Jake Schumacher, director of the 2017 documentary App: The Human Story, sent me a note that Sebastiaan de With’s post this week, “Physicality: The New Age of UI” (my thoughts here), reminded him of a clip from the movie where Neven Mrgan compared Skeuomorphic design to classic cars from the 1940s and ’50s. So true. If you’ve got two and a half minutes to spare, watch this.

Jérôme Marin, writing at Cafétech:

The disagreement between Apple and Brussels centers on Article 5.4. In its English version, the article states that the gatekeeper — the term used by the Commission for the seven major tech companies subject to the DMA — “shall allow business users, free of charge, to communicate and promote offers, including under different conditions […], and to conclude contracts with those end users.”

This lengthy sentence creates ambiguity: what exactly does “free of charge” apply to? Apple claims it only applies to “communicate” and “promote,” meaning the right to insert redirect links in an app. But not to “conclude contracts,” meaning making purchases. Based on that, Apple argues it can still charge commissions on those external transactions.

The European Commission interprets it differently: contract conclusion must also be free of charge. It relies on the comma before the phrase “and to conclude contracts,” turning the sentence into an “enumeration.” “That ‘free of charge’ applies to all that is being enumerated after”, it explains in its detailed decision sent to Apple as part of the €500 million fine, which was made public last week.

“In other words, the price for app developers to pay [for external purchases] is zero,” writes the Commission. However, its case could be weakened by inconsistencies in the French and German translations of the text, which it acknowledges are “ambiguous.” Still, “other linguistic versions leave no room for interpretation,” notes Brussels.

I understand why EU laws are published in multiple languages, but it’s wild that that can create possible loopholes like this. But it seems rather obvious what the EC’s intention was here, and it wasn’t for Apple to charge commissions — let alone steep commissions — on transactions that take place outside the app after users tap a link to the web. If I were one of Apple’s lawyers, I’d argue about the placement of a comma too, and what it implies about what “free of charge” applies to. But the EC’s intentions are obvious. It’s not really about a comma.

On this particular issue Apple seems to be facing the exact same pushback in the EU as in the US: their anti-steering rules in the App Store aren’t legal.

Nice write-up from Zac Hall at 9to5Mac:

Theater for visionOS premiered a year ago with a clever software launch campaign: exclusively streaming John Gruber’s The Talk Show post-WWDC event live with 3D video.

The Apple Vision Pro app has continued to mature since its debut, adding extensive Plex support and a full-blown immersive planetarium that now hosts the 2025 SXSW award-winning “Resolution” music experience.

Next up, Theater is returning as the exclusive home to The Talk Show Live event stream.

First, as Hall points out, if you haven’t heard or thought about the Theater app for VisionOS since my show last year, there is now a ton of interesting immersive content there. Second, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve read commentary, or listened to people on podcasts, wonder why there are hardly any “just make it feel like you’re there, in the audience, for the show” immersive shows for VisionOS.

That’s what Sandwich Vision did last year, and is doing even better this year, with my show. I thought it was kind of odd that it was me, of all people, and my once-a-year, not-that-big-a-deal-outside-the-Apple-nerd-media-world show, who was the first to livestream an immersive show experience for VisionOS. Maybe there were others first for Meta’s low-res headsets, but if there were, I’m not aware of them. My show last year really might have been first for any immersive headset.

Afterward, I figured by this year, while it might not be commonplace — simply because Vision Pro ownership is, you know, not that high — it wouldn’t be unusual. But it still is. I honestly don’t get why that is. Anyway, like I wrote in the previous post, if you can make the show, you really should attend. But if you can’t make the show, you definitely should watch live in Theater.

Sandwich Vision:

Theater, the premier platform for spatial media, cinema and events on Apple Vision Pro, is proud to announce the immersive livestream of The Talk Show Live from WWDC on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.

Following last year’s groundbreaking first-ever immersive livestream of the event from John Gruber, host of The Talk Show podcast and author of the renowned Apple blog Daring Fireball, Theater returns with an enhanced experience that builds on a full year of platform development and partnerships.

“When we launched Theater last year to showcase The Talk Show Live, we weren’t just experimenting — we were inviting people to experience a new kind of immersion. Bringing Apple executives into spatial media wasn’t just a world first; it was a glimpse of how shared experiences can transcend screens,” said Adam Lisagor, CEO and founder of Sandwich Vision. “This year, we’re not just adding features — we’re refining how people can feel connected, curious, and delighted together, again and again. Our goal is to make presence and participation the new standard for special events, where technology fades away, and what remains is the shared magic of being there.”

The livestream will be available in both 2D and 3D formats. While the 2D stream will be offered free of charge, the premium 3D immersive experience will be available for $11.99 for tickets purchased in advance, increasing to $14.99 on the day of the event. All ticket holders will receive permanent access to a pristine 6K version of the event to watch forever.

Make your purchases right in the Theater app. I’m snarky in the press release linked above, but I actually thought doing this last year was incredibly cool. Afterwards it was like I got to watch myself perform my own show, which was a lot weirder than just watching myself on regular video.

If you can make the show, you really should attend. Everyone tells me it’s fun. But if you can’t make the show, you definitely should watch live in Theater.

Jacob Kastrenakes, The Verge:

In April, a federal judge demanded that Apple begin allowing web links, cease restricting how links are formatted, and enable developers to offer external payment options without giving the company a cut of their revenue. Apple promptly appealed and requested that the order be put on hold until the legal proceedings were finished.

But an appeals court has now denied Apple’s emergency request to block the order. The court said it was “not persuaded” that blocking the order was appropriate after weighing Apple’s chances to succeed on appeal, whether Apple would be irreparably harmed, whether other parties would be hurt if the order is halted, and what supports the public interest.

The rejection bodes poorly for Apple’s chance of overturning the order, which stems from a lawsuit by Epic Games.

Here’s the denial from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, nearly in its entirety, omitting only legal citations:

Apple’s Emergency Motion Under Circuit Rule 27-3 for a Partial Stay Pending Appeal is DENIED. In deciding whether to impose a stay, we consider: “(1) whether the stay applicant has made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed on the merits; (2) whether the applicant will be irreparably injured absent a stay; (3) whether issuance of the stay will substantially injure the other parties interested in the proceeding; and (4) where the public interest lies.” Apple “bears the burden of showing that the circumstances justify an exercise of [our] discretion.” After reviewing the relevant factors, we are not persuaded that a stay is appropriate.

The earliest this might get overturned, it seems to me, is the end of this year, but I get the feeling this injunction is here to stay.