A day after being banned on Twitter, Alex Jones no longer has a place on the App Store. His Infowars app was pulled from the marketplace and won't be allowed to return, according to Buzzfeed News.
The Trump Administration's plan to add $200 billion worth of tariffs on products made in China could force Apple to raise prices on some of its most popular products, including the Apple Watch, Apple Pencil, and AirPods. Apple's growing concern about the tariffs is mentioned in a Sept. 5 letter sent to the Office of U.S. Trade Representative, according to Bloomberg.
In the letter, Apple explains:
Our concern with these tariffs is that the U.S. will be hardest hit, and that will result in lower U.S. growth and competitiveness and higher prices for U.S. consumers.
Since the beginning of the year, the U.S government has already imposed $50 billion worth of tariffs on goods made in China with an additional $200 billion now being finalized. Besides the Apple products mentioned above, this second package would target the Mac mini, various chargers and adapters, and tooling equipment that the company uses to make and design some products in the U.S.
More trouble could be brewing, however.
The Trump Administration is now considering another $267 billion in tariffs on China, which could affect all categories of consumer goods, including iPhone and iPad.
The tariffs are part of a growing trade war currently showing no signs of slowing down between the countries that represent Apple's two largest consumer markets, the U.S. and China. Back in the spring, Apple CEO Tim Cook met with President Trump about his approach to China. At the time, Cook called the trade policies in China "problematic."
Hopefully, things will improve on this front soon. Otherwise, the cost of Apple products could be going up very soon.
On the day Apple was forced to remove a popular app from the Mac App Store because it was sending user data to a Chinese server, comes word that dozens of popular iPhones apps are sharing location data of "tens of millions of mobile devices" with monetization firms. As uncovered by researchers at the GuardianApp Project, all of the apps identified collect user location data to work correctly, such as weather and fitness apps. In this case, they're using this received data to increase revenue.
Earlier this year, Apple surprised many by purchasing the Texture magazine service. Now, the company wants to add daily newspapers to the list of titles Texture offers as part of its monthly subscription program.
According to Recode, Apple's Eddy Cue has been in talks with some of the most prominent newspapers in the U.S. about adding their stories to Texture. Discussions began this summer with at least three papers, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.
For now, it's unclear whether Apple wants to offer all the newspaper content to Texture subscribers as an add-on or just select articles each day. The most significant sticking point, no doubt, is whether it makes business sense for the newspapers to join Apple. Each already offers all-digital subscriptions, ranging in price from $10 per month for The Washington Post to $37 per month for The Wall Street Journal.
Texture charges users $9.99 per month to access various weekly and monthly magazines. Content providers, in turn, are paid based on the usage their titles generate. The worry might be that newspapers could get a much smaller payout from a Texture subscriber than from those who sign up for the service separately.
Recode says there's a flip side to this that newspaper publishers must also recognize: Apple has a large user base and has already proven it can turn its hardware buyers into digital subscribers (think Apple Music).
Apple's talks with newspaper publishers come ahead of its planned launch next year of a slate of original TV programs. Rumors have suggested the company would like to offer some sort of bundle that would include Apple Music, Texture news, and the new video content. Adding newspapers to the mix could make that bundle more appealing.
Perhaps, we'll hear something very soon. Apple's annual fall press event is next Wednesday, Sept. 12. Maybe Apple will offer some insight about its plans for Texture at that time.
Adware Doctor for Mac is the No. 1 paid utility app on the Mac App Store. It's also logging browser history of users without their permission and sending it to a service in China, according to ThreatPost.
We're learning another important detail about the heavily anticipated launch of Feral Interactive's iconic Tropico game on iPad. The game will launch for $11.99, it was announced today, Sept. 7, on Twitter. As previously announced, the game won't include in-app purchases. As Feral says, "Buy once, rule forever!"
Britsh Airways (BA) has announced that hackers have carried out a "sophisticated, malicious criminal attack" against its website and app. Information breached includes personal and financial details from customers with bookings. In total, 380,000 transactions were affected, according to the BBC.
The Spoke - Search Socially app makes it easier to find TV shows and movies that match your interests. Better still, the app shows you where you can watch that content in just a few steps. It also offers reviews and information on local restaurants and similar establishments. Not surprisingly, The Spoke app also includes a social component that lets you share your likes and dislikes with others. Here's a brief look at The Spoke.
Twitter has now banned Alex Jones and Infowars for its service. The decision comes one month after other companies prohibited the conspiracy theorist from their outlets, including Apple, Facebook, Spotify, and YouTube. The decision came after Twitter determined Jones was in violation of its "abusive behavior" rules, according to Twitter, via the Associated Press.
To better handle data requests from law enforcement agencies, Apple plans on introducing a dedicated website for this purpose before the end of the year. This online portal will become the one-stop location law enforcement agencies worldwide can go to submit requests for data, track requests, and obtain responsive data from Apple. The company's plans were recently added to a government privacy page on the Apple website.
On Thursday, Satechi introduced all-new aluminum wired and wireless keyboards designed for iMac computers and other devices. Each features enhanced scissor-switch keys with an extended keyboard layout.
Apple is making it clear iOS 12 is the future of the iPhone and iPad. On Thursday, the company began alerting iOS 11 users through the Tips app about some of the new iOS 12 features coming soon. The move comes just days before the company's Fall media event on the Apple Park Campus in Cupertino, California.