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First alt app store launches for iPhone
It's exclusive to the EU, but still fascinating to see.
Leander Kahney
April 18, 2024
Sponsored by
What they say about bankruptcy — it starts slowly, then goes very quickly — seems to be true of changes to iOS also.
All of a sudden, there are not just verboten game emulators on the App Store — a somewhat shocking development — but now an alt app store, too.
On Wednesday, an alternative app store called AltStore PAL launched in Europe. (It’s from the same developer behind a retro-game emulator that just became available for iPhone. He’s a busy guy.)
And while the game emulator is available for most iPhone users, the new app store is only available in the European Union.
The alt app store is pretty bare-bones right now, but does have one very useful-sounding app: Clip, a “real” clipboard manager for iPhone.
Can’t wait to see what else it starts selling. Exciting times!
Also in today’s newsletter:
I know that everyone except me finds Apple’s environmental efforts extremely boring. Nonetheless, the way Apple is transitioning to clean energy is big and important. The company’s just-released annual 2024 Environmental Progress Report gives some boring important updates.
A new iPad Air is coming soon, and it may just have an exciting screen update.
Great-sounding Beats Studio Pro headphones are still on sale at Amazon for just under $200.
A small hotel chain is finally supporting Apple’s initiative to allow iPhone/iPad users to stream shows to their hotel TVs. It’s a modest start, but no doubt the beginning of a bigger trend. Say goodbye to questionable charges on your hotel bill!
— Leander Kahney, EIC.
What’s the secret to staying ahead of the curve in the world of AI? Information. Luckily, you can join early adopters reading The Rundown– the free newsletter that makes you smarter on AI with just a 5-minute read per day.
A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team
A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team
Tweetz o’ the day
An iPod, a Phone, an Internet Communicator, and a NES, SNES, N64, GBA, DS emulator.
An iPod, a Phone... are you getting it?!
— Basic Apple Guy (@BasicAppleGuy)
7:07 PM • Apr 17, 2024
Apple is working toward a cleaner future by transforming electrical grids and restoring watersheds. We’re bringing on new solar and wind projects to power customer devices in the United States and Europe. apple.com/newsroom/2024/…
— Lisa P. Jackson (@lisapjackson)
10:21 PM • Apr 17, 2024
How to increase the likes of your posts.
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973)
3:16 PM • Apr 17, 2024
One more thing ...
This chokes me up, this really chokes me up. It was so clear that Lee [Clow Clow from ad agency TBWA Chiat/Day] loved Apple so much. Here was the best guy in advertising. And he hadn’t pitched in 10 years. Yet here he was, and he was pitching his heart out, because he loved Apple as much as we did. He and his team had come up with this brilliant idea, “Think Different.” And it was 10 times better than anything the other agencies showed. It choked me up, and it still makes me cry to think about it, both the fact that Lee cared so much and also how brilliant his “Think Different” idea was.
Every once in a while, I find myself in the presence of purity — purity of spirit and love — and I always cry. It always just reaches in and grabs me. That was one of those moments. There was a purity about that I will never forget. I cried in my office as he was showing me the idea, and I still cry when I think about it.
Today’s poll
Do you use your iPhone Pro's Action button? |
Results from yesterday’s poll: Are you excited about Apple updating Mac CPUs every year?
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