There have been several bits of App Store-related news over the past day, so here is a roundup of some of the more prominent items:
- iPad Swiping: As noted by MacStories, Apple has improved navigation of the iPad App Store, now allowing users to swipe between pages of featured apps and other listings. Users had previously needed to tap navigation arrows to move between pages, but moving to swipe-based navigation makes for a more natural interface and faster page changes.
- Yuan Now Accepted in China: Penn Olson reports that Apple is now accepting renminbi, the local Chinese currency, for App Store purchases in China. With the new pricing in yuan, Chinese customers will no longer be required to make purchases funded by credit cards in U.S. dollars. Apple has also begun accepting payment via local bank cards, with customers able to top-up their iTunes Store accounts with prepaid amounts from their bank accounts to fund their App Store purchases.
- Kindle Fire Added to 'Amazon Appstore' Lawsuit: Despite the fact that Apple has not yet won a trademark registration on the term "App Store", it sued Amazon back in March over the company's use of the term in its Amazon Appstore for Android. A judge declined to issue a preliminary injunction against Amazon in July, and the full trial is not set to take place until October 2012.
With Amazon having just launched its new Kindle Fire tablet, Apple has expanded its lawsuit to address the fact that Amazon is promoting its "Appstore" in conjunction with the device. As reported by paidContent, Apple has also included new claims of false advertising in the lawsuit.
Apple's revised complaint is intended to show that Amazon has continued to use the "Appstore" term even in the face of Apple's prior claims of trademark infringement, hoping to establish a pattern of willful misrepresentation on Amazon's part leading to customer confusion over the app marketplaces. The courts and trademark examiners have yet to look favorably upon Apple's claims regarding "App Store" being an allowable trademark for the company, but it is clear that Apple is still trying to press its positions.
Wednesday December 24, 2025 8:40 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future.
To set up the...
Tuesday December 23, 2025 8:36 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another nine months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models.
The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras
Under-screen Face ID
Front camera in...
Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
Wednesday December 24, 2025 9:27 am PST by Juli Clover
2026 is almost upon us, and a new year is a good time to try out some new apps. We've rounded up 10 excellent Mac apps that are worth checking out.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Alt-Tab (Free) - Alt-Tab brings a Windows-style alt + tab thumbnail preview option to the Mac. You can see a full window preview of open apps and app windows.
One Thing (Free) -...
Monday December 22, 2025 8:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Earlier this month, Apple released iOS 26.2, following more than a month of beta testing. It is a big update, with many new features and changes for iPhones.
iOS 26.2 adds a Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more. Below, we have highlighted a total of eight new features.
Liquid Glass Slider on Lock Screen
A new slider in the Lock...
Tuesday December 23, 2025 5:21 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's first foldable iPhone, rumored for release next year, may turn out to be smaller than most people imagine, if a recent report is anything to go by. According to The Information, the outer display on the book-style device will measure just 5.3 inches – that's smaller than the 5.4-inch screen on the iPhone mini, a line Apple discontinued in 2022 due to poor sales. The report has led ...
Apple reportedly tested a version of the first-generation AirPods with bright, iPhone 5c-like colored charging cases.
The images, shared by the Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami," claim to show first-generation AirPods prototypes with pink and yellow exterior casings. The interior of the charging case and the earbuds themselves remain white.
They seem close to some...
Tuesday December 23, 2025 11:55 am PST by Juli Clover
Samsung is working on a new foldable smartphone that's wider and shorter than the models that it's released before, according to Korean news site ETNews. The "Wide Fold" will compete with Apple's iPhone Fold that's set to launch in September 2026.
Samsung's existing Galaxy Z Fold7 display is 6.5 inches when closed, and 8 inches when open, with a 21:9 aspect ratio when folded and a 20:18...
Wednesday December 24, 2025 7:24 am PST by Joe Rossignol
With the end of 2025 near, the time has come to look back at the devices and accessories that Apple discontinued throughout the year.
Most of the products that were discontinued this year were simply replaced by a new model with an updated chip. However, the iPhone SE line was entirely discontinued when the iPhone 16e launched, and the iPhone Plus line is being phased out.
Below, we have...
I don't understand people who think that App Store is generic.
What do you think if you walked into a CVS Store and saw a sign "Winter is here! Get your kleenex and bounty stocked up!"? Then you walk to the isle to find CVS branded paper towels and tissue papers looking like those brands but not them at all.
I don't think that's fair, and CVS does this all the time. There's an expensive bottle of shampoo on the shelve and right next to it is CVS' one looking exactly the same, same colors, shapes and design, just a slightly different name.
This is just a free ride for Amazon, Google and Microsoft and they know it.
Just going to point out in for Kleenex and Bounty the companies made a point of providing a generic term for their product and using that generic term when describing others.
Apple on the other hand failed to do both those. They used the term app store generically multiple times. You have keynots from their CEO Steve Jobs using "app store" to describe Google's Market, Blackberry's Appword and Microsoft's Marketplace.
That kind of kills a good chunk of Apple's arguments of the term is not generic. It hard to argue that when ones own CEO used it that way in public keynotts. This does not include it being used by the press that way time and time again.
Even if Apple somehow wins the trademark they still have to win again in court that the term is not generic. Getting the trademark is going to be the easier for the two battles for Apple. Amazon only has to win one of them. Apple has to win them both and both are going to be a huge up hill battle for Apple.
Before the first iPhone "App Store" was NOT a generic term. It was hardly used if at all. When the first iPhone came out and Apple pushed the term as their store and the "App" branding then it became a term everyone knew. Then of course it feels generic, but really no - its not generic at all. Its a common phrase NOW but pre-iPhone most people had never heard it used.
Yes, it was. "App Store" existed on a number of mobile phones, pda's, etc long before the iPhone was even conceived.
"App" has been a known word for "Application" for years...Apple did not invent the word.
not to get sidetracked here but this is part of the original post:
I LOVE the new App Store Swiping. I was annoyed with this and told my wife about it last week (just got an iPad on Halloween) and said, "with all the swiping capabilities on the iPad I wonder why I have to hit that tiny button rather than a swipe."
the full trial is not set to take place until October 2012.
Until then, Apple and Amazon are free to pursue each other.
Apple is looking for some form of injunction or penalty against Amazon, though on the trademark grounds Apple hasn't got one yet, and probably never will.
I hope Apple drops the trademark issue. It's clear, at least from a lay perspective, that that's a lost cause.
They might have chance in the "willful misrepresentation" line, however. Probably plenty of fodder there.
I think we're seeing an Apple vs. Samsung-type battle play out here. Pretty soon we'll be seeing Apple vs. Amazon news.
Hopefully Amazon will be a little brighter in the courtroom.
I am as shocked as I am sure LTD will be when I say that I agree. I think this is a lost cause and a waste of time and resources. I don't begrudge Apple for trying - but I think the likelihood of success is nil.
