This Changes the App Store Forever

nostalgia overload.

Welcome back! šŸŽ
Hereā€™s the latest with Apple.

  • The App Store is changed forever

  • AI Wearables.. are they the future?

  • iOS 18 AI Details

  • & more!

šŸ“– Read time: 3.6 minutes

šŸ“Š 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:

Yes - ā€œI use an Apple TV all the time, it's my main streaming device. Now about the camera... It would have to make sense. Like if it was just used for FaceTime, I don't know if it would be worth it when I can just use my iPad as a Continuity Camera. But, if they added sensors to it so that I could maybe play a game on Apple Arcade that uses your motions in real life to control the characters, then it might be useful and worth the upgrade.ā€

No - ā€œIā€™ve never had an Apple TV but Iā€™m inspired to get one because of Brandonā€™s video on them. Looks like a great Apple product that I would definitely use. However, not so convinced it needs a FaceTime camera.ā€ Get one, you wonā€™t be disappointed!

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

Do you play games on your iPhone?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

šŸ—žļø The Latest

šŸ•¹ļø 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.

Howā€™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.

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

  • So, itā€™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. Iā€™d expect many additional apps to launch in the near future.

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

  • AltStore PAL is not free, though. It will cost ā‚¬1.50 per year 

  • This is mainly to combat Appleā€™s ā€œcore technology fee,ā€ which costs the team ā‚¬0.50 for every download.

šŸ“² AI Without the Cloud

AppleInsider

Appleā€™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 thereā€™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

  • Appleā€™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.

šŸ¤– Are AI Wearables The Future?

Business Insider

You couldnā€™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, itā€™s slow to answer questions, gives incorrect answers, has poor battery life, overheats, and itā€™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 Brownleeā€™s. He called it the worst product heā€™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 donā€™t think itā€™s a worthless product that serves no purpose.

When you pick up your phone to Google a question, youā€™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 youā€™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 donā€™t think this specific product will succeed long-term, this does get me excited for the future of tech without screens.

šŸ“° Quick News Bites

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Until next week, āœŒļø

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