Hidden in Tuesday’s invite to the Apple September event is an augmented reality Easter egg. It’s part of the company’s ongoing move to draw more attention to AR — and make its event invites cooler than anyone else’s.
The graphic for the event is the Apple logo floating over a lake in the evening. iPhone users can transfer that design to the real 3D world, and pass through it into a star-lit virtual space.
Zen Pinball Party lets you have a go on tables with a Kung Fu Panda theme. Or Trolls. Or How to Train Your Dragon. And these are just a few of the options in a game that debuted Friday in Apple Arcade.
And that’s not the only new option. Show off your kitchen skills in MasterChef: Let’s Cook. And Layton’s Mystery Journey+ was also added to Apple’s gaming service.
By now, just about everyone has heard that the displays in upcoming Apple Watch Series 7 models will be a bit larger. But a new report from a reliable source says they’ll actually be even bigger than many might expect.
Apple is almost ready to send the chip that’ll be at the heart of its virtual reality headset to production, according to an unconfirmed report. That’s a big step in the product reaching customers’ hands.
Locast suspended operations after losing a critical court fight with TV broadcasters. The streaming service gave users access to their local TV stations over the internet. The networks objected that it was a copyright violation, and a court agreed.
There’s plenty of proof that Apple has had a folding iPhone on the drawing board for years. But the company held off until flexible displays are past the prototype phase. The latest foldables from Samsung show that the technology has finally matured to the point where an iPhone Fold could become a mass-market success.
This surely hasn’t escaped Apple’s attention, which is why a folding iPhone is probably coming in 2023.
The Satechi 4-Port USB-C Hub adds a quartet of useful USB-C ports to your Mac or iPad. The days of struggling along with too few ports are over — you can finally connect as many accessories to your computer as you need.
I put Satechi’s new hub through some real-world testing. Here’s how well it works.
The Twelve South StayGo mini helps remedy the limited number of ports on the iPad Pro and Air. The adapter takes the single USB-C port and converts it to USB-A, HDMI and a headphone jack.
It fits snugly to the tablet but comes with a cable so it can be easily connected to a Mac.
The debut of Apple Watch Series 7 will be pushed back due to production difficulties, according to an unconfirmed report Tuesday.
A new flat-sided look, and the addition of a blood-pressure monitor and other features, has left Apple scrambling to finalize the smartwatch’s design. Apple allegedly put assembly of the wearable on hold while the company’s engineers try to fix the problems.
A second trusted source for insider Apple information says future iPhones will be able to communicate with satellites, exchanging texts and possibly phone calls. But new leaked details indicate this feature will be more limited than some might hope.
It would still be a significant advancement by Apple. The company reportedly is even considering launching its own satellites.
Get ready for Chewbacca to take on Boba Fett. Or maybe an Ewok fighting with a Tusken Raider. Have Yoda fight Darth Vader. All this will be possible in Lego Star Wars Battles, coming soon to Apple Arcade.
It’ll offer tower defense strategic combat in real time.
Tim Cook has been Apple CEO for 10 years and he’s considering his exit strategy. But it won’t be soon because the executive will wait until the launch of “one more major new product category,” according to a new report.
The Problem with Jon Stewart — the late-night talk show host’s much-anticipated return to TV — is now scheduled to debut September 30. It’ll be exclusively on Apple TV+, though the show also has a YouTube channel. And there’ll be a companion podcast.
The announcement came in a video in which Stewart jokes about not looking quite as young as he used to. Watch it now:
The iPhone 13 will offer two-way communication with low Earth orbit satellites, according to a report from a reliable Apple analyst. If the prediction proves correct, making phone calls and exchanging texts via satellite connection will be possible with Apple’s next handset.
It’s been a very weird summer for Apple’s beta program, with major changes happening months after the initial unveiling of the operating system upgrades. But iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 have finally reached the point where they’re stable enough for average users to try them out. The same goes for watchOS 8.
But that’s not true of macOS Monterey.
A new video for the Google Pixel 5a pokes fun at the ones Jony Ive used to make gushing about the smallest details in designs of Apple products.
While an homage, the video also exhibits a cutting edge. It highlights the new Android smartphone’s headphone jack, a feature Ive removed from iPhones. Still, Apple fans shouldn’t miss this well-made parody:
Fans of Zelda can now try Baldo: The Guardian Owls, a puzzle adventure that debuted Friday on Apple Arcade. The look is inspired by the films of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibili.
Plus Asphalt 8: Airborne+, a classic racing game, also zoomed onto Apple’s gaming service.
Apple Watch recently passed an important milestone. There are now 100 million of them in active use according to a market analysis firm. And more than 50 million Americans have one.
The user base is one of the most important measurements of a product’s success. It shows how many people are actively using a device, as opposed to buying one, disliking it, then dumping it in a drawer.
YouTube repeated an earlier promise to allow all iPhone users in the U.S. to watch video from its application in a small window while another app is open. And it expanded on the commitment by promising iPad will be included too.
But exactly when this will happen is a bit up the air.
A new Apple News Partner Program allows subscription news publications to provide their content to the Apple News app while paying a lower than usual share of the revenue coming from customers. Companies that choose to participate will have to give Apple 15% of subscription fees in the first year — half the usual amount.
This move is apparently in response to complaints from big publications about Apple’s cut.
A major new privacy feature of iOS 15 won‘t be ready when the update goes out to iPhones. iCloud Private Relay will mask users’ IP addresses so they can’t be tracked. But it needs additional time for beta testing.
The selection of horror series on Apple TV+ is about to grow now that the streaming service picked up The Changeling. LaKeith Stanfield will star in the story of fatherhood, marriage, mythic monsters and racism.
No matter how hard you are on your gear, you aren‘t going to destroy the OWC Envoy Pro FX. The 2 terabyte SSD is waterproof and offers military-level drop toughness. Plus the USB-C accessory supports Thunderbolt 3 so data transfers are super fast.
I put the solid state drive through testing. Here’s how it stood up.
Two Apple TV+ shows won Primetime Emmy Awards on Wednesday. For All Mankind: Time Capsule won for Outstanding Innovation in Interactive Media while Calls won for Outstanding Motion Design.
These juried awards were announced ahead of the regular Emmy ceremony that’s happening in mid-September.
On-screen game controls can be hard to use, but the GameSir X2 Lightning Mobile Gaming Controller adds physical buttons and joysticks to your iPhone. This newly-launched version includes a Lightning connector, making Bluetooth unnecessary.
In a related development, the GameSir F7 Claw Tablet Game Controller for larger devices is now available on Amazon.