MacRumors

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming tvOS 12 update to its public beta testing group, giving non-developers a chance to try out the new software ahead of its fall public release.

The first beta of tvOS 12 available to public beta testers corresponds with the second tvOS 12 update made available to developers. Developers have had access to tvOS 12 since June 4, when Apple introduced new versions of tvOS, iOS, macOS, and watchOS at WWDC.

The tvOS 12 public beta can be obtained by going to the Settings app on the Apple TV and navigating to the Software Updates section under "System." "Get Public Beta Updates" will need to be toggled on, and once it is, the Apple TV will download the beta software.

tvOS 12 introduces long-awaited support for Dolby Atmos, and when tvOS 12 launches this fall, iTunes will be home to the largest collection of Dolby Atmos-supported movies. As with the launch of 4K HDR, previously purchased content will be upgraded to include Dolby Atmos on all supported titles at no cost.

tvOS 12 brings a new zero sign-on feature that's designed to let cable subscribers watch live channels and on-demand programs that they're entitled to through their cable subscription simply by being logged into their home internet networks. This is something that will be limited to Charter Spectrum users to begin with.

Other tvOS 12 features include autofill passwords from the iPhone to sign into Apple TV apps more quickly, and support for Home Control systems like Crestron and Savant, which will be able to be used to control the Apple TV. Apple also plans to make the Apple TV Remote a default option in Control Center on iOS devices, and there are new aerial screensavers created with help from the International Space Station.

tvOS 12 will see a public launch this fall, and until that time, will be limited to developers and public beta testers as Apple works out bugs and other kinks.

CBS and the NFL today announced an extended streaming agreement that will see all NFL on CBS games available on the CBS All Access streaming video service through 2022.

The entire 2018 NFL on CBS season will be available to all CBS All Access subscribers, on set-top boxes and, for the first time, mobile devices. That means customers who subscribe to CBS All Access can watch NFL games on iPhones and iPads with the CBS All Access app.

Previously, streaming NFL games on mobile devices was limited to Verizon subscribers, but Verizon and the NFL in December reached a new deal that allowed for other services and carriers to offer access to NFL games on tablets and smartphones through the Yahoo Sports, go90, and NFL apps.

In addition to mobile devices, NFL on CBS content can be viewed online at CBS.com and on connected devices like Roku Players, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Fire TV, Samsung Smart TVs and Amazon Channels.

CBS says that its All Access subscribers will receive NFL on CBS games that are broadcast in their local market. NFL on CBS content will also be made available on mobile for CBS's cable, satellite, telco, and vMVPD partners.

CBS has been offering access to NFL on CBS games through its All Access subscription service since 2016, but prior NFL seasons were only able to be streamed on TVs, tablets, and computers.

Microsoft is testing built-in Adblock Plus integration in its mobile Edge browser available for both iOS and Android devices, reports The Verge.

With built-in Adblock Plus functionality, Edge browser users on iOS will not need to download a separate ad blocking app, which may attract more users to Microsoft's browser. Adblock Plus can be enabled in Microsoft Edge's settings, with no add-on app required.

Google has built ad blocking into Chrome for Android devices, but it is somewhat limited and not available on iOS devices. As noted by The Verge, Adblock Plus is a more aggressive ad blocking option.

iOS Safari users can, of course, install one of several ad block apps available in the iOS App Store, but there is no native ad blocking functionality in Safari.

Adblock Plus is available in a beta capacity on both Android and iOS devices at the current time, with Microsoft planning to roll the feature out to all Edge for iOS and Android users in the near future.

Microsoft has made its Edge browser available across a range of devices, including iPhones, iPads, and Android devices in addition to Windows computers. The Edge browser includes syncing of favorites, passwords, and reading lists, along with a "Continue on PC" option for transferring what you're reading from the mobile Edge browser to the desktop.

T-Mobile this morning announced the launch of T-Mobile FamilyMode, a new feature that is designed to let parents monitor and control what their kids are doing on their internet-connected devices.

T-Mobile FamilyMode service is available via a FamilyMode app and can also be used with an add-on device called the FamilyMode Home Base, which is designed to connect to a home's Wi-Fi system to provide access to connected devices.

FamilyMode from T-Mobile will let parents manage, monitor, filter, and set time limits for a range of devices, even those that aren't connected to the T-Mobile network thanks to the Home Base. It will also provide location services for keeping track of kids.

According to T-Mobile, it will work with phones, tablets, gaming consoles, laptops, smart TVs, and other Wi-Fi connected devices.

T-Mobile is charging $20 for the FamilyMode Home Base and $10 a month for the FamilyMode app, which controls the FamilyMode system. The FamilyMode feature will be available to customers starting on June 29.

Device monitoring and time management features to cut down on device addiction have become popular in 2018. The newest version of Google's Android operating system includes Android Dashboard for monitoring time spent on a device and setting limits, and a similar feature, Screen Time, has been included in iOS 12.

Screen Time includes comprehensive monitoring of the amount of time spent using iOS devices, along with detailed parental controls and app limit features.

T-Mobile isn't the first carrier to join the device monitoring trend. Verizon in April announced "Smart Family," an app that lets parents track screen time, set content filters, monitor location, and more. Verizon's option does not include hardware and is priced at $4.99 to $9.99 per month.

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming watchOS 4.3.2 update to developers, two weeks after seeding the second watchOS 4.3.2 beta and a month after releasing watchOS 4.3.1, a minor bug fix update that addressed a startup issue.

Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software update.

To install the update, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it has to be in range of the iPhone.

No new features were discovered in the first two watch watchOS 4.3.2 updates, but as a 4.3.x update, it's likely to be minor in scale, addressing bug fixes discovered since the release of watchOS 4.3.1 and making other small improvements to the operating system.

watchOS 4.3.2 is likely to be one of the final updates to the watchOS 4 operating system. Apple has begun work on watchOS 5, which was provided to developers at the 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference and will see a public launch this fall.

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.4.1 update to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the third tvOS 11.4.1 beta and one month after releasing tvOS 11.4, an update that introduced support for AirPlay 2.

Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the new tvOS 11.4.1 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that's installed using Xcode. Public beta testers can opt-in by going to the Settings app on the Apple TV and navigating to the Software Updates section under "System." "Get Public Beta Updates" will need to be toggled on, and once it is, the Apple TV will download the beta software.

No new features or changes were discovered in the first three tvOS 11.4.1 betas, suggesting the update focus on fixes for bugs that have been discovered since the release of tvOS 11.4.

Apple's tvOS updates have historically been minor in scale, and Apple does not often provide us with detailed notes outlining what's new. We'll update this post should anything be found in the fourth beta.

Apple's work on tvOS 11 is winding down as the company is now focusing on tvOS 12, which was unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference in early June.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 is gradually catching up with Google Maps' public transportation navigation coverage, which already includes Rome and cities in Estonia. Apple also recently revealed that CarPlay will support Google Maps, Waze, and other third-party navigation apps with a paired iPhone running iOS 12.

(Thanks, Ram!)