Apple (MacRumors, Hacker News, The Verge):
Apple today announced the launch of Digital ID, a new way for users to create an ID in Apple Wallet using information from their U.S. passport, and present it with the security and privacy of iPhone or Apple Watch. At launch, Digital ID acceptance will roll out first in beta at TSA checkpoints at more than 250 airports in the U.S. for in-person identity verification during domestic travel, with additional Digital ID acceptance use cases to come in the future.
Digital ID gives more people a way to create and present an ID in Apple Wallet even if they do not have a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or state ID. Digital ID is not a replacement for a physical passport, and cannot be used for international travel and border crossing in lieu of a U.S. passport.
[…]
In the future, users will be able to present their Digital ID at additional select businesses and organizations for identity and age verification in person, in apps, and online.
I find this a bit confusing. Who, other than a minor, has a passport but no state ID? It’s based on your passport but can only be used domestically? How do I know which airports will support this? Does it work for checking in, too, or only for TSA? With Apple Watch, it seems useful in that I wouldn’t have to get my ID out of my wallet and make sure that I get it back from the agent. I don’t see how it makes sense for iPhone, though. When I get to the TSA desk, my phone and wallet are already in my bag, ready to go in the scanner. So it seems like handing my ID over would be easier than using my phone. Also, in the event that I get separated from my bag, I don’t really like the idea of only having the digital watch ID on my person.
Previously:
iOS iOS 26 Travel Wallet watchOS watchOS 26
The Analysis Group (MacRumors, Slashdot, Hacker News):
Despite commission rates typically falling by about 10 percentage points, current evidence shows
that developers kept the prices of what they sold through the App Store the same or increased
them more than 90% of the time.
[…]
Developers’ decision not to pass on commission savings to EU users mirrors Apple’s past experiences following the launch of multiple initiatives that reduced commission rates. For example, when Apple reduced commission rates for tens of thousands of small developers under the Small Business Program, developers decreased only a small minority of prices in the US storefront.
In addition to developers keeping most of the commission savings for themselves, the overwhelming majority of those savings—more than 86%—went to developers outside the EU.
I think the way this is framed is probably more revealing than the actual results. It seems to be using a straw man that the purpose of the DMA and the Small Business Program was to lower the prices paid by consumers. But the EU said that the DMA was meant to “make the digital sector fairer and more competitive,” and Apple said the Small Business Program was mean to “accelerate innovation and help propel your small business forward.” Now Apple is acting as though it and end users are the only parties that matter, so by implication the money must have been wasted. There’s no consideration that maybe these funds helped some developers stay in business or invest more in the products, both of which would be beneficial to the platform as a whole (including Apple).
To answer this question, this study compares the prices set by developers for
digital products in EU App Store storefronts during the three months before they
enrolled in the alternative business terms (the “before” period) with the prices they
set during the three months after enrollment, when they benefited from decreased
commission rates (the “after” period). This study focuses on the cohorts of developers who enrolled in the alternative business terms from March 2024 through
September 2024.
[…]
The fact that the share of products with observed
price decreases barely changed when looking at an extended after-period suggests
that the small share of observed price decreases is not dependent on the length of
the post-enrollment period observed.
I can see why they looked at what specific developers did after adopting the new terms, but they didn’t have a control group. I think that for a good study design you would want to compare with developers who didn’t switch to the alternative terms. Were their prices more or less likely to stay the same or increase? My impression is that software prices have overall increased over the last few years, so even staying the same would be a decrease relative to the market.
There’s also a section where they say this doesn’t have anything to do with the CTF. I guess their assumption is that these developers knew they would remain small and so would not be subject to the CTF in the future? My impression at the time was that this was all very confusing and subject to change, and everyone was worried about the looming CTF. I’m surprised that even 21,000 apps switched to the alternative terms.
Nick Heer:
The way the European Commission has generally framed the DMA is as a matter of consumer choices and reducing the distortions of a market within a market. More competition within these platforms and better interoperability between them, it is arguing here and elsewhere, can lower prices. Interpreting this sentence to mean “lower commissions and therefore lower app prices for consumers” seems to me like a stretch.
The study’s headline findings might sound negative, but it actually documents a modest increase in developer earnings[…] Against €403 million in sales, a €20 million reduction in commission is noteworthy. And even though most developers who benefitted are outside the E.U., many are probably small businesses[…] It is hard for me to believe Apple having €20 million less in its bank account is of comparable impact to that of a bunch of small developers having €20 million more to spend and invest.
Previously:
Antitrust App Store Business Digital Markets Act (DMA) European Union iOS iOS 18
Apple (Hacker News, Slashdot):
ISSEY MIYAKE and Apple today unveiled iPhone Pocket. Inspired by the concept of “a piece of cloth,” its singular 3D-knitted construction is designed to fit any iPhone as well as all pocketable items.
[…]
“The design of iPhone Pocket speaks to the bond between iPhone and its user, while keeping in mind that an Apple product is designed to be universal in aesthetic and versatile in use,” shared Yoshiyuki Miyamae, design director of MIYAKE DESIGN STUDIO. “iPhone Pocket explores the concept of ‘the joy of wearing iPhone in your own way.’ The simplicity of its design echoes what we practice at ISSEY MIYAKE — the idea of leaving things less defined to allow for possibilities and personal interpretation.”
[…]
iPhone Pocket is a special-edition release. The short strap design is available in lemon, mandarin, purple, pink, peacock, sapphire, cinnamon, and black; the long strap design is available in sapphire, cinnamon, and black. iPhone Pocket in the short strap design retails at $149.95 (U.S.), and the long strap design at $229.95 (U.S.).
Well, that was a surprise. When I first saw the title, I had a split-second hope that this was a small iPhone that would fit better in my pocket. Then I thought it seemed like an April Fool’s joke. The pretension. And, price aside, it doesn’t even seem like a good product. I can see the appeal of a gold Apple Watch, even if I wouldn’t buy one, but to me the Pocket is neither attractive nor practical.
Does “special-edition” mean that it’s only available for a limited time? Because, being essentially a sock, it’s not as if this shape will only fit this year’s iPhone models.
I don’t begrudge anyone who wants to enjoy a colorful, crossbody case. And I know that this product is not actually taking Apple’s time away from more important things, like putting out fires of its own creation. But it sure feels like a statement about where the company’s priorities are.
Guy English:
At the rate Apple is saying “Yes” these days they’ve gotta be clocking tens of millions of “No”s.
Jason Anthony Guy:
What few people noted is that Issey Miyake is a luxury designer brand founded by the “super famous Japanese designer” (to quote my wife) who designed Steve Jobs’ iconic black mock turtleneck, and which today sells $65 socks, $390 scarves, and $485 knit bags. A $230 iPhone holder is hardly an outlier for this brand.
Furthermore, “a piece of cloth” isn’t meant in its literal sense. Rather, it’s a reference to Miyake’s apparel concept of “A Piece of Cloth (or A-POC),” a “technique to reduce textile waste“ that starts with a single thread that’s then woven into a finished garment—a design so influential, they were on display at The Met and MoMA. I’d describe it as “spiritually related” to Apple’s unibody design, which carves laptops and iPhones from blocks of aluminum.
My completely fashion-free sense tells me these will be extremely popular among a particular crowd.
Previously:
iPhone iPhone 17 iPhone Case
