A São Paulo court has issued an emergency injunction requiring Apple to block minors from downloading Casino Roulette: Roulettist and to add age verification before users can buy virtual chips with real money. The order followed a July lawsuit from four child rights groups alleging minors could easily access the 18+ rated app and spend real money in it. Apple has five days to comply, must extend similar controls to other casino-style apps, and faces a daily fine of about $19,500 if it fails to act.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-09-22
A federal court rejected claims by rival startup Project Bluebird that X Corp. had abandoned the TWITTER, TWEET and Bird Logo trademarks after Elon Musk rebranded the platform. Project Bluebird had filed intent-to-use applications for TWITTER and TWEET and rebranded its own app from twitter.new to tweet.app following the ruling. The court pointed to X's Apple App Store listing, which still describes the app as 'formerly known as Twitter,' as evidence of continued bona fide trademark use.
blog.ericgoldman.org
· 2026-09-09
Reports say Apple is developing a privacy-focused home security and monitoring device that uses AI rather than video footage, tied to a new subscription service. Separately, executives including Eddy Cue are reportedly exploring ways to raise App Store margins and extract more recurring revenue from developers.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-09-07
A federal court granted Elon Musk's X a preliminary injunction stopping a startup called Operation Bluebird from launching a new app under the Twitter name. Chief Judge Colm Connolly found X likely to prevail on trademark infringement claims, largely because X's own App Store listing still describes itself as 'formerly known as Twitter,' showing the company hasn't abandoned the brand.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-04
Phil Schiller, who has led Apple's App Store since 2015 and joined the company in 1987, has stepped down from that role, according to Bloomberg. He'll remain at Apple as a Fellow working on unspecified projects, a title insiders view as a precursor to full retirement. Carson Oliver, a 14-year App Store veteran, will take over daily operations, and the App Store is shifting from marketing to Eddy Cue's services division.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-08-31
Phil Schiller has reportedly stepped down from running Apple's App Store and product launch events, according to Bloomberg, though Apple has not made a formal announcement. He will remain at the company as an Apple Fellow working on unspecified projects, while App Store oversight returns to Eddy Cue, who led it before Schiller took over in 2015.
engadget.com
· 2026-08-31
MapQuest has become the top navigation app in Apple's App Store after hundreds of thousands of downloads in recent days. The surge follows the company's statement that it will not rename Lake Ontario to 'Lake America,' despite a Trump executive order calling for the change.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-08-31
After Google renamed Lake Ontario to align with President Trump's push to call it 'Lake America,' MapQuest publicly refused to make the same change on its maps. That stance went viral on social media, driving MapQuest's mobile app to the top navigation app spot on Apple's US App Store and into the top ten overall, with strong gains in Canada as well.
futurism.com
· 2026-08-31
Phil Schiller is relinquishing his roles overseeing the App Store and Apple's product events, according to Bloomberg. He will retain his Apple Fellow title and continue working on unspecified projects, while the App Store division moves under services chief Eddy Cue, with Carson Oliver remaining in charge of daily store operations.
theverge.com
· 2026-08-31
Apple announced App Store tax updates taking effect immediately in Morocco, the Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania, reflecting new or increased VAT and digital sales taxes. Starting September 14, Apple will also update app and in-app purchase prices in Israel, Indonesia, Morocco, and the Republic of the Congo for developers who haven't set those regions as their base storefront.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-08-27
VK, formerly Mail.ru Group, has filed a lawsuit against Apple in a Moscow arbitration court after Apple pulled VK apps like VKontakte, VK Messenger, and Mail Cloud from the App Store in June to comply with EU sanctions. VK is demanding the apps be reinstated and is seeking daily penalties of roughly $696,000 if Apple refuses, which would total over $250 million annually.
techspot.com
· 2026-08-25
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