Apple lets some streaming services bypass its 30% App Store fee

Apple allows Amazon Prime Video to dodge the 30% App Store fee.

What you need to know

• Apple is allowing some video apps to dodge its 30% cut of in-app purchases.
• The company has a program for "premium subscription video entertainment providers".
• Amazon Prime Video is the latest service to take advantage of the program.

Earlier today it was revealed that users were finally able to purchase movies and TV shows through the Amazon Prime Video app on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. Many were wondering why this change happened, and a new report from Bloomberg has shed some light on the situation.

Apple has reportedly relaxed its policy of charging a 30% fee when certain video streaming apps sell a movie or TV show through its ecosystem. The company says that it has an established program for what the company calls "premium subscription video entertainment providers" that allows them to charge customers using their own payment system rather than having to go through Apple's infrastructure.

"Apple has an established program for premium subscription video entertainment providers to offer a variety of customer benefits ... customers have the option to buy or rent movies and TV shows using the payment method tied to their existing video subscription."

Apple says the program for these providers also brings a lot of other benefits to both them and their customers such as "integration with the Apple TV app, AirPlay 2 support, tvOS apps, universal search, Siri support and, where applicable, single or zero sign-on." A few providers have been found to be part of the program so far, including Amazon Prime Video, Canal+, and Altice One.

Most streaming services that offer in-app purchases must be done using Apple's own payment processing system which charges a 30% cut. It is unclear what Apple deems as a "premium subscription video entertainment provider", so it is tough to say which apps are eligible to become part of the program and avoid that 30% fee.

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Tile says Apple's anti-competitive behavior has "gotten worse, not better"

Tile says that iOS 13 is threatening the core functionality of their app.

What you need to know

• Tile says that Apple's anti-competitive behavior has gotten worse.
• It testified to a congressional committee on Wednesday.
• Tile claims Apple's software updates hurt the company's core business.

In January, Tile testified against Apple, claiming that the company was being anti-competitive towards the company. Apple has stopped selling its trackers in its stores, hired one of their engineers, and is rumored to be close to launching its own product and service similar to what Tile currently offers.

Reported by Reuters, Tile testified that Apple has failed in resolving its dispute and has also introduced restrictions in iOS that directly harms their business. In a statement to the congressional committee, the company says that "unfortunately, since that hearing (in January), Apple's anti-competitive behaviors have gotten worse, not better."

With iOS 13, users are regularly asked if they want to continue to allow an app access to their location. While Apple says that this change is to bring transparency to its customers and protect their privacy, Tile says that it is prohibitive to their business. The company says Apple has promised to bring the "Always Allow" setting back for third party developers but still has not done so.

"Despite Apple's multiple promises to reinstate 'Always Allow' background permissions option for third-party apps' geolocation services, Apple has not yet done so."

In contrast, Apple's Find My app tracks a user's location in the background without having to regularly accept it. Apple is also rumored to be launching a competitor to Tile, which will theoretically also operate outside of the requirements that Tile must adhere to.

The lawsuit is one of many against the larger technology companies and is being carried out by the U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission.

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Best online tax-filing software 2020: TurboTax, H&R Block, TaxAct, and TaxSlayer compared

Updated April 1, 2020 to add information on the tax-filing deadline extension due to COVID-19. (No, this is not an April Fools’ gag!)

In normal circumstances, the countdown to getting your 2019 taxes filed would begin in ernest today. But seeing as circumstances are far from normal, the deadline for filing both federal and state taxes has been extended. (Good news, procrastinators!) All federal taxes are now due on July 15, 2020.  As TurboTax points out in a helpful FAQ, no additional action is required on your part to be eligible for the federal extension—it applies across the board. 

To read this article in full, please click here

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Apple adds more detailed financial report to App Store for developers

Developers get a new report for more detail on App Store purchases.

What you need to know

• Apple has created a new financial report for developers.
• The "All Countries or Regions (Detailed)" report provides new details on the sale of apps.
• State or province information is also provided from U.S. and Canadian customers.

Developers have a lot of reporting that they can dive into through App Store Connect in order to understand their app's performance as well as its customer base.

Apple is adding a new report that developers can access through App Store Connect that will provide more detailed financial information about its customers. The company announced the new report in a blog post on its Developer website.

The "All Countries or Regions (Detailed)" report will provide developers with more details about the sales of their apps, with information like transaction and settlement dates. From customers in the United States and Canada, they will also be able to see the state or province that the person purchased the app from.

"Starting April 2020, you can get more details on the final proceeds of your apps and in-app purchases, including the transaction and settlement dates for purchases, as well as the state or province for transactions in the United States and Canada. Simply download the "All Countries or Regions (Detailed)" report in App Store Connect."

Developers can learn about the new report at Apple's Developer website.

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Notion hits $2 billion valuation in new raise

Notion, a startup that operates a workplace productivity platform, has raised $50 million from Index Ventures and other investors at a $2 billion valuation, the company told The New York Times.

A Notion spokesperson confirmed the raise and valuation to TechCrunch.

As startups across the board begin looking at layoffs or raising at less than favorable terms, Notion had been in the unusual position of turning away interested investors for years. With this raise, the firm has amassed $67 million in total funding, the company says. Their last raise of $10M valued them at $800 million.

The company’s highly customizable note-taking app allows enterprise customers to create linked networks of databases and documents.

In November, COO Akshay Kothari told TechCrunch that the company was hoping not to raise outside funding again, “So far one of the things we’ve found is that we haven’t really been constrained by money. We’ve had opportunities to raise a lot more, but we’ve never felt like if we had more money we could grow faster.”

Why Notion is staying small as its valuation gets bigger

What’s changed? Just the global economy. The firm told the Times that this new raise should put them in a more stable position and leave them with enough funding for “at least” 10 years. That said, the startup’s team has expanded rapidly in recent months, growing 40% since November. Their user numbers appear to also be growing rapidly, with Kothari telling the Times that total users have “nearly quadrupled” from one million, a figure the company released in early 2019.

Notion offers free and paid accounts, ranging from $5 to $25 billed monthly.

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Olive, a startup developing an automation tool for healthcare administration, raises $51 million

Time is money, as the old adage goes, and this is doubly true in healthcare systems operating with thin margins now made even thinner thanks to the loss of revenue caused by a freeze on elective procedures.

Stepping in with a technology that automates much of the time-consuming back-end processes hospitals and healthcare providers need to keep up with is Olive, a startup out of Columbus, Ohio.

The company, which counts among its customers more than 500 hospitals representing some of the largest healthcare providers in the U.S., has raised a new round of $51 million as it sees significant growth for its business.

The round, raised from investors including Drive Capital, Oak HC/FT and Ascension Ventures, was led by General Catalyst, which recently closed on $2.3 billion in new capital to invest in early-stage companies.

As a result of the investment, Ron Paulus, the former president and chief executive of Mission Health, will join the board of directors, the company said in a statement.

Olive’s software toolkit automates administrative tasks like revenue cycle, supply chain management, clinical administration and human resources, the company said in a statement. And demand for the company’s technology is surging. 

According to data provided by the company, roughly half of hospital administrators intend to invest in robotic process automation by 2021.

“There’s a growing, multi-billion dollar problem: healthcare doesn’t have the internet. Instead, healthcare uses humans as routers, forcing workers to toggle between disparate systems — they copy, they paste, they manipulate data – they become robots. They click and type and extract and import, all day long — and it’s one of the leading reasons that one out of every three dollars spent in the industry today is spent on administrative costs,” said Olive chief executive Sean Lane in a September statement.

Olive doesn’t just automate processes, but makes those processes better for hospitals by identifying problem areas that could lead to lost revenues for hospitals. The software has access to pre-existing health claim status data, which allows it to identify where mistakes in previous claims were made. By using accurate coding, hospitals can add additional revenue.

“As a recent health system CEO, I appreciate the duress our hospitals are under as they focus on delivering the best patient care possible under challenging circumstances all while needing to keep the lights on,” said Dr. Ronald A. Paulus. “Olive’s reliable automation of essential back-office processes saves time, reduces errors and allows staff to focus on higher-order work. I am excited to be working closely with Olive’s management team to maximize the outsized positive impact we can have in healthcare on both the administrative and clinical fronts.”

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Facebook and Fox News hosting virtual town hall on coronavirus pandemic using Portal devices

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Facebook and Fox News will be hosting a virtual town hall tomorrow at 7PM ET about the coronavirus pandemic using Facebook’s Portal video-calling devices, the two companies announced today.

To allow people to participate virtually, Facebook is shipping a Portal Plus device to every audience member so they can attend the town hall and ask questions of the speakers. Approximately 30 people will attend the town hall via Portal, Facebook tells The Verge.

Approximately 30 people will attend the town hall

Typically, a total of eight people can be on a Portal call, according to a Facebook support page, so it seems Facebook is making some sort of special circumstance for more people to attend this event.

The town hall is being hosted virtually...

Continue reading…

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