Epic Games has announced that Fortnite will return to iOS in Australia after Apple and Google were found to have broken competition law by banning ‌Epic Games‌ from their app stores.


Federal judge Jonathan Beach found that both companies had broken the law by misusing their market power in the way they run their app stores. Apple was ruled to have engaged in conduct that prevents direct downloading or sideloading of apps and blocks developers from using alternative payment methods. Google was also found to have breached the law for the similar Google Play billing system.

The victory is another win for Epic in its global legal campaign against Apple's App Store policies. Epic began legal proceedings against Apple in Australia in 2020 after it blocked Fortnite updates when Epic attempted to let players make in-app purchases via its own third-party payment service, bypassing Apple's 30% commission. Fortnite is still available in Australia on Android, but only through sideloading or through the Samsung store.

"This is a win for developers and consumers in Australia," Epic said in a post on X (Twitter), though the company conceded that there were 2,000+ pages of findings that it would "need to dig into to fully understand the details."

Apple said it "strongly disagreed" with the ruling while welcoming the Australian court's rejection of some of Epic's other claims.

The ruling follows similar victories for Epic in the United States, where Fortnite returned to the ‌App Store‌ in May, and the European Union, where the game is available through the ‌Epic Games‌‌ Store alternative app marketplace. The U.S. version of Fortnite includes an option for players to purchase in-app currency using the ‌‌Epic Games‌‌ website as an alternative to in-app purchase. It is not available on the ‌‌App Store‌‌ in other countries.

Apple is currently appealing the U.S. court ruling that forced it to change its ‌domestic ‌App Store‌‌ rules to allow developers to link customers to purchase options available outside of the ‌‌App Store‌‌.
This article, "Fortnite Coming Back to iPhone in Australia After Epic's Legal Victory" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine is one of the most valuable free services available on the web, ensuring that important sources of information are protected from the vicissitudes of fate and tech companies.

Until recently, the archive was able to capture the entirety of Reddit, but that is no longer the case following new restrictions implemented by the for-profit community discussion platform …

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You can now watch Apple TV+ shows on in-flight entertainment systems across United Airlines’ fleet of planes, thanks to a new partnership announced today.

United travellers can get free access to Apple Originals like Severance, Slow Horses, and Ted Lasso, with more titles being added on a monthly basis.

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A leaker last month indicated that the iPhone 17 Air would get a “binned” version of the A19 Pro chip, with only five graphics cores instead of six.

They’ve today reiterated this, affirming another of the compromises buyers will have to make if they want Apple’s slimmest ever iPhone …

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As part of the overall redesign, Liquid Glass has been implemented throughout iOS 26, changing how app icons, toolbars, tab bars and system controls look and behave.

But Apple is also open to just having a bit of a fun with the new material, like the completely-over-the-top refraction effect when you pull down the Lock Screen. With beta 6, Apple hid another fun Liquid Glass easter egg inside the Preview app on iPad. See the video after the break …

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Elon Musk has threatened legal action against Apple, claiming that the company is violating antitrust rules by favoring OpenAI's ChatGPT in App Store rankings over his Grok AI assistant.


"Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation. xAI will take immediate legal action," Musk said in a post on X (Twitter), which he also owns.

Musk failed to provide evidence to support his claim. Meanwhile, fellow X users noted that DeepSeek reached #1 overall on the App Store in January, long after Apple's partnership with OpenAI was announced that allows Siri to offload complex queries to ChatGPT.

The tech billionaire also criticized Apple for not featuring X or Grok in the App Store's "Must Have" section. ChatGPT currently holds the top spot for free apps, while Grok ranks sixth. Google's Gemini chatbot sits at 57th.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman hit back with his own post on X, calling Musk's claims "remarkable" given allegations about Musk manipulating his own social media platform to benefit his companies.

Musk's remarks come amid growing pressure on Apple from regulators and competitors over its App Store practices. In April, a U.S. judge ruled that Apple violated a court order to open the App Store to more competition and referred the company for a criminal contempt probe, following a case brought by Fortnite maker Epic Games.

The same month, the EU fined Apple €500 million ($587 million) for violating the Digital Markets Act, citing restrictions that blocked developers from directing users to cheaper offers outside the App Store. Apple is currently appealing the fine.
This article, "Elon Musk Threatens to Sue Apple Over App Store Rankings" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Fortnite returned to the App Store in the US back in May after a federal court ruling, and is now set to return in Australia too after a similar judgment there.

While Epic Games celebrated the ruling, the fate of the app in other countries still remains far from certain – and its availability in the US may be temporary …

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Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Air will include an A19 Pro chip with a 5-core GPU, according to Weibo leaker Fixed Focus Digital. The Chinese account, which has over two million followers, claims that only the iPhone 17 Pro models will have the full 6-core GPU A19 Pro configuration.


It's the second time in as many months that Fixed Focus Digital has claimed to reveal accurate details about the ultra-thin device's chip specifications. The reduced GPU core count suggests Apple is using binned chips based on yields, or may be managing thermal constraints in the slimmer form factor, but most users are unlikely to notice the performance difference during typical usage.

The claim contradicts earlier reporting from industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who over a year ago predicted the iPhone 17 Air would use a standard A19 chip, rather than the Pro variant.

The Weibo leaker also claims that the base iPhone 17 model will use an A19 chip. A few months ago, supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the device would have an A18 chip, but he has since rescinded the claim – he now also expects the regular iPhone 17 model to be equipped with the A19.

Fixed Focus Digital previously broke the news ahead of launch about the iPhone 16e name for Apple's upcoming iPhone SE successor.

Apple is expected to debut the iPhone 17 lineup next month, with an announcement rumored to be happening on Tuesday, September 9, so we don't have long to wait to find out all the specifics.
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Apple @ Work is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the only solution that integrates in a single professional-grade platform all the solutions necessary to seamlessly and automatically deploy, manage & protect Apple devices at work. Over 45,000 organizations trust Mosyle to make millions of Apple devices work-ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple.

In this episode of Apple @ Work, Avery Pennarun, CEO of Tailscale, joins the show to talk about the challenges of Zero Trust in the enterprise today.

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Elon Musk is (once again) going after Apple, this time accusing the company of an “unequivocal antitrust violation” for allegedly favoring OpenAI in the App Store’s AI rankings. Here are the details.

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Apple Cinemas, the company that is being sued for alleged trademark infringement by Apple, today said that it is committed to defending its brand.

We are committed to defending our brand, our history, and our continued right to operate as Apple Cinemas--an identity that is and has always been clearly distinct and fully compliant with all applicable trademark laws.

Apple Cinemas is a long-established independent theater chain with no connection to Apple Inc. Our name reflects our geographic roots and has never been intended to suggest, or used to imply, any affiliation with their brand. Furthermore, claims of consumer confusion are unfounded. Apple Cinema's branding is clearly differentiated.

We have responded reasonably and transparently to all legal communications regarding this matter and remain focused on growing our business and brand in good faith, as we have for over a decade.

Apple filed a lawsuit against Apple Cinemas last Friday. Apple's attorneys accused Apple Cinemas of "knowingly and intentionally using the name Apple to sow confusion for its own benefit."

Apple Cinemas has operated since 2013, and the company claims that its name came from its first planned location at Apple Valley Mall in Rhode Island, but a movie theater never opened at that mall. Apple Cinemas operates 14 total locations, according to its website. One of those is in San Francisco, California, while the others are in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and New York.

Apple believes that Apple Cinemas is pursuing a nationwide expansion in the United States, including close to Apple's headquarters and retail stores.

In the lawsuit, Apple said that its "repeated efforts to resolve the matter amicably" were unsuccessful. Apple also cited comments from people who were under the impression that Apple Cinemas is owned by Apple. Apple has produced movies and TV shows distributed through its Apple TV+ service since 2019.

Apple Cinemas tried and failed to trademark both the Apple Cinemas name and the "Apple Cinemas Experience," with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denying the marks in 2024 because of potential confusion with Apple's prior trademark rights.

Apple is seeking monetary damages and an injunction to stop Apple Cinemas from using the name.
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Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: just hours before a new wave of tariffs on Chinese goods was set to kick in, President Trump signed an executive order extending the pause by another 90 days. And this time, it’s especially good news for Apple.

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Last week, President Trump called for the dismissal of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan over “highly CONFLICTED” ties to China, further escalating an already difficult situation for the executive.

Today, following a meeting, Trump appeared to soften his stance, even if partially.

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An in-person Live Translation feature could soon be available on the AirPods, according to imagery found in iOS 26 beta 6.


There's a picture of the AirPods with Hello in several different languages, along with a suggestion that the feature will be activated with a double press. The file itself is named "Translate," which certainly seems to imply that there will be a gesture to activate a Live Translation option.

9to5Mac reported on the image first, but we can confirm that it is tucked away in the files for the Translate app in the latest beta.

Prior to the launch of ‌iOS 26‌, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the AirPods would get a translate feature for translating in-person conversations, and it looks like Apple is working on introducing it soon. Live Translation for AirPods could come either in the launch version of ‌iOS 26‌, or in an update to ‌iOS 26‌.

‌iOS 26‌ already offers Live Translation for the Phone app, Messages app, and FaceTime, so an in-person option through the AirPods makes sense.

Based on the images, the feature will work on the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4. Existing Live Translation features are linked to Apple Intelligence, which means the AirPods feature could also require an iPhone that supports ‌Apple Intelligence‌.
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When Apple announced Live Translation at WWDC25, it highlighted use cases like FaceTime, phone calls, and messages. But one major use case was missing: real-world conversations. As it turns out, that was in the works too.

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With warm summer evenings the perfect opportunity to enjoy some backyard or garden entertainment, Bluetti has teamed up with two other brands to offer up to 10% off on their portable power, projector, or AR glasses.

Pairing Yaber’s battery-powered projector with BLUETTI’s power station provides nearly ten hours of non-stop viewing under the stars, while RayNeo AR glasses deliver an immersive personal entertainment experience.

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Over the last several years, CarPlay’s new features have been rare and few. But between CarPlay Ultra’s launch and everything new coming in iOS 26 for standard CarPlay, things have quickly changed. Here’s what’s coming next month in iOS 26, CarPlay’s biggest update in years.

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There's just about a month to go until Apple unveils new iPhones at its September event, and that means time is running out for Apple to perfect iOS 26. We've reached a weekly beta update cadence, and Apple seeded ‌iOS 26‌ beta 6 to developers today.


There are changes to Liquid Glass, tweaks to navigation, new ringtones, and more.

Ringtones

There are now several variants of the Reflection ringtone, including Buoyant, Dreamer, Tech, Pop, Reflected, and Surge. Reflected is the "Alt 1" Reflection ringtone that was added in the second beta of ‌iOS 26‌.


There's also a new Little Bird ringtone.

Toggles

Toggles now have a Liquid Glass effect when tapped.

Lock Screen

The Liquid Glass effect on the Lock Screen has been updated. The clock is more transparent than it was before, though it still has a frosted glass look.


When entering a passcode, the passcode buttons are now more translucent than before.

Navigation Bars

Navigation bars in apps have been slightly updated to enhance translucency without impacting readability.


In some places, there's more translucency, but in others, the background is more opaque so that text can still be read even if the background is busy.

App Animations

Apple changed the animation for opening and closing apps, and it's much faster than before so apps open more quickly. The animation has a very slight bounce to it, matching the bounce that's been added to the Lock Screen and Control Center.

Camera

Apple removed the toggle in the Camera app that allowed users to activate Classic Mode. Classic Mode reversed the scroll direction when switching from mode to mode in the app.

Now Classic Mode is the default, and there's no option to return to the animation from earlier betas.


The toggle was initially added in beta 5.

Introductory Video

When you update to ‌iOS 26‌, there's now an introductory video that walks you through the Liquid Glass design changes.

Preview App

Apple changed the design of the Preview app, adding larger buttons for creating a new document and scanning a document. When scanning a document, the location of the buttons has also changed, and they're at the bottom of the interface rather than the top.

Read More

We have additional info on all of the new features in ‌iOS 26‌ in our dedicated iOS 26 roundup.
This article, "Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 6" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple and Martin Scorsese are becoming frequent collaborators, with the legendary director helming Killers of the Flower Moon and also guest acting in hit comedy The Studio. Scorsese’s next appearance will be in the five-part docuseries Mr. Scorsese, here’s the Apple TV+ release date and first clip.

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MagSafe wallets typically aim to be super thin. The takes the opposite approach and loads itself up with features. It’s all about function first, so it ends up quite a bit thicker than the typical MagSafe wallet, but it’s extremely useful.

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Back in 2018, Apple said it had no plans to merge MacBook, while some fans want a more Mac-like experience. One YouTuber decided to build both, sort of.

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iOS 26 beta 6 arrived today with new ringtones, faster launching apps, important Camera reversal, and more. Apple has also made some additional updates to Liquid Glass, here’s what’s new in iOS 26 beta 6.

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Apple includes a new onboarding experience for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26. An eagle-eyed X user pointed out something interesting about the macOS Tahoe video.

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It has been more than three years since Apple discontinued the 27-inch iMac, as part of its move away from Intel processors. Since then, the 24-inch iMac has been Apple's only all-in-one desktop computer, with no larger model available.


Will a larger iMac ever make a comeback? Below, we recap the latest rumors.

In November 2023, Apple announced that it had no plans to release a new version of the 27-inch iMac with an Apple silicon chip at that time. Instead, Apple recommended pairing its standalone Studio Display with a Mac Studio or Mac mini. But an even larger iMac could materialize one day, if rumors from the past are still accurate.

In late 2023, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo both said Apple was developing a 32-inch iMac, which Kuo said would launch in 2025. Kuo said the larger iMac's screen would feature mini-LED backlighting, allowing for increased brightness and a higher contrast ratio compared to the current LCD model.

Unfortunately, it has been many months since we received any sort of update about Apple potentially releasing another larger iMac. In February, Gurman briefly mentioned that "Apple also will probably eventually get around to offering a larger-screen iMac," but he has not commented on the topic since as far as we have seen.

All in all, the latest update on a larger iMac is essentially that there is no update, unfortunately. Apple is expected to update the 24-inch iMac with an M5 chip by early next year, though, and that would be the next timely opportunity for the company to release the rumored 32-inch iMac, if such a computer is ever coming.

In the meantime, Apple continues to sell two standalone monitors, including the 27-inch Studio Display from 2022 and the 32-inch Pro Display XDR from 2019.
This article, "Will Apple Release a Larger iMac Again? Here's What Rumors Say" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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