-
  • 128 GB Model – ₹28,900/-
  • 256 GB Model – ₹38,900/-

I’m not sure this makes for a great “entry-level iOS device for kids” in India though.

May 29, 2019 ✚ Permalink

Apple India is Hiring a ‘Digital Content Taxonomist’ in Bengaluru

Apple has just posted a new position on their Jobs at Apple portal for Bengaluru, India.

The AppleCare Digital team is looking for a smart and passionate person to join our team as a content Taxonomist. You’ll help build a world-class, intuitive, and comprehensive taxonomy to help optimize solution\information discovery when searching and browsing our digital channels. You will help build taxonomies for Product\Services, Geo, Channels, OS etc.

This team services more than 3 billion customers a year across a broad range of digital platforms. The organization is responsible for all support and service of digital content, web assets, customer tools and apps, communities, analytics, SEO and social media. We are the highest volume post sales support function in Apple and carry out to the highest standard of quality and innovation on behalf of our customers worldwide.

Interesting position, but I’m not sure why they had to use backslashes in the summary above.

May 28, 2019 ✚ Permalink

Disney to Acquire 33% of Hulu from Comcast

The Walt Disney Company (Disney) and Comcast Corporation (Comcast) have just announced that the companies have entered into an agreement wherein Disney will take “full operational control” of Hulu, effective immediately, and will purchase 33% ownership in Hulu in 5 years.

Under the put/call agreement, as early as January 2024, Comcast can require Disney to buy NBCUniversal’s interest in Hulu and Disney can require NBCUniversal to sell that interest to Disney for its fair market value at that future time. Hulu’s fair market value will be assessed by independent experts but Disney has guaranteed a sale price for Comcast that represents a minimum total equity value of Hulu at that time of $27.5 billion.

Disney seems to be going all out on this whole video streaming business.

May 14, 2019 ✚ Permalink

Apple Short Lists First Retail Store Location in India

Saritha Rai, reporting for Bloomberg:

The iPhone giant has zeroed in on several upscale sites in Mumbai, and plans to make a final decision in the next few weeks, said the people, asking not to be named because the discussions are private. The vetted spots are comparable to iconic Apple locations on Fifth Avenue in New York, Regent Street in London or the Champs-Elysees in Paris, they said.

It seems like it’s finally happening.

May 8, 2019 ✚ Permalink

Warren Buffett’s Paper Wizard

Here’s something from Apple that dropped in totally out of the blue — A side-scrolling game for iPhone, in partnership with Warren Buffet.

Think you can toss a newspaper like the legendary Warren Buffett? Test your paper-flinging skills as you make your way from the streets of Omaha, Nebraska, all the way to Cupertino, California. Avoid vehicles and birds as you deliver papers to buildings near and far. Will anyone collect enough Warren Bucks to dethrone the Paper Wizard? Probably not.

The game is published by Wildlife Design, Inc on the App Store, but Apple still holds the rights to the game and according to 9to5Mac, also helped out with the development.

May 7, 2019 ✚ Permalink

Spotify to Delete All of Saregama’s Songs from its Library

Aditi Singh, writing for Bar and Bench:

[…] Spotify had approached Saregama to get a license for streaming the latter company’s musical works on its platform. The negotiation talks between the parties also began and the terms of the license were discussed. Subsequently, on Spotify’s request, Saregama also provided copyright of its work a month prior to the launch of Spotify in India.

The license agreement, however, could not be finalized and Saregama requested Spotify to block all of its work on the app..

Spotify India already doesn’t have any of Warner Music content, and this is only going to make its library less appealing.

April 24, 2019 ✚ Permalink