App listings in the Google Play store will have a slightly different look later this year. Following Apple’s lead, Google is going to start requiring developers to list data and privacy security information about their apps. Today’s post on the Android Developers blog states that this new “safety section” will help people understand the data […]
Tag: app store
Lilbits: Apple’s other stuff (AirTags, Apple TV 4K, Apple Podcasts subscriptions and iOS 14.5)
Over the course of an hour this afternoon, Apple announced new iMac and iPad models powered by the same Apple M1 chips used in the latest MacBook Air and MacBok Pro laptops, as well as a bunch of other things. There’s a new Apple TV 4K with a faster processor and new remote control. And there’s […]
Lilbits: Privacy wars, app stores, and advances in color E Ink
Much of the web, including this website, is primarily funded via advertising. And in recent years advertisers have chosen largely to focus on targeted advertising, which tracks user behavior as folks move from website to website to choose ads that are most likely to appeal to specific individuals. Plenty of folks don’t like being tracked to […]
The Epic Games Store is now an app store too (starting with Spotify)
The Epic Games Store made a splash when it first launched as a Steam competitor in early 2019, at least partly due to Epic’s decision to give away at least one game for free every week. But now it looks like Epic isn’t stopping with games. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney just announced the first non-game […]
Cydia app store creator files lawsuit against Apple, claims anti-competitive behavior
When the first iPhone was released in 2007, it didn’t have an app store. Instead, it came with a handful of Apple-made apps pre-installed and if you wanted to do anything else with the phone, Apple suggested opening the Safari browser and using web apps. The following year, Apple introduced the App Store. But it […]
Lilbits: The iPhone 12 is coming (in four versions)
Apple is holding its iPhone 12 launch event on October 13. But the company isn’t just launching one iPhone 12. According to recent leaks, there will be four different models with starting prices ranging from $699 to $1099. The company may also introduce a $99 HomePod Mini, which would be more of a direct competitor with […]
13 companies form coalition to protest Apple, Google app store policies
Epic has been engaged in a high-profile battle with Apple and Google over their app store policies. But the game maker isn’t the only company dissatisfied with Apple and Google taking a 30-percent cut of sales, insisting that all revenue generated from apps in their stores is subject to this “app tax,” and holding other […]
Lilbits: IFTTT goes Pro, and Eero goes WiFi 6, and Bluetooth goes… vulnerable
For the past 10 years, IFTTT (If This, Then That) has been offering a free service that lets you connect cloud services using recipes. For example, I used it to dump my daily Fitbit stats into a Google Spreadsheet for a few years. But now IFTTT is going Pro, which means that after October 7th, […]
New App Store guidelines could bring game streaming to iPhones (maybe)
Over the past year Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Facebook all launched game streaming services that promise to let you play console-quality games on internet-connected devices such as phones, tablets, low-power computers, or smart TVs. And so far Apple has refused to let you use any of those services on an iPhone or iPad. Now Apple […]
Lilbits: A handheld Nintendo Wii, a $200 OnePlus smartphone, and TuneIn drops out (one of its Pro features)
7 Comments on Lilbits: A handheld Nintendo Wii, a $200 OnePlus smartphone, and TuneIn drops out (one of its Pro features)Some folks like to play classic console games by using emulators on smartphones, tablets, or handheld game systems with modern hardware. And then there’s the community of Nintendo Wii hackers who literally cut Nintendo’s 2006 game console down to size and stuff the components inside of custom cases. We’ve seen projects that put a Wii […]