Apple Updates U.S. App Review Guidelines Following Epic Games Ruling
In the wake of yesterday's court ruling in the dispute between Apple and Epic Games over Apple's policies restricting developers' ability to inform users about alternatives to making purchases through Apple's in-app purchasing system, Apple has updated its App Review Guidelines to comply with the ruling.
Apple summarized the changes in an email to developers today:
3.1.1: Apps on the United States storefront are not prohibited from including buttons, external links, or other calls to action when allowing users to browse NFT collections owned by others.
3.1.1(a): On the United States storefront, there is no prohibition on an app including buttons, external links, or other calls to action, and no entitlement is required to do so.
3.1.3: The prohibition on encouraging users to use a purchasing method other than in-app purchase does not apply on the United States storefront.
3.1.3(a): The External Link Account entitlement is not required for apps on the United States storefront to include buttons, external links, or other calls to action.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple must immediately comply with the ruling even as the company moves to appeal.
The changes are currently limited to the United States given the scope of the court case, but Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney offered a "peace proposal" pledging to drop all remaining litigation against Apple over the issue if Apple were to implement the required U.S. changes on a worldwide basis. Apple has so far given no indication that it is interested in accepting that proposal.
Following the court ruling and with Apple's policy changes, major app developers are already moving to make it easier for users to purchase or subscribe to content outside of the App Store, with Spotify already submitting an app update, Patreon indicating that it will do so, and Epic Games saying that it will bring Fortnite back to the U.S. App Store.
Popular Stories
Apple is planning to announce several new features for the Messages and Phone apps on iOS 26, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In a lengthy report outlining his WWDC 2025 expectations today, Gurman said that the two main changes in the Messages app will be the ability to create polls, as well as the option to set a background image within a conversation.
9to5Mac was first to report...
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device.
Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including worse battery life, only a single ...
macOS 26 will drop support for several older Intel-based Mac models currently compatible with macOS Sequoia, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of leaking information about Apple's software platforms.
macOS 26 will be compatible with the following Mac models, the account said:MacBook Air (M1 and later)
MacBook Pro (2019 and later)
iMac (2020 and later)
Mac...
In a lengthy report outlining his WWDC 2025 expectations today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman shared more details about iOS 26's rumored new design.
According to Gurman, iOS 26 will feature a "digital glass" design inspired by visionOS, the operating system for Apple's Vision Pro headset. That is a well-known rumor by now, but he goes on to provide some more specific details, as listed below:There ...
Apple's long-rumored AirTag 2 might be coming soon.
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman briefly mentioned that a new AirTag is "nearly ready" to launch. Last year, he said that it would be released around the middle of 2025, and the midpoint of the year is just a few weeks away.
"The new AirTag is nearly ready, having been prepared for launch over the past several...
The iOS 26 Messages app is set to gain support for customized backgrounds for conversations, and it appears that AI will be an option for generating different looks.
According to Nicolás Alvarez, iOS 26 code suggests that users will be able to generate backgrounds for the Messages app using text-based descriptions. The feature appears to use Image Playground, and there will be Image...
