With rumors — and complaints — swirling about the state of the iPad and iPadOS, David and Stephen take some time to talk about their usage of the platform and share where they think Apple should take its tablet next.
On the ad-free, longer version for members, we talk about the new Slate Auto EV pickup truck that we’ve both fallen in love with.
This does not mean apps can now use alternative payment processing in-app. It doesn’t even mean apps are no longer required to offer Apple’s IAP in-app for purchases and subscriptions. All it means is that apps (in the US for now, but Apple really ought to make this worldwide, but I suspect Tim Cook wants to fight this on appeal in federal court) are free to inform users about offers available on the web, and to link to those offers on the web. Those links must open outside the app, in the user’s default web browser.
After yesterday’s injunction, Apple has updated its U.S. App Review Guidelines concerning buttons and links to external payment providers. Here are the key changes:
NASA’s new moon rocket uses a lot of components from the shuttle program, including the venerable RS-25 engine. Three were mounted to the shuttle itself, and the core stage of the SLS is powered by four of them. The next rocket — slated to take astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen to the far side of the moon — has seen a change of plans when it comes to those engines, as Stephen Clark reports:
Earlier this evening, an 80-page document was released by the U.S. District Court in California, hitting Apple hard for its anti-competitive strategies concerning the App Store. The Verge’s Jay Peter’s has a great breakdown, but the gist of the ruling is that Apple can no longer charge commission on purchases made outside of the App Store or put block or limit developers who wish to link to purchases outside of Apple’s App Store system.
This week on the show: Myke is learning, Federico saw a rumor, Stephen comes clean, and Apple launched a weird webpage.
Rumors continue to point toward Apple having a thin phone in this fall’s lineup. I am fascinated by this, and think it could be my next iPhone, even if it comes with compromises. Tim Hardwick reports on one such trade-off:
Achieving this level of thinness is unlikely to come without compromise. Dummy models shared by AppleTrack suggest that Apple has made some subtle adjustments to accommodate internal components in the tighter chassis. Most notably, the USB-C port on the bottom edge is no longer centered front-to-back. Instead, it appears shifted closer to the rear of the device, which is likely to accommodate display components within the enclosure.
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YouTuber and podcaster Chris Lawley joined me and Sparks on this episode of MPU to tell us about how the Mac has replaced the iPad as his primary computer.
Samuel Hardiman, at The Daily Memphian, writing about the on-going concern here in Memphis over xAI’s use of gas turbines to help power its AI supercomputer:
Chunrong Jia, a professor in the U of M’s division of epidemiology, biostatistics and environmental health, modeled the impact of what xAI’s turbines would have on air quality in Southwest Memphis. He used information from xAI’s Shelby County Health Department application to make 15 of its 30-plus turbines permanent.
There’s a new EV truck on the scene, and it’s not even a pointy stainless steel triangle! Sean O’Kane has details at TechCrunch:
It’s affordable, deeply customizable, and very analog. It has manual windows and it doesn’t come with a main infotainment screen. Heck, it isn’t even painted. It can also transform from a two-seater pickup to a five-seater SUV.
The three-year-old startup revealed its vehicle during an event Thursday night in Long Beach, California, and promised the first trucks would be available to customers for under $20,000 with the federal EV tax credit by the end of 2026.
Today marks ten years since the original Apple Watch shipped. In that decade, it’s gone from a slow and constrained device that was trying to do far too much to something that I wear every day and night to track my fitness and get a very select number of notifications.
Basic Apple Guy has put together a great blog post to mark the occasion:
What follows is me meandering through the past decade of the Apple Watch, covering some of its history, my thoughts, uses, and my impressions on a decade of this unassuming yet increasingly vital product in Apple’s lineup.