Top stories today:

1. Apple allows alternative payment systems in App Store
2. Vision Pro getting 180-degree 3D 8K Immersive Videos
3. China’s GDP +5.2% in 2023, as population shrinks, deflation remains
4. Bitcoin ETFs in U.S. attract $1B in assets in 1st week since approval

0. Data and calendar

1. Apple allows alternative payment systems in App Store (with 27% fee), after Supreme Court denies to hear appeal

• 27% fee (or 12% for selected small businesses) compares to the typical 30% (15%) and likely reflects the ~3% in average credit card fees.

• U.S. only.

• Collecting this fee may be hard, especially for smaller app developers, as Apple admits itself.

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney called Apple’s move “bad-faith compliance”

• Unclear whether the courts will consider this fee to be in accordance with the outcome of Epic v. Apple.

2. Vision Pro getting 180-degree 3D 8K Immersive Videos

• 4 initial titles include Alicia Key: Rehearsal Room, Adventure, Wild Life, and Prehistoric Planet Immersive.

• 150 3D (non-Immersive) videos will also be available at launch, mostly from Disney.

• Reviews have been positive video-wise, but many are complaining about the device’s heavy weight, especially after 30+ minute of use.

• The Vision Pro appears not to have Ultra Wideband, nor Wi-Fi 6E or 7.

• International launch may happen before June’s expected WWDC 2024, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

AR VC funding was down to $0.9B in 2023 in the U.S., from $3.1B in 2021

4. China’s GDP +5.2% in 2023, as population shrinks, deflation remains