Technology
What's Up With Apple: Korean Law Compliance, Spotify Heats Up and More
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South Korea’s Communications Commission has asked Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Google to submit plans by mid-October to comply with a new law that bans forcing app developers to use the two giants’ in-app payment systems. The law was passed by the Korean Parliament last month and the Commission is now working on the enforcement procedures.
The country’s Telecommunications Business Act was amended last month to prohibit app stores like Apple’s and Google’s from forcing developers to use in-app payment systems that require the developers to pay a commission on sales.
The amended law provides for a fine of up to 3% of Korean sales for failing to comply with the new law. In June, The Korea Herald reported that Apple revenues in Korea totaled $14.9 billion in 2020. Of that total, $1.5 billion was generated by sales of digital goods and services. That would imply a potential maximum fine of $45 million if Apple violated the law.
Music streaming service Spotify is having trouble with Apple’s new iOS 15 operating system. The company has confirmed that the app drains about 30% of an iPhone’s battery for every hour of use. The extraordinary level of battery use is accompanied by overheating phones.
On its support page, Spotify also notes comments about unusually high battery drain for iPhones using iOS 14.8. The company suggests a clean install of its app, Spotify’s first suggested cure for nearly every issue it has ever faced. The company also suggests disabling background app refresh.
Apple and many other manufacturers have long histories of making it difficult for people to repair the products they have purchased. Forcing consumers to use authorized repair services or voiding the warranty assures a captive market.
For example, if an iPhone 13 owner replaces a broken screen with a genuine Apple part, Apple’s Face ID will stop working. MacRumors has a repair video detailing what happens and suggests that Apple could fix the issue with an iOS patch. If the company so desired, that is.
Finally, another patent troll has sued Apple. This time, KT Imaging is suing Apple in west Texas federal district court for allegedly infringing KT Imaging’s intellectual property on sensor designs and packaging for digital cameras integrated with smartphones and other devices. The patent firm already has filed suit against a number of other manufacturers, including Dell, Google and Microsoft. AppleInsider has the details.
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