Technology

The European Commission is issuing antitrust charges against Apple over concerns about the company’s App Store practices. The Commission has found that Apple has broken EU competition rules with its App Store policies, following an initial complaint from Spotify back in 2019. Specifically, the Commission believes Apple has a “dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming apps through its App Store.” The EU has focused on two rules that Apple imposes on developers: the mandatory use of Apple’s in-app purchase system (for which Apple charges a 30 percent cut), and a rule forbidding app developers to inform users of other purchasing options outside of apps. The Commission has found that the 30 percent commission fee, or “Apple tax” as it’s often referred to, has resu...

Google has announced new Play Store policies and guidelines designed to make app listings more succinct, accurate, and less of an eyesore. New guidelines affecting the screenshots and videos meant to demonstrate an app’s features and functionality will come into force in the second half of 2021, while specific details about the enforcement of new policies for app titles, icons, and descriptions are coming “later this year.” The new app metadata policies will ban a variety of tricks that app developers use to make their app listings excessively eye-catching. Writing words in all-caps will no longer be allowed unless it’s the name of a brand, and neither will including emoji in app names. App titles will be limited to 30 characters, and they can’t “incentivize installs” by including a phrase...

Google is redesigning its offices for the post-pandemic world, and The New York Times has a big report full of pictures and videos outlining the company’s plans. But if I had to sum up the tech giant’s approach in two words I would choose “over” and “engineered.” Google has ambitious plans to shake up its offices, but some of them seem needlessly complicated. As the Times notes, the standard for Silicon Valley offices has long been open plan, with designers and developers working by cheek by jowl in the name of “spontaneous collaboration.” (Though this is often a pretext to cut costs by cramming as many workers into pricey real estate as possible.) But, in a cautious COVID-conscious culture neither cramming nor cubicles can cut it: people want space, man. At least six feet of it. Here’s th...

Apple’s colorful new M1-powered iMacs, refreshed iPad Pros, and updated Apple TV 4K (with a not-terrible-looking remote) are now all available to preorder today from Apple’s website. The company says that the new products will be delivered starting on May 21st —at least for the first wave of orders, although that timing will certainly slip as stock sells out. Customers interested in buying the new iMac should take note that only some of the color schemes will be available in stores: green, pink, blue, and silver models will be sold in-person at Apple Store locations, but the full seven-color spectrum will only be offered through Apple’s website, at least for now. Apple M1 iMac Prices taken at time of publishing. Apple’s new iMac has a completely revamped design and uses Apple’s proprietary...

Years ago, my Verge colleagues convinced me that Dexter got so bad, it’d be a waste of my time to see my favorite TV serial killer reach the end of his story — so when I tell you that Dexter’s coming back this fall, picking up right where the show left off, I have absolutely no clue what that actually means. But if you did emotionally invest yourself enough to see the series through, you have my pity, my respect, and a brand-new teaser trailer to watch, above, as proof of life — an assurance that the series’ widely panned ending isn’t actually the end. The new Dexter will be a 10-episode limited series on Showtime this fall, starring Michael C. Hall, set 10 years after the original show, created by the original showrunner and featuring one of the original directors as well. You Deserve to ...

Coinbase has added the option for users to buy cryptocurrency using their PayPal accounts in the US, the company has announced. It says the feature offers a “familiar and trusted” experience for users buying any of the numerous cryptocurrencies that the exchange currently supports, and using PayPal as an intermediary means you don’t have to give your bank account or debit card information directly to the cryptocurrency exchange. The feature will expand to other countries in the coming months. To use the new option, Coinbase says you can add your PayPal account via the “Add a payment method” option, which links to the PayPal login screen. Purchases made via PayPal are capped at $25,000 a day, or 0.46 Bitcoin as of this writing. Debit cards and bank accounts linked to a PayPal account can be...

Google is rolling out a new April update for the Chromecast with Google TV that launched last year. It’s a fairly large update for a streaming device — totaling 166MB on my Chromecast — but includes numerous improvements. Once you’ve installed the new software and restarted your Chromecast, you’ll be able to dig a little deeper into video settings than was previously possible. In the new “advanced video controls” area of settings, you’re now given the ability to choose your preferred dynamic range format. Options include Dolby Vision, HDR, or even SDR if you want to keep it there. You can also manually switch to a ton of resolutions at various refresh rates from this menu: 4K (60Hz / 50Hz / 30Hz/ 25Hz / 24Hz / smpte) 1080p (60Hz / 50Hz / 24Hz) 720p (60Hz / 50Hz) 1080i (60Hz / 50Hz) 576p (5...

Microsoft has something of a history of neglecting PC gaming, but it’s trying to change that in a big way — by promising its flagship Halo Infinite will feel like a native PC game when it arrives later this year. We’ve known for many months that it wouldn’t be the Xbox Series X’s killer app, but Microsoft’s trying to make PC gamers feel like first-class citizens too, with features as forward-looking as support for 32:9 super-ultrawide monitors like the Samsung Odyssey G9 I reviewed late last year. This morning, we learned the game would support ultrawide monitors, in addition to triple-keybinds, advanced graphics options, and both crossplay and cross-progression between Xbox and Windows PCs. But this evening, the Halo Waypoint blog went way deeper, revealing what Infinite will look like at...

All the news about the huge trial Contributors: Verge Staff After months of preparation, Epic Games will finally take on Apple in court in a trial that could fundamentally change the makeup of the App Store. The fight dates back to August, when Epic added a direct payment mechanism to its hit battle royale game Fortnite in violation of Apple’s rules. The iPhone maker quickly removed the game from the App Store, and Epic responded shortly after with an antitrust lawsuit aiming to establish the App Store as a monopoly. The case will finally be brought to trial starting May 3rd. The trial promises to deliver huge revelations about the inner workings of one of the biggest and most influential companies in the world, with testimony from Apple CEO Tim Cook, Craig Federighi, Phil Schiller, Epic C...

Apple has added a new App Store search suggestions feature in the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK, that might make it easier to find apps. Now, after typing in a search term, the App Store will attempt to predict what you’re looking for and offer suggested words that, when tapped, will further narrow down your search results and speed up your hunt for specific kinds of apps. Search suggestions actually appeared on some iPhones earlier in April as part of a test, according to MacRumors, but now the feature should be rolling out to all iPhones in the supported regions. Introducing search suggestions on the App Store! Select (or deselect) multiple suggestions to refine your search so you can find even more amazing apps and games. Search suggestions roll out today starting with the USA, Cana...

Sony and Insomniac Games debuted 16 minutes of stunning new Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart gameplay footage in a new State of Play presentation on Thursday. For part of the video, protagonist Ratchet traversed through a new town called Nefarious City that was packed with detail — it reminded me of a Ratchet & Clank version of Star Wars’ Coruscant. There was a lot of classic Ratchet & Clank gameplay on display, with 3D platforming and crates to smash for screws, but the developers have also added new moves to give you added mobility. There’s now dashing and wall running, for example, and you can also use the new Rift Tether to hook into portals so you can zip from place to place. Another part of the video starred Rivet, a new Lombax resistance fighter that lives in a different dime...

Amazon had a wildly successful 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and that blazing trail shows no signs of stopping for 2021. The company shared its financial results for Q1 2021, and it brought in $108.5 billion in net sales. That’s a 44 percent increase from the $75.5 billion reported in the first quarter of last year, as the pandemic was beginning to take hold globally. Its profits have exploded year-over-year, as well, increasing to $8.1 billion in the first quarter of this year. At this time in 2020, the figure reported was a meager $2.5 billion. Amazon expects to continue crossing the $100 billion net sales mark next quarter with the figure ultimately landing somewhere between $110.0 billion and $116.0 billion. But as Amazon’s sales have grown, it has also grown more concerned with...