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Apple has taken two steps forward this week to help avoid looking like the bad guy in its App Store showdown with developers, publishers and advertisers.
On Monday, it told developers that bug fixes for its apps would no longer be delayed as long as they violated App Store guidelines. In addition, in addition to appealing the decisions against you, they could now suggest changes to the guidelines.
More significantly, Apple said Thursday that it was delaying until early next year a change that would require apps to get permission from users, via a pop-up window, before collecting data to enable ad tracking and targeting. Facebook had warned last month that the proposed changes could cut ad revenue for some app makers in half.
Morgan Stanley analysts said today that the change was to be made this month with the release of the iOS 14 operating system, but the delay would now reduce its impact, and platforms and advertisers would have more time to create, test and scale alternative solutions.
“This delay is an important statement from Apple about its willingness to respond to community feedback and its commitment to application developers,” they said.
However, it’s worth noting that Apple has been largely motivated by giving its users greater control over the use of their data. He began his announcement Thursday with “At Apple, we believe privacy is a fundamental human right.”
He has made another important statement on this issue in a four-page document entitled “Our Commitment to Human Rights.” As Patrick McGee points out in San Francisco, this is the first time he has published a human rights policy that pledges to respect “freedom of information and expression,” after years of criticism that it gives in to Beijing’s demands and exercises censorship in China.
So Apple is definitely playing the nice guy here, although the compromise comes seven months after two-fifths of its shareholders challenged management and backed a proposal that would have forced it to defend free speech globally.
The Internet of (five) things
1. SoftBank is the ‘whale’ of technology derivatives
The Japanese conglomerate has been revealed as the “Nasdaq whale” that has fueled the rally in tech stocks by buying billions of dollars in options. Financial experts say it is making a dangerous gamble and will have been hit by the technology crash on Thursday, which has continued today. Richard Waters comments that it’s hard not to see a glut in today’s tech ratings, although John Thornhill highlights the differences with the 2000 dot-com crash.
two. . . and SoftBank can buy TikTok from India
SoftBank is exploring bringing together a pool of bidders for TikTok’s assets in India and has been actively seeking local partners, according to Bloomberg. Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap, said at the FT Weekend festival that any American company will find TikTok “really hard” to digest.
3. Techmark and Computacenter are boring.
While the Nasdaq is sinking, the UK’s 21-year-old Techmark index continues to perform quite well, less than 12% below a record in January. Bryce Elder reports that it reflects a very good year for unglamorous domestic tech stocks like Computacenter, which hit a two-decade high this week.
4. Battery manufacturer has no anxiety about scope of IPOs
QuantumScape, a battery startup backed by Volkswagen and Bill Gates, will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange through a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) as it seeks to commercialize a solid-state technology that it says , it could almost double the range. of an electric car. Meanwhile, Richard Waters has taken an in-depth look at the Palantir, which last week ended its plans to directly list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
5. No stars for Amazon’s five-star reviewers
Amazon is researching the most prolific reviewers on its UK website after an investigation by the Financial Times found evidence that they were benefiting by posting thousands of five-star ratings. The number one reviewer at Amazon.co.uk reviewed products worth £ 15,000 in August alone, from smartphones to electric scooters to gym equipment, earning it its five-star approval on average once every four hours.
Tech tools – Twitch Sings
Leo Lewis in Tokyo has been exploring Covid-19 karaoke innovations. In bars, the big chains have introduced applications that turn your smartphone into a remote control to avoid touching buttons or common screens. The really nervous self-isolator can sing alone in one room but be connected online to any other room on his national network to form a virtual group.
Arguably the most useful of all in terms of convincing people to get back on the mic has been Joysound’s flagship offering: a series of settings that adjust the tone and clarity of your output to compensate for singing through a mask. At home, Amazon’s Twitch Sings places the user in a virtual, global karaoke room wherever they are.
