Apple and Google have been asked to provide compliance plans for a newly amended law in South Korea that bars both tech giants from forcing developers to using their in-app purchase payment system for their respective app distribution platforms, Reutersreports.
In August, South Korea passed an amendment to an existing law that bans Apple and Google from mandating developers to use their own proprietary in-app purchasing system. Apple's in-app purchasing system gives the company a 15 to 30% commission for all purchases made and has been a hot topic for Apple and the discussion around the App Store for some time. Under the new law in South Korea, which is yet to go into effect, Apple and Google will be required to allow developers to use third-party payment methods within their app.
Apple has in recent weeks made some concessions to its App Store policy, most notably pivoting to allow developers to add links in their apps to external websites where purchases can be made. Those concessions come short of the mandate created by South Korea, which permits developers to add third-party payment methods directly within their app.
Apple has continued to call its in-app purchasing system the most trusted and safest way for customers to make purchases. Still, in light of recent decisions in its lawsuit against Epic Games, the Cupertino tech giant is being forced to rethink its model.
Apple operates the App Store under a single set of policies worldwide, and while the law passed in South Korea pertains to South Korean users, it will undoubtedly play a domino effect across the globe. With the mid-October deadline now set in South Korea for Apple and Google, we'll likely see how this decision could have repercussions around the world for Apple users soon.
Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28.
The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by Juli Clover
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code.
In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by Juli Clover
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak.
As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station.
According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
Monday December 15, 2025 4:23 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple is testing iOS 26.3, the next version of iOS 26 that will launch around January. Since iOS 26.3's testing is happening over the holidays, it is a smaller update with fewer features than we've seen in prior betas.
We've rounded up what's new so far, and we'll add to our list with subsequent betas if we come across any other features.
Transfer to Android
Apple is making it simpler...
Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. iOS 26.2 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation iPhone SE.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon.
Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week.
iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Monday December 15, 2025 7:41 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...
Here's a plan to allow for outside payment: remove your app from whichever app store, launch it on your own platform, and accept payments through that. "But then I'd have to build my own platform and it wouldn't have hundreds of millions of users like Apple and Google do." Yeah, that's the point - you have to give in order to get, I don't understand developers wanting all the benefits of these world class ecosystems but without paying into them. I'd love to drive a Lambo at the price of a Civic but I don't live in South Korea so I'd never win that court case.
I wish I could sell product on amazon without paying fees to amazon. Or have a space in a department store at no cost. These guys are pushing apple and google to do the same thing.
