This Week in Apps: Facebook’s other Clubhouse rival, Apple details ATT, App Store trial nears


Facebook has been making preparations, however, and has introduced additional commerce products like Facebook Shops and Instagram Shops across its various platforms. The offerings enable retailers to tap into Facebook’s backend tools and sell directly through the social network’s brands. Most notably, the social media company in 2020 introduced Facebook Shops and Instagram Shops. These features make it possible for brands to list their product catalogs directly on Facebook’s most popular apps, and sell goods directly on Facebook and Instagram. Facebook has prepared for the looming Apple changes by introducing more commerce products. The Apple iOS 14 software update will require app developers including Facebook to request permission from users before tracking them through Apple’s Identified for Advertisers .

With the public release of iOS 14.5, which is expected soon, Apple will be shaking up the app economy with the launch of its App Tracking Transparency framework, or ATT. This requires iOS apps to begin prompting users for permission to track their users’ activity, instead of just quietly doing so — generally without the user’s informed consent. Apple has said developers can explain in this prompt why they’re asking for this permission — for example, because they want to serve more personalized ads, perhaps.

Or you could use it for fun to create a scavenger hunt in the house for the kids. The app is a free download in the Education category on iOS and Android. Google opened up applications for its 2021 Change The Game Design Challenge, which will again crochet kits for beginners be virtual. Participants who are chosen will be invited to an online game development workshop hosted by Google’s partner, Girls Make Games. The workshop will offer four sessions, kicking off in June and running through the end of the summer.

In the first two weeks of 2021, the top 10 casual games saw 80 million downloads. Apple this week released its seventh betas for iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5 and other platforms, including Apple TV and Apple Watch — iOS 14.5 brings the rollout of App Tracking Transparency, which is why Apple is probably taking its time with this one. Zuckerberg’s comments are the most optimistic statements Facebook has delivered about how the looming Apple changes may impact the company’s advertising business.

Apple today announced the next-generation 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with faster 5nm-based M2 Pro and M2 Max chips, up to 96GB of RAM, an upgraded HDMI 2.1 port with support for an 8K external display, faster Wi-Fi 6E, and more. The new M2 Pro chip features a 10-core or 12-core CPU and offers up to 20% faster performance than the M1 Pro chip, according to Apple. It does seem like that the tune changed a lot for Zuckerberg, but it does look like something that will be welcomed by those who are concerned about their privacy. It is evident that this change in stance is self-serving, but it still is a push in the right direction.

We have independently confirmed that the listing exists, and it could indicate that a new version of the MacBook Pro is on the horizon. For now, the filing remains visible on Canada’s Radio Equipment List and can be searche… During the Clubhouse discussion, Zuckerberg said that these changes will affect small businesses and developers.