An Epic Win 👨🏼‍⚖️🍏

👀 TLDR

In this week’s What’s Appening, we cover the news that Apple was handed a big loss when a judge decreed it must open up apps to third-party payment systems. It was viewed as a huge win from long-time critics like Spotify and Epic Games, but it could also be a win for the little guy. We also have news on Meta’s new AI app, dialing back “sycophantic” ChatGPT, Worldcoin coming to the US, plus all the latest from 3Advance.

🎬 Our Top Take

👨🏼‍⚖️💰 Apple – ‘Epic’ Win for Developers as Judge Rules on Payment Fees

You don’t need a legal dictionary to understand that if a judge accuses you of “malicious compliance,” it’s not complimentary. That was the charge laid at Apple’s feet by a judge this week, who said Apple was pretending to follow the law after being ordered to open up 3rd party payments on apps in 2021. The whole area of external payments might sound a bit dull and technical, but it’s crucial to the developer – and creator – economy. To give you a bit of background: Pre-2021, Apple required all payments on Apps to go through its system, charging the now-infamous 30% fee for ‘big’ developers. For example, if you subscribed to Spotify for 10 bucks a month, Spotify had no choice but to give Apple $3. In 2021, after years of legal cases, especially with Fortnite-maker Epic Games, Apple was told that its policy was anti-competitive, so it (technically) allowed external payments. Yet, here’s where the “malicious compliance” bit comes in. First, Apple still continued to charge a 27% fee. Secondly, anytime users tried to access 3rd-party platforms to pay/subscribe etc., they’d be hit with warning signs and other efforts to discourage the practice. They’d also block 3rd parties from telling you that you could potentially save money by going directly to the source. The judge has now ordered Apple to stop all the shenanigans, allowing app providers to skip Apple’s payment ecosystem entirely. Epic’s CEO Tim Sweeney said the cumulative court cases cost his company over $1B but that it has been worth it. Big brands like Spotify and Epic are doing a victory dance, but, in truth, this could impact smaller developers (15% fee), too. Payments company Stripe has been quick out of the block to offer payment structure options for app developers. We can also cite RevenueCat as a tool (that we use here at 3A) that would greatly benefit from this. In theory, this could lead to cheaper app subscriptions for users and/or better revenues for app developers. Apple will appeal the ruling, and we don’t think it will take this (potential) big hit to its juicy services revenue lying down. #EpicWin Read more here.

📲 App of the Week: Meta AI

Meta has finally released its standalone AI app – Meta AI – putting it in direct competition with ChatGPT. Yet, there are some very Meta peculiarities that should help you decide whether it’s for you. First, the positives: The AI assistant is built on Llama 4, is primarily designed for voice interactions (very cool), has live web search, a unique “discover feed,” and integration with Meta’s family of apps. The latter positive is likely to be the main negative for some. The integration means that Meta AI can learn about you personally by looking at your feeds. On the plus side, this means it can personalize responses, but we can understand why some would prefer to be completely anonymous when speaking with an AI bot. If not, you can download it here for iOS and here for Android.

🧐 Stat of the Week: 148 Courses

📈📉 Duolingo - Language App Pivots to Become AI First Company

Duolingo, the language learning app that’s famous for its user retention tactics, has announced it will now be AI first. What that means in practice is that it’s shedding jobs and ending deals with contractors who supplied its language courses and content. It started with 148 new courses created by AI, and you’ll probably not notice the difference, so it makes sense. Duolingo has been warning for a while now that AI could lead to mass unemployment, and it seems they’re proving themselves right. #AILingo Read more here.

🗞️ Other Stories

📍 Meanwhile at 3Advance

Digital Irish has officially landed in DC. We kicked things off last Thursday at Ireland’s Four Courts with a packed room, great conversations, and just the right amount of Guinness (and Guinness 0, we promise!). Big thanks to everyone who showed up and made the night what it was. Digital Irish is here to connect Irish talent across the DMV. Whether you're building, investing, or just looking to plug into the Irish community here in the Capital, there's a place for you. This is just the beginning.

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