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The Discovering-and-Subscribing Edition Friday, June 27, 2025

Apple Celebrates 20th Anniversary Of Taking Podcasts Mainstream With iPod And iTunes, by Joe Rossignol, MacRumors

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of iTunes gaining support for podcasts, Apple has shared a new web page highlighting 20 podcasts that the company loves.

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The anniversary is technically in a few more days, as Apple released iTunes 4.9 with support for discovering, listening to, and subscribing to podcasts on June 28, 2005.

Coming Soon?

Unreleased Audio Product Spotted In Apple's Codebase, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

Apple today updated its codebase with a numerical reference to an unreleased audio product. We don't know what the product is, but based on where the information was found and rumors about upcoming devices, it could be the AirPods Pro 3.

Apple In EU

Apple Overhauls EU App Store Rules Following Penalty, by Emma Roth, The Verge

Apple has introduced new App Store changes in the EU in an attempt to avoid being further penalized under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). On Thursday, the company announced a new tier system for its Store Services fee that’s applied to purchases made outside apps, and it will only give developers access to the full set of App Store features if they give Apple a larger commission.

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Apple is also introducing a new fee: the Core Technology Commission. With the update, Apple will take a 5 percent commission on outside purchases made in apps distributed on the App Store. [...] The iPhone maker says that on January 1st, 2026, it’s going to move to a “single business model” for developers in the EU. That means it’s going to transition the Core Technology Fee to the 5 percent Core Technology Commission on digital goods and services sold on the App Store and alternative marketplaces.

Stuff

The Economist Redesigns Its App To Promote Short Stories On Weekdays And Longer Reads On Weekends, by Hanaa' Tameez, Nieman Lab

People tend to think of The Economist as a weekend magazine. With the launch of an app redesign, the publisher is trying to encourage readers to see it as an outlet for daily news and analysis.

Develop

Swift, A Coding Language Developed By Apple, Is Working To Add Android Support, by Ben Schoon, 9to5Google

In an announcement this week, Swift has opened up an “Android Working Group” which will “establish and maintain Android as an officially supported platform for Swift.”

Notes

Apple Perth City: New Forrest Place Store To Offer Guided Tech Tours And Pick-up Counter In Australia Firsts, by Zach Margolius, The West Austrialian

Commuters might have noticed recent updates to the building’s facade, with the store’s exterior displaying dark green wallpaper to compliment an Apple-shaped light fixture hanging from a central arch as it points to its official unveiling date.

Ms O’Brien said the brand’s move to the heritage building is no coincidence, with every inch of the new space designed to celebrate the company’s varied clientele, and stay true to its commitment to sustainability.

More On Apple’s Trust-Eroding ‘F1 The Movie’ Wallet Ad, by John Gruber, Daring Fireball

It’s not just that many people find ads annoying, no matter where they appear. It’s that Apple Wallet ought to be sacrosanct — like the Passwords and Journal apps. Apple is asking us to trust this app with our finances, our identity cards, and our keys. [...] Sending this ad is completely destructive to the all the hard work other teams at Apple have done to make Apple Wallet actually private.

Apple Considers Theatrical Arm Amid $250M Bet On 'F1: The Movie', by Hartley Charlton, MacRumors

Amid its push to promote "F1: The Movie," Apple is considering starting its own theatrical distribution unit, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Bottom of the Page

Back in 2004, I was listening to radio on my daily commute. But whenever the train I was in reached the underground tunnel portion of the subway line, whatever I was listening to goes away.

So when Apple introduced the iPod mini, I was delighted that, not because it was available in blue, but it was cheaper. So I saved up some money so that I will be able to listen to the small CD collection I've had back then, plus a few... er... songs that I've had discovered over the internet. I've had nowhere near a thousand songs to put in my pocket. I was hoping I didn't make a wrong decision, and ended up not listening on the iPod mini because I will get bored with my iTunes library.

Of course, podcast happened more or less at the same time I've gotten my first iPod, and I never did run out of new things to listen.

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Shortly after podcast was invented, I started to listen to audiobooks because of all the audiobook advertisements in podcasts. :-)

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Thanks for reading.