GoKawiil
Tech News
Apple has acquired Ascension Labs, Inc., known as Ascend.io, according to a disclosure required under the EU's Digital Markets Act. The deal is structured as an acquihire, giving Apple the right to hire certain Ascend employees, a non-exclusive license to its intellectual property, and assignment of certain patents. Ascend.io, founded in 2015, built an 'Agentic Data Engineering' platform using AI agents to automate data pipeline tasks.
Apple told developers it is cutting its standard App Store commission on paid apps and in-app purchases in Taiwan from 30% to 26%, effective Saturday, October 31. The company said the change follows talks with Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission, and developers need not sign updated terms by that date to receive the lower rate. Apple is also updating its Developer Program License Agreement, with translated versions due within a month.
Meta reported European advertising revenue grew 18 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, down from previous quarters and well behind 33 percent growth in the US and Canada. The company introduced a Less-Personalized Ads option across the EU this year after regulators fined it €200 million for violating Digital Markets Act rules requiring a lower-data alternative to personalized ads.
Apple launched its Siri AI-powered HomeView smart display for pre-order, but excluded the European Union from sale. The company says this is because Siri AI is not yet available on iOS in the EU, and it is 'working constructively' with regulators to find a path forward.
A Financial Times analysis found Apple held 257 meetings with EU policymakers since June 2024, ranking second among tech firms behind Google's 302. Apple spends roughly €8-9 million annually on Brussels lobbying, more than Total, Volkswagen and Airbus combined, while Amazon ranked 14th with 239 meetings and Meta spent over €10 million yearly.
Microsoft has turned on its Windows settings backup and restore tool by default for Microsoft Entra-joined and Entra hybrid-joined enterprise devices upgraded to Windows 11 26H2, released September 29. The feature, previously opt-in since its 2024 unveiling and general availability in August 2025, now backs up settings and app lists automatically unless an admin has already configured the policy. Restore still requires explicit admin setup, and the default-on change excludes devices in DMA-regulated regions or sovereign/restricted cloud environments.
F-Droid, the open-source Android app repository, released version 2.0 with automatic update installation and a unified installer that leverages a new pre-approval API enabled by EU Digital Markets Act rulings against Google. The release comes as F-Droid displays a banner warning users about Google's upcoming developer verification requirements, which could restrict distribution of unverified apps on Android devices.
Ireland's Data Protection Commission, acting for the EU, fined Google €403 million (about $462 million) for mishandling location history and web/app activity data. The regulator found Google failed to be transparent about Location Accuracy on Android and unlawfully retained users' location data longer than necessary.
Apple's revamped Siri AI, launching with iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, is only accessible via a waitlist and requires devices from the iPhone 15 Pro series or later, or iPads with M1 chips or the seventh-generation iPad mini. The feature is currently unavailable to users with Apple Accounts registered in China or the European Union, and the most advanced capabilities like Expressive Voices are limited to iPhone 17 Pro models and newer.
Google is revising how its Search results appear across the European Union, following an €460 million fine from the European Commission for allegedly favoring its own services over competitors. Under the new format, one specialized comparison engine, such as Expedia or Hotels.com, will appear prominently at the top of results, with two others shown with fewer details, while a carousel for hotels, airlines and restaurants will be stripped of features like real-time pricing. Google's own algorithm will still determine the rankings of these vertical search services.
Following a €460 million DMA fine over self-preferencing in travel and shopping searches, Google has altered its European search results to comply with EU rules. Instant hotel and flight pricing and availability are being removed, replaced by links to specialized search engines and a carousel ranked purely by Google's algorithm rather than business partnerships.
EU regulatory filings under the Digital Markets Act have disclosed that Apple acquired Sonera, a startup developing chip-based magnetic sensors capable of non-invasively detecting brain and muscle activity. Sonera's approach measures magnetic fields generated by neural electrical currents rather than relying on traditional skin-contact electrical sensing, and the company had previously referenced an S1 chip meant to enable new categories of wearables.