December 12, 2023

IN THIS ISSUE

⚖️ Epic beats Google

📱 What's new in iOS 17.2

📺 YouTube-obsessed

🖥️ Ditching the ultrawide

UP FIRST

Google loses landmark antitrust lawsuit aginst Epic Games

The dispute began in 2020 when Google — and Apple — removed Epic's Fortnite game from their app stores after Epic implemented its own in-app payment system to avoid handing them a cut of sales

Google has lost a landmark case against Epic Games after a jury decided on Monday that the web giant operates an illegal monopoly via its Android app store.

The decision was announced at the end of a month-long trial that itself was part of a longer legal dispute between Google and Fortnite-maker Epic that’s been rumbling on since 2020.

The outcome has the potential to disrupt the app store sector significantly, giving app developers vastly more power over how their apps are distributed and how they make money from them.

Following just a few hours of deliberations, the jury in San Francisco sided with Epic, agreeing that Google operates a monopoly in the mobile app store market and carries out anti-competitive practices that adversely affect the gaming company ...

iPHONE UPDATE

iOS 17.2 just arrived. Here's what's new in the big iPhone update

A notable new feature is the Journal app that was missing from the initial iOS 17 release in the fall

After two beta versions, Apple has released iOS 17.2 to the general public.

This update is a rather big one, as it finally brings Apple’s native Journal app, which was missing from the initial iOS 17 release earlier this year. On top of that, there are more big changes for Apple Music and elsewhere.

The biggest feature of the iOS 17.2 update is the new Journal app. This native app lets users record posts about their day, with the ability to add photos and video, audio clips, and even location data, all of which the user can reflect on at some point in the future. It’s another great step for helping with mental well-being, similar to the daily mood feature in Apple Health ...

SOCIAL MEDIA

Many teens using YouTube, TikTok 'almost constantly'

The results of the research will come as little surprise to those with teenage children ... or the teens themselves

U.S. teens can’t get enough of social media apps like YouTube and TikTok, according to new data from the Pew Research Center.

Nearly 20% of the surveyed 13-to-17-year-olds said they use the apps “almost constantly.” YouTube emerged as the most widely used platform, with 93% of surveyed teens confirming that they regularly use the video streaming service.

TikTok placed second, with 63% of teens saying they use the app, followed by Snapchat (60%) and Instagram (59%).

Teenage girls are more likely to use BeReal, TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook, while their opposite number more often head for Discord and Twitch.

Pew Research also confirmed declining interest among teens in Facebook, once the go-to platform for the younger generation, with usage dropping from 71% in 2014-2015 to just 33% today ...

OPINION by Jacob Roach

I've used ultrawide monitors for a decade. Here's why I've given up on them

'There are still situations where the immersive experience feels like it's held together by duct tape and glue'

I've been using an ultrawide monitor for a decade, picking up LG's first ultrawide display: the 29EA93. It's terrible by today's standards, but I fell in love immediately.

I was using Pro Tools a lot at the time, and the extra screen real estate was a godsend for seeing more of my window. It also helped that I could pull up two browser windows side by side to multitask, as well as enjoy deeper immersion in games.

A decade on, I’ve just finally gone back to using a 16:9 display — the KTC G42P5 — that I recently picked up on a Cyber Monday sale. Just a few months ago, however, I wrote how I couldn’t live without an ultrawide monitor. What changed? Let’s dig in ...

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