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A24    TECHNOLOGY
                       Tuesday 14 May 2019
            Apps cost too much? Antitrust lawsuit adds to Apple's woes




            By MARK SHERMAN and MI-                                                                                             him,"  Gorsuch  wrote.  "Yet
            CHAEL LIEDTKE                                                                                                       today the court lets a pass-
            Associated Press                                                                                                    on case proceed."
            WASHINGTON (AP) — Con-                                                                                              The  ruling  threatens  to
            sumers can pursue a lawsuit                                                                                         throw   another   monkey
            complaining  that  iPhone                                                                                           wrench in Apple's efforts to
            apps  cost  too  much,  the                                                                                         increase the revenue gen-
            Supreme  Court  ruled  on                                                                                           erated from its app store at
            Monday, adding to Apple's                                                                                           a time that its iPhone sales
            woes  that  already  include                                                                                        have  plunged  into  their
            falling  iPhone  sales  and  a                                                                                      deepest  slump  since  that
            European investigation.                                                                                             revolutionary  product  hit
            The lawsuit could have ma-                                                                                          the market 12 years ago.
            jor implications for the tech                                                                                       To  counter    the  iPhone
            giant's handling of the more                                                                                        sales  drop,  Apple  is  trying
            than  2  million  apps  in  Ap-                                                                                     to make more money from
            ple's App Store, where users                                                                                        selling  services  such  as  its
            get  much  of  the  software                                                                                        music  subscription  service,
            for their smartphones. While                                                                                        as  well  as  a  forthcoming
            most of those apps are free                                                                                         Netflix-like  video  service
            to download, some impose                                                                                            while also taking a cut from
            fees  for  people  to  use  the                                                                                     the subscriptions and other
            software  and  subscribe  to   In this May 31, 2018, file photo customers enter the Apple store in New York.        transactions done on apps
            the services.                                                                                      Associated Press  downloaded  on  iPhones
            In  those  cases,  Apple                                                                                            and iPads.
            charges  a  commission  of  from Apple to end the law-    Apple says.                  four  conservative  justices,  The effort has been largely
            30%,  a  practice  that  the  suit at this early stage. The  But   Kavanaugh   made  saying that the consumers'  successful, helping to trans-
            lawsuit  contends  unfairly  decision did not involve the  clear  that  consumers  deal  complaint  against  Apple  form the Apple services di-
            drives  up  the  price  for  the  merits of the suit.     with  Apple,  not  software  is  the  kind  of  case  that  a  vision that includes the app
            apps.  Justice  Brett  Kava-  Apple  argues  it's  merely  a  developers.              42-year-old  decision,  in  Il-  store into the fastest grow-
            naugh  wrote  the  major-    pipeline between app de-     "The  iPhone  owners  pur-   linois  Brick  Co.  v.  Illinois,  ing  part  of  the  company.
            ity opinion that agreed the  velopers  and  consumers,  chase  apps  directly  from  was  intended  to  prevent.  Apple's  most  recent  quar-
            antitrust  lawsuit  can  move  and that iPhone users have  the retailer Apple," he said,  The court in that case "held  ter  highlight  the  ongoing
            forward in a lower court.    no  claims  against  Apple  describing  a  relationship  that  an  antitrust  plaintiff  transformation as its servic-
            The  court's  four  liberal  jus-  under  antitrust  law  and  a  sufficient  to  allow  the  law-  can't  sue  a  defendant  for  es  division  revenue  surged
            tices  joined  Kavanaugh,  1977  Supreme  Court  de-      suit to go forward.          overcharging     someone  16% percent from the pre-
            one  of  President  Donald  cision.  Tens  of  thousands  Justice   Neil    Gorsuch,  else  who  might  (or  might  vious  year  to  $11.5  billion
            Trump's two high court ap-   of  developers  create  the  Trump's  other  high  court  not) have passed on all (or  while iPhone sales plunged
            pointees,  to  reject  a  plea  software and set the price,  pick,  wrote  a  dissent  for  some) of the overcharge to  17% to $31 billion.q

             Apple revamps TV app for direct subscriptions to channels



            NEW YORK (AP) — Apple us-    the  need  to  download  or  ing  ones  from  Oprah  Win-  add-ons to their regular sub-  iPhones,  iPads  or  Apple
            ers will be able to subscribe  launch a separate app.     frey  and  Steven  Spielberg.  scriptions,  and  both  have  TV,  buying  subscriptions
            to  HBO,  Showtime  and  a  The new capabilities avail-   Those shows will be part of  original shows. Apple is try-  through Apple will allow us-
            handful  of  other  channels  able Monday come ahead  an  Apple  TV  Plus  subscrip-   ing to catch up on stream-   ers  to  watch  those  videos
            directly  through  Apple's  of  Apple's  plan  to  offer  its  tion  coming  later  this  year  ing video to make up for a  directly in Apple's app.
            new  TV  app,  bypassing  own original shows, includ-     for  a  yet-to-be  disclosed  slowdown in iPhone sales.   They'll  also  be  able  to
                                                                                                                                download videos to watch
                                                                                                                                when there isn't an internet
                                                                                                                                connection, something not
                                                                                                                                always  available  through
                                                                                                                                the individual apps.
                                                                                                                                One  catch:  Subscriptions
                                                                                                                                through the new Apple TV
                                                                                                                                app and individual channel
                                                                                                                                apps are treated separate-
                                                                                                                                ly. So to get the download
                                                                                                                                feature,  users  would  need
                                                                                                                                to cancel their existing HBO
                                                                                                                                subscription  and  sign  up
                                                                                                                                again  through  Apple  TV.
                                                                                                                                Once  they  do  that,  they'll
                                                                       In this March 25, 2019, file photo Peter Stern, Apple Vice Presi-  no longer be able to watch
                                                                      dent  of  Services,  speaks  at  the  Steve  Jobs  Theater  during  an   through  HBO's  own  app.
                                                                      event to announce new products in Cupertino, Calif.       The new Apple TV app will
                                                                                                               Associated Press  also incorporate shows and
                                                                                                                                movies bought through Ap-
                                                                      price.                       Although  those  channels  ple's iTunes store and will in-
                                                                      Hulu  and  Amazon  already  are  already  available  as  troduce a new section with
                                                                      offer premium channels as  part  of  individual  apps  for  kid-friendly videos.q
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