This Changes the App Store Forever

Welcome back! 🍎
Here’s the latest with Apple.

• The App Store is changed forever

• AI Wearables.. are they the future?

• iOS 18 AI Details

• & more!

📖 Read time: 3.6 minutes

📊 Poll

Last week, I asked: Do you own an Apple TV? Would having a built-in camera make it more useful?

Here are some of my favorite replies:

This week: Do you play games on your iPhone? What are your favorites?

🗞️ The Latest

🕹️ Historic Day for App Store

Delta, an all-in-one retro game emulator, has launched on the App Store for the first time ever!

• This application allows you to play Gameboy, GBA, N64, NES, SNES, and Nintendo DS games on your iPhone - for free.

• You can download ROMs from Reddit, EmulatorGames, or other sources.

• I also made a tutorial video on how to use the app.

How’d We Get Here?

• This app has been around for several years but it was only accessible via jailbreaking or sideloading.

• The developer, Riley Testut, mentioned that Delta has been rejected from the App Store many times over the years.

• That’s because emulation apps were not allowed in the App Store until Apple changed their guidelines last week.

• So, it’s no surprise that within hours of launching, Delta hit #1 on the App Store charts, overtaking Temu.

• This app changes the App Store forever and shows that the EU can actually do some good with its governing powers.

Third-Party App Stores

• Along with the release of Delta, the developer also launched AltStore PAL - one of the first alternative app stores in the EU.

• It only contains 2 apps right now: Delta and Clip, a clipboard manager app. I’d expect many additional apps to launch in the near future.

• AltStore is designed to be decentralized with no directory, so the only apps you’ll see in AltStore are from sources you’ve explicitly added yourself.

• AltStore PAL is not free, though. It will cost €1.50 per year 

• This is mainly to combat Apple’s “core technology fee,” which costs the team €0.50 for every download.

📲 AI Without the Cloud

Apple’s upcoming iOS 18 software is set to contain several new AI features. But none of them will rely on cloud servers.

• The initial AI features on iOS 18 will work entirely on device, so there’s no need for cloud servers to access information online.

• Apple will still offer cloud-based generative AI features, just not with their own LLMs.

• Apple could be partnering with Google, OpenAI, or China's Baidu for this.

Notes App

• Apple’s Notes app is set to become even more powerful with iOS 18.

• One of the new features rumored is audio recording. This will let you record, save, and play audio recordings directly from the Notes app.

• Another feature rumored is called Math Notes, which will integrate Notes and the Calculator app.

🤖 Are AI Wearables The Future?

You couldn’t get far on social media this week without hearing about the Humane AI pin and the controversy that followed.

• Humane is a tech startup run by former Apple designers.

• They recently released their new AI pin, which is a wearable AI assistant that functions without the need for another device (it has 4G built-in).

• However, it’s slow to answer questions, gives incorrect answers, has poor battery life, overheats, and it’s $700 (plus $24/mo).

• So unsurprisingly, the reviews that came out this week were overwhelmingly bad.

• No review stirred up more controversy than Marques Brownlee’s. He called it the worst product he’s ever reviewed.

• This product has the potential to get better with future models, but it will be tough to overcome these reviews.

Are AI Wearables the Future?

Look, I get the point of the AI Pin. I don’t think it’s a worthless product that serves no purpose.

When you pick up your phone to Google a question, you’re more likely to get distracted by the dozens of other apps you have on your device.

But with the AI Pin, you can ask the question, get the answer, and move on. You can hold a shoe up to the camera and it will tell you what type of shoe you’re holding.

All without being distracted or staring at a screen. Just like you can do with a cellular Apple Watch, which is less expensive, faster to give you the answer, and likely to have AI features later this year.

While I don’t think this specific product will succeed long-term, this does get me excited for the future of tech without screens.

📰 Quick News Bites

• Is Apple an Illegal Monopoly? Antitrust Lawyer Breaks Down US v. Apple [Video]

• What Really Happens When You Trade In an iPhone at the Apple Store

• Jerusalem Flag auto prediction bug fixed in iOS 17.5

• Apple argues in favor of selling Macs with only 8GB of RAM

• 12.9-Inch iPad Air Now Rumored to Feature Mini-LED Display

• iPhone 16 Pro Camera May Be Less Prone to Lens Flare and Ghosting

• iPhone's New AirPlay Feature for Hotel Room TVs Begins Rolling Out

• iPhone 17 Plus Rumored to Feature Smaller Screen Than iPhone 15 Plus

• Apple Sports App Updated for NBA and NHL Playoffs

• X May Charge New Users a 'Small Fee' to Post, Like and Reply

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Until next week, ✌️

- Brandon

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