Month: November 2020

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  iOS 14 opened up Apple CarPlay to EV charging apps, and ChargePoint has taken advantage of that. [credit: Eric Bangeman ]

It's fair to say I got excited when Apple first revealed its plan to let users cast iOS apps to a car's infotainment screen via CarPlay. But it's also fair to say that four years after it first arrived in the wild, CarPlay still feels pretty spartan.

A lot of that is down to the categories of apps that Apple will allow crossing the phone-car barrier. To begin with, this feature was limited to audio playback apps like Spotify or Audible. The list of permissible apps remained heavily locked down until earlier this year with the release of iOS 14, which opened up your infotainment screen to parking, takeout, and EV charging apps. And ChargePoint is one of the first charging networks to take advantage of it.

Like always with CarPlay, the ChargePoint app runs on your phone, casting a second screen to the infotainment display. As you can see from the screenshots, the app will show you nearby chargers on a map, let you query what kinds of chargers they are, and then navigate you there, all powered by Apple Maps. The app also allows you to authenticate and begin charging once you're at the charger.

Enlarge / Apple's App Store. (credit: Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images)

In one of the biggest changes to the App Store model ever, Apple today announced that the majority of third-party developers releasing apps and games on the company's App Store will see a reduction in Apple's cut of revenues from 30 percent to 15 percent. The company calls it the App Store Small Business Program, and it aims to improve the company's standing in public perception and antitrust battles while minimally impacting its own bottom line.

The program is opt-in, and any developer whose combined revenue across all their apps was less than $1 million in the previous year (or any developers new to the App Store) can apply and be accepted. The revenue measure at play here includes not just app purchases, but also in-app purchase (IAP) and subscriptions revenue.

If during the course of the year the developer surpasses the $1 million threshold, the 30-percent rate will kick back into effect for the remainder of that year. If the developer falls below the threshold again, they'll receive the 15-percent rate once more the following year.

(credit: Zach Copley)

Bitcoin rose above $18,000 on Tuesday evening, reaching its highest value since December 2017. Indeed, prior to this week bitcoin has only been worth more than $18,000 for a brief four-day period at the peak of the 2017 bitcoin boom: from December 16 to December 19.

After reaching a high around $19,500 in December 2017, the currency's value fell to $6,000 in February 2018, then to $3,200 in December. Since then, its value has risen in fits and starts, rising above $18,000 late on Tuesday.

Bitcoin's value fell a bit in Wednesday morning trading. As I write this, one bitcoin is worth around $17,800.