Apple Music Festival, known as iTunes Festival prior to 2015, was a free annual concert series that saw big name artists and bands like Elton John, Coldplay, Justin Timberlake, Ozzy Osbourne, Florence + The Machine, Pharrell Williams, and Usher performing at the Roundhouse in London, England.
Other notable performers over the festival's ten-year history included Amy Winehouse, John Legend, Snow Patrol, David Guetta, Paul Simon, Calvin Harris, Ellie Goulding, Jack Johnson, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Linkin Park, Arctic Monkeys, Paramore, Alicia Keys, Adele, Bruno Mars, Kings of Leon, and Ed Sheeran.
Roundhouse appears to have been sending out emails already that confirm Apple Music Festival will not be hosted in 2017.
Apple Music Festival performances were broadcast live and on-demand through Apple Music since 2015. U.K. residents could apply to win tickets to the Apple Music Festival on Apple Music and through various media partners.
Apple didn't provide a reason for ending the annual music festival, and it didn't comment on the possibility of it returning in 2018 and beyond.
Beats Studio3 Wireless deliver up to 22 hours of battery life with Pure ANC on, and up to 40 hours with Pure ANC off. Fast Fuel quick charging technology via Micro-USB provides three hours of music playback with a 10-minute charge.
Here's how Beats describes Pure ANC:
This groundbreaking new technology uses advanced algorithms to continuously monitor your listening environment, so that it can best block out ambient noise—not only on an airplane, but also in a noisy café or a busy office. Pure ANC also evaluates fit and adjusts for leakage caused by hair, glasses, different ear shapes and movement of your head as you go about the day. Additionally, Pure ANC simultaneously checks what you’re hearing while noise canceling is applied against the original music content to adjust and ensure optimal audio fidelity. What’s remarkable is that Pure ANC’s real-time audio calibration operates up to 50,000 times a second.
Like AirPods, Apple's W1 chip enables the Studio3 Wireless to instantly pair with an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or other Apple device, with seamless switching between iCloud-connected devices.
Apple's W1 chip has Class 1 Bluetooth, so the Studio3 Wireless can be used with non-Apple devices as well.
Studio3 Wireless wearers can answer phone calls, control music, and activate Siri with multifunction on-ear controls, while a 3.5mm RemoteTalk cable with in-line controls is also included in the carrying case.
Beats Studio3 Wireless can be ordered on Apple's website starting today for $349.95 in the United States, $399.95 in Canada, and £299.95 in the UK. Prices vary elsewhere. Shipments are estimated to begin in mid October.
The headphones look virtually the same as the original Beats Studio Wireless, including soft over-ear cushions. There are six colors to choose from: Red, Matte Black, White, Porcelain Rose, Blue, and Shadow Gray.
Apple's AirPods have dominated the "truly wireless" earphones market in the U.S. since launching in December, according to new market research conducted by NPD Group. The industry analyst's Retail Tracking Service found that AirPods accounted for 85 percent of over 900,000 wireless earbuds sold since the start of the year.
Apple's success in the emerging market was put down to brand resonance, disruptive pricing, and excitement over the AirPods' W1 chip, which significantly improves the Bluetooth connection and facilitates transfers between different devices. "With a use case centering on frictionless access to Siri and other tasks initiated by voice, AirPods really act as an extension of the iPhone," said NPD executive director Ben Arnold, calling Apple's wireless earbuds "a computing device for the ear".
Apple's early domination of the category will continue to challenge competing brands entering the totally wireless market. New entrants will have to provide some differentiation in features, sound quality, or associated services and applications in order to stand out. Consumer reception of wireless earbuds is still forming, even as their use case continues to evolve. As Alexa skills and other voice-first content diversifies, headphones, including totally wireless earbuds, are the leading candidate to be the next piece of hardware to drive digital assistant adoption.
Standout competing brands cited by NPD Group included Samsung’s "headphones-slash-fitness tracker", IconX, which features an optical heart rate tracker and 4GB of memory for music storage, and The Dash from Bragi, featuring an ARM Cortex M4 CPU, as well as 27 sensors designed to detect movement and voice input.
"For these products, audio quality remains important, but takes a backseat to new capabilities added on top of the sound experience," said Arnold. "With this in mind, it's not hard to imagine a collection of mobile apps optimized for a voice interface similar to the growing ecosystem of Alexa skills."
Apple's Siri is set to gain enhancements with the launch of iOS 11, which could make the company's AirPods an even more attractive proposition going into the holiday season. For the first time, the virtual assistant will sync what it learns about a user across their devices, and will also be able to perform translations from English to five languages, including Chinese and French.
Apple recently improved its shipping estimates from six weeks down to two to three weeks in many countries, after months of struggling to cater to demand. During Apple's third quarter earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said AirPods capacity had been bumped up and that the company was "working very hard" to get AirPods to customers as quickly as possible.
Hugely popular third-party YouTube app "ProTube" was quietly removed from the App Store by Apple last week. Apple's decision to pull the app followed several takedown requests from Google that were received by the app's developer.
ProTube was hailed by users during its three-year reign for several features either not available in the official YouTube app or not offered by other third-party apps, such as the ability to play videos in 4K at 60 frames per second, background playback, and an audio-only mode. Over its lifetime, the $5 app reached number 1 in the paid app charts in 11 different countries and the top 10 in 57 countries.
In a statement on his website, developer Jonas Gessner said he was "very sad to announce that ProTube was removed from the App Store by Apple on September 1, 2017". The action reportedly came "after multiple requests and threats by YouTube which ultimately led Apple to suddenly pulling the app from the App Store", said Gessner.
YouTube first requested Apple to remove my app well over a year ago, initially just stating that my app violates their Terms of Service. This was a generic takedown request they sent to many YouTube apps at once. They later started going into more detail, even stating that I could not sell the app as that alone violates their ToS. They basically wanted me to remove every feature that made ProTube what it is – that includes the player itself that allows you to play 60fps videos, background playback, audio only mode and more.
Without those features ProTube would not be any better than YouTube's own app, and that is exactly what they want to achieve. YouTube wants to sell its $10/month [YouTube Red] subscription service which offers many features that ProTube also offered for a lower one time price, so they started hunting down 3rd party YouTube apps on the App Store.
Gessner said he initially considered several options to end the dispute with YouTube, including removing all the contested features and making the app free, but ultimately he decided against this because "everyone who paid for ProTube's standout features would suddenly get an app update that removes all those features, resulting in a useless app".
The developer also tried to negotiate with YouTube to come to some sort of agreement, but found the process "very difficult" and claimed he was unable to get a direct response to his questions. After threats of legal action, "I knew that getting sued could cost me more than I ever made with ProTube," he said.
"While it is absolutely awful seeing ProTube getting pulled from the App Store, it was the best solution when it comes to the users that already purchased the app," admitted Gessner. "I was getting screwed either way but I at least didn't want to screw my users."
Many other third-party YouTube apps on the App Store have been targeted by YouTube with takedown requests, according to the developer, who signed off by thanking ProTube's "big and passionate fanbase" and warning people not to be taken in by the fake ProTube apps that have appeared on the App Store since it was first released.
Encrypted chat platform Telegram pushed out a new iOS app update on Sunday, with a new reply/mentions alert system among several other tweaks and improvements.
Since 2015 when Telegram first introduced the reply feature, the maximum group chat size has increased from a maximum 200 members to 10,000. As a result, new user mentions and replies in group chats can happen several times a day.
To help users stay on top of these messages, Telegram 4.3 has introduced a new in-app notification badge. Now, whenever someone replies to a user or mentions them in a group, an "@" symbol appears in the chats list. A tap on the new "@" button takes the user to the new replies/mentions and disappears once all the relevant messages have been read.
Elsewhere, the "Invite Friends" section in Contacts has been completely redesigned. Going forward, contacts that are not on Telegram yet but have many friends using it are now listed at the top, making it easier to invite them to the chat platform.
Twitch videos are now supported in the Telegram in-app player, so it's now possible to watch Twitch streams in Picture-in-Picture mode while chatting with friends. And when on a Telegram voice call, users can check the signal strength using the new indicator. It's also now possible to edit any photo pasted directly to a chat from clipboard before sending.
For those who use stickers in Telegram, anyone with five or more sticker sets installed can now mark individual stickers as "favorites" and have them always accessible at the top of the sticker panel in the "star" section. And large groups with 100 members and more can now choose an official sticker set for all the members of the group to see and use while they're chatting in the group, without having to add it to their panels.
Lastly, users can now switch between "This Chat" and "All Chats" when conducting a hashtag search, and when viewing Instant View pages in the app, it's now possible to open the original articles in Safari.
Telegram is a free download for iPhone and iPad from the App Store. [Direct Link]
Surtees Studios recently announced it has released a public beta of Bartender 3 for testing on macOS High Sierra and macOS Sierra. It's a free update available within Bartender 2, which costs $15 after a free four-week trial.
The popular tool for rearranging or hiding Mac menu bar items has been completely rewritten in Swift, according to the release notes.
Bartender 3 also no longer requires the Bartender Helper to be installed in menu bar apps in order to control them. As a result, Bartender is no longer able to display the Bartender Bar beneath the menu bar—only within it.
The change was necessary since, in macOS High Sierra, Apple has apparently tightened its System Integrity Protection security feature, preventing system items like Spotlight search from being controlled by Bartender 2.
iStat Menus 5 was also recently updated with improved support for macOS High Sierra and MacBook Pro, MacBook, and iMac models released in 2017.
The popular Mac system monitor also gained improved per-process network monitoring, improved per-process memory monitoring in OS X El Capitan and macOS Sierra, improved Bluetooth battery monitoring, and improved disk monitoring performance, plus a fix for an issue with the sun position in light map.
iStat Menus is built into the macOS menu bar, providing power users with convenient access to system information, such as CPU and GPU usage, memory stats, fan speeds, temperatures, disk usage, and battery life.
iStat Menus 5 is $18 on developer Bjango's website, with a free 14-day trial available. The latest update is version 5.32.
Apple CEO Tim Cook on Sunday tweeted that Apple employs 250 so-called "dreamers," or individuals who were brought to the United States at a young age when their parents or guardians illegally immigrated to the country.
"I stand with them," said Cook. "They deserve our respect as equals and a solution rooted in American values."
250 of my Apple coworkers are #Dreamers. I stand with them. They deserve our respect as equals and a solution rooted in American values.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 3, 2017
Cook's tweet comes shortly before U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce whether he will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration program as he promised.
Last week, Cook and around 300 other business leaders signed an open letter urging Trump to preserve the program, and to pass the bipartisan DREAM Act or similar legislation as a permanent solution.
DACA allows many illegal immigrants who entered the United States at age 16 or under to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation, and eligibility for a work permit in the country. The program was created by way of an executive order signed by former President Barack Obama in 2012.
Trump vowed to end DACA during his presidential campaign, but he later admitted it would be a tough decision. Trump said young individuals enrolled in the program will be treated with "great heart."
If the program is ended, nearly 800,000 undocumented young individuals that fall under its protections would have the right to work legally until their two-year work permits expire, according to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.
"Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), also known as work permits, are generally valid until they expire or the government demands they be returned," it said in an advisory posted to its website last week.
It's unclear if U.S. immigration authorities would then target those individuals for deportation, but it's certainly the feared outcome among those protected. Trump's decision is expected to be announced by Tuesday.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
The sixth-generation iPod nano is officially obsolete, meaning Apple will no longer repair or service the portable media player.
Apple added the sixth-generation iPod nano to its internal vintage and obsolete products list on August 30, according to a memo distributed to Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers seen by MacRumors.
Apple repairs and services products for up to five years after they are no longer manufactured. The sixth-generation iPod nano was released in September 2010 and discontinued in September 2012.
As required by statute, sixth-generation iPod nano owners in California may still obtain service from Apple Stores or by contacting AppleCare at 1-800-APL-CARE. The extended coverage period will likely end in September 2019.
The sixth-generation iPod nano was notable for its square-shaped design. A number of third-party straps and accessories were released that essentially turned the device into a very early version of the Apple Watch.
Unlike the fifth-generation iPod nano, the sixth-generation model lacked a click wheel, video camera, and speaker. Instead, it had a touchscreen and adopted the iPod shuffle's clip to make it wearable on the go.
On Saturday, Chinese mobile maker Huawei unveiled its first artificial intelligence smartphone chipset, which it hopes will lure customers away from Apple's upcoming range of new iPhones and towards the Asian company's "most powerful handset yet", the Mate 10, which is set to debut next month (via Nikkei Asian Review).
Huawei touted the Kirin 970 AI mobile chipset's built-in "neural processing unit" at the IFA consumer electronics trade show in Berlin, claiming that the technology is "20 times faster" than a traditional processor.
"The Kirin 970 is faster, better and more secure than anything else available [in the market]. This is the latest technology and it is the first chip to have a neural processing unit inside, which is 20 times faster than a central processing unit," said Richard Yu, chief of Huawei's consumer business group.
"It is a major breakthrough for Huawei. We will enable the first use of AI technology in mobile apps, and provide consumers with a never-before-seen AI experience right in the palm of their hands," he added.
The world's third largest smartphone maker claimed that mobile devices powered by the Kirin 970 will be able to "truly know and understand their users", by supporting real-time image recognition, voice interaction, and intelligent photography with ease.
"Compared with Samsung and Apple, we have advantages," Yu said in an interview with Reuters. "Users are in for much faster (feature) performance, longer battery life and more compact design."
According to Nikkei, the Kirin 970 integrates 5.5 billion transistors in a single square centimeter about the size of a thumbnail, which includes an octa-core central processing unit, a 12-core graphics processing unit, a dual-image signal processor, a high-speed 1.2Gbps Cat.18 modem, and AI mobile computing architecture.
The Kirin 970 is said to be based on the same 10-nanometer technology as Apple's existing A10X Fusion processor and the A11 processor that will power its new iPhone range, set to debut this month. The A10X powers Apple's latest 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro tablets, making them the first consumer devices to feature a chip built on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's advanced 10-nanometer FinFET technology.
Mark Li, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, claimed that the new chip powering Huawei's Mate 10 may be better than the chips for the new iPhone range. "The new Huawei chip can be 10 times as powerful as an average smartphone chip, and also more energy efficient, when it comes to handling AI-related functions such as image and voice recognition," Li said. But he added that the popularity of the chip would depend on whether Huawei is able exploit its power in a killer AI app.
The Mate 10 is said to be a bezel-less all-screen handset with a 6-inch, 2:1 display and a 2,160 x 1,080 resolution. Like Apple's so-called "iPhone 8", the Mate 10 is also expected to feature some form of facial recognition and improved cameras.
Huawei aims to become the world's largest smartphone maker by 2021, ahead of both Apple and Samsung, and the latest market share data suggests it is making headway towards that goal.
The company shipped an estimated 38.4 million smartphones in the June quarter, a 20 percent increase over a year ago, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. By comparison, Apple reported it sold 41 million iPhones in the same period, up nearly 2 percent from 40.4 million iPhones in the year-ago quarter.
In the absence of a physical Home button, Apple's so-called "iPhone 8" may allow users to activate Siri by holding down the Sleep/Wake button if they prefer not to do so using the voice command "Hey Siri". That's according to iOS developer Guilherme Rambo, based on a discovery he has made in source code that points to the possibility.
In a tweet posted on Saturday, Rambo said he wondered if Apple had moved any of the original Home button's functionality to the "lock" button (or Sleep/Wake, as Apple calls it) located on the upper right side of the handset. When asked by a follower if he had found something in Apple's code to suggest this, Rambo revealed that he had indeed discovered a gesture to invoke Siri by holding the lock button.
It's unclear what type of code Rambo refers to, but the Brazilian developer has previously unearthed details of upcoming Apple products in the company's beta software, including references to a 4K Apple TV in tvOS 11 as well as references in early HomePod firmware to some features widely expected in the company's upcoming OLED iPhone.
I did find a gesture to invoke Siri by holding the lock button.
— Guilherme Rambo (@_inside) September 2, 2017
Apple's radically redesigned iPhone does away with the Home button entirely, relying instead on a new gestural interface that includes a "software bar" along the bottom of the screen and an app dock similar to the one found in iOS 11 on iPad.
While next-generation facial recognition technology is said to replace Touch ID fingerprint authentication, details are murky as to how Apple plans to remap other functions that traditionally involve pressing the Home button. For instance, any method of invoking Siri using the Sleep/Wake button would need to be sufficiently distinct from the current long press that activates the slide-to-power-off screen, unless Apple has also relocated the latter function. Another possibility is that the power button on the OLED iPhone houses two separate contact switches, which could explain why it appears elongated in some alleged design leaks.
All should be revealed at the company's September 12 media event, where Apple is expected to unveil its "premium" OLED iPhone alongside new upgraded versions of iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, a fifth-generation Apple TV, and an Apple Watch Series 3 range with LTE capability. Apple will stream the event live on its website and on the Apple TV, but for those who are unable to watch, MacRumors will be providing full event coverage, both on MacRumors.com and through our MacRumorsLive Twitter account.
Update: A reader has pointed out that last month Brazilian blog iHelp BR discovered a line of code in the HomePod firmware that suggests the Sleep/Wake button could in fact change functions on the OLED iPhone depending on the app currently in use. The line of code "lockButtonAppropriateForShutter" likely relates to the native camera app and may indicate the presence of dual switches.
Google added a couple of new features to its flagship iOS app on Friday, one of which shows searches that are trending in a user's geographical location before they begin typing into the search field.
Following yesterday's update, whenever a user taps on a search box to start a search, a dropdown menu shows "Trending Searches" indicated by a blue jagged arrow icon next to them, contrasting them from gray icons that mark out the user's search history. In our testing, trending searches didn't show up in some locations, so it's possible Google is still rolling out support on its servers.
Trending Searches appeared last year on Android, but the change prompted a number of user complaints that led Google to make the feature optional. Fortunately, iOS users can find the same opt-out toggle on the Settings screen by tapping their account profile in the upper left of the Search interface.
Apart from that, Google says the search box has gotten smarter, in that now users can often get the answer they're looking for before they've even finished typing in the question, with possible answers appearing in the suggestions below. For example, typing in "how fast is a chee" immediately displays a cheetah's land speed (110-120 km/h, for those interested).
The feature additions come on the back of Google's recent introduction of a personalized news feed for the app, offering a stream of content based on user search history and topics they choose to follow. The feed replaced Google Now, the company's predictive search feature that displays traffic updates, weather, and other information, all of which has been moved to a new tab called Updates.
The Google app is a free download for iPhone and iPad on the App Store. [Direct Link]
YoYo Games launched GameMaker Studio 2 on macOS this week, bringing the popular multiplatform 2D game development engine to the Mac for the first time. To date, the GameMaker Studio family of products has been downloaded more than 10 million times since 2012 and currently has 200,000 monthly active users, according to the developers.
The Scotland-based outfit originally launched GameMaker Studio 2 on the PC in March and has since been working hard to bring the game creation suite to a wider subset of developers, ensuring every major upgrade and feature addition is preserved in the macOS version.
"We worked tirelessly to ensure GameMaker Studio 2's Mac debut would coincide with the needs of game developers that prefer to use platforms outside of Windows and home consoles," said James Cox, general manager, YoYo Games. "After months carefully considering the feedback we received from beta testing and direct community outreach, we're confident that developers who prefer Mac can now feasibly create games on the often-ignored platform. We're always looking for ways to expand game creation to as many developers as possible, and we know Mac users will make some stand-out games with these resources."
The new, fully customizable Mac Integrated Development Environment (IDE) includes an object editor for structuring workflow, a tabbed script editor, drag and drop features to enable game creation without going near code, an extensive library of events and actions, and code preview tools for those who want to take their games to the next level using the GameMaker programming language (based on C).
The suite also features a room editor where layers and tile brushes are on hand to control objects and sprites, and a new brush-based image editor with animation support for creating new assets for games.
Elsewhere, there's built-in support for the industry recognized Box2D physics engine or Google's LiquidFun particle physics engine, support for Esoteric Software's 2D animation software that bring games to life through integrated animation, and integrated cross-platform shader support.
Timed with the macOS launch, GameMaker Studio 2 is also receiving a comprehensive update with new features and quality-of-life improvements. The 2.1 version update introduces code-folding features that allow users to hide and expand sections of code for easier editing, a new integrated debugger, customizable workspace layouts, and multi-touch support for coding on the go on Mac laptops.
While GameMaker 2 has a very high skill ceiling, Cox claimed the product is for all levels of developer, being used in schools and purchased by children as young as eight who use the drag and drop features to turn their ideas into playable games.
GameMaker Studio is a 2D game design platform, but what makes it different is its breadth of application. The drag and drop design features provide beginners with a way into game design without having to become coders first, so the passion that got them into game design isn't extinguished under a mountain of programming learning; that can come later. The drag and drop approach, creates real code that gives granular control, in our C based GameMaker Language (GML), to more experienced developers. For more established Indies and Studios, our workflow is what sets up apart. It's really quick to get results with GameMaker, as we remove the repetition, and they can turn their games into amazing audio-visual experiences with our advanced graphic design and sound-mixing functionality.
GameMaker Studio 2 can be purchased for Windows, Mac, and Ubuntu for $100 on the YoYo Games website.
A leaked Apple "Visual/Mechanical Inspection Guide" shared this afternoon by Business Insider provides some insight into how Apple's repair policies work, highlighting how Apple determines when to offer an in-warranty repair, an out-of-warranty repair, or a denial of service.
Dated March 3, 2017, the document is known internally as the "VMI" and covers the iPhone 6, 6s, and 7, along with Plus models. An Apple technician told Business Insider that there's a similar document for all of its products, and that it's generally used for training.
The guide is divided into three sections. The green section denotes problems where Apple will provide a warranty service, the yellow covers issues where Apple will offer out-of-warranty repairs, and the red section contains examples of issues Apple will refuse to fix.
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Debris under the display glass, a pixel anomaly, FaceTime camera foam misalignment, and a single hairline crack to the front glass are all problems that Apple will fix under warranty, even if there's additional accidental or liquid damage to the device. These are the only issues that can be fixed automatically even with additional damage to a device.
Apple will provide out-of-warranty replacements for liquid damage confirmed by the user, evidence of corrosion, LCD fractures, camera damage from lasers, cracks at a point of impact, damaged Lightning/audio/microphone components, extreme abrasion or puncture holes, and a bent or split enclosure.
Devices that have user-replaced parts, intentional tampering or damage, non-Apple batteries, or catastrophic damage are not eligible for service at all. Enclosure damage, like scratches and scuffs, is not covered and cosmetic problems do not warrant a replacement or repair if there are no other issues.
Apple also has a special set of rules for water damage. Employees are instructed to look for signs of water damage both internally and externally when diagnosing issues, and if there is evidence of contact with water, employees are told to deny some in-warranty repairs and instead offer an out-of-warranty repair.
Click to enlarge
According to Apple employees, the VMI isn't often used unless there's an "oddball issue," and it's also more of a guide than a hard and fast rule when it comes to replacement, as there are many issues that arise that aren't covered here. "There are always those one-off issues that the phone is technically not covered under warranty but we swap the phone anyways under warranty," an Apple technician told Business Insider.
These rules don't apply to devices covered by AppleCare+, as that warranty entitles users to two device replacements or repairs, even for accidental damage, so long as the fee is covered. For out-of-warranty repairs, Apple charges $130 to $150 for screen repairs and $300 to $350 for other damage. With AppleCare+, a screen repair costs $29 and other damage costs $99 to fix.
We are at PAX West this weekend, scoping out the coolest mobile games in Seattle for coverage on TouchArcade. If you're also here and want to show us your game, be sure to hit up either @hodapp or @jaredta and we'll make sure that we make it happen. For everyone else, like any other week in the calendar year, this one has been packed with all sorts of interesting things happening in the world of iOS gaming.
First off, one cool thing that we do around TouchArcade is called the RPG Reload play along. The basic gist of the whole thing is we select an RPG, which typically is an older or other retro game, and we all play it together over the course of a month and share out experiences in this forum thread. It's a really awesome way to revisit older games that you have (or haven't) played before. This month we're focusing on the action RPG Bastion. It's a fully narrated game experience, which is... unbelievably cool if you've never tried it before. Check out the trailer, or the forum thread, and hop in. These play alongs are a ton of fun.
While it's the first time we've mentioned it in these MacRumors roundups, Suzy Cube is a game we've been following over on TouchArcade for years now. It's basically a modern, touch-based, reinterpretation of the 3DS game Super Mario 3D Land. The amount of time the developer, Louis-Nicolas Dozois, has put into refining every aspect of the game is really just sort of incredible. His latest developer blog posted over on Gamasutra details all the challenges that went into designing the controls of a 3D platformer. In fact, the entirety of his development blog is a really fascinating read if you're at all into following the passion project of a developer who is making a game that isn't typically done so well on mobile with touch screen controls.
On the sales front, Street Fighter IV Champion Edition has slammed down to two bucks. It's a full-featured mobile iteration of Street Fighter which we really loved in our review. It has a couple caveats: The framerate isn't as good as its console counterparts, and if you're not a fan of touch controls you're probably not going to be that into the controls of this particular game.
Additionally, all the Simogo games are also on sale for a buck. Simogo is responsible for some of the most innovative (and strangest) games on the App Store. Device 6 is a fascinating spin on interactive fiction, SPL-T is a brain-twisting puzzle game, Year Walk is an incredible atmospheric avdenture, and the list just goes on. Simogo consistently releases amazing titles, so if you're missing anything from their catalog, now is a great time to stock up.
If your mind is still blown from the Game of Thrones season finale, you've got a brief reprieve before the launch of Game of Thrones Conquest. You can pre-register for the game here, which awards $50 worth of in-game goodies once the game goes live. So far it sounds like it's one of those free to play MMO battle games, which could be pretty cool with a Game of Thrones skin on top. Interestingly enough, it's developed by Turbine who were the original developers of Asheron's Call, making Game of Thrones Conquest potentially far more interesting than your typical free to play game.
In the world of App Store approval drama, Apple kicked CheapCharts off the App Store. If CheapCharts is new to you, it's basically an app with functionality sort of similar to the original AppShopper app. Apparently, when they added Mac apps to their price tracker, that was the final straw for Apple who "suddenly claimed that our business model would not be in compliance with Apple's guidelines and that the look and feel of CheapCharts would be identical to that of the App Store." For folks in our situations, this is unbelievably frustrating as all CheapCharts, AppShopper, and the TouchArcade app really do is encourage people to buy more things from the App Store.
Last, but by no stretch of the imagination least, the original Infinity Blade has been updated to 64-bit. Aside from evading the 32-bit purge of iOS 11, this also provides a fantastic opportunity for anyone who didn't play Infinity Blade when it was new and exciting to download the game knowing it's going to work on their phone for the foreseeable future. It's ancient by today's standards, but out original review of Infinity Blade still stands as one of the best games ever released on the App Store. Since then, two other games have been released, which are both just as good.
For all this and more, be sure to check out TouchArcade, we post this sort of news around the clock and it's really the best place you can go to follow the beat of the mobile gaming world!
With Labor Day coming up in the United States on Monday, September 4, a collection of retailers have launched notable discounts on a variety of Apple and Apple-related products and accessories. Companies like Best Buy, Staples, and Belkin have debuted savings on select MacBooks, iPhones, iPads, Beats products, Apple accessories, and more, so we'll list some of the best deals below.
Many of the Labor Day deals come from Best Buy, which is running a four day sale beginning today, September 1, through Monday, September 4. As with past Best Buy sales, customers can take advantage of price matching, in-store pickup, and free shipping on sale items.
There are three colorways of the 128 GB Wi-Fi only iPad mini 4 on sale for $299.99, down from $399.99. Not directly part of the Labor Day sale, Best Buy this week is also offering $100 off of the latest models of the Wi-Fi only 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
Best Buy is offering up to $500 off of select MacBooks during the sale. Customers can buy the late 2016 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and 256 GB of storage for $1,499.99, down from $1,799.99. The 512 GB version is also marked down to $1,599.99 from $1,999.99. The early 2016 12-inch MacBook with an Intel Core M3 processor and 256 GB of storage is priced at $899.99, down from $1,299.99. A higher-end version of the same device has been discounted as well, including an Intel Core M5 processor and 512 GB of storage at $1,099.99, down from $1,599.99.
Those with an authorized student email address can get an additional $125 discounted off of Best Buy's MacBook deals. For a full list of Macs under the student discount banner -- including MacBook Air and some iMac models -- visit Best Buy's website here.
If anyone is looking for a deal on an older MacBook model, DailySteals has a refurbished version of the mid 2011 11-inch MacBook Air for $379.99, down from $1,199.99.
In terms of accessories, the Beats Solo3 Wireless Headphones in eight colors are just $179.99 during Best Buy's Labor Day sale, reducing in price from $299.99. Staples has the newest version of the Beats Pill+ Portable Speaker, in Black and White, marked down by nearly 50 percent right now, running for $119.00 instead of the traditional $229.95.
At Belkin, customers based in the U.S. and Canada can take advantage of a store-wide Labor Day promo that is taking $10 off orders $50 or more; $25 off $100 or more; and $50 off $200 or more.
These discounts will be applied automatically at checkout and don't require a specific promo code, and will last today through September 4. The only items excluded from the promo are Belkin's Thunderbolt 3 Express Dock, and any Wemo and NetCam products.
Apps
There are a few notable applications on sale in the iOS App Store this week; here are a few worth checking out:
Philips recently released the DiamondClean Smart, a new iteration of its top-of-the-line toothbrush with all the bells and whistles.
Not only does it connect to your iPhone using a Bluetooth connection to help you brush better than ever before, but it's also been redesigned to decouple brushing mode from intensity. There are new smart brushes for more tailored brushing, additional modes to meet different needs, and other small refinements that bring overall improvements.
I've been using Sonicare toothbrushes for more than 10 years, and for the last five, I've had a DiamondClean. This new DiamondClean toothbrush is going to make your teeth whiter, healthier, and squeaky clean, but with prices that start at $230, it's not cheap, and the app is sometimes more gimmicky than helpful. All in all, though, you're not going to find a better brushing experience.
Design
The DiamondClean Smart adopts design elements from the original DiamondClean, but it also introduces both new and refined features. The brush is sleek with clean lines and the traditional look of the DiamondClean, but instead of a single button to turn it off and on, there are now two buttons.
The top button continues to function as an on/off button, but there's now a second button that controls the intensity. Below the two buttons, there are a series of LEDs denoting the different brushing modes, and at the bottom, there's a light-up base that fits into the charger.
Philips sells the new DiamondClean Smart in a range of colors, but the one I tested is white with silver accents and gold lettering at the top. The mix of gold and silver is a somewhat odd choice, but it looks elegant on the bathroom counter.
A small metal prong at the top of the toothbrush base holds the brush in place, and the brush head can be popped off the top so you can switch brush heads. If you're familiar with Sonicare toothbrushes, you know the brush heads need to be changed out on a regular basis - approximately every three months.
Nomad's Sport Strap is designed for 42mm Apple Watch models. It's constructed from a soft, pliable silicone for a comfortable, molded fit on any wrist. The silicone it's made from is antimicrobial and hypoallergenic, but it's also durable and water resistant, making the band ideal for a range of activities on land and sea.
The Sport Strap has a stylish two-tone design in either Black/Volt or Black/Gray, and each color matches both the stainless steel and aluminum Apple Watch models in Silver and Space Gray.
Subtle crosshatching and a tapered design add visual appeal, and the buckle, made from polyamide, is designed to hold up in all environmental conditions. While it's designed to be a sport watch, it looks nice enough that it can be worn for any occasion.
Nomad sells the Sport Strap at $49.95, but we have five to give away to MacRumors readers. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner and send the prize. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumorsFacebook page.
Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.
The contest will run from today (September 1) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on September 8. The winners will be chosen randomly on September 8 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.
Apple today seeded the ninth beta of an upcoming macOS High Sierra update to developers for testing purposes, four days after seeding the eighth beta and more than two months after introducing the new software at the 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference.
The ninth beta of macOS High Sierra can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center or over-the-air using the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store.
macOS High Sierra builds on features first introduced in macOS Sierra, focusing on new storage, video, and graphics technology. It brings a new Apple File System (APFS), High Efficiency Video Codec (HEVC), and an updated version of Metal with support for VR and external GPUs.
Several apps are gaining new features in macOS High Sierra. The Photos app features a new sidebar to make it easier to access editing tools and albums, and there are new filters and editing options like Curves and Selective Color. Photos also supports external editing apps like Photoshop and Pixelmator, saving changes made in those apps back to Photos, and it interfaces with new third-party printing services.
Safari is gaining speed enhancements, an option to prevent autoplay videos, and a new feature that cuts down on cross-site data tracking. Siri in macOS High Sierra has expanded music capabilities and a new, more natural voice, and Spotlight supports flight status information. There are also improvements to iCloud, FaceTime, Messages, and Notes.
macOS High Sierra is available for both registered developers and public beta testers and will see a public release in the fall. For a complete overview of changes coming in macOS High Sierra, make sure to check out our dedicated macOS High Sierra roundup.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
Google added a couple of new features to its flagship iOS app on Friday, one of which shows searches that are trending in a user's geographical location before they begin typing into the search field.
