New law proves Apple’s App Store gets one thing very right

Apple’s App Store practices have been under widespread assault in recent years, both in the US and especially abroad. But a new US law has just validated at least one aspect of Apple’s approach with the App Store: its easy subscription management.

Earlier today, my colleague Ben Lovejoy wrote about recent federal and state-specific laws targeting user-hostile subscription practices:

The idea of both is to force companies to make it as easy to cancel an online or app subscription as it is to sign up in


Trump claims Tim Cook called him about EU fining Apple $17 billion

Tim Cook’s job as CEO covers a number of roles and responsibilities. One of them involves maintaining relationships with political powers. And according to Donald Trump, he and Cook recently had a conversation about the EU’s recent rulings against Apple.

Trump appeared on the latest episode of the PBD (Patrick Bet-David) podcast, which . (via )

In the wide-ranging conversation about various political issues, Bet-David and Trump get on the topic of the economy. During which that he had just


Deals: M2 iPad Air $529 all-time low, new official Apple Watch Alpine/Trail Loops, HomeKit Secure Video cam, more

Joining the ongoing pre-order offers on the that can net you one from , Amazon is also now offering its lowest price yet on the most affordable configuration starting down at shipped. From there we move over to return all-time lows on Apple’s 2024 and , a solid 20% discount on with HomeKit Secure Video, at its lowest prices yet, some brand new MagSafe gear with launch discounts, and much more. Scope it all out down below.

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Shrinking on Apple TV+ gets early season 3 pickup

Apple TV+ just kicked off season 2 of this week. But rather than waiting to see how the season performs, Apple has given the show an early season 3 renewal.

Season 3 will complete original Shrinking story arc

Apple confirmed via its that Shrinking has been renewed for season 3.

The first two episodes of season 2 dropped this week, with many more still to come.

No spoilers, but the first episode ends with a big surprise that sets up what’s sure to be a compelling sophomore run. For


Here are all the Apple Intelligence features coming in iOS 18.2 or later

Apple Intelligence is launching later this month on supported devices . But only certain AI features will be available in iOS 18.1. Some of the most highly anticipated capabilities won’t arrive until future updates. Here’s everything that’s coming to Apple Intelligence in iOS 18.2 or later.

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PSA: Here’s another reason not to include personal details in AI chats

Including personal details in AI chats is never a good idea, given that many of them are in part trained on the content of those conversations, but there’s now another reason not to do this …

Security researchers have now found a way to instruct a chatbot to included in a chat, and to upload it to their server.

As reports, users can be offered a prompt they are told will do something useful – like help them write a cover letter for a job application – with a malicious prompt obfuscated so


More Apple Pay installment options, and PayPal balance will be visible in Apple Wallet

More Apple Pay installment options are available from today, and additional buy now pay later providers are promised.

Apple Pay users in both the US and UK now have the choice of installment loans from two different providers, with more on the way in both those and other countries …

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Roadside Assistance via satellite now available in the UK, with Green Flag

Apple last year launched its Roadside Assistance via satellite feature in the US, intended to provide help to those stranded by car trouble in areas without mobile coverage. That service has now been quietly extended to the UK.

You’ll need an iPhone 14 or later to use the service, and you’ll need to know ahead of time how to use the feature to summon help …

We last year explained how to use the service. First, you’ll need to be outside with a clear view of the


Instagram protects teens from sextortion; working on Social Library feature

Instagram is introducing new measures to protect teens from sextortion, by making it harder for criminals to blackmail them.

Separately, it appears to be working on a new Social Library feature intended to make it easier to find posts you’ve shared, liked, or been sent in chat …

Sextortion is becoming a growing problem for teenagers using social media. A criminal will create a fake profile using a photo of an attractive teen, then befriend victims. They gradually become more sexual in their chats before sharing intimate photos, and


iPad mini 7 charging speed limited to 20W, around a 2-hour charge

A regulatory filing reveals that the iPad mini 7 charging speed is limited to 20W, the same as its predecessor.

This means that the device will take around an hour to charge to 70%, and about two hours to go from empty to fully-charged – significantly slower than the speeds offered by some Android tablets …

We noted yesterday that the latest iPad mini is rather a small upgrade over the mini 6, even three years later.

It feels like Apple did pretty much the minimum necessary here,

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