Apple opens up its App Store to competition in Japan
Epic Games CEO says Fortnite won’t return to Japan, though, because the new rules still require high fees.
Apps
Amazon’s new Alexa+ feature adds conversational AI to Ring doorbells
Amazon said that the feature uses the Ring doorbell’s video descriptions to determine who the person in front the camera is based on their uniform, actions, and what they are holding.
Apple opens iOS to third-party app stores in Japan
Apple has announced the changes it’s making to the iOS App Store in Japan in order to comply with recent legislation in the country. It will allow third-party app stores and payment processing options, though is introducing new commission fees for those transactions. Developers in Japan will now be able to distribute apps on alternative […]
The ChatGPT app store is here
On Wednesday evening, OpenAI launched an App Directory to browse all the tools currently available and opened its SDK for developers to build new interactive experiences that operate within the bot’s UI. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said last month that “We are planning to build the obvious features that you would expect for a robust […]
YouTube to pull music data from Billboard’s charts because it doesn’t like its ranking formula
YouTube takes its ball and goes home by pulling Billboard’s access to its music data.
YouTube will stream the Oscars — exclusively — beginning in 2029
The news highlights YouTube’s growing dominance in the television space and a major shift as streaming takes on more live events.
Facebook is testing a link posting limit for professional accounts and pages
Meta said that the test impacts professional accounts and pages on Facebook.
Bluesky launches a privacy-focused ‘find friends’ feature without invite spam
The Bluesky contact matching feature is opt-in and your data won’t be used to spam your friends, the social network says.
Google’s vibe-coding tool Opal comes to Gemini
The company on Wednesday said it is integrating the tool, which lets you build AI-powered mini apps, inside the Gemini web app, allowing users to create their own custom apps.
Google deepens consumer credit push in India with UPI-linked card
Google has entered India’s growing co-branded credit card market by partnering with Axis Bank.