MacRumors

In a piece covering growing consumer interest in mobile gaming, TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino spoke to Apple's vice president of product marketing, Greg Joswiak, and several prominent game developers to get opinions on the state gaming on iOS.

According to Joswiak, with developers now able to bring full multiplayer console-style experiences to iOS devices, like the recently released Fortnite and PUBG mobile games, mobile gaming is at a tipping point. Platforms like iOS are able to offer unique combinations of hardware and software that see regular updates and improvements, which has led to impressive new gaming technology over the course of the last few years.

"Every year we are able to amp up the tech that we bring to developers," he says, comparing it to the 4-5 year cycle in console gaming hardware. "Before the industry knew it, we were blowing people away [with the tech]. The full gameplay of these titles has woken a lot of people up."

Joswiak says Apple is able to bring a "very homogenous customer base to developers" with 90 percent of devices running the current version of iOS, which allows developers to introduce new features and target the capabilities of new devices more quickly than on other platforms like Android, giving Apple's App Store a competitive edge.

Ryan Cash, one of the developers behind the newly released Alto's Odyssey game, told TechCrunch that there's a "real and continually growing sense that mobile is a platform to launch compelling, artful experiences."

"This has always been the sentiment among the really amazing community of developers we've been lucky enough to meet. What's most exciting to me, now, though, is hearing this acknowledged by representatives of major console platforms. Having conversations with people about their favorite games from the past year, and seeing that many of them are titles tailor-made for mobile platforms, is really gratifying.

According to Joswiak, gaming has always been one of the App Store's most popular categories, and the iOS 11 redesign of the App Store that splits gaming into its own category has grown interest in mobile gaming even more. "Traffic to the App Store is up significantly, and with higher traffic, of course, comes higher sales."

One aspect of the new App Store design that developers are appreciative of is the new "Today" tab that provides customers with a look at some of the work that goes into creating a mobile game.

Dan Gray, one of the developers behind Monument Valley 2, said that it lets people know that indie games really are a "labour of love for a small group of people" and not created by a corporation of 200 people. "Hopefully this leads to players seeing the value in paying up front for games in the future once they can see the craft that goes into something," he said.

SpellTower creator Zach Gage told TechCrunch that games have "never had the cultural reach that they do now" because of the App Store and "these magical devices that are in everyones pockets." He went on to say that people are beginning to recognize that "iOS devices are everywhere" and are "the primary computers of many people," which is leading to more iOS development.

The full interview with comments from Joswiak and several other game developers is over at TechCrunch and is well worth reading for those interested mobile gaming.

The heart rate monitors built into the Apple Watch and other wearable devices can detect abnormal heart rhythms with 97 percent accuracy, according to a new study conducted by the team behind the Cardiogram app for Apple Watch in conjunction with researchers at the University of California, San Francisco.

More than 139 million heart rate and step count measurements were collected from 9,750 users of the Cardiogram app who also enrolled in the UC San Francisco Health eHeart Study, with the data used to train DeepHeart, Cardiogram's deep neural network.

Once trained, DeepHeart was able to read heart rate data collected by wearables, distinguishing between normal heart rhythm and atrial fibrillation with a 97 percent accuracy rate, both when testing UCSF patients with known heart issues and Cardiogram participants.

At a 97 percent accuracy rate, Cardiogram's study suggests the Apple Watch alone does a better job of detecting abnormal heart rhythms than FDA-approved accessory KardiaBand. From Cardiogram co-founder Johnson Hsieh:

97% accuracy refers to the c-statistic, or area under the sensitivity-specificity curve. Surprisingly, both the sensitivity and specificity of DeepHeart were even higher than an FDA-cleared Apple Watch ECG attachment -- 98% (vs 93%) sensitivity and 90% (vs 84%) specificity.

Published in JAMA Cardiology this morning, the study confirms the results from a similar preliminary study done in May of 2017. According to Cardiogram, today's study marks the first peer-reviewed study in a medical journal that demonstrates popular wearables from companies like Apple, Garmin, Polar, LG, and others can detect a major health condition.

Atrial fibrillation, or an abnormal heart rhythm, is a condition that can be indicative of major health problems and it can lead to heart failure and stroke. Atrial fibrillation often goes undiagnosed, which is where the Apple Watch and other wearables can help. The Apple Watch won't replace a traditional EKG, but it can alert people to a problem much earlier than it might otherwise be detected. From the study's conclusion:

This proof-of-concept study found that smartwatch photoplethysmography coupled with a deep neural network can passively detect AF but with some loss of sensitivity and specificity against a criterion-standard ECG. Further studies will help identify the optimal role for smartwatch-guided rhythm assessment.

In addition to studies on the Apple Watch's ability to detect atrial fibrillation, Cardiogram and UCSF have also been working to determine if the Apple Watch heart rate monitor can also detect conditions like hypertension, sleep apnea, and early signs of diabetes. Preliminary studies have suggested all of these conditions could be spotted in data collected by Apple Watch and other common wearable devices.

Apple has been working with researchers at Stanford on its own study to determine whether the heart rate sensor in the Apple Watch can be used to detect abnormal heart rhythms and common heart conditions. While in the study, if an abnormal heart rhythm is detected, participants will be contacted by researchers and asked to wear an ePath monitor to test heart health.

Apple Watch owners can sign up to participate in the Apple Heart Study by downloading and installing the Apple Heart Study app. Those who want to join Cardiogram's studies can install the Cardiogram app and sign up to join the mRhythm study.

Over the years, Apple has included its products in well-known television shows and movies as a way to spread awareness and promote recent launches of its iPhones, iPads, and more. Variety today reported that the company is appearing to increase the presence of these promotional campaigns, with some TV shows including direct connections to the Cupertino company in the closing credits.

Fox's cop drama 9-1-1 includes multiple instances of Apple's iPhone as the main smartphone for its characters, and each episode ends with a "promotional consideration sponsored by Apple" message. According to the report, Apple has recently moved from simple "surprising cameos" to taking directly credited roles in popular TV shows as it does in 9-1-1.

Ad agency the Omnicom Group -- which buys ad time for Apple -- denied having anything to do with purchasing the 9-1-1 appearances. Although Apple and Fox declined to officially comment, marketing professor P.K. Kannan noted that amid the growing prices of Apple products, placing iPhones and MacBooks in the hands of celebrities could garner more attention than a regular TV ad. It usually takes a little while before Apple's latest phones appear regularly in TV shows, and 9-1-1 appears to still be using pre-iPhone X devices.

“They need to sell their increasingly more expensive smartphones to keep their revenues flowing in,” notes P.K. Kannan, a marketing professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. “Producers and marketers of hardware have a tough problem when they release new models – convincing the customers of their older models to upgrade to the new versions.”

Getting a new iPhone “in the hands of a cool celebrity in a movie or music video or TV program is more likely to garner attention and interest rather than a straight and persuasive TV advertisement,” says Kannan. “If done right, product placements can lead to more viral campaigns than other forms of ads. Apple is probably counting on this.”

As Variety pointed out, Apple's promotional placements are also "substantially cheaper" than normal commercials.

The in-show placements aren’t necessarily free – supplying product costs something – but they are substantially cheaper than traditional TV commercials. And that frees Apple up to spend heavily in more obvious ways. Among 2016 and 2017 TV programs, Apple spent the most on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” according to Kantar Media, a tracker of ad spending. Last season, the average cost of a 30-second ad in that show was $728,434, according to Variety’s annual survey of primetime ad prices.

A few days before the original iPad launched in April 2010, an episode of ABC's Modern Family revolved around lead character Phil Dunphy's quest to find one of the new tablets on launch day. Five years later, the sitcom set an entire episode on the screen of Claire Dunphy's MacBook and was shot using an iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2. Neither instance included the promotional disclosure message that has appeared on 9-1-1, and Apple "didn't pay a cent" for its devices' integral parts in each story.

Although one HBO spokesperson explained that "products in shows are creative decisions, not product placements," Variety said that for many professionals in advertising and production circles, these decisions are still "aimed at selling tech." In an interesting aside, a person close to the production of Showtime's Homeland pointed out that the show tries to keep its main characters supplied with smartphones from Apple, Google, Blackberry, and Samsung, while preventing these same phones from appearing "in the hands of evil figures."

Apple is also planning to launch its own slate of original TV programs, where users can likely expect to see characters using many of the company's own products. Although the debut of the service is still uncertain, we're now up to about 12 shows confirmed to eventually launch on the streaming platform. These include shows from M. Night Shyamalan, Damien Chazelle, Steven Spielberg, and more.

Apple today debuted a new Spring Collection of Apple Watch bands, available to order from Apple.com and at select Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Resellers across the United States and other countries later this month.

Woven Nylon bands now include an updated stripe pattern, and there's new colors of the Sport Band, Sport Loop, and Classic Buckle.

• Sport Band in Denim Blue, Lemonade, and Red Raspberry
  

• Woven Nylon in Black Stripe, Blue Stripe, Gray Stripe, and Pink Stripe
  

• Sport Loop in Flash Light, Hot Pink, Marine Green, and Tahoe Blue
  

• Classic Buckle in Spring Yellow, Electric Blue, and Soft Pink

Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) will include new 38mm and 42mm Space Gray Aluminum Case with Black Sport Loop models.

Apple said the Nike Sport Loop will now be sold separately in a variety of colors matching with the latest Nike running shoes. There's also new colors for the Nike Sport Band, which Apple already sells separately:

• Nike Sport Loop in Black/Pure Platinum, Bright Crimson/Black, Cargo Khaki, Midnight Fog, and Pearl Pink
  

• Nike Sport Band in Barely Rose/Pearl Pink, Black/White, and Cargo Khaki/Black

Apple Watch Nike+ (GPS + Cellular) will include new 38mm and 42mm Space Gray Aluminum Case with Midnight Fog Nike Sport Loop models.

For Apple Watch Hermès, the Single Tour Rallye and Double Tour bands now display contrasting paint details:

• 38mm Double Tour in Indigo with rouge H polished edge and rouge H contrasted loop
  

• 38mm Double Tour in Blanc with rouge H polished edge and rouge H contrasted loop
  

• 42mm Single Tour Rallye in Indigo with rouge H polished edge and rouge H contrasted loop
  

• 42mm Single Tour Rallye in Blanc with rouge H polished edge and rouge H contrasted loop

Apple's press release outlines complete pricing and availability information for the new Spring Collection bands and models.

Following rumors of his plans to leave Apple earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal today reported that Jimmy Iovine will transition into a "consulting role" with Apple Music this August. Iovine won't completely leave Apple and his involvement with Apple Music behind, but will step back from daily involvement, people familiar with his plans stated.

At the time of the original rumor, Iovine denied he would leave the company: "I am committed to doing whatever Eddy [Cue], Tim [Cook] and Apple need me to do, to help wherever and however I can, to take this all the way. I am in the band." As of now, it's unclear what exactly he will be doing in his consulting role with the streaming music service, but upon his transition he will no longer be the public face of Apple Music.

Iovine reportedly plans to spend more time with his family while at the same time supporting Apple Music and Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue "as needed." According to people close to Iovine, the transition from Beats' "edgy culture" to Apple's focus on "appealing to the masses" proved to be a challenge.

While Iovine was the public face of Apple Music and held meetings with employees and artists in Los Angeles, in recent years "most of Apple Music's operations" had been designated to Robert Kondrk and Jeff Robbin, overseeing business and engineering sides respectively. Cue is said to now be deciding on whether to continue divvying up responsibilities between Kondrk and Robbin, promoting one to a more public role, or hiring someone outside of Apple to become the new Iovine.

Iovine has been with the Apple Music team since 2014, when Apple acquired Beats Electronics and the Beats Music streaming service, both of which were co-founded by Iovine and Dr. Dre. Before that acquisition, Iovine has had a long history with Apple, first pitching a subscription music service to Steve Jobs in 2003.

Iovine's transitioning this August will be timed with the vesting of stock he acquired when first joining Apple. In January, he said that the bulk of his stock "vested a long time ago," and while a tiny portion remains unvested, it's "not what [he] thinks about." Still, the people familiar with his plans have now confirmed that the timing of his transition is in some part "linked" to the Apple shares he received in the Beats acquisition.

According to the WSJ, Iovine's stepping back from leadership makes him "one of the last" of the Beats team that Apple gained following the acquisition in 2014.

Mr. Iovine is one of the last of a team of prominent music executives Apple gained when it bought Beats Electronics LLC in 2014 for $3 billion. Former Chief Executive Ian Rogers, Beats co-founder Dr. Dre and Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, another top Beats executive, have all left or distanced themselves from the company since the Apple deal, people familiar with the business said. Beats President Luke Wood, who oversees the headphone business, remains.

In his time at Apple, Iovine grew Apple Music to amass 36 million subscribers as of March 2018, while also pushing for the service to include more than just music and helping to launch shows like Carpool Karaoke. Before the launch of that show, as well as Planet of the Apps, Iovine said he hoped Apple Music would be "an entire pop cultural experience."

Apple is ranked sixth on LinkedIn's annual list of the top 50 companies where professionals most want to work in the United States.

Apple moved up one spot after ranking seventh in 2017. The top five spots belong to Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook, Salesforce, and Tesla, while NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company, Oracle, and Netflix round off the top ten.

LinkedIn says the list is based on billions of data points generated by over 546 million users on the site, with four areas of focus: interest in the company, engagement with the company's employees, job demand, and employee retention.

• Job demand: At what rate are people viewing and applying to job postings, including paid listings, unpaid ones and those linked from other sites?
  

• Engagement with the company: How many professionals are viewing a company's career page? How many new followers has the company attracted?
  

• Interest in its employees: How many non-employees are viewing and asking to connect with a company's employees?
  

• Retention: Are employees sticking around for at least a year?

It's worth noting that many different lists are published each year, and the results can often vary significantly. In December, for example, Apple ranked 84th on Glassdoor's annual list of the best companies to work at in the United States.

2018 LinkedIn Top Companies:

1. Amazon
   

2. Alphabet
   

3. Facebook
   

4. Salesforce
   

5. Tesla
   

6. Apple
   

7. NBCUniversal
   

8. The Walt Disney Company
   

9. Oracle
   

10. Netflix

➜ Click here to read rest of article...

Tag: LinkedIn

Apple has managed to reduce the manufacturing cost of its iPhone X successor to a level much lower than the current flagship model, according to DigiTimes' research analyst Luke Lin.

Lin cited information from Apple's upstream supply chain as indicating that the new device's MBOM [manufacturing bill of materials] will be more than 10% lower than that for iPhone X. He added that the MBOM of the iPhone X was more than US$400 in 2017.

Apple is rumored to be introducing three iPhones in 2018: The first is said to be a second-generation version of the iPhone X, with the same 5.8-inch OLED display, while the second can be thought of as an "iPhone X Plus" with a larger 6.5-inch OLED display.

Apple is also reportedly planning to introduce a new, more affordable 6.1-inch iPhone with an LCD display. However, recent engineering samples from the 5.8-inch device are said to show components with lower-level specifications or lower capacities than those of the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone, with LPDDR memory being one of the major differences.

According to Lin, the cost reduction could see Apple position the new 5.8-inch device as the cheapest model of all three next-generation iPhone models. The analyst also believes a project to develop a 5.8-inch LCD iPhone has been suspended since the end of the Lunar New Year holidays in mid-February and may be eventually terminated.

Lin reckons weak demand for iPhone X meant Apple needed a lot less OLED panels from Samsung than it said it would, which gave the Korean firm more bargaining power with regards to panel quotes for the next generation of iPhones. However, Apple has supposedly reached an agreement with Samsung and secured "satisfactory terms" that will prevent display panel cost increases.

DigiTimes' sources often provide reliable information, but the site has a mixed track record when it comes to interpreting that information and accurately deciphering Apple's plans, so it would be wise not to base any future purchasing decisions on today's report.

In addition to our standalone articles covering the latest Apple news and rumors at MacRumors, this Quick Takes column provides a bite-sized recap of other headlines about Apple and its competitors on weekdays.

Tuesday, March 20

Highlights

1. IDC forecasts that smartwatch shipments will nearly double within four years: IDC believes smartwatches will account for almost two out of every five wearable devices shipped in 2022, with an estimated 84.1 million shipments that year, compared to an estimated 43.6 million units in 2018.

Commentary: Apple Watch is the world's most popular smartwatch by a significant margin, having outsold all competing smartwatches combined in 2017, and there's no sign that momentum will slow down.

2. Stack Overflow releases the results of its 2018 developer survey: The results, based on over 100,000 respondents from around the world, outline this year's most loved, dreaded, and wanted technologies and platforms, how developers around the world code, learn, live, and work, and more.

Apple-related highlights:

• 26.7 percent of developers said macOS is their primary operating system for work, versus 49.9 percent for Windows
  

• iOS was the most loved mobile operating system for development, with 64.6 percent of respondents expressing interest in continuing to develop for the platform, versus 63.8 percent for Android
  

• Developers using Apple's open source Swift programming language earned a median salary of $57,000 in the United States, versus a leading $74,000 for programming language F#
  

3. Introducing IBM Watson Services for Core ML: The service enables corporate developers to build iPhone and iPad apps that leverage IBM Watson models via Apple's Core ML framework. Apple says these apps can quickly analyze images, accurately classify visual content, and easily train models.

Commentary: This service is an expansion of a four-year-old enterprise partnership between Apple and IBM that has led to over 100 new business apps tailored to industries such as healthcare, finance, and transportation.

Other Links

• Amazon surpasses Alphabet in market value: As of writing, Amazon has a market cap of around $765 billion, while Google parent company Alphabet stands at around $760 billion. Amazon is now the world's second most valuable company behind Apple and its $890 billion.
  

• Dutch mobile bank bunq launches in Italy and Spain with Apple Pay support: Unfortunately, Apple Pay has yet to launch in the Netherlands itself. But, this seems like a small step forward.
  

• Technogym now has more than 5,000 GymKit-enabled pieces of equipment in hundreds of fitness clubs across the world: Apple plans to roll out GymKit to 80 percent of the fitness equipment market, allowing one-tap pairing with an Apple Watch for more accurate fitness data.
  

For more Apple news and rumors coverage, visit our Front Page, Mac Blog, and iOS Blog. Also visit our forums to join in the discussion.