May 24 tech news roundup: Fortnite is back on iOS, Windows 11 gets a retro text editor, Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source

Fortnite makes an Epic return to the iOS App Store

Epic Games has returned to the iOS App Store triumphantly after a 5-year hiatus. Apple had blocked Fortnite in 2020 when Epic Games added an external payment to the popular battle royale game. Epic sued Apple, but a Federal judge ruled in Apple’s favor, saying that Epic had clearly violated the App Store guidelines. But the lawsuit dragged on, and Apple was eventually asked to allow third-party payments on its App Store. Apple did so grudgingly, but not without controversy. It charged developers a 27% commission for transactions completed on third-party payments.

This made everyone angry, but Apple lost big time when Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ordered it to stop charging the fee, and allow apps to include links to external payment methods. Epic Games was pleased with this, and submitted a version of Fortnite that included Apple’s own payment system and an external payment option. However, Apple reportedly rejected the submission. Epic wrote a letter to the judge asking her to intervene, and she warned Apple that its executive would be personally held responsible if the companies did not resolve the issue, and would have to appear in court for a hearing on May 27.

Apple immediately allowed Epic Games’ submission, and made Fortnite available on the App Store for all iPhone and iPad users.

The Windows Subsystem for Linux has been open-sourced

WSL was first introduced in 2016, to offer an easy way to allow Windows 10 users to run Linux apps on a PC without needing to install a virtual machine. The Windows Subsystem for Linux has since evolved into a rather impressive tool set. In its current state it offers GPU Support, mirrored networking, DNS tunneling, session 0 support, proxy support, firewall support, and even lets you run Linux apps with a GUI.

The one thing that the WSL has lacked was that it wasn’t open source, as Microsoft kept a tight lid on the source code of the app. But not anymore, the Redmond company has open sourced the Windows Subsystem for Linux under the MIT license on GitHub. Microsoft had to decouple WSL from Windows before releasing the source code. But it is better late than never, and the news has been welcomed by the Linux community, who had been requesting Microsoft to release the source code for 7 years.

Microsoft Edit is a command-line text-editor inspired by MS-DOS

Microsoft has released a new text editor for Windows 11. Meet, Microsoft Edit. This isn’t a traditional text editor like Notepad, Edit does not have a graphical user interface (GUI). Instead, it is a command-line based app. Microsoft says it was inspired by MS-DOS, which is not available in 64-bit Windows. It wanted to bring a text-editor as an alternative for MS-DOS.

Microsoft Edit has a modern interface with controls similar to Visual Studio Code. It doesn’t have a right-click menu, but supports mouse mode for using the menu. The app has been designed to be somewhat accessible for users who have never used a terminal-based editor before. Edit supports many keyboard shortcuts, Word Wrap, Find and Replace, Undo, Redo, etc. It even supports developer-friendly options like Match Case and Regular Expression. Edit lets you open multiple files at the same time. The best part is that Microsoft Edit is open source, it has been released under the MIT license. Edit weighs less than 250 kB, which makes it a lightweight text editor.

Android 16 will come with a standby mode like iOS

Android 16 is set to release in June 2025. Google is adding several new features to its mobile operating system. One of these features is inspired by iOS, called StandBy. The Android version literally has the same name, standby mode. It is designed to work in a similar way too, i.e., when you set it to charge in a horizontal position, the device will enter Standby mode.

Normally, when you plug in a wired charger, it may be difficult to use it in landscape mode or even set it horizontally. You would need to do so using a wireless charger, which doesn’t really work in horizontal mode. That’s because until last year, Android phones did not support magnetic charging like iPhones do. That is changing, Qi2 wireless charging, which is the standard for magnetic charging, is being adopted for Android devices. Samsung will be releasing a Galaxy phone soon that supports the feature.

Android 16’s Standby mode is designed for smartphones, and will display useful information on the screen. Android 16 is adding support for lock screen widgets, and these could work in standby mode.

Cross Device Resume will let Windows 11 users continue where they left on Android

Google isn’t the only one copying a feature from Apple, Microsoft is also taking a leaf out of the Cupertino company’s book. Windows 11 is testing a feature called Cross Device Resume. As the name suggests, this feature works across platforms, specifically to connect Android and Windows 11. Android phone users who are listening to music on Spotify can click on an icon on their Windows 11 Taskbar, to “continue from phone”. This will enable the Spotify desktop app to continue playing the song that you were listening to, exactly from the same spot where you left off. This is similar to Apple’s Handoff.

Cross Device Resume was unveiled via a video demo at Build 2025 developer conference. But, Microsoft hastily deleted the video. However, some leakers say that the feature will soon be available for testing in the Windows Insider Program. The feature is expected to support several third-party apps, including WhatsApp. It makes sense, let’s say you are on a video call or audio call on your phone, but you sit at your desk and want to continue the conversation on your PC or Laptop, this feature could help you with that.

Google Translate can now be set as the default translation app on iOS and iPadOS

iOS and iPadOS users can now use Google Translate as the default translation app instead of Apple Translation app. This change comes via the latest update for Google Translate on the App Store. iOS 18.4 brought an important change that allowed users across the world to customize their experience on iOS.  You can now set your favorite app as the default app for translation, media playback, navigation, browser, and email. This is a major change, but was very likely influenced by the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, that forced Apple to allow changes in iOS. But Apple surprised everyone by making these changes worldwide.

Want to use Google Translate as the default option on your iPhone? Open the Settings app > Apps > Default Apps > Translation, and select Google Translate.