Panic, a company known for its range of apps designed for Apple's iPhones, iPads, and Macs, today announced the launch of pre-orders for its Playdate handheld gaming system.
Panic had 20,000 Playdate systems available for preorder for shipping in late 2021, but those quickly sold out and orders placed now will ship out in 2022.
Priced at $179, the Playdate is a pocket-sized gaming system that has a unique design. It features a black and white display, bright yellow chassis, a d-pad, A+B buttons, and a crank on the side that serves as a flip-out rotational controller.
The pocketable gaming system will feature pre-installed games from developers like Zach Gage, Shaun Inman, Bennett Foddy, and Keita Takahashi.
There will be several games available at launch, and an additional game will be delivered each week for a few months. The Playdate comes equipped with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a USB-C port for charging, and a headphone jack.
Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week.
Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far.
Apple Intelligence for Siri
Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker.
In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19.
"Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag.
The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle.
Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
Sunday February 16, 2025 7:22 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is "exploring" the idea of showing search ads in the Apple Maps app, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Back in 2022, Gurman said software engineering was "already underway" to display ads in the Apple Maps app, but Apple did not move forward with the idea at the time. Today, he said Apple is "giving this notion more thought" again.
This time around, he said Apple has yet to...
Apple appears to have enough upcoming product announcements to justify a full event this month, yet all signs indicate these reveals will be handled through a series of press releases instead.
There are a multitude of rumors from reliable sources about specific announcements in the coming weeks, so here's everything that Apple could have feasibly included in a hypothetical February event:
...
Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week.
Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19.
"Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the imminent Apple product "launch" that is widely expected to be the fourth-generation iPhone SE.
Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos
In a social media post on Thursday, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of...
Friday February 14, 2025 6:03 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the HomePod mini in November 2020, followed by the AirTag in May 2021, and both still remain first-generation products.
Fortunately, rumors suggest that both the HomePod mini and the AirTag will finally be updated at some point this year.
Below, we recap rumors about the HomePod mini 2 and AirTag 2.
HomePod mini 2
In January 2025, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple is ...
Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech.
iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech
In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
I don't understand all the hate for this (not just here, but other comments/forums). This device is not meant to compete with the switch or stream deck. For me this is a nostalgia machine that puts a modern spin on the original game boy (which I grew up with). The debate on pricing I understand, but not whether it should exist.
Lots of cynicism here, but I think it’s a breath of fresh air. Playdate was never positioned and should not be considered as a new entrant in the competitive handheld console market: rather, it is a nifty, kind of charismatic curiosity that promises 24 free games.
Good graphics and gameplay don’t strictly come in the form of expensive 3D games replete with modern rendering embellishments and cutting-edge technical implementations: instead, what the Playdate is posing is a more halcyon, minimalist view of gaming, one that understandably appears kind of alien to people who are ensconced within their own, limited, predefined concept of the medium. I feel like people have a narrow view of what gaming can be in the modern day, and have forgotten that the medium of gaming is, well, simply a medium, and that it can be wider than just console wars and PC gaming. And I don’t think anyone, including Panic, expects Playdate to be at all competitive in that market.
Perhaps it is a bit of a hipster product, but the price is not bad at all given the quality of the design and the number of free exclusive games it will get. Looking forward to receiving my pre-order later this year.
New games from Lucas Pope, Bennett Foddy, and Keita Takahashi games plus 21 more?
Yeah that's an immediate buy from me.
Once the dev tools are out in the wild the homebrew community for this should be interesting.
The hater parade on this is just fascinating. What a bunch of joykills.
Yes a bunch of creators we admire teamed up to make something cool and amazing. It's a little expensive because it turns out that making custom hardware is expensive. "It's not gonna compete with the Switch" no **** sherlock, they're only making twenty thousand this year.
After the Steam Deck has been shown (and ordered by myself), there is NO interest in this from me. This is just a gimmick. (a too highly priced gimmick)