June 21, 2010: Apple releases iOS 4, which introduces a range of productivity features as well as the FaceTime videotelephony service.
iOS 4 represents a big step forward for Apple’s flourishing mobile devices. Due to the arrival of the first-gen iPad earlier in the year, iOS 4 also brings a transition from the mobile operating system’s original name, “iPhone OS.”
Apple’s Game Center service lets you compete with friends and unlock achievements in the games you play. You can see where you rank among your friends — and globally. Achievements will give you a list of missions to accomplish to prove your mastery of the game. You can even play live multiplayer games on all your separate devices using SharePlay.
Up until iOS 10, Game Center existed as a separate app on iPhone and iPad, which made this all easier to manage. How do you manage your Game Center account now? What options do you have? How do you add friends?
iOS 16.2, which Apple released Tuesday, brings many new features that make it a must-have update for all iPhone owners. From security advancements and productivity boosters to cosmetic tweaks and other fun stuff, it’s positively loaded with upgrades.
Here are the top new iOS 16.2 features you should try right now. (Note: Many of these features also appear in iPadOS 16.2, which Apple also released today.)
If you thought that Apple had slightly lost its touch when it comes to naming products, you’re not likely to be swayed by the nickname suggestions included on iOS 13’s Game Center.
They are, well, pretty gloriously weird.
Microsoft’s Xbox Live network is officially making its way onto iOS and Android.
The company revealed today that it is launching a new SDK that will allow mobile developers to add Xbox Live functionality to their games, giving gamers the ability to score achievements on the go.
Apple is giving the dedicated Game Center app the chop with iOS 10, so it’s up to games themselves to handle things like multiplayer invites and friend requests. However, they will get some support from the Messages app.
Game Center finally met its demise this morning with the unveiling of iOS 10, which effectively kills Apple’s attempt at creating a gaming social network.
Starting with iOS 10, the Game Center app will no longer be found on iPhones and iPads, after having been preinstalled on devices for years. Apple isn’t just adding it to the list of stock iOS apps you can delete, though. It’s actually getting rid of the platform altogether in favor of GameKit.
After more than a month of beta testing, Apple is now rolling out iOS 9.3.2 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The update brings a bunch of big bug fixes, and the ability to use Night Shift while Low Power Mode is activated.
Up until recently, I almost always accepted Game Center invites from whoever. I like playing games on my iPhone and iPad and always welcome a worthy opponent. However, there are a lot of people out there cheating and faking scores. While I handled some of this by just deleting them, I also realized that there is a way to report these accounts via Game Center.
If you’ve been having trouble with Apple’s Game Center after upgrading to iOS 9, you’re not alone.
Read Apple’s discussion forums and you’ll find 14 pages of comments from disgruntled gamers complaining about — and trying to solve — this rather massive issue.
When it comes to iOS gaming, nothing tops the exhilarating feeling of beating your friends’ high scores. But with so many games and so many scores to keep track of, it can be a lot to handle. Luckily, Apple’s Game Center app can help you take down the competition.
In today’s video, we show you how to master the Game Center app and become the best of the best. Find the hottest trending games, challenge your gaming “foes” and more using this underrated stock app.
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Dungeon Keeper for iOS has received its first update, one week after its initial launch in the App Store.
Sadly, the update doesn’t remove some of the game’s worse freemium-associated elements (our review criticized its approach to micro-payments for being “overeager to claim all of your precious gems to get anything done”) but it does add a host of other modifications — including “the power of friendship” which lets you drag in other friends to play through Facebook and Game Center.
Isn’t it frustrating when you spend your whole weekend trying to reach the top of the Game Center leaderboard in your favorite game just to find that the top spot has already been claimed by a cheat, whose score couldn’t possibly be beaten by playing the game properly?
Unfortunately, it’s a common problem because Game Center has long been far too easy to hack. But Apple has finally done something about it. Developers now have the power to delete fake Game Center scores and block gamers who persistently cheat.
Did Jony Ive design iOS 7 in Microsoft Word to win a bet at the bar? Almost certainly not, but he could have. Every single one of the new iOS 7 icons — including the more intricate ones like Game Center, Maps, and Stocks — can be recreated almost perfectly in Word.
Vaclav Krejci demonstrates the whole process in the video below.
It’s our own fault. We all asked Apple to dramatically change the look and feel of the iOS operating system, which, until yesterday, remained largely unchanged since the introduction of the original iPhone back in 2007. And we all complained when it didn’t do that with iOS 6 this time last year.
But I can’t help but feel the Cupertino company is now punishing us for all those requests, and all that complaining we did before about its skeuomorphic designs.
When it comes to design, iOS 7 is vastly different to its predecessors. It still functions in much the same way — though there are some new features you’ll need to get used to — but it looks completely different. As soon as you power it up for the first time the minimalistic feel is staring back at you, but it isn’t until you’ve completed the setup process and arrived at your home screen that you want to vomit in your own lap.
Today’s the day, folks! In just a few hours, Apple will kick off WWDC 2013 with a first look at its next-generation iOS 7 operating system. We’re expecting big changes with this update, and according to sources for The Wall Street Journal, those will include a brand new look, new ways to share your photos and videos, and a new music streaming service.
You can also expect to see a glimpse of OS X 10.9 and new notebooks at the event.
I’m a long time Risk player, with a penchant for grabbing up Australia or South America first, then blockading the heck out of them while I focus my expansion to the rest of the map from these well-fortified positions.
While there is a fantastic Risk game for the iPhone, there’s not one for the Mac, let alone one that plays on both platforms. Checking out Conquist 2, then, a Risk-style conquer the world game, seems like a no brainer, since you can purchase it for Mac and/or iOS, making it the perfect cross platform multiplayer game for fans of Risk.
Check it out.
What’s more satisfying than screaming through the air, blasting enemies coming around you in a full 360 degree radius, firing all your weapons and avoiding enemy flack and planes?
Doing that with your buddies, of course! Namco’s Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy is a gorgeous, fast-paced dogfighting air combat game for your Mac at an inexpensive five bucks. Using Apple’s Game Center system, you can join up to three other buddies to play in cooperative and competitive modes, like Survival, Free For All, Capture The Flag, and more. Even better? You can invite your buddies who may not have a Mac but who do have an iPhone or iPad for some real-time multiplayer dogfighting action. Here’s how.
Well, we can’t say we’re too surprised with this one following this week’s leak, but it’s great to see Google Play game services has been officially confirmed at Google I/O this morning. The service will rival services like Game Center on iOS, and features will include cloud-based game syncing, online multiplayer, and more.
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is one of my favorite Sega games on iOS, and it’s making its way to the Mac thanks to Feral Interactive. The game will be available to download from the Mac App Store tomorrow, April 4, with support for Game Center and iCloud game syncing.
Temple Run 2 gets this week’s must-have games roundup up and running (see what I did there?). It’s accompanied by a unique pinball game that features the cutest flying squirrel you’ve ever seen, an awesome new platformer from Ravenous Games, and a title that originally made its debut on the Apple II all those years ago.
Awhile back we showed you a great concept for a redesigned iOS Notes app. The concept was part of Cult of Mac reader and designer Adrian Maciburko’s iOS 7 “Crystal Interface” idea. Now Maciburko has shared a redesigned Game Center interface that does away with the skeuomorphism in iOS 6. No more woodgrain or felt textures.
Remember Canabalt? It’s the game that kickstarted the endless runner craze, and it’s been a big hit on iOS, receiving heaps of praise from gamers and critics. Its developer has been working on a new iOS game called Hundreds, which is said to be a minimalist yet challenging puzzler that’s set to hit the App Store at midnight tonight. Check out the teaser trailer below.
One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.
This year, we here at Cult of Mac decided we wanted to give our readers their very own Apple-themed advent calendar, filled with the year’s best apps, gadgets, stories and other curios. So each day in December, we’re going to lovingly peel back the door on the Cult of Mac 2012 Advent Calendar to reveal another delicious morsel, something really special that came out this year that we think every one of you should enjoy.
So what’s behind the door on Saturday the 8th? Letterpress for iOS, a word game for the rest of us, with a simple, cutthroat strategy and an amazing visual design!
When a company like Apple is getting sued every other week, there’s no telling what they will and won’t try to patent and trademark in an attempt to protect their intellectual property. Apple already holds a patent on rectangles with rounded corners, and their latest trademark gives Apple exclusive use of the word “Retina.”
On December 4, 2012, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple two Registered Trademarks. One trademark covers the word “Retina” while the second trademark covers Apple’s Game Center icon.
