This Week in Apps: Apple, Google, and Twitter Updates

The Ever-Evolving App Landscape: A Weekly Recap

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the regular TechCrunch series dedicated to summarizing the latest developments in mobile operating systems, applications, and the broader app economy.

The app industry demonstrates continued expansion, achieving a record 218 billion downloads and $143 billion in global consumer expenditure in 2020. Android users alone spent an astounding 3.5 trillion minutes utilizing apps last year. Furthermore, app usage in the U.S. now surpasses the time dedicated to watching live television. Currently, the average American dedicates 3.7 hours daily to live TV, contrasted with four hours spent on mobile devices.

Apps are not merely a source of entertainment; they represent a substantial business opportunity. Mobile-first companies boasted a combined valuation of $544 billion in 2019, a figure 6.5 times greater than their non-mobile-focused counterparts. In 2020, investors channeled $73 billion in capital into mobile companies, marking a 27% year-over-year increase.

This Week in Apps provides a centralized resource for staying informed about this rapidly changing industry, offering the latest news, updates, startup funding announcements, merger and acquisition details, and recommendations for new apps and games.

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Top Stories

Google Responds to Epic Games Antitrust Suit; Apple Files Appeal

As the legal proceedings between Apple and Epic Games continue with an appeal, Google this week submitted a response and counterclaim in the antitrust litigation initiated by Epic Games. The technology giant and Android developer refutes Epic’s allegations of anti-competitive behavior and asserts its own claim for relief. This stems from Epic Games’ violation of the Google Play Developer Distribution Agreement (DDA) by enabling Fortnite players who downloaded the app through Google Play to utilize Epic’s independent payment processing technology.

This situation mirrors the events on the App Store, where Epic Games updated its application to circumvent App Store policies and subsequently facilitated payments through its own system, breaching its contractual obligations with Apple. The court previously ruled that Epic owed Apple $6 million in financial compensation.

Epic Games engaged in similar actions on Google Play, as alleged in the counterclaim. Last year, Epic submitted a version of Fortnite to Google Play incorporating Epic’s direct payment system, bypassing Google Play Billing. This submission was immediately rejected due to non-compliance with Google’s policies. Epic then submitted a compliant version in April 2020, which Google characterizes as a deceptive tactic intended to provoke litigation. This revised version concealed Epic’s payment system within an update distributed to both Apple and Google’s app stores, allowing Epic to switch to its own payment system via a server-side configuration change, or “hotfix,” without Google’s knowledge.

This switch was activated on August 13, 2020, granting Fortnite users the choice between Google Play Billing and Epic’s direct payments. Google now seeks to recover losses incurred due to this version, as users who downloaded the app from the Play Store could continue using Epic’s billing even after the app’s removal.

Epic’s argument centers on the assertion that Apple and Google’s exclusive requirement for in-app payment systems constitutes monopolistic practice, disadvantaging developers. In Apple’s case, the court acknowledged that Apple should not prohibit developers from sharing links to alternative payment methods within their apps or communicating such options to customers. However, it did not declare Apple a monopoly. Despite this largely favorable outcome, Apple decided to appeal its case this week, following Epic’s own appeal filing.

A key aspect of Apple’s appeal is its request for a stay on implementing changes to the App Store’s anti-steering guidelines. This would maintain the current status quo, preventing developers from adding links to their websites and alternative payment methods until the appeals case is resolved – a process potentially spanning months or even years.

Google’s situation differs from Apple’s, however. Android permits sideloading of apps, providing an alternative avenue for reaching Android users outside of Google Play, making an antitrust claim more challenging.

Twitter Adds More Advertisements

Twitter announced it is testing a new ad format and placement on its platform. On Wednesday, Bruce Falck, Twitter’s Revenue Product Lead, stated that the platform would begin displaying ads within conversation threads on mobile devices after the first, third, and eighth replies. While the company did not confirm the change’s permanence, it indicated it would experiment with different insertion points and layouts to optimize effectiveness. Twitter also suggested considering an opt-in system for creators to display ads in their threads, with creators receiving a share of the ad revenue.

Historically, Twitter has struggled to achieve significant user base growth, necessitating more innovative approaches to maximizing revenue from its existing users. Despite numerous new product developments – including creator tools, subscriptions, audio chat rooms, and tipping – Twitter has yet to experience a breakthrough success. Recent third-party data suggests that Twitter’s new creator platform, Super Follow, generated approximately $6,000 in its first two weeks in the U.S. and Canada, or around $12,400 over 17 days in September, according to another analysis.

Twitter has pledged to investors that it will double its revenue from $3.7 billion in 2020 to $7.5 billion or more by 2023. If new products fail to generate substantial profits, increasing the ad load could be a solution. However, monetizing conversations in this manner could incentivize users to post content designed for virality, potentially impacting Twitter’s content and culture. Twitter is already known for rewarding performative content, such as snarky remarks, jokes, and emotionally charged tweets; linking virality to creator revenue could further distance the platform from genuine, thoughtful discussions.

Weekly News

Platforms: Apple

• Apple announced another fall event on Monday, October 18 at 10 AM PT. New Macs and MacBook Pros are expected to be the focus, but there may be updates relevant to cross-platform app developers.
• Apple released the fourth developer betas for iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1, tvOS 15.1 and watchOS 8.1, as well as public tester betas. iOS 15.1 allows users to disable Apple TV and Apple Watch keyboard notifications on their iPhones.
• Compose for Wear OS entered Developer Preview after several alpha releases. Compose for Wear OS aims to simplify UI development and offers built-in support for Material You.

Platforms: Google

Google announced the completion of its self-paced programming course, Android Basics in Kotlin. The course is divided into units with quizzes to assess learning.

Jeff Verkoeyen, Google’s iOS design chief, announced on Twitter that his team will phase out the open-source Material components libraries for iOS in favor of Apple’s UIKit.

An app teardown revealed Google may add a Digital Car Key feature in an upcoming Play Service update. This feature was initially announced at Google I/O for Android 12.

Google SVP Hiroshi Lockheimer tweeted a request to Apple to support RCS (an upgrade to SMS).

E-commerce/Food delivery

• DoorDash introduced a self-serve ad platform allowing marketers to reach customers within the app and grow their businesses.

Augmented Reality/VR

• HTC released its new Vive Flow VR headset, designed for ease of use, particularly for older adults. The headset connects wirelessly to an Android smartphone and uses the phone as a remote and touchpad.

Social

Facebook launched an “Audio” hub in the U.S. for podcasts, live audio, and short-form clips called “Soundbites.” The company also expanded the availability of Live Audio Rooms and introduced Soundbites, a TikTok-like platform for audio clips.

Twitter launched support for Ticketed Spaces on Android users in the U.S. Creators can now charge entry fees for their voice chat rooms.

Following a significant outage, Facebook announced it would test a new Instagram feature to notify users of outages or technical issues.

Reddit launched a new posting format called “Predictions” allowing users to guess the answers to timely questions.

TikTok’s transparency report revealed it removed 81,518,334 videos for violating its community guidelines between April 1 and June 30, 2020.

TikTok added new mute options for livestream comments, allowing users to mute individual viewers.

Instagram added new scheduling and “practice mode” features for Instagram Live, allowing users to promote their Live broadcasts in advance.

Snapchat’s app experienced an outage that prevented users from posting messages for hours.

Messaging

WhatsApp now allows users to encrypt their chat backups in the cloud, addressing a significant privacy vulnerability.

Gaming

Roblox outlined plans to modernize player avatars, introduce new monetization streams, and streamline the development experience.

Google’s Stadia game streaming service brought its “direct touch” controls to iOS.

Dating

Tinder released a new “Plus One” feature to help users find a wedding date.

Utilities/Other

• Disney’s Disney Genie service launched at Walt Disney World Resort, offering personalized trip planning and optional paid access to faster ride queues.

Google changed how search results load on mobile devices, enabling continuous scrolling instead of pagination.

Apple updated its Apple Support app, adding in-app access to AppleCare+ Express Replacement.

Tile updated its app with a “Lost and Found” feature and stalkerware detection.

Government & Policy

• Apple removed the ad-blocker app 1Blocker from the Chinese App Store, claiming it functions as a VPN without proper licensing.
• Microsoft is pulling LinkedIn from the Chinese market due to increasing regulatory changes.

Security & Privacy

• Apple’s iOS 15.0.2 update addressed a memory corruption vulnerability that was actively exploited.
• Google removed ads for “stalkerware” apps that enabled spying on spouses’ phones.

Funding and M&A

💰 Nigerian neobank Sparkle closed a $3.1 million seed funding round to expand its services.

💰 Berlin-based health tech app Mayd raised €13 million ($15 million) in seed funding for its on-demand medication delivery service.

💰 Digital lending startup Tala raised $145 million for its Android app used by over 6 million customers.

💰 Intro, an app connecting experts with those seeking advice, raised a $10 million seed round.

🤝 Mobile app monetization provider InMobi acquired performance insights platform Appsumer.

💰 Mental healthcare app ThoughtFull raised $1.1 million in seed funding.

💰 French startup Swile raised $200 million in Series D funding, valuing the business at over $1 billion.

💰 Indian fintech app CRED is in talks to raise funds at a $5.5 billion valuation.

🤝 Corporate travel booking app Lola was acquired by Capital One.

💰 Mental health app MentalHappy launched its app with $1.1 million in seed funding.

💰 Mobile gaming startup Homa Games raised $50 million in Series A funding.

Downloads

Clash

Following the ban on TikTok, Byte’s users migrated to Clash. This week, Clash relaunched its app with features from Byte and new tools for creators to monetize their fan base. The focus is now on coexisting with TikTok, rather than competing directly. The rebuilt Clash app introduces Drops (virtual tips) and Fanmail (paid messaging) to enable creators to connect with their most loyal fans. Creators can cash out once they reach $25 in Drops. The app is available on the App Store and will soon launch on Android.

Monument Valley 2 (update)

The puzzle game Monument Valley 2 received a new chapter four years after its initial release. The “Lost Forest” chapter promotes forest conservation and encourages players to sign the Play4Forests petition.

Wisdom

U.K.-based social audio startup Wisdom launched its app, a combination of Clubhouse and MasterClass. Users can join live and on-demand audio conversations with experts on various topics. A recommendation algorithm matches users with relevant interests. At launch, 10,000 experts are signed up to offer their advice.