Hey, iPhone gamer, save yourself some money: Subscribe to Apple Arcade. A recent study showed that the average American spends way more on games every year than the annual cost of Apple’s $4.99-a-month gaming service.
Plus, the deal just got a lot better. Almost a dozen original games debuted on Apple Arcade last Friday, and the service added a bunch of classic ones as well. After launching with just a few dozen games in 2019, Apple Arcade is now closing in on 200 really great titles.
Apple rejects a large percentage of App Store submissions, CEO Tim Cook said Monday, arguing that the company’s strict oversight is necessary to keep iPhones secure.
He was responding to questions about moves by government regulators around the world that might result on Apple being forced to allow rival iPhone software stores.
It’s never easy to get Apple’s CEO to talk about the future. But Kara Swisher from The New York Times managed to get Tim Cook to drop a few hints about some of the company’s future plans.
Cook says Apple is committed to Apple TV+. And to user privacy. But he’s not promising that the Apple Car will ever be real.
Among the improvements expected in the iPhone 13 is a smaller notch. The latest evidence is a 3D-printed mockup of the device that supposedly shows how Apple rearranged the components behind the screen cutout for the upcoming model.
The Sanho HyperJuice Magnetic Wireless Battery Pack magnetically clings to the back of an iPhone 12 series model, recharging it without wires, clips… anything else. It packs 5000mAh of power and a USB-C port too.
I put the MagSafe-like battery pack through real-world testing. Here’s what’s I found.
Apple made a huge push for its gaming service on Friday, launching 11 original games. These cover a range of genres, from NBA 2K21 Arcade Edition to Star Trek: Legends. And Fantasian from the creator of the Final Fantasy series also launched in Apple Arcade. Plus many, many more.
Apple’s subscription gaming service grew significantly Friday. Apple Arcade added 30 titles and two new categories: Timeless Classics and App Store Greats. This adds favorites like Monument Valley and Fruit Ninja Classic. And there are now versions of Suduku, chess and other perennial favorites.
“Today we’re launching our biggest expansion since the service debuted, now offering more than 180 great games that include new Arcade Originals, Timeless Classics, and App Store Greats,” said Matt Fischer, Apple’s vice president of the App Store.
Apple Arcade subscribers are in for a treat. Hironobu Sakaguchi, who also made the classic Final Fantasy series, also created Fantasian for Apple’s gaming service. It mixes computer-generated characters with handmade sets for a truly unique look.
Don’t get your hopes up for an iPhone SE Plus this year. Or next. This is rumored to be the first in the SE series with an edge-to-edge screen, but an analyst focused on the display business said Thursday that the wait will stretch into 2023.
However, a new model using the current design might arrive before then.
The average U.S. iPhone user shelled out $138 for apps in 2020, according to a market research firm. That’s a 38% year-over-year increase.
As has held true for many years, mostly what people are buying is games.
Apple will announce the financial results of its winter quarter on April 28. So far, people forced to work and learn from home have been very good for the Mac-maker’s bottom line. We’ll soon see if that carried through to the beginning of 2021.
Your hands are full and you need to look something up on your Apple Watch. Engineers at Apple dreamed up a system that would allow you to control the wearable by blowing on it. A newly filed patent application also imagines a breath-controlled iPhone.
So far, there’s no sign this is an April Fools’ Day joke. But it’s possible.
Life can be hard on desktop accessories, and so Satechi created the Cybermouse. It’s made of indestructible “Super-Tough” aluminum in a design sure to widen the eyes of Elon Musk.
And the designers didn’t leave out other advanced features, like wireless and solar charging.
There could soon be an alternative to the current, simple Apple TV remote. A schematic showing a rumored new version has leaked out, and it includes a wide array of buttons. It’s therefore likely to please those unhappy with the present version.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina screen released in late 2012 was a groundbreaking model in its day. But now, many years later, it’s been classified by Apple as obsolete.
This means that getting repairs or even spare parts for this device just got much more difficult. But it has been out of production for more than 7 years.
After almost a decade of using a female voice by default, Siri users will be given a choice of voices for the virtual assistant when they set up Apple devices. The virtual assistant will also come with two new English-language voices.
These changes debuted in iOS 14.5 beta 6 and the iPads equivalent, which Apple seeded to developers Wednesday.
Apple supposedly will announce its first virtual reality/augmented reality headset “in the next several months,” according to a very reliable source. It could be as quickly as WWDC 2021. That’s well before other predictions.
While the iPhone-maker hasn’t committed to any such device, its VR headset has been the subject of many leaks. But no one can agree on when it’ll reach customers. Most recent reports have pointed to some point in 2022, though.
For much too long, the iPhone’s built-in pornographic content blocker prevented searches just because included the word “Asian.” Apple reportedly fixed the issue in the latest beta of iOS 14.5. But the problem is still in place for everyone not running the pre-release software.
Twelve South’s MagicBridge Extended takes two Apple input devices and makes them into one. It attaches the Magic Trackpad 2 to the Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad so they can both be used in your lap.
The Belkin iPhone mount with Face Tracking Magnetic Phone Mount and MagSafe uses facial recognition to keep an iPhone’s camera constantly pointed at the user, taking the place of a cameraman.
It uses MagSafe to hold the handset in place, and Belkin also unveiled a range of other MagSafe accessories on Tuesday, including clip-on batteries in two sizes.
Apple is holding its iPad wrong. The company designs its tablets as if the best way to hold one is in a portrait orientation. But landscape is actually more common, and Apple should make changes to the iPad’s design to reflect that.
Apple Maps now displays airport COVID-19 health measures data, making it easier for travelers to find airport health guidance.
With vaccinations becoming more widespread, air travel is picking up. But airports still have requirements for passengers. Finding out what they are for each airport is now as simple as opening Apple Maps.
The new Adobe Design Mobile Bundle combines professional-grade iPad apps for photo editing, graphic design and social media into a single subscription. And the subscription cost is 50% below the software collection’s previous price.
The Apple Independent Repair Provider program will soon be available in nearly every country where Apple products are sold, making it easier for users to find a reliable place to get their smartphone, laptop or other device fixed.
The program gives repair providers of all sizes access to genuine Apple parts, tools, repair manuals and diagnostics to fix iPhones, Macs and other devices.
There’s a growing consensus among tipsters that, despite what what said earlier, AirPods 3 will not debut at the Apple April event. It seems the company’s next generation of truly wireless earbuds aren’t going to reach customers until later in 2021.