creat0r

Summary
Apple has created a page on their websites where the user enters their current iPhone model and gets a list of reasons to upgrade to the 15-series. Interestingly, currently only the 11- or 12-series are selectable. The user then picks one of four iPhone 15-series models, and the list is generated with reasons to upgrade. It’s similar to the older “Compare” feature, but this new page only shows the differences.
 
Quotes
 
My thoughts
Honestly I feel like Apple is getting a bit desperate to get users to buy new products, the title screams of desperation of wanting to give users FOMO. I’m a big tech nerd who usually wants the best, but my iPhone 12 Pro Max from 2020 is still serving me great. I know a lot of users are feeling the same way (maybe not on this forum though): that their smartphone is good enough - so why upgrade? If Apple made product that was innovative and revolutionary for real, then they wouldn’t need a list with all the subtle differences for the average user. My conspiracy theory is that the old “Compare” tool showed how much each “new” generation had in common with the previous generations, and that’s why they want to hide it and only display the differences. Also, wanting to give users FOMO by using their devices that are just a few years old is VERY hypocritical considering all their environmental focus.
 
Sources
 https://www.cultofmac.com/851469/apple-highlights-reasons-to-upgrade-latest-iphone-2/ 

This is called “Stockholm Syndrome”.

Summary
Apple has created a page on their websites where the user enters their current iPhone model and gets a list of reasons to upgrade to the 15-series. Interestingly, currently only the 11- or 12-series are selectable. The user then picks one of four iPhone 15-series models, and the list is generated with reasons to upgrade. It’s similar to the older “Compare” feature, but this new page only shows the differences.
 
Quotes
 
My thoughts
Honestly I feel like Apple is getting a bit desperate to get users to buy new products, the title screams of desperation of wanting to give users FOMO. I’m a big tech nerd who usually wants the best, but my iPhone 12 Pro Max from 2020 is still serving me great. I know a lot of users are feeling the same way (maybe not on this forum though): that their smartphone is good enough - so why upgrade? If Apple made product that was innovative and revolutionary for real, then they wouldn’t need a list with all the subtle differences for the average user. My conspiracy theory is that the old “Compare” tool showed how much each “new” generation had in common with the previous generations, and that’s why they want to hide it and only display the differences. Also, wanting to give users FOMO by using their devices that are just a few years old is VERY hypocritical considering all their environmental focus.
 
Sources
 https://www.cultofmac.com/851469/apple-highlights-reasons-to-upgrade-latest-iphone-2/ 

-> Moved to Off Topic
 
While the video might be about technical side, the framing is social/policy thus not about technology.
 
If the framing is changed to be about technology, this can be moved back.

Direct link to Apple’s page: https://www.apple.com/iphone/why-upgrade/ 

Summary
Apple has created a page on their websites where the user enters their current iPhone model and gets a list of reasons to upgrade to the 15-series. Interestingly, currently only the 11- or 12-series are selectable. The user then picks one of four iPhone 15-series models, and the list is generated with reasons to upgrade. It’s similar to the older “Compare” feature, but this new page only shows the differences.
 
Quotes
 
My thoughts
Honestly I feel like Apple is getting a bit desperate to get users to buy new products, the title screams of desperation of wanting to give users FOMO. I’m a big tech nerd who usually wants the best, but my iPhone 12 Pro Max from 2020 is still serving me great. I know a lot of users are feeling the same way (maybe not on this forum though): that their smartphone is good enough - so why upgrade? If Apple made product that was innovative and revolutionary for real, then they wouldn’t need a list with all the subtle differences for the average user. My conspiracy theory is that the old “Compare” tool showed how much each “new” generation had in common with the previous generations, and that’s why they want to hide it and only display the differences. Also, wanting to give users FOMO by using their devices that are just a few years old is VERY hypocritical considering all their environmental focus.
 
Sources
 https://www.cultofmac.com/851469/apple-highlights-reasons-to-upgrade-latest-iphone-2/ 

Apple has removed the family emoji since it was not inclusive enough with every skin color and gender combination.
 
Video explanation:

What are you guys thoughts about this?

Apple has removed the family emoji since it was not inclusive enough with every skin color and gender combination.
 
Video explanation:

What are you guys thoughts about this?

Direct link to Apple’s page: https://www.apple.com/iphone/why-upgrade/ 

Summary
Apple has created a page on their websites where the user enters their current iPhone model and gets a list of reasons to upgrade to the 15-series. Interestingly, currently only the 11- or 12-series are selectable. The user then picks one of four iPhone 15-series models, and the list is generated with reasons to upgrade. It’s similar to the older “Compare” feature, but this new page only shows the differences.
 
Quotes
 
My thoughts
Honestly I feel like Apple is getting a bit desperate to get users to buy new products, the title screams of desperation of wanting to give users FOMO. I’m a big tech nerd who usually wants the best, but my iPhone 12 Pro Max from 2020 is still serving me great. I know a lot of users are feeling the same way (maybe not on this forum though): that their smartphone is good enough - so why upgrade? If Apple made product that was innovative and revolutionary for real, then they wouldn’t need a list with all the subtle differences for the average user. My conspiracy theory is that the old “Compare” tool showed how much each “new” generation had in common with the previous generations, and that’s why they want to hide it and only display the differences. Also, wanting to give users FOMO by using their devices that are just a few years old is VERY hypocritical considering all their environmental focus.
 
Sources
 https://www.cultofmac.com/851469/apple-highlights-reasons-to-upgrade-latest-iphone-2/ 

Apple has removed the family emoji since it was not inclusive enough with every skin color and gender combination.
 
Video explanation:

What are you guys thoughts about this?

Direct link to Apple’s page: https://www.apple.com/iphone/why-upgrade/ 

Summary
Apple has created a page on their websites where the user enters their current iPhone model and gets a list of reasons to upgrade to the 15-series. Interestingly, currently only the 11- or 12-series are selectable. The user then picks one of four iPhone 15-series models, and the list is generated with reasons to upgrade. It’s similar to the older “Compare” feature, but this new page only shows the differences.
 
Quotes
 
My thoughts
Honestly I feel like Apple is getting a bit desperate to get users to buy new products, the title screams of desperation of wanting to give users FOMO. I’m a big tech nerd who usually wants the best, but my iPhone 12 Pro Max from 2020 is still serving me great. I know a lot of users are feeling the same way (maybe not on this forum though): that their smartphone is good enough - so why upgrade? If Apple made product that was innovative and revolutionary for real, then they wouldn’t need a list with all the subtle differences for the average user. My conspiracy theory is that the old “Compare” tool showed how much each “new” generation had in common with the previous generations, and that’s why they want to hide it and only display the differences. Also, wanting to give users FOMO by using their devices that are just a few years old is VERY hypocritical considering all their environmental focus.
 
Sources
 https://www.cultofmac.com/851469/apple-highlights-reasons-to-upgrade-latest-iphone-2/ 

This one seems to be intended for end users: https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone/
Set "Feedback type" to "Bug report"

If it only needs to be in column B, why do you need to merge it? Without knowing the details, I'd just suggest using another column to concatenate the values with the appropriate spacing and overwrite the contents of the original cells or just delete the original columns.
 
Basically do this:

 
Now apply the formula to the entire column.

 
Before deleting the original data, select column C, copy the contents with Ctrl-C and without moving the selection, right click and paste the copied data as values (the symbol with "123"). That overwrites the formula and writes the values into the cells as text directly.

 
Now you can delete column A and B.

Summary
Apple plans to allow some developers to distribute their iOS apps directly from websites in EU countries. However, developers must follow Apple's strict rules and meet notarization requirements to protect the integrity of the platform. Users must approve the developer in the settings of their iPhone and a system window will display information that the developer has submitted to Apple for review. Only major developers who meet specific criteria, including one million first annual installations in the EU, will be able to use this distribution method.
 
Quotes
 
My thoughts
The fact that this is limited to only big major developers is such a shame, since this means that the ability to distribute iOS apps via websites will not available for 99% of all developers. Also, it's worth discussing if most users will even care to go trough the hoops of approving developers from websites just to avoid the App Store. Once again, Apple has made the option of distributing and downloading from outside of the App Store such a painful process for both developers and consumers that I doubt that the DMA (Digital Markets Act) from the European Unionen will have much effect at all in the end.
 
Sources
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/12/24098334/apple-ios-web-distribution-eu-app-store-changes 

Summary
Apple plans to allow some developers to distribute their iOS apps directly from websites in EU countries. However, developers must follow Apple's strict rules and meet notarization requirements to protect the integrity of the platform. Users must approve the developer in the settings of their iPhone and a system window will display information that the developer has submitted to Apple for review. Only major developers who meet specific criteria, including one million first annual installations in the EU, will be able to use this distribution method.
 
Quotes
 
My thoughts
The fact that this is limited to only big major developers is such a shame, since this means that the ability to distribute iOS apps via websites will not available for 99% of all developers. Also, it's worth discussing if most users will even care to go trough the hoops of approving developers from websites just to avoid the App Store. Once again, Apple has made the option of distributing and downloading from outside of the App Store such a painful process for both developers and consumers that I doubt that the DMA (Digital Markets Act) from the European Unionen will have much effect at all in the end.
 
Sources
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/12/24098334/apple-ios-web-distribution-eu-app-store-changes 

I went with Resident Evil Village and The Forgotten City in the end, and I'm happy with these decisions.

Summary
Epic Games says Apple has taken down its newly reinstated developer account in the EU. In a blog post, Epic partially blames a tweet where they criticized Apple's reason for doing so. Epic says this hinders its plans to launch a competing app marketplace in the EU. The game maker also says that Apple has called them a "threat to their ecosystem." The tweet(s) in question:
 

 
Quotes
 
My thoughts
I really like Apple's products, but they are a very toxic company and very hostile to their developers and users. As a iOS/macOS developer myself, I can say that Apple has made the EU's Digital Markets Acts as horrible for developers as possible by making it an unattractive, expensive, and frustrating experience when trying to use anything other than the App Store to distribute apps.
 
Sources
https://9to5mac.com/2024/03/06/epic-games-dev-account-dead/ 

They absolutely do! I'm an app developer and I make a good monthly income from people using my apps. My apps are not advertised anywhere, they are not famous, you have never heard of them - 100% of the users comes from people searching for a particular thing they need on the App Store, finding my app as the solution for what they need, and downloading it. I have a lot of apps where I just went into the App Store and entered a generic search term, found the app, and downloaded it even though I've never heard of the app or developer before.

Examples:
Fake Call Me - searched for something like "escape awkward" and downloaded this because I got tired of stranger hitting on me in public and needed a way to quickly trigger a call to get out of awkward situations. Quote Widgets - searched for something like "inspiring widgets" since I wanted to have some feel-good widgets on my homescreen. Supi Player - searched for something like "youtube background player" since wanted to be able to play YouTube videos in the background without premium. Poliskartan - searched for "brott" since I wanted to know when crimes happens close to my home here in Sweden. InSave - searched for "save from Instagram" since I wanted to download images/videos. Scaniverse - searched for "3D scan", wanted a 3D scanning app for iPhone. Mockview - searched for "mockups" since I wanted a way to create mockups easily.  
...and these are just a very few examples of many. I doubt people who are looking for a LiDAR, YouTube background players, or public toilet finding apps knows exactly the name of the app or the developer.

Phil Schiller sent an email to Epic's Tim:
 

Ok got it
Apple system is closer to extorsion than payment tho 😮 

They absolutely do! I'm an app developer and I make a good monthly income from people using my apps. My apps are not advertised anywhere, they are not famous, you have never heard of them - 100% of the users comes from people searching for a particular thing they need on the App Store, finding my app as the solution for what they need, and downloading it. I have a lot of apps where I just went into the App Store and entered a generic search term, found the app, and downloaded it even though I've never heard of the app or developer before.

Examples:
Fake Call Me - searched for something like "escape awkward" and downloaded this because I got tired of stranger hitting on me in public and needed a way to quickly trigger a call to get out of awkward situations. Quote Widgets - searched for something like "inspiring widgets" since I wanted to have some feel-good widgets on my homescreen. Supi Player - searched for something like "youtube background player" since wanted to be able to play YouTube videos in the background without premium. Poliskartan - searched for "brott" since I wanted to know when crimes happens close to my home here in Sweden. InSave - searched for "save from Instagram" since I wanted to download images/videos. Scaniverse - searched for "3D scan", wanted a 3D scanning app for iPhone. Mockview - searched for "mockups" since I wanted a way to create mockups easily.  
...and these are just a very few examples of many. I doubt people who are looking for a LiDAR, YouTube background players, or public toilet finding apps knows exactly the name of the app or the developer.

Making data centres isn't free... Just because they're not paying an outside company for the service doesn't mean there isn't a cost involved. Whether Apple is doing it themselves or contracting out for data hosting and bandwidth it still ends up costing Apple money to operate.
 
Don't underestimate the number of people who just type "music" in to the app store to see which apps come up then choose one of the top rated apps and then go on to sign up to Spotify or other such apps.
Being on the app store - and being one of the most popular apps shown in search results - is a significant promotion for that app. There's probably a lot of people who have heard of Spotify but if they searched "music" on the app store and Spotify didn't show up as a top result they'd just choose one of the other options that does show up like Youtube Music, Amazon Music, or Apple Music.

The weird thing is that Apple reinstated Epic's developer account, just to remove it again?