New Beats Pill Released
On June 25, Beats announced the new Beats Pill portable wireless Bluetooth speaker, which is lighter and more portable than its predecessor, offers up to 24 hours of battery life for all-day playback, supports USB-C audio playback and charging, is IP67 rated for dust and water resistance, and is compatible with iOS and Android. Beats Pill is available in Matte Black, Classic Red and Champagne Gold colors and can be ordered through Apple’s website.

EU to Investigate Apple for Further DMA Violations
The European Union has recently issued a press release on its website stating that a number of Apple’s contract terms violate the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and are suspected of harming competition. The European Commission said that since the EU issued the DMA in November of last year, Apple has begun to make adjustments to its charging strategy for the App Store, and that Apple still pays a fee for apps downloaded more than 1 million times a year in the App Store. Apple still charges developers a “core technology fee” of 0.5 €/ea for apps downloaded more than 1 million times a year, and there are still problems with Apple’s revised terms of business, which don’t allow developers to freely direct customers to other channels for consumption. A final ruling on the charges is scheduled for March of next year, and if Apple can’t clear up the allegations by then, it could face fines of up to $38 billion, or 10 percent of its global turnover. In addition, the European Union has launched a second investigation into Apple, and if Apple continues to violate the law in this round of investigations, the fine could increase to $76 billion, or 20 percent of global turnover.

OpenAI Begins Crackdown on API Use in Unsupported Regions
Recently, OpenAI officially sent a notification email to developers, stating that OpenAI will stop providing API services to unsupported countries and regional access sources as of July 9th this year. Up to now, OpenAI has been open to 161 countries and regions, of which China is not included, and it is expected that most of the apps in the app store that “shell” OpenAI will be affected.

Google Begins Crackdown on YouTube Subscriptions Across Regions
Google’s official support staff confirmed to PCMag that Google has recently cracked down on some of the behavior of subscribing to YouTube Premium services at low prices across regions with the help of account information forgery and web proxies, and a number of Reddit users have received email notifications that their subscriptions will be canceled as a result.

iDOS 3 and Windows Emulator Rejected from App Store
Recently, iDOS 3, a DOS emulator for iOS, and UTM SE, a Windows emulator, were both rejected in the App Store. In response to developers, Apple’s review team said the apps violated regulation 4.7 of the App Review Guidelines, which allows mini-apps, mini-mini apps, and mini apps. The regulations allow Mini Apps, Mini Games, Streaming Games, Chatbots, Plug-ins and Game Emulators to be on the shelves, and Retro Game Console Emulator Apps can also provide game download services under the premise of meeting the regulations and statutes, while the two apps rejected from the shelves are not specialized in Retro Game Console Emulators.

Other News

On June 24th, iPadOS 18 was updated to Beta 2 and sideloaded in the European Union, where users can now download apps from third-party app stores.

Google released a teaser trailer in the early hours of June 26, confirming that it will host a Made by Google hardware launch event on August 13, 2024, local time, where it may release new models including the Pixel 9 series, which is worth noting that it’s about two months earlier than in previous years.

Samsung confirmed in the early hours of June 26 that its Unpacked launch event will be held in Paris, France on July 10, local time, with a new folding screen for the Galaxy Z series as well as a rumored Galaxy Ring smart ring to be unveiled at the event.