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Apple’s monopoly on the sale of iPhone apps is set to be further eroded according to a new tweet showing third-party app stores in the iOS 26.2 beta in Japan. This follows a ruling by Japan’s Fair Trade Commission in August that both Apple and Google must allow alternative app stores.

This will make Japan the 29th country to get third-party app stores for the iPhone, with others set to follow as courts and antitrust regulators continue to issue rulings …

I said only recently that it’s getting harder and harder to believe Apple can deliver on the new Siri. The company’s backtracking on announcements coupled to very vague statements on revised timings were certainly not making it easy to imagine that the new intelligent assistant will deliver.

I’m not yet ready to do my own U-turn on this, and my skepticism still very much remains, but there have at least been a couple of encouraging signs in the last few days …

During Apple’s earnings call with investors yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook provided a (vague) update on Apple’s work on the next-generation version of Siri.

The Apple CEO assured investors that the company is “making good progress” on the more personalized version of Siri ahead of a launch “next year.”

A firm of analysts are predicting that Apple will skip the iPhone 19 name in favor of jumping directly to the iPhone 20 in 2027.

Omdia believes the company will do this in order to mark the 20th anniversary of the iPhone, but it just reinforces my view that it’s time for Apple to drop the numbers altogether …

Apple recently explained how it will comply with an App Store age verification law in Texas, and it will now face a similar requirement in California.

Apple found a privacy-respecting approach to the Texas law, and it seems that it will be able to adopt a similar one here …

Apple is rumored to have a handful of new products in the pipeline coming before the end of the year. A sketchy rumor today suggests we could see those new products start to debut next week, including a new M5 iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, Vision Pro, AirTag 2, and more.

Apple kicked off last month’s iPhone keynote with a video dedicated to design, leading with this famous quote from Steve Jobs: “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

Apple has now uploaded this video separately to its YouTube channel.

Ah, 2010. The year when Apple launched the iPad, but the limelight was stolen by something else entirely: Antennagate. Soon after the launch of the iPhone 4, users discovered that when they held the phone in a typical grip for a phone call, the number of bars shown for signal strength immediately dropped dramatically.

Apple responded in a number of ways, including Steve Jobs famously suggesting that users were holding the phone wrong, but the issue was resolved by changing just 20 bytes of code …

The controversy over Apple removing ICEBlock from the App Store is showing no signs of ending. The latest development is a former Apple marketing veteran challenging Tim Cook on the company’s human rights values.

Wiley Hodges worked for Apple for more than 20 years, the last 15 of them as a director of marketing and product management, and he’s written an open letter to Cook expressing his dismay at the decision …

A new Apple short film called The Underdogs: Blue Screen of Death has been posted to the company’s YouTube channel as part of an occasional series that was first launched back in 2019.

Eight minutes long, it’s a gentle comedy that highlights the built-in security features of Macs while also showing off a whole range of the company’s ecosystem features …

We learned back in February that the British government had secretly ordered Apple to create a worldwide backdoor into iCloud. We said at the time that the demand was “as technically clueless as it is outrageous.”

Apple responded very intelligently, and it seemed from a development last month that the UK had withdrawn its demand. We’re learning today that this isn’t in fact the case …

As Apple continues its work on a revamped version of Siri, a new report from Bloomberg today has details on the company’s testing process. Mark Gurman reports that Apple has developed a “ChatGPT-like app to help test and prepare” for the launch of the next-generation version of Siri.

The European Union is currently carrying out a consultation process into the impact of its Digital Markets Act (DMA). This is the antitrust legislation which required Apple to permit third-party app stores and which the company says has made it impossible to release some software features to EU users.

In its response, Apple says it has not yet released either iPhone Mirroring or AirPods Live Translation within EU countries over privacy concerns, and it expects more features to be delayed in Europe. The company in its submission to regulators said there was a possibility some hardware launches might be affected …

Apple CEO Tim Cook is currently in Tokyo and has shared a photo taken outside the Apple Ginza store, which reopens tomorrow with an all-new design.

Cook also shared a photo of himself meeting Pikachu, the Pokémon mascot, and described Japan as a gamer’s paradise …

Apple has frequently cited insecure and scam apps as justification for wanting all iPhone apps to be sold exclusively in the company’s own App Store.

Numerous reports, however, have found that there is no shortage of scam apps making it through Apple’s app review process, and the company is now under fresh legal scrutiny in the EU over this issue …

Update September 23, 2025, 10:41am PT: Apple has issued the following statement to 9to5Mac:

“As digital threats have evolved in scope and complexity over the years, Apple has expanded its antifraud initiatives to address these challenges and protect users. Every day, teams across Apple monitor and investigate fraudulent activity and utilize sophisticated tools to stop bad actors. Unfortunately, the European Commission is undermining our efforts by forcing Apple to allow alternative app distribution and payments, despite warnings that this puts users at greater risk of fraud and scams. While the regulator focuses on issuing misguided and counterproductive threats of investigation and fines, we will continue to advocate for the safety and security of our users.”

Apple says that in the last five years, the App Store has prevented over $9 billion in fraudulent transactions, including over $2 billion in 2024 alone.

Apple has announced a new investment in the “restoration and sustainable management of a working redwood forest in California,” in partnership with The Conversation Fund.

“The forest project is part of the company’s expanded Restore Fund initiative, which is now invested in two dozen conservation and regenerative agriculture projects that span six continents,” Apple explains.

Apple Ginza was the company’s first retail store outside the US, opening way back in 2003. It reopens on Friday in its original location with what Apple describes as an “all-new design.”

New features include a double-skin glass facade with integrated adaptive louvers that help regulate light and temperature throughout the day …

A report from The Information yesterday offered a variety of interesting details about Apple’s potential acquisition targets in the artificial intelligence category.

One thing I found particularly fascinating in the story was the tidbit that Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services, has regularly pushed for Apple to make big acquisitions, only to be shot down by Apple CEO Tim Cook.

The iPhone 17 event is finally official with the slogan “Awe dropping,” taking place on Tuesday, September 9.

We’re expecting Apple to announce either six or seven new devices, alongside some possible new iPhone cases and Watch bands too …

Apple is doubling its retail footprint in India with the imminent opening of two new stores next week, one in Bengaluru and the other in Pune.

As usual, the company is offering downloadable wallpaper to celebrate the openings, this one with a peacock theme …

Apple is engaged in legal battles in both the UK and the US over 4G patents used in its mobile devices. The company has applied for permission to appeal a UK verdict which would cost it an additional 13 cents per iPhone.

While this might sound crazy, the company says that very much more is at stake, not just for its own business, but for companies of every size …