Monument Valley 2 creators Ustwo Games today posted a new story on Medium (via The Verge) that highlights the first-year numbers and growth of the popular mobile sequel. Although there are numerous points of data to look at, one notable standout is that Monument Valley 2 earned $10.4 million in the one year period that began on June 5, 2017 (the game's launch day) through June 4, 2018.
In comparison, the original game's first-year revenue locked in at $5.8 million back in 2015, meaning that the sequel proved to be far more popular than the first Monument Valley and nearly doubled first-year revenue for Ustwo Games in the process. One major factor in the success of Monument Valley 2 was its surprise unveiling onstage at WWDC 2017, and its immediate availability later that day in the iOS App Store.
Once word got out about the game's launch, it achieved its highest one-day revenue of $728,000 on June 6, 2017 -- the day after Apple's WWDC keynote. Continuing comparisons, in its first year the original game's highest one-day revenue hit $145,530 on April 3, 2014, the day of its launch.
China was a huge factor in Monument Valley 2's success this past year, with the game offered as an initially free download on Android in the country. China accounted for 91.4 percent of the game's unique installs, compared to 2.7 percent in the United States. China also made up for 62.3 percent of purchases for the game in its first year, followed by the U.S. at 16.3 percent, the United Kingdom at 2.7 percent, Germany at 1.9 percent, Japan at 1.8 percent, Canada at 1.5 percent, and France at 1.3 percent.
Ustwo Game's new infographic also has a few "fun facts," including that 53 percent of players who began Monument Valley 2 finished it, and that the player base took over 2.2 million screenshots while playing the sequel. In total, the developers had to keep work on their follow-up game a secret for 490 days before it was ultimately revealed at WWDC 2017. Over its entire development cycle, it took 16 core team members 70 weeks to finish the game at a development cost of $2.3 million.
Speaking to The Verge, Ustwo Games studio head Dan Gray talked about the company's resistance to going the freemium route with its games and the opinion by some in the industry that premium mobile games have died. "I think it has kind of plateaued," he explained. "It definitely hasn't died, which is what everyone said every year for the past six years."
In the Medium post, Gray explained that the company likes to share its data to help out other developers, who can "get a handle on what they might expect from a successful premium launch," and further the resistance to games that focus on in-app purchase payment structures. Monument Valley has become such a success in this field that other teams reportedly use "an MV" as a unit of measurement when forecasting success of their own games to investors, saying their game could launch with "X percent of an MV."
“It’s harder and harder to make successful, premium, paid mobile games,” says Gray. “So I would rather help people out.” He says that the community of premium mobile game developers is very communicative, sharing details like release dates ahead of time to avoid clashing with each other. “It’s kind of like this secret society of people trying to help each other out,” he says.
Monument Valley 2 launched with a price tag of $4.99 on the iOS App Store, and has seen a discount to $1.99 a few times over the last year. Thanks to the one-time purchase, players get access to the entire game, which spans 14 chapters of puzzles of increasing difficulty. Although he didn't specify what Ustwo is working on next, Gray said that he wants to use Monument Valley 2's success "to do some really risky projects that no one is taking risks on."
Three years ago, Lutron was one of the first vendors to venture into the HomeKit ecosystem with its Caséta Wireless lighting controls, which include plug-in lamp dimmers, wall-mounted dimmer switches, and remotes, all coordinated through a wireless "Smart Bridge" that plugs into your internet router.
The Caséta system has been such a mainstay in the HomeKit world that Apple is still selling it in its stores, including a $100 starter kit with a smart bridge, an in-wall switch, and a Pico remote control. Additional sets of one in-wall dimmer and one remote are available for $60 each. A host of other lighting switches and Pico remotes are also available to satisfy a range of needs, and the entire system is very popular with our readers.
Lutron's Caséta lamp dimmer starter kit and Serena shade
Beyond lighting, the Caséta system also integrates with other products, including several styles of automatic HomeKit window shades from Lutron, as well as a joint Lutron-Honeywell thermostat and even some ceiling fans from Hunter. In addition to HomeKit, Caséta also integrates with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Samsung SmartThings, and Nest, as well as Sonos, Carrier, ecobee, Logitech, and Xfinity Home.
I've had the Caséta lamp dimmer system controlling the bedside lamps in my master bedroom for quite some time, and Lutron also sent along a demo setup of the company's battery-operated Serena shades to see how the different products integrate both within the Lutron app and through HomeKit.
Serena shades are available in roller, single honeycomb, and double honeycomb styles in over 150 fabric and color options with a variety of opacities. Lutron's higher-end Sivoia QS Triathlon shades intended more for professional home automation setups will also integrate with the Caséta system and HomeKit.
Each Caséta lamp dimmer plugs directly into an electrical outlet and has its own pair of outlets to control up to two lamps simultaneously. In order to control the lamps on either side of our bed independently, I needed to use both dimmer units included in the starter pack Lutron sent me.
There are large buttons on the face of each lamp dimmer to control brightness level or immediately turn connected lamps on or off. But given that the dimmer is frequently plugged into an outlet low on the wall or even tucked away in an inaccessible location such as behind or under a bed as in my situation, the Pico remote is key for manual control of lamps.
Installation and Setup
Setup of Caséta products is fairly simple, but it's important to note that these devices utilize a separate Smart Bridge accessory to connect to each other, the Lutron app, and HomeKit. The Smart Bridge is a small white box that connects over an Ethernet cable to your router. It's one more thing taking up space and an electrical outlet, but it's not an uncommon move used by manufacturers to bring HomeKit support to connected products, particularly since Apple has only just recently started allowing for software HomeKit authentication.
Caséta Smart Bridge sitting on top of AirPort Time Capsule and next to Linksys Velop
Once your Smart Bridge is online, the Lutron app will walk you through the setup for each of your products. If you're using a Pico remote, you'll need to set that up separately, but it's a simple process. For a lamp dimmer, just hold down on the bottom button until the LED flashes, and then the app will prompt you to assign it to a room and specify what kind of fixture it will be controlling. From there, you can easily rename the device and then go through a similar short setup process for the Pico remote associated with each dimmer.
If you're using in-wall switches, setup is similar, although you'll obviously have a bit more work to do on the installation side to swap out your existing switches for the Caséta ones.
I wasn't able to experience the full installation process for the Serena shades considering I was using a prepackaged demo unit, but once they are mounted, it's an easy process to install the six D batteries and walk through the usual setup in the app.
One interesting feature of the lamp dimmer kit is that one of the dimmers can be used as a range extender, increasing the range of the Smart Bridge network by up to 30 feet. It can come in handy if you have Caséta devices at the opposite end of your house from the Smart Bridge, with a Caséta dimmer somewhere in the middle helping boost the signal to make sure everything can communicate properly with the bridge.
Lutron App Control
While the Caséta ecosystem integrates with HomeKit, the Lutron app isn't a full replacement for Apple's Home app, so you can't see all of your HomeKit devices in it. You can, however, manage all of the Caséta and Lutron shade products as well as thermostats from Honeywell, Carrier, ecobee, and Nest. Sonos speaker systems can also be integrated within the Lutron app.
The Lutron app offers quick access to all of your Caséta-compatible products, and tapping on individual devices in the app pops up a set of controls with buttons similar to those seen on the device itself or the Pico remote. For example, with the lamp dimmers, you'll get options to turn the lights on or off, or adjust the brightness. Brightness can also be adjusted using a slider.
Both the lamp dimmer/shade and the Pico remotes that control them show up individually by default, which can be a bit confusing considering they really do the same thing, but there's an option in settings to hide remotes from showing on the main screen.
Controls are a similar story with the shades, which you let you tap into the app to open or close them all the way, go to a preset "favorite" level, or manually adjust up or down with buttons or a slider.
More power comes in the form of scenes, which allow you to combine Caséta-compatible devices under a single command. For example, a "Good Night" scene could turn off all of the connected lamps and light switches around your house, lower the shades, and adjust the thermostat. These function essentially the same as scenes in HomeKit, but it's important to note that these are not actually the same thing – a scene set up in the Lutron app will not appear in the Home app.
Setting up a "Good Night" scene in the Lutron app
Lutron scenes can be controlled not only from within the app itself but also through a Today widget. You can customize which scenes appear in the widget and then easily access the controls at a swipe. Lutron also includes an Apple Watch app that gives you quick access to scenes and individual devices right from your wrist.
Lutron app's Today widget
There does appear to be some limited ability in the Lutron app to interact with HomeKit devices that aren't officially supported, as my Emerson Sensi thermostat shows up on the main screen and I can adjust the temperature set point and heating/cooling modes within the Lutron app. Other HomeKit devices around my house do not, however, appear in the Lutron app.
In addition to manual control of Lutron-based scenes, you can also set up schedules for individual Caséta devices or combinations of them. Schedules can be customized by day of the week and set using either absolute times of the day or relative to sunrise or sunset.
Setting up a schedule in the Lutron app
Lutron also offers some geofencing features, allowing you to set a custom radius (1000 feet by default) that will trigger certain events when you are coming or going. The app can remind you if lights have been left on when you leave the radius, and you can set certain lights to turn on as you arrive home or turn off as you leave, for example. A toggle option lets you set whether or not the scenes activate only after sunset.
Geofencing setup
The geofencing also extends to a feature Lutron calls "Smart Away," which can randomly turn certain lights on and off between 6 PM and 11 PM when you're away from home in order to make your home appear occupied. The geofencing feature can activate Smart Away automatically when you leave home, or you can opt to turn Smart Away on manually as a scene from the app or Today widget.
Manual Control
Manual control for smart home accessories is a key feature, as not everyone coming into your home is going to be set up to control your lights and other accessories through their phones, and Lutron's Pico remote does a great job at managing that aspect of operation.
The Pico remote can be held in the hand or slid onto a pedestal stand (included in some kits, otherwise sold separately) that looks fairly fashionable and makes it easy to wirelessly control your lamps. Like the dimmer itself, the Pico remote includes separate buttons for on, off, and brightness adjustments. A center button can be configured to quickly set a lamp to a preset brightness level with one touch. In addition to the included pedestal, Lutron sells other remote accessories separately, allowing you to mount a Pico remote to a wall like a standard switch or clip it to a car visor.
The Pico remotes for our bedside lamps typically sit on the nightstands next to the lamps, which allows for easy access to adjust the lighting level and turn the lamps on or off. But say you want to roll away from the lamp and you're feeling sleepy, maybe to read a book at bedtime with the lamp lighting your pages from behind over your shoulder — you can take the remote with you into your bed and turn the light off right from there as you're drifting off.
With app and HomeKit integration, you can of course also use your phone or Siri to turn off the lights, but that can be less convenient if you want to have your devices put away for the night and perhaps don't want to wake a sleeping partner by speaking to your lamps.
The Serena shades also come with their own Pico remote, so you can similarly easily control the shades without needing to tap into any aspect of the smart home control. While they look very similar and can interchangeably slide onto pedestal accessories, Pico remotes are customized for each product so labeling and button functions on a shade remote are different than those on a lamp dimmer kit with no user configuration needed beyond the initial pairing.
HomeKit
In addition to controlling things manually or through the Lutron app, once your products are set up you can also control them via HomeKit, which means the Home app on iOS (and soon macOS with macOS Mojave) or via Siri. This opens up a host of other integrations, letting you add the Caséta dimmers and switches and Serena shades to rooms, scenes, and automations with other HomeKit products.
Siri is especially convenient, allowing you to turn the lights on or off and open or close the shades by voice. You can even use commands like "set the shades to halfway" or "turn on Eric's lamp to 50 percent" and the devices will quickly respond appropriately. Siri control works great with HomePod, which can hear you from across a room even while speaking quietly.
As noted up top in the setup section, individual Caséta products are not directly compatible with HomeKit, as connectivity is managed through the Smart Bridge that attaches over a wired connection to your Internet router and then wirelessly to all of your Caséta devices.
In practice, it doesn't alter the way these devices function with HomeKit, as they appear as separate devices in the Home and quickly respond to commands via the Home app and Siri. If you tap into the details on each Caséta product within the Home app, you'll see the Smart Bridge show up as a subpage, where you can see its information and remove it from your HomeKit home if necessary.
Wrap-up
Lutron has assembled a nice ecosystem of switches, dimmers, and even shades that work nicely together and with Apple's HomeKit system. The Caséta products are easy to set up and work consistently both through the Lutron app and through HomeKit.
The Smart Bridge requirement adds an additional piece of equipment into the equation and likely increases the overall cost, but once it's up and running the bridge is essentially invisible in terms of operation and can be tucked away somewhat to minimize the visual aspect.
As with most HomeKit devices, and smart home products in general, it's not cheap to completely outfit your home with the Caséta ecosystem. As noted up top, if you're looking for some in-wall switches, the starter kit with a switch and a Smart Bridge will set you back $100, with additional switches priced at $60, although you may find an occasional deal at another retailer to bring the cost down.
Lutron offers a number of bundles in various combinations of accessories, so make sure to figure out what will work best for you. For example, the lamp dimmer bundle I've been using is priced at $190 and includes the Smart Bridge, two lamp dimmers, two Pico remotes, and two tabletop pedestals for the remotes. But you can also build a piecemeal system starting with a Smart Bridge for $80 and individual sets of dimmers or switches paired with Pico remotes (no pedestals included) for $50–$60 each, or omit the Pico remotes and save a few dollars. The full list of starter kits, individual products, and accessories is available on the Caséta Wireless website. Lutron also has an Amazon storefront for the Caséta ecosystem.
Serena shades are custom manufactured based on your specifications, and pricing varies considerably depending on shade style, size, mounting method, fabric, and more, but expect to pay more than $400 (significantly more in some cases) per shade. It adds up quickly, but quality standard shades aren't necessarily cheap either, and many homeowners find the convenience of powered shades worth the cost, especially for window locations that are out of easy reach.
Note: Lutron provided the Caséta lamp dimmer starter kit to MacRumors free of charge for the purposes of this review. The Serena shade demo unit was also provided free of charge and returned to Lutron at the conclusion of the review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon and may earn commissions on purchases made through links in this article.
Facebook is working on its own in-house time usage insight dashboard, following in the footsteps of Apple's iOS 12 keynote at WWDC, which included the announcement of a "Screen Time" digital health feature. Discovered by Jane Manchun Wong (via TechCrunch), "Your Time on Facebook" shows a list of of how long you've spent on the Facebook app over the last week.
This includes the average time you spent in the app per day, as well as the ability to set a limit to the amount of time you want to spend in the app, and an accompanying reminder about that limit. Confirming the feature is in testing, Facebook said, "We're always working on new ways to help make sure people's time on Facebook is time well spent."
In the image shared by Wong on Twitter, the text in the dashboard reads, "Time spent is counted while you're viewing the Facebook app on this phone," so it appears this feature will not count Facebook web browsing. The dashboard also has a shortcut for users to jump to a page that allows them to change their notification settings and turn on do not disturb. Although discovered within the Android app for Facebook, once "Your Time on Facebook" rolls out to a wide audience it's expected to launch across iOS and Android devices.
Facebook-owned Instagram is also developing a "Time Spent" usage insights feature so users can see how long they spend in the app. In May, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom said, "Understanding how time online impacts people is important, and it's the responsibility of all companies to be honest about this. We want to be part of the solution. I take that responsibility seriously."
While the digital health trend continues on an app-by-app basis, it's yet to be seen if any individual company will provide features that Apple doesn't already have in its all-encompassing Screen Time area of Settings in iOS 12. Screen Time collects data on every app you open and use on your iPhone or iPad, breaking them down by different categories of apps, showing you exactly how much time you spend in each app, how often you pick up your iPhone, which apps send the most notifications, and more.
You can set up App Limits to reduce the amount of time you spend in any app, and view weekly reports to see an overall view of what you were doing on your iOS devices the last seven days. Improvements to digital health in iOS 12 also include Do Not Disturb during Bedtime, greater control over notifications, "Downtime," and more.
Apple's audio device strategy has been highlighted today in a new report by Bloomberg, which looked forward to 2019 and the launch of the "higher-end" third-generation AirPods, next HomePod, and previously rumored over-ear headphones from Apple.
For the AirPods, next year's model is believed to be water resistant "to protect against rain and perspiration," which Bloomberg previously reported in February. In the new report, Mark Gurman and Debby Wu add that Apple is also working to introduce noise cancellation and increase the range that the AirPods can work away from iPhone or iPad, citing people familiar with Apple's plans.
Apple Inc. is about to pump up the volume on its audio-device strategy, planning higher-end AirPods, a new HomePod and studio-quality over-ear headphones for as early as next year, according to people familiar with the matter.
Additionally, the third-generation AirPods -- coming after this fall's expected second-generation update with "Hey Siri" support -- are expected to cost "more than the existing $159 pair." This is believed to cause Apple to "segment" the AirPods line like it does with iPhones, with a lower-cost model and a higher-cost model that has more features. One of these advanced features could also be a biometric sensor "like a heart-rate monitor."
Continuing its audio device push, Apple is eyeing an early 2019 debut for its over-ear headphones, after facing "development challenges" during its original late 2018 launch schedule. Bloomberg described the device as a "higher-end alternative to the company's Beats line," but otherwise didn't give any new details on features that could be coming to the headphones.
Lastly, the report quickly mentions that the second version of the HomePod is set to debut "as early as next year." Apple may also switch production on the smart speaker away from Inventec for the new model, in an overall shakeup of Apple's supply chain in regards to its audio devices. Sources said the company is looking to expand its partnership with Foxconn, which mainly helps manufacture the iPhone, and simultaneously lessen its reliance on Inventec, which helped supply AirPods and HomePod.
While updates to AirPods and HomePod have been expected, rumors first appeared for Apple's "own-branded" over-ear headphones back in February from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The audio accessory is expected to be "as convenient as AirPods" but with superior sound quality, active noise cancellation technology, and a price tag aimed at the high-end market.
Apple has announced a new section in the Apple News app dedicated to providing coverage of the U.S. midterm elections from now through to November.
Apple says the new section is designed to help readers follow the latest on the 2018 Midterm Elections with breaking news, exclusive highlights and analysis from trusted sources curated by Apple News' team of experienced editors.
Special features will include "The Conversation", a collection of opinion columns about hot-button issues from sources they may not already follow, and "On the Ground", which highlights issues that matter to local constituents on the most important races.
"Today more than ever people want information from reliable sources, especially when it comes to making voting decisions," said Lauren Kern, editor-in-chief of Apple News. "An election is not just a contest; it should raise conversations and spark national discourse. By presenting quality news from trustworthy sources and curating a diverse range of opinions, Apple News aims to be a responsible steward of those conversations and help readers understand the candidates and the issues."
In addition to presenting coverage from Fox News, Vox, and other publishers, Apple says its News app will offer exclusive features, including:
The Washington Post's "Election Now," a dashboard that brings to life important primary races by contextualizing key data like current polling, what pundits are saying and survey data on voter enthusiasm.
A weekly briefing from Axios, featuring analysis of the most important developments as the primaries unfold.
Politico's "Races to Watch," which looks at a collection of races offering important themes and trends to voters.
The new section is available to readers in the U.S. only, and can be accessed within the News app from a banner across the top of the For You tab, as well as through Top Stories and the Spotlight tab.
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.
Apple Maps now includes transit information for Estonia and the city of Rome, Italy, enabling users in the areas to navigate with public transportation.
In Rome, transit data covers the city's public metro lines, buses, and tram routes, as well as the local Trenitalia network which includes the Leonardo Express that connects Roma Termini station and Roma Fiumicino airport in Lazio.
Transit coverage across Estonia includes the capital Tallinn's bus, tram, trolleybus, and Elron train services, as well as local links to the country's national rail network reaching through Tartu, Pärnu, and Narva.
The public transport information can be accessed by tapping the Transit tab or button in Apple Maps on iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch.
Apple started adding transit information to Apple Maps three years ago, starting with Baltimore, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto, and China. Apple has since expanded transit coverage to additional cities around the globe.
Apple's CEO Tim Cook, environmental chief Lisa Jackson, and health and fitness director Jay Blahnik were among the many Apple employees who marched in the parade, wearing Pride-themed t-shirts with rainbow-colored Apple logos.
Note: All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow this thread, but commenting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Apple has initiated a new worldwide service program offering free repairs of MacBook and MacBook models equipped with low-profile, butterfly mechanism keyboards, after the company determined that "a small percentage" of the keyboards may develop one or more of the following issues:
Letters or characters repeat unexpectedly
Letters or characters do not appear
Key(s) feel "sticky" or do not respond in a consistent manner
Apple or Apple Authorized Service Providers will service eligible MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboards free of charge. Apple says the process may involve the replacement of one or more keys or the whole keyboard.
The following MacBook and MacBook Pro models are eligible for the program:
MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015)
MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)
MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, 2017)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)
All other MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro models are not equipped with butterfly mechanism keyboards, and thus are ineligible.
To identify your MacBook or MacBook Pro model to see if it is eligible for this program, click on the Apple logo in the top-left corner of the screen and select About This Mac. A window should open, and in the Overview tab, the model should be listed, such as MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016).
Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider will examine the MacBook or MacBook Pro prior to any service to verify that it is eligible for this program. If the notebook has any damage which impairs the service, that issue will need to be repaired first, and in some cases, there may be repair fees.
Reddit has announced the rollout of its customizable News tab feature to most users of its iOS app. After limited alpha testing of the tab over the last few weeks, Reddit says it has acted on feedback and introduced enough improvements for the next beta phase of testing to reach a wider audience.
The News tab appears to the left of the Home and Popular tabs, and brings together content from community subreddits that frequently share and engage with news. Content is divided into topics like Politics, Sports, and Technology, and users can further customize them to show only the subtopics they're most interested in.
You told us you wanted more granular news topics (not just Sports but Baseball specifically), so we've introduced subtopics for you to personalize your News tab and notifications. You all told us you want to be able to see how different communities are talking about the same story. So, we are developing a community pivot feature that will show you multiple threads from different communities on the same article.
Reddit says it has set guidelines for the communities that filter into the experience, as well as the post type (posts titles must reflect the article title, for example). The News tab is also coming to desktop later this summer, and Reddit plans to continue to expand the communities that appear in the News tab in the third quarter of this year.
The Reddit app is a free download available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. [Direct Link]
A USB-based vulnerability that allows for the brute forcing of a passcode on an iOS device has been discovered by security researcher Matthew Hickey, reports ZDNet.
The method, which bypasses the 10-entry attempt that erases an iOS device when the setting is enabled, allows a hacker to plug an iPhone or iPad into a computer and send all passcodes, from 0000 to 9999, all at once, triggering an input routine that takes priority over anything else on the device. Hickey demos the hack in the video below.
"Instead of sending passcodes one at a time and waiting, send them all in one go," he said.
"If you send your brute-force attack in one long string of inputs, it'll process all of them, and bypass the erase data feature," he explained.
All that's required to use this brute force password cracking method is an iPhone or iPad that's turned on and locked and a Lightning cable, according to Hickey. It works on iOS devices up to iOS 11.3.
Hickey's iPhone cracking method takes between three and five seconds for each four-digit passcode, which means it's slow and not as advanced as other passcode cracking methods employed by companies like Grayshift, which makes the GrayKey box. For this method to guess a six-digit passcode, Hickey says it would take weeks.
Apple in iOS 12 is introducing a new USB Restricted Mode that may put a stop to the vulnerability that Hickey has discovered, as well as vulnerabilities exploited by tools like the GrayKey Box.
With USB Restricted Mode, enabled by default on iOS devices running iOS 12, USB access to an iPhone or iPad is cut off if it's been more than an hour since the device was last unlocked.
That means computers and other accessories can't be used to access a locked iPhone if it's been locked for over an hour, disabling access via a USB to Lightning cable.
Update: In a statement obtained by iMore, Apple says "the recent report about a passcode bypass on iPhone was in error, and a result of incorrect testing."
Apple today launched a keyboard repair program for MacBook and MacBook Pro models equipped with butterfly keys to address complaints over letters or characters that repeat unexpectedly, letters or characters that do not appear, and keys that feel "sticky" or do not respond in a consistent manner.
According to Apple, a "small percentage" of MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboards from 2015 to 2017 can experience these symptoms.
Apple says that customers can bring an affected MacBook or MacBook Pro into an Apple retail store or to an Apple Authorized Service Provider to receive repairs free of charge, with the type of service to be determined after the keyboard has been examined.
Repairs may include the replacement of one or more keys or the entire keyboard. Eligible MacBook and MacBook Pro models are listed below:
MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015)
MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)
MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, 2017)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)
No other MacBook or MacBook Pro models are included in the program, but it does cover eligible MacBook and MacBook Pro models for four years after the first retail sale of the unit.
To initiate the repair process, customers should find an Apple Authorized Service Provider, make an appointment at an Apple retail store, or mail the device into an Apple Repair Center after contacting Apple support. Apple says that if the affected MacBook or MacBook Pro has damage that impairs service, the issue will need to be repaired first.
Repair documents for Apple Authorized Service Providers seen by MacRumors suggest Apple will repair MacBook and MacBook Pro regardless of keyboard damage due to attempted keycap repair by the customer or physical top case damage unrelated to the keyboard. Liquid damage and physical keyboard damage unrelated to a keycap repair will require additional work to be paid for by the customer before a keyboard repair can be initiated.
Customers who experienced keyboard problems but were forced to pay out-of-warranty repair fees for their damaged MacBook or MacBook Pro models can contact Apple to inquire about a refund. In some cases, repairs for keyboard issues were priced at upwards of $500.
Apple's decision to offer a repair program follows increasing customer dissatisfaction with the failure rate of the first and second-generation butterfly keyboards in the 2015 and later MacBook models and the 2016 and later MacBook Pro models.
Customer complaints have suggested that these models experience issues more often than prior keyboards due to the flatter butterfly keys that adopt dome switches for a more responsive feel. The design of these keyboards can cause keys to fail when dust or other small particles get into the keys, leading to the "sticky" and non-responsive keys Apple describes above.
Apple is facing two potential class action lawsuits over the defective keyboards in recent MacBook and MacBook Pro models from customers who were forced to pay high prices for out-of-warranty repairs. Thousands of customers also signed a Change.org petition calling on Apple to fix the keyboard issues that are being addressed with the new repair program.
Warner Bros' new Westworld game for mobile devices is a "blatant rip-off" of Bethesda game Fallout Shelter, according to a lawsuit Bethesda filed in a Maryland U.S. District Court this week.
At issue are the similarities between the two games. In Fallout Shelter, which was first released in 2015, you run an underground bunker in the Fallout universe, directing your bunker inhabitants to build and run new facilities, go out on expeditions, and more, with the ultimate goal of building up the bunker.
Westworld, based on the popular HBO show and released this week, uses a similar concept, with an underground Delos facility that players are required to build out to create AI hosts and satisfy guests in the park. The ultimate goal is to build up your underground Westworld facilities along with the above-ground park.
In the lawsuit, which was shared by Polygon, Bethesda accuses Warner Bros and game developer Behaviour Interactive of breach of contract, copyright infringement, unfair competition, and misappropriation of trade secrets. Behaviour Interactive worked on both Fallout Shelter and Westworld.
The Westworld game, says Bethesda, uses the same game design, art style, animations, and features as Fallout Shelter, in addition to stealing copyrighted computer code created for Fallout Shelter. As evidence for this, Bethesda claims Westworld has a unique bug that was also found in early builds of Fallout Shelter.
Fallout Shelter
According to Bethesda, Behaviour Interactive utilized its restricted access to Bethesda's intellectual property, including copyrighted code, to reduce costs and development time to bring Westworld to market faster.
The Westworld game is a blatant rip-off of FALLOUT SHELTER. Working with the same copyrighted computer code used by FALLOUT SHELTER, Westworld has the same or highly similar game design, art style, animations, features and other gameplay elements as FALLOUT SHELTER, all of which are owned by Bethesda.
Behaviour's breach of its contract with Bethesda is evidenced by the gameplay of Westworld, which uses the same copyrighted computer code created for Bethesda's FALLOUT SHELTER game. Behaviour's use of the computer code owned by Bethesda to develop Westworld even included the very same 'bugs' or defects present in the FALLOUT SHELTER code.
It's impossible not to see the similarities between Fallout Shelter and Westworld, and as is pointed out in the lawsuit, several reviews and stories on the Westworld game that have come out over the last few months have noted those similarities. VentureBeat, for example, said in March that the "side-view user interface looks a lot like Fallout Shelter," while ShackNews said "Westworld mobile is definitely taking a page out of the Fallout book," during the same timeframe.
Westworld
In light of the alleged intellectual property theft, Bethesda has asked the court for a jury trial, statutory damages, and actual damages, along with restitution and lawyers fees and costs. The company is also asking for every version of the Westworld mobile game to be removed from distribution.
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Fuse to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a Side Winder, which is an accessory that's designed to let you quickly and easily wind up your MacBook charger's cord.
The reel design of the Side Winder lets you carry a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air Power Adapter, cord, and extension cable in a neat, compact package with no tangles and no hassle, making it ideal for use at home, when traveling, at work, and everywhere else in between.
With a traditional Power Adapter and cable setup, you may try winding the cord and the extension cable up around the adapter itself, but it's unwieldy and the cable never stays in place, which is the problem that the Side Winder aims to solve.
Side Winder is compatible with all 45W, 60W, 61W, 85W, and 87W MacBook Pro and Air chargers, with both MagSafe 1 and 2 and USB-C versions available. The MagSafe versions are available for $29.99, while the USB-C version is $33.99. The USB-C model includes a USB-C cord, but neither model includes a power adapter or extension cable.
Once the Side Winder is in place with the Power Adapter in the center and the cables positioned properly, winding up a cable is done with a simple twist of the top piece. When needed, you can pull as much cable out as you need to reach a power outlet, and then later, wind it back up again.
According to Fuse, it takes less than six seconds to fully wind a cable using the Side Winder, and it offers protection against cable damage and fraying by preventing stress at weak points.
In addition to this week's giveaway, Fuse is also offering a 10 percent off discount code and free shipping on the Side Winder for MacRumors readers. Just use this link to make a purchase.
We have 15 Side Winders to give away to MacRumors readers. To enter to win the giveaway, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. 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.
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The contest will run from today (June 22) at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on June 29. The winners will be chosen randomly on June 29 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.
The United States Supreme Court today ruled that the government "is required" to obtain a warrant if it wants to gain access to data found on a civilian's smartphone, but only when it's related to the user's location data (via The New York Times).
The decision is expected to have major implications for digital privacy moving forward as it pertains to legal cases, and could cause ripples in unlawful search and seizure cases that involve personal information held by companies like emails, texts, internet searches, bank records, and more.
In a major statement on privacy in the digital age, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the government generally needs a warrant to collect troves of location data about the customers of cellphone companies.
But Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., writing for the majority, said the decision was limited. “We hold only that a warrant is required in the rare case where the suspect has a legitimate privacy interest in records held by a third party,” the chief justice wrote. The court’s four more liberal justices joined his opinion.
Today's vote in the case Carpenter v. United States came down to a 5-4 ruling, and originally emerged from armed robberies of Radio Shacks and other stores in Detroit dating back to 2010.
In the case, prosecutors relied on "months of records" obtained from smartphone makers to help prove their case, ultimately showing communication between Timothy Ivory Carpenter outside of a robbery location -- with his smartphone nearby -- and his accomplices inside of the location. The companies reportedly turned over 127 days' worth of Carpenter's records, with information as specific as whether or not he slept at home on any given night or if he went to church on Sunday mornings.
This led to the question by the Supreme Court justices as to whether the prosecutors violated the Fourth Amendment in discovering so much data on Carpenter's movements. Now, police will have to receive a warrant issued by the court in order to obtain any smartphone data as it relates to the owner's location data.
As the case continued, Apple and other technology companies filed a brief in August 2017 arguing against "rigid analog-era" Fourth Amendment rules. The brief deliberately stayed neutral on the topic of choosing sides, but urged the Supreme Court to continue bringing the Fourth Amendment law into the modern era. The companies stated that customers should not be "forced to relinquish Fourth Amendment protections" against intrusion by the government, simply because they choose to use modern technology.
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.
Alongside a major version 3.0 update that rolled out to its iOS app [Direct Link] earlier this week, Turner Classic Movies has also expanded support for its "Watch TCM" app to tvOS devices. Now the app can be downloaded to the fourth-generation Apple TV and fifth-generation Apple TV 4K, with thousands of classic films available on demand.
You'll need to have TCM already on your current cable or satellite TV package, and then once you sync the app to your log-in information you'll get access to its content. This includes two live streams for the east and west coast feed of Turner Classic Movies in addition to the on-demand movies.
Turner Classic Movies presents WATCH TCM, a “TV Everywhere” service that lets you enjoy unlimited access to the best of TCM, at no additional cost with your TV subscription. Not your ordinary “TV Everywhere” service, WATCH TCM is a content rich and in-depth movie companion that lets you experience the richly textured world of classic movies that only Turner Classic Movies can bring you.
The company says this back catalog includes "nearly every title playing on TCM," including introductions by special hosts like Ben Mankiewicz. Both live and on-demand movies are presented uncut, commercial free, and in their original aspect ratios.
The app also features articles, cast and crew information, photo galleries, short films, film collections ("Birthday Tributes", "31 Days of Oscar", "Silent Sunday Nights", etc.) and more. All of the films can be added to your Watchlist so you can keep an organized list of what you want to watch next, but the app doesn't appear to integrate with Apple's TV app as of yet.
Watch TCM differs from Turner Classic Movies' film streaming service "FilmStruck" since it connects to your pre-existing cable subscription. FilmStruck is a standalone subscription service that starts at $6.99/month and raises to $8.25/month ($99 billed annually) and includes most of TCM's classic films as well as the Criterion Collection. The app first debuted on the fourth-generation Apple TV in late 2016.
Nanoleaf's new 12-sided light-up remote joins its existing Nanoleaf Light Panels and Nanoleaf Rhythm, adding a whole slew of smartphone-free physical control options for your HomeKit setup in one easy-to-use accessory.
The Nanoleaf Remote is bigger than button and remote devices from other companies, but it offers access to many more scenes and as you'll see in my review, it's a great value if you already own a Nanoleaf setup and want a simple iPhone-free control method that anyone in the household can use.
For people unfamiliar with Nanoleaf, the company makes the Nanoleaf Light Panels, a HomeKit-enabled set of flat, triangle-shaped lights that connect together in a range of different user-designed configurations, providing both light and art. The Light Panels have LEDs inside and can be set to display dozens of different colors and patterns, which make up different light recipes.
I've had a Nanoleaf setup for more than a year, and it continues to be one of my favorite HomeKit products. The Remote is specifically designed for users who already have Nanoleaf Light Panels.
Design
Nanoleaf's Remote has a design that's not quite like any other HomeKit-enabled remote-style device on the market, with dodecahedron shape where each side activates a different scene.
The remote, which is a little bigger than palm sized, is made from a white plastic that admittedly feels a bit cheap, but it doesn't look bad sitting on a desk.
When the remote arrives, it comes in two halves, with one empty side and a one side that houses the batteries, an LED light, and the mechanism that provides a slight vibration whenever a new scene is activated. Two AA batteries (included in the package) fit into the battery compartment to provide power.
Once the batteries have been inserted, the two halves of the remote snap together. I wasn't quite able to get a perfect, seamless fit between the two halves, but that could be operator error.
I'm not sure how long the batteries are meant to last, but after about two weeks of use, the battery level is down to 85 percent. I suspect the batteries will need to be swapped out every few months, which is similar to other battery-powered HomeKit devices I own.
Setup
Setting up the Remote took less than 30 seconds using the Nanoleaf app, and it was as simple as the setup for any other HomeKit product. Under the Remote section of the app, there's an "Add Accessory" option, which requires the HomeKit code on the inside of the Nanoleaf Remote to be scanned. Once that's complete, the Remote is added to a HomeKit setup and scenes can be set either in the Nanoleaf app or the Home app.
On iOS devices, the Nanoleaf Light Panels and the Nanoleaf Remote work over HomeKit, and a HomeKit setup is required. You can also pair the Remote to the Nanoleaf Rhythm, however, which is required to enable full functionality, such as brightness controls. Sans a Nanoleaf Rhythm, which connects to the Light Panels to allow them to respond to sound, adjusting brightness does not work.
Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has begun commercial production of chips manufactured using its advanced 7-nanometer process (via DigiTimes). One of the major customers for chips built with the technology will be Apple and the A12 processor, which is expected to be found in all three upcoming 2018 iPhones.
The announcement comes from newly appointed TSMC CEO C.C. Wei, who spoke during the company's technology symposium in Taiwan yesterday in hopes of dismissing recent speculation that TSMC's 7nm production was facing a "slower-than-expected" yield rate. Wei didn't provide specific orders and customers for the 7nm chip output, but indicated the ramp up will boost TSMC's overall production capacity from 10.5 million wafers in 2017 to 12 million in 2018.
The chips built using the 7nm process technology are destined for AI, GPU, cryptocurrency, and 5G applications -- totaling 50 chip designs by the end of 2018. For iPhones, the new 7nm process will pave the way for the type of performance improvements customers expect in new iPhones every year.
Orders for Apple's custom A12 processor for use in the upcoming iPhones will play a major driver of TSMC's 7nm chip production growth in 2018, according to market sources. The foundry has secured 7nm chip orders from about 20 customers including AMD, Bitmain, Nvidia and Qualcomm. The majority of the orders will be carried out in the first half of 2019, the sources said.
At the technology symposium, Wei also said that TSMC is scheduled to move a new 5nm node technology to mass production towards the end of 2019 or early 2020, with plans to invest $25 billion into the technology.
In January, DigiTimesreported that Apple selected TSMC to remain the exclusive supplier of the upcoming A12 processor for its 2018 iPhones, following rumors from last summer that Samsung could be returning to iPhone chip production this year. TSMC is the exclusive supplier of the A11 Bionic processor found in the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X, as well as the sole supplier of the A10 Fusion processor in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
According to a DigiTimes report last year, TSMC's integrated fan-out wafer-level packaging technology -- which the supplier uses in its 7nm FinFET chip fabrication -- is largely superior to any progress made by Samsung in the same field, which eventually led to Apple's decision to stick with one supplier for all of its processors again this year.
Apple's decision to keep TSMC as the sole A-series chip manufacturer in 2018 will mark the third year in a row that the supplier created iPhone chips alone, following the A10 in 2016 and the A11 Bionic in 2017. The last time Apple dual sourced chips was in 2015, when both Samsung and TSMC supplied the A9 chip in the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, which frustrated some users when TSMC's technology was discovered to boast slightly better battery life.
Japan is the 11th country where the vehicles are collecting data since the initiative began in 2015, alongside Croatia, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
To date, Apple has periodically updated a list of locations where the vehicles will be collecting data on its U.S. website, including other countries, but Japan now has its own localized page, perhaps to satisfy local laws.
The verbiage on the page has suggested that Apple could be working on a feature similar to Google's Street View for Apple Maps:
Apple is driving vehicles around the world to collect data which will be used to improve Apple Maps. Some of this data will be published in future Apple Maps updates.
We are committed to protecting your privacy while collecting this data. For example, we will blur faces and license plates on collected images prior to publication.
In 2015, Mark Gurman reported that Apple planned to launch a 3D street view feature, based on a combination of its existing Flyover mode with street-level data. He also said the data would help Apple shift to an in-house mapping database by 2018, reducing its reliance on third-party sources like TomTom.
By the sound of it, Apple's mapping data could be used for advanced augmented reality applications, as part of a future update to ARKit.
Early speculation suggested the vehicles could be the basis of an Apple Car, but those rumors quieted down after the vans were labeled with Apple Maps decals, and because Apple has shifted towards testing self-driving software with Lexus 450h SUVs near its headquarters in California.
If you spot an Apple Maps vehicle in a location yet to be listed on Apple's website, be sure to let us know at tips@macrumors.com.
