Commotion Of Links

Commotion of Links (Apple) for week ending April 29, 2025

April 30, 2025 • 8 min read

The EU slapped Apple with a half-a-billion-dollar fine and BOY did they ever deserve it. Perplexity released a new iPhone app that made lots of folks wonder why Siri isn't nearly as good. And the humans join the koalas as the only two mammals fascinated by eucalyptus trees.

The Future, Soon

[via Gurman] Apple removing key robotics team from John Giannandrea’s oversight https://9to5mac.com/2025/04/24/apple-robotics-ternus-giannandrea/

[via Gurman] Apple smart glasses are getting closer to becoming a reality, per report [He says the new plan is to just do Meta Ray-Bans, But Apple - AI] https://9to5mac.com/2025/04/27/apple-smart-glasses-closer-to-reality/

[via Gurman] New Apple Vision ‘Air’ product could launch this year, per report [this week he re-iterated an earlier claim - AI] https://9to5mac.com/2025/04/28/new-apple-vision-air-product-could-launch-this-year-per-report/

[via Gurman] 20th Anniversary iPhone Likely to Be Made in China Due to 'Extraordinarily Complex' Design https://www.macrumors.com/2025/04/28/20th-anniversary-iphone-extraordinarily-complex/

iPhone 17's Scratch Resistant Anti-Reflective Display Coating Canceled https://www.macrumors.com/2025/04/28/iphone-17-anti-reflective-coating-canceled/

[Min-Chi Kuo] At Least Three 2H25 New iPhone 17 Models to Feature 12GB DRAM; Micron and SK Hynix Stand to Benefit Most from Apple’s More Aggressive DRAM Upgrade Strategy [So I guess Apple’s “We put less RAM into our phones because our phones don’t need more RAM” narrative ist kaput? - AI] https://medium.com/@mingchikuo/at-least-three-2h25-new-iphone-17-models-to-feature-12gb-dram-micron-and-sk-hynix-stand-to-benefit-dc8046f65dce

[via Majin Bu] iPadOS 19 Rumored to Show Mac-Like Menu Bar When Connected to Magic Keyboard https://www.macrumors.com/2025/04/24/ipados-19-mac-like-menu-bar-rumor/

AI

Apple explains how App Store reviews are summarized with AI https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/04/24/apple-explains-how-app-store-reviews-are-summarized-with-ai

↳ [Apple Machine Learning Research blog] An LLM-Based Approach to Review Summarization on the App Store https://machinelearning.apple.com/research/app-store-review

Perplexity targets Siri with actually useful voice actions from an iPhone AI chatbot app [Big win is that Perplexity is integrating with existing iOS frameworks (calendars, Mail, Maps, Safari, Music) to make it more “agentic” and doing it WAY better than Siri for some godforsaken reason - AI] https://9to5mac.com/2025/04/23/perplexity-targets-siri-with-actually-useful-voice-actions-from-an-iphone-ai-chatbot-app/

Y Combinator President Demands Apple to Open Siri for Developers [Weird take, I think? Is he saying Siri should be a micro-platform for AI apps? That other AI agents should have same OS-level privileges? Or simply that Siri should be like Mail, or Safari…if you want to use something else, you can switch the default to Gemini or Perplexity or any other AI assistant? - AI] https://www.macobserver.com/news/y-combinator-president-demands-apple-to-open-siri-for-developers/

↳ Head of Perplexity AI endorses (and summarizes) a YT video comparing the new Perplexity voice assistant app to Siri https://x.com/AravSrinivas/status/1916372869816455526

What Siri Isn’t: Perplexity’s Voice Assistant and the Potential of LLMs Integrated with iOS https://www.macstories.net/stories/what-siri-isnt-perplexitys-voice-assistant-and-the-potential-of-llms-integrated-with-ios/

Gemini App for iOS Now Supports Veo 2 and Audio Overviews https://www.macobserver.com/news/gemini-app-for-ios-now-supports-veo-2-and-audio-overviews/

India

[via Financial Times] Report: Apple Plans to Source All US-Bound iPhones From India by 2026 https://www.macrumors.com/2025/04/25/apple-source-us-bound-iphones-india-2026/

[FT exclusive] Apple aims to source all US iPhones from India in pivot away from China https://www.ft.com/content/c2be45b8-cfad-4cbb-9a1a-bfd0626be372

Apple May Shift to Making US iPhones in India. It Won’t Be Easy https://www.wired.com/story/apple-may-shift-to-making-us-iphones-in-india-it-wont-be-easy/

Apple fights India antitrust claims by boasting how much developers have been paid https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/04/28/apple-fights-india-antitrust-claims-by-boasting-how-much-developers-have-been-paid

↳ [Apple Newsroom] New study finds App Store ecosystem in India facilitated ₹44,447 crore in billings and sales in 2024 https://www.apple.com/in/newsroom/2025/04/app-store-ecosystem-in-india-facilitated-rs-44447-crore-in-billings-and-sales/

EU

The European Union hits Apple and Meta with 700 million euros in fines https://www.npr.org/2025/04/23/nx-s1-5373560/apple-meta-eu-tech-fines

↳ [European Commission press corner] Commission finds Apple and Meta in breach of the Digital Markets Act https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_1085

White House Slams EU Fines On Apple, Meta As 'Extortion' [Interesting/ominous: statement comes from WH United States National Security Council - AI] https://www.barrons.com/news/white-house-slams-eu-fines-on-apple-meta-as-extortion-de3c9985

After EU fines, Big Tech wants Trump to swoop in https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/23/european-fines-big-tech-trump-00306670

New smartphone labels for battery life and repairability are coming to the EU [new requirement for nutrition labels take effect in June - AI] https://www.theverge.com/news/655275/smartphone-tablet-labels-eu-energy-efficiency-battery-life-repairability

Company

Apple CEO Cook Urged by Senator Warren to Disclose Trump Tariff Talks [Blowback from recent WaPo report - AI] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-23/apple-ceo-tim-cook-urged-by-elizabeth-warren-to-disclose-trump-tariff-talks

↳ [Sen. Warren’s newsroom] ICYMI: Warren Presses Apple CEO Tim Cook on Tariff Special Favors [Letter to TC: “At best, your work to eliminate the tariffs on Apple products, and President Trump’s subsequent decision to exempt certain Apple products, creates the appearance of impropriety.” - AI] https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/icymi-warren-presses-apple-ceo-tim-cook-on-tariff-special-favors

Apple’s FY 25 Second Quarter earnings call on May 1 (Thursday) https://investor.apple.com/investor-relations/default.aspx

[via Morgan Stanley analyst] Apple Q2 Will Be 'Better-Than-Feared': Analyst Says iPhone Company Has 'Proven Track Record' https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/25/04/45046046/apple-q2-will-be-better-than-feared-analyst-says-iphone-company-has-proven-track-record

iPhone 16e had stronger demand than iPhone SE 3 did at launch [Based on CIRP survey data for full month following 16e introduction; says 16e accounted for 7% of iPhone sales, stronger performance than the then two-year-old iPhone SE same period last year - AI] https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/04/23/iphone-16e-had-stronger-demand-than-iphone-se-3-did-at-launch

Vision Pro

Apple offers visionOS support to the Godot game engine https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/04/22/apple-offers-visionos-support-to-the-godot-game-engine

GodotVision https://godot.vision/

↳ [Github] Native visionOS platform support #10562 https://github.com/godotengine/godot/pull/105628

New Apple Vision Pro immersive video puts you in the passenger seat of a record-breaking rally car hill climb https://9to5mac.com/2025/04/25/new-apple-vision-pro-immersive-video-puts-you-in-the-passenger-seat-of-a-record-breaking-rally-car-hill-climb/

Showbiz

Apple TV+ is ‘worst marketer in the universe,’ says producer https://9to5mac.com/2025/04/25/apple-tv-is-worst-marketer-in-the-universe-says-producer/

[Apple TV+ Newsroom] Apple TV+ scores BAFTA Television Craft Award wins for “Slow Horses,” “Bad Sisters” and “The Velveteen Rabbit” https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2025/04/apple-tv-scores-bafta-television-craft-award-wins-for-slow-horses-bad-sisters-and-the-velveteen-rabbit/

Tom Hanks & Apple’s ‘Greyhound’ Sequel To Begin Filming Early 2026 & Will Take In D-Day & The Pacific Theater https://deadline.com/2025/04/tom-hanks-greyhound-sequel-start-2026-australia-plot-1236376695/

Misc

iOS and Android juice jacking defenses have been trivial to bypass for years https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/04/ios-and-android-juice-jacking-defenses-have-been-trivial-to-bypass-for-years/

Millions of Apple Airplay-Enabled Devices Can Be Hacked via Wi-Fi https://www.wired.com/story/airborne-airplay-flaws/

A pirated iOS port of Blue Prince fooled people into paying $10 [Game only legally available on Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation; pirated edition passed App Store scrutiny - AI https://www.theverge.com/news/657370/blue-prince-ios-port-app-store

A Mac mini can be made portable for about three times the cost of a MacBook Air [fun, albeit ridiculous, project - AI] https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/04/28/a-mac-mini-can-be-made-portable-for-about-three-times-the-cost-of-a-macbook-air

Full List of New Emojis in iOS 18.4.1 https://www.macobserver.com/tips/round-ups/full-list-of-new-emojis-in-ios-18-4-1/

[MIT Technology Review] [paywalled] Inside the controversial tree farms powering Apple’s carbon neutral goal [Good, sane read (though Apple isn’t the only company using this idea). Complaints from experts include: you’re using the trees to trap emissions you shouldn’t have released in the first place; the new trees are stealing water, soil nutrients, and light from native plants and causing much damage; brushfires are a huge problem and this makes the situation worse; Brazil wants to use that land for ranching and other purposes that help Brazil, not trillion-dollar companies - AI] https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/04/24/1115751/apple-carbon-neutral-eucalyptus-tree-farm-brazil/

How Apple's use of eucalyptus in Apple 2030 is controversial [shorter read - AI] https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/04/24/how-apples-use-of-eucalyptus-in-apple-2030-is-controversial?utm_medium=rss

The Apple Watch Just Turned 10. Here’s How Far It’s Come [Went on sale April 24, 2015 - AI] https://www.wired.com/story/apple-watch-turns-10/

[sixcolors - Jason Snell] Sleeping with the Apple Watch https://sixcolors.com/post/2025/04/sleeping-with-the-apple-watch/

Did Apple really warn users to delete Chrome off their iPhones? [No; article clears up a fearmongering story published in the Very Highly Respected news organization The New York Post - AI] https://9to5mac.com/2025/04/28/did-apple-really-warn-users-to-delete-chrome-off-their-iphones/