Apple:

Apple today announced a number of changes coming to the App Store that, pending court approval, will resolve a class-action suit from US developers.

Key there is “pending court approval”, so this could still change.

Key changes:

The agreement clarifies that developers can share purchase options with users outside of their iOS app; expands the price points developers can offer for subscriptions, in-app purchases, and paid apps; and establishes a new fund to assist qualifying US developers.

Homing in on that first change:

Apple is also clarifying that developers can use communications, such as email, to share information about payment methods outside of their iOS app. As always, developers will not pay Apple a commission on any purchases taking place outside of their app or the App Store. Users must consent to the communication and have the right to opt out.

And this, from the plaintiff’s motion for approval:

Apple has agreed to revise its App Store Guidelines to permit developers of all app categories to communicate with consenting customers outside their app, including via email and other communication services, about purchasing methods other than in-app purchase. See Berman Decl., Ex. A at § 5.1.3. Under the App’s Store existing Guidelines, developers may not use contact information (emails, phone numbers, etc.) obtained within an app to contact their user base outside the app. As a practical matter, this prevents developers from alerting their customers to alternative payment options. The proposed Settlement lifts this restriction, and it does so for all app categories.

So theoretically, I could put an app in the App Store that was purely a demo (limited features), with a notification that pointed to a web site (outside Apple’s control) to sign up for the full version. Again, theoretically, I could put in language that said, you’ll save me Apple’s 15%/30% commission if you sign up on my web site.

My question is, would Apple approve an app with language like that?

There are other changes as part of the settlement. One interesting one:

Apple will also establish a fund to assist small US developers, particularly as the world continues to suffer from the effects of COVID-19. Eligible developers must have earned $1 million or less through the US storefront for all of their apps in every calendar year in which the developers had an account between June 4, 2015, and April 26, 2021 — encompassing 99 percent of developers in the US. Details will be available at a later date.

This strikes me as a pool, split among all eligible participants, something common for class suit settlements. You get a notification from the settlement fund, certify that you meet the conditions, become part of the settlement, get a check or credit (usually tiny, depending on the number of participants). Not certain that’s what’s going on here, we’ll learn more once the settlement is approved.

There’s definitely a lot of spin in the press release. Maybe Apple trying to prove a point to anti-trust folks? Follow the headline link for all the details.

Apple today introduced the News Partner Program, a new slate of initiatives to expand Apple’s work with and support for journalism. The News Partner Program aims to ensure Apple News customers maintain access to trusted news and information from many of the world’s top publishers, while supporting publishers’ financial stability and advancing efforts to further media literacy and diversity in news coverage and newsrooms.

Apple says the program is designed for publications that provide their content in Apple News Format and are subscription services. There are several criteria that must be met to be in the program—you can apply starting today.

Jason Snell, on the news that iOS 15 will launch with iCloud Private Relay as an option, defaulting to off:

It seems like Apple’s slowing this roll-out down, at least in part, because there are lingering compatibility issues with some websites—most notably sites that are displaying the wrong region-specific content, or getting confused when signing in. There are some fairly easy remedies web developers can do to make these issues go away, but getting the web to adjust to any new feature takes time, and Apple appears to have erred on the side of caution.

John Gruber, from this Daring Fireball post:

This is what happens in mid-to-late August each year: some features announced at WWDC get postponed for subsequent dot releases throughout the year (15.1, 15.2, etc.), and occasionally something will ship with the .0 public release, but with the “beta” label.

And:

Here’s my concern about iCloud Private Relay compatibility, though: if web publishers want to make sure their sites are compatible with iCloud Private Relay, they can make it work. They might just need more time. But everyone knows there are sites that aren’t interested in your privacy. That’s the whole reason Apple even made this feature. For a lot of websites, if the answer to an iCloud Private Relay compatibility issue is “Disable iCloud Private Relay”, that’s fine by them. For a lot of privacy-invasive web publishers, their goal, I suspect, is to break iCloud Private Relay, not fix their shit-ass websites to work with it.

There’s also the possibility that iCloud Private Relay has some bugs that make it not ready for prime time, in addition to the issues Jason raised above. Is the return of iCloud Private Relay as an on-by-default feature inevitable? Is it a battle against privacy foes who benefit from knowing your IP address, etc.?

José Adorno, 9to5Mac:

One of the features Apple announced during the WWDC21 keynote with iCloud+ was the ability to customize email domains. After two months, you can now do that on iCloud’s beta site.

Here’s how to get started:

• Open beta.icloud.com.
• Click on the Account Settings link just below the Good Morning text.
• Scroll down to the “Custom Email Domain” section and tap the Manage button

The rest depends on your existing setup. Reminder: This is a beta. I’d start off with an unused domain, one that won’t be impacted if Apple decides to make a major change or pull the feature altogether.