People in the European Union are now allowed to access alternative app stores thanks to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a regulation designed to foster increased competition in the app ecosystem. Like Apple’s App Store, alternative app marketplaces on allow for easy access to a wider world of apps on Apple devices, but instead of the apps going through Apple’s App Review process, the apps on these third-party marketplaces have to go through a notarization process to ensure they meet some “baseline platform integrity standards,” Apple says — like being malware-free. However, each store can review and approve apps according to its own policies. The stores are also responsible for any matters relating to support and refunds, not Apple. 

To run an alternative app marketplace, developers must accept Apple’s alternative business terms for DMA-compliant apps in the EU. This includes paying a new Core Technology Fee of €0.50 for each first annual install of their marketplace app, even before the threshold of 1 million installs is met, which is the bar for other EU apps distributed under Apple’s DMA business terms. 

Despite the complicated new rules, a handful of developers have taken advantage of the opportunity to distribute their apps outside of Apple’s walls. 

Beyond the EU, other markets are experimenting with alternative app stores, as well, like Japan. In December 2025, Apple announced its compliance with the Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA), which gives developers new options to distribute apps and process payments outside of Apple’s App Store.

This option also requires developers to accept new business terms, like a reduced 10% to 21% App Store commission, a payment processing fee for Apple in-app purchases of 5%, a core technology fee of 5%, and a 15% store services commission on web sales made through a link in the app.

Below is a list of the alternative app stores iPhone users in these markets can try today. 

AltStore PAL (EU)

Co-created by developer Riley Testut, maker of the Nintendo game emulator app Delta, the AltStore PAL is an officially approved alternative app marketplace in the EU. The open source app store will allow independent developers to distribute their apps alongside the apps from AltStore’s makers, Delta, and a clipboard manager, called Clip. 

Unlike Apple’s App Store, AltStore apps are self-hosted by the developer. To work, developers download an alternative distribution packet (ADP) and upload it to their server, then create a “source” that users will add to the AltStore to access their apps. That means the only apps you’ll see in the AltStore are those you’ve added yourselves. 

Some popular apps that users are adding include the virtual machine app UTM, which lets you run Windows and other software on iOS or iPad; OldOS, a re-creation of iOS 4 that’s built in SwiftUI; Kotoba, the iOS dictionary available as a stand-alone app; torrenting app iTorrent; qBittorrent remote client for iOS devices called qBitControl; and social discovery platform PeopleDrop.

Setapp Mobile (EU – closed Feb. 2026)

MacPaw’s Setapp became one of the first companies to agree to Apple’s new DMA business terms to set up an alternative app store for EU users. Unfortunately, this app store didn’t last long — the company announced it would sunset the Setapp Mobile service on February 16, 2026. (Applications on Setapp Desktop weren’t affected.) The company cited Apple’s “still-evolving” and complex business terms as the reason for its decision.

The company had long offered a subscription-based service featuring a selection of curated apps for customers on iOS and Mac. Following the implementation of the DMA, it released the alternative app store for Setapp Mobile for iOS users only in the EU. Similar to its other subscription offerings, the now-shuttered app store had included dozens of apps under a single recurring subscription price, and the number of apps grew over time. The apps were free from in-app purchases or ads and are generally considered high quality. However, it didn’t include big-name apps like Facebook, Uber, Netflix, and others. 

Epic Games Store (EU)

Fortnite maker Epic Games launched its alternative iOS app store in the EU in August 2024, allowing users to download games, including its own Fortnite and others like Rocket League Sideswipe and Fall Guys, with more to come. The company said it’s also bringing its games to other alternative app stores, including AltStore PAL, which it’s now supporting via a grant, as well as Aptoide’s iOS store in the EU and ONE Store on Android. 

The move to launch Fortnite in alternative iOS marketplaces comes more than four years after Apple removed the game from its App Store over policy violations, ahead of Epic’s legal challenge to the alleged App Store monopoly. While U.S. courts decided that Apple was not engaged in antitrust behavior, the lawsuit did pave the way for developers to link to their own websites for a reduced commission. 

Aptoide (EU)

An alternative game store for iPhone, Lisbon-based Aptoide is an open source solution for app distribution. The company, already known for its Google Play alternative, says it scans the apps to ensure they are safe to download and install.

The iOS version of the Aptoide store launched as an invite-only beta in June 2024 before becoming available to all across the EU. As a free-to-use store, Aptoide doesn’t charge its users to cover its Core Technology Fee paid to Apple, but takes a 10% to 20% commission on in-app purchases on iOS, depending on whether they were generated by the marketplace or not. 

Across all platforms, including Android, web, car, and TV, Aptoide offers 1 million apps to its more than 430 million users. 

Mobivention marketplace (EU)

A B2B-focused app store, the Mobivention marketplace allows EU companies to distribute their internal apps that are used by employees, but can’t — or shouldn’t — be published in Apple’s App Store. The company also offers the development of a customized app marketplace for companies that want to offer employees their own app store just for their corporate apps. Larger companies can even license Mobivention’s technology to more deeply customize the app marketplace to their own needs.

Skich (EU)

Last March, Skich announced the launch of an alternative app store for EU users, which differentiates itself by offering a Tinder-like interface for app discovery. That is, users swipe right to “match” with apps they might enjoy. They can also create playlists and see what apps their friends are playing. The new store will replace Skich’s existing app and will see the company taking a 15% commission on all purchases. Instead of filling its app store with apps right away, the store marketed to developers at the Game Developers Conference (GDC).

Onside (EU and Japan)

Onside is an alternative iOS app store available in both the EU and, now, Japan, as of February 17, 2026, thanks to the new regulations. The company promises it will charge developers lower rates while still offering security, including keeping payment information private. The store currently supports bank card payments and Apple Pay and will later roll out support for other payment methods like iDeal, Klarna, and more.

For consumers, Onside touts a range of top apps and exclusives that can’t be found on other marketplaces within a familiar interface that includes traditional app store features, like editorial collections, ratings and reviews, and automatic updates.

OpenAI is reportedly hard at work developing a series of AI-powered devices, including smart glasses, a smart speaker and a smart lamp. According to reporting by , the AI company has a team of over 200 employees dedicated to the project.

The first product scheduled to be released is reported to be a smart speaker that would include a camera, allowing it to better absorb information about its users and surroundings. According to a person familiar with the project, this would extend to identifying objects on a nearby table, as well as conversations being held in the vicinity of the speaker. The camera will also support a facial recognition feature similar to Apple’s Face ID that would enable users to authenticate purchases.

The speaker is expected to retail for between $200 and $300 and ship in early 2027 at the earliest. Reporting indicates the company’s AI-powered smart glasses, a space currently dominated by , would not come until 2028. As for the smart lamp, while prototypes have been made, it’s unclear whether it will actually be brought to market.

Last year OpenAI ex-Apple designer Jony Ive’s startup io Products for $6.5 billion. Ive is considered largely responsible for Apple’s design aesthetic, having been involved in designing just about every major Apple device since joining the company in the ’90s before his departure in 2019. The acquisition of his sets the stage for Ive to lead hardware product development now for OpenAI.

Since the partnership was forged, there have already due to technical issues, privacy concerns and logistical issues surrounding the computing power necessary to run a mass-produced AI device. Regardless of the behemoths behind the project, the speaker and other future products may still face a consumer that is always listening to and watching its users.

Astronomers have just identified what appears to be a cosmic anomaly: a faint galaxy with so few visible stars that, according to calculations, as much as 99.9 percent of its mass is dark matter. The remaining 0.1 percent is conventional matter.

This galaxy, located about 300 million light-years away, is practically invisible. Only four globular clusters, small concentrations of stars that look like isolated neighborhoods in the middle of the void, stand out. For years, these star collections in the Perseus cluster were considered independent objects.

Candidate Dark Galaxy-2 is only visible through four globular clusters that contribute to 16 percent of its total brightness. Scientists believe 99.9 percent of this galaxy is dark matter.

NASA/ESA

Now, after an exhaustive analysis, a study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters presents solid evidence that these globular clusters are part of the same galaxy dominated by dark matter. Tentatively named CDG-2 (Candidate Dark Galaxy-2), it is the first galaxy to be detected only by its brightest fragments.

The authors pooled data from the Hubble, Euclid, and Subaru telescopes, three of the most powerful observatories available. The combined readings reveal an extremely faint glow around the four globular clusters. This residual light is a clear sign of an underlying galaxy so dim that the three telescopes missed it on their own.

More Than Meets the Eye

Preliminary analysis indicates that CDG-2 has a total luminosity equivalent to about 6 million suns, with the four globular clusters contributing about 16 percent of that brightness, an unusually large share. This distribution suggests that, despite its low light, the galaxy is a gravitationally bound system, implying a particularly dense dark matter halo. Astronomers estimate that this invisible structure accounts for between 99.94 to 99.98 percent of CDG-2’s total mass.

According to current models, dark matter constitutes roughly 27 percent of the universe’s total energy density and about 85 percent of its matter. Although the exact nature of what makes up dark matter is still unclear, because it neither emits nor reflects light, scientists infer its existence from its gravitational effects on radiation, visible matter, and the large-scale structure of the cosmos.

Dark matter is so pervasive throughout galaxies that its presence explains the stability and motion of stars in systems such as the Milky Way. For example, current models indicate that our galaxy is embedded in a halo composed of about 90 percent dark matter.

However, the case of CDG-2 is extreme: a galaxy with almost no stars, surrounded almost entirely by an invisible halo. These types of systems, so-called “dark galaxies,” are beginning to appear in astronomical records. Beyond their rarity, scientists value them because they serve as natural laboratories for exploring the nature of dark matter and testing current models of galaxy formation.

This story originally appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.

The Mexican Navy announced on Thursday that it had seized a semi-submersible vessel carrying nearly four tons of cocaine. The seizure of 179 packages of the drug is the latest result in an effort to curb maritime trafficking of illicit substances across the Pacific Ocean—an issue also being addressed by the United States through a series of deadly attacks in the Caribbean against vessels suspected of carrying drugs.

Omar García Harfuch, Mexico’s secretary of security, reported in a post on X that the interception of the vessel—known as a “narco-submarine”—took place in Mexican waters near Manzanillo, in the state of Colima. Three people have been arrested over suspected ties to the shipment.

The Mexican navy (Semar) said that the operation involved an ocean patrol vessel, two fixed-wing aircraft, two rotary-wing aircraft, and two interceptor boats. It also received support from US Northern Command and the Joint Interagency Task Force, which provided intelligence to locate the target at sea.

Harfuch emphasized that this action adds to other seizures made during the past week, which have resulted in the confiscation of approximately 10 tons of cocaine. According to the secretary, “this represents a direct and multimillion-dollar blow to the financial structures of organized crime, preventing millions of doses from reaching the streets and protecting the safety of Mexican families.”

Since at least last year, Semar has been monitoring a transnational network that uses the routes known as La Gorgona and El Desierto to transport narcotics and other illicit goods from Ecuador and Colombia. The route includes strategic points such as the Galápagos Islands and Clipperton Island before reaching Mexican shores, including Punta Tejupán in Michoacán. According to an investigation published by N+ Focus, the final destination of these shipments is the US market.

Criminal organizations use speedboats, submarines, and semi-submersibles, often homemade from fiberglass, to evade radar and maritime surveillance systems. Between 2023 and early 2025, monitoring and enforcement operations conducted by Semar resulted in the seizure of more than 111 tons of cocaine, 223 illegal maritime vessels, and the arrest of 476 suspected traffickers of Ecuadorian, Mexican, Colombian, and Central American nationalities.

The US government has pressured Mexico to intensify its fight against drug trafficking. Last year, the trafficking of synthetic drugs like fentanyl was used by the Trump administration as justification for imposing tariffs on Mexican imports.

Since then, Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum has announced a tougher strategy against the cartels, which includes increased surveillance on maritime routes and borders, as well as the extradition of dozens of those convicted of drug trafficking offenses to the United States.

For his part, US president Donald Trump launched a campaign of direct confrontation against organized crime, even in international waters. According to The New York Times, Trump instructed the Pentagon to use military assets against Latin American cartels designated as terrorist organizations, representing the most aggressive strategy of his administration in this area.

Trump’s decree aimed to establish a legal basis for conducting both maritime and land military operations in foreign territory, marking a significant shift in US security policy by assigning to the military functions traditionally reserved for law enforcement agencies.

This policy led to the first US attack on a vessel that, according to the Trump administration, was transporting drugs from Venezuela to the United States. That incident occurred on September 2 in international waters of the southern Caribbean Sea and left 11 people dead, allegedly linked to the Tren de Aragua gang. Since then, dozens of similar attacks have been recorded in the Caribbean and the Pacific, with an estimated death toll of approximately 145 people.

This story originally appeared in WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.

Apartment Coffee ranks sixth on the list & has been crowned the best coffee shop in Asia

On Monday (Feb 16), the second edition of the World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops ranking was revealed at CoffeeFest Madrid 2026.

And one Singaporean café has made the cut, ranking impressively high.

Apartment Coffee retains its sixth-place spot in the 2026 ranking, the only café from Singapore to feature on the list this year.

It holds the same position it earned in 2025, and has been crowned the best coffee shop in Asia for the second year in a row. So, who’s behind the café, and how did it manage to clinch such a prestigious award not once, but twice in a row?

Apartment Coffee was founded in 2018

Apartment Coffee was first established along Lavender Street eight years ago, by 2018 Singapore Brewers Cup Champion, Yeo Qing He, before it moved to its current premises in Selegie in 2022. It also recently expanded to Serangoon, with the opening of Apartment Roastery in Jun 2025.

The café is well-known for its minimalist, tranquil interior of white walls and natural accents, which offers an escape from the city’s constant buzz. It has a short, curated menu that highlights the craft behind each pour-over coffee cup, from careful bean selection to precise roasting and brewing.

In fact, their beans are carefully selected firsthand during the team’s travels to renowned coffee regions like Colombia, Costa Rica, Rwanda and Kenya.

Yeo said in an interview with The Straits Times that the “focus on experience” differentiates Apartment Coffee from other local coffee shops. “This is also why we don’t do takeaways at our coffee studio,” he added.

Over the years, the café has amassed numerous accolades, including second place in the Singapore Brewers Cup 2022 and first place at the Singapore Roaster Forum 2019. Its sixth-place finish in the 2026 World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops ranking is the latest addition to its growing list of achievements.

Other notable mentions

The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops List is an annual event that ranks cafés around the globe across nine criteria, including the quality of coffee, the barista expertise, sustainability practices, consistency and innovation.

It has quickly earned a reputation as the coffee world’s equivalent of the Michelin Guide. The event’s credibility stems from a transparent voting system that combines expert opinions (70%) with public opinion (30%), alongside a nomination and final selection process.

Given how well-loved Apartment Coffee is, it wouldn’t be surprising if the café makes the list a third time in the coming year.

Apart from Apartment Coffee, there are other notable mentions, including 14 cafés from Asia that made the 2026 World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops list.

The British Academy Film Awards are the British equivalent of the Oscars, and so Hollywood heavy-hitters Benicio Del Toro, Emma Stone, Ethan Hawke, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael B. Jordan, Timothee Chalamet and Stellan Skarsgard have confirmed that they will be there in the flesh. It’s Hamnet‘s Irish duo of Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, however, who could end up stealing the show at London’s Royal Festival Hall this Sunday.

You can watch BAFTAs 2026 online from anywhere with a VPN and potentially for free.