Accessory manufacturer Satechi today launched a new $99.99 Type-C Pro Hub for the 13-inch and 15-inch 2016 MacBook Pros, featuring a total of seven ports to make up for the inclusion of only Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports on the 2016 MacBook Pro.
The new hub is similar in design to the Type-C Hub compatible with Apple's original 12-inch Macbook, but includes two Thunderbolt 3 dongles that take up both ports on either side of the new MacBook Pros with Touch Bar. The hub is compatible with the non-Touch Bar MacBook Pro as well.
After users plug the hub in, they can gain access to a passthrough Thunderbolt 3 port, a USB-C port, and the following ports missing from Apple's device: 4K HDMI, 2 USB 3.0 ports, and both SD and microSD card readers.
The Thunderbolt 3 port supports quick data transfer of speeds up to 40Gbps, as well as passthrough charging for both 13-inch (61W) and 15-inch (87W) models of the MacBook Pro. Users can output 1080p video at 60Hz via the HDMI port, and up to 4K video at 30Hz.
Both the USB 3.0 and USB-C ports include transfer speeds of up to 5 GB/s, while the photo and video editing capabilities of the SD card slots provide data transfer speeds of up to 104 MB/s.
Those interested can purchase the Type-C Pro Hub from Satechi's website for $99.99 starting today. Like the company's other products, the hub comes in MacBook color-matching Silver and Space Gray, and has a brushed aluminum finish to complement Apple's aesthetics.
Google this week announced an update coming soon to its iOS Google Allo app, which will introduce neural network-generated stickers that are personalized to match your own distinct look. The company said that the new feature will combine neural networks and the work of artists to turn your selfies into unique sticker packs, which can then be used in Allo, the company's messaging app.
The process to generate the stickers is relatively simple, according to Google, with the sticker packs of your likeness being created "on the fly" after you take a selfie. If you aren't happy with some aspects of the stickers, a few customization options will appear so you can tweak and personalize even more. You can take a selfie with a few filters for a more comical sticker pack, or opt for results that more closely resemble you.
Google went deeper into the process of developing the neural network for the new sticker pack feature in Allo, as well as how the collaborative artists working with the company affected the end results. The pack that will debut at launch is said to be the first in a line of artistic styles -- Google said it "speaks to your sarcastic side" -- and future updates will add different emotive artwork that "might be more cute for those sincere moments."
The first pack was designed by artist Lamar Abrams, who works as a story boarder on Steven Universe, and whose feature designs for Allo help account for more than 563 quadrillion potential combinations of personal stickers.
To create an illustration of you that captures the qualities that would make it recognizable to your friends, we worked alongside an artistic team to create illustrations that represented a wide variety of features. Artists initially designed a set of hairstyles, for example, that they thought would be representative, and with the help of human raters we used these hairstyles to train the network to match the right illustration to the right selfie.
We then asked human raters to judge the sticker output against the input image to see how well it did. In some instances, they determined that some styles were not well represented, so the artists created more that the neural network could learn to identify as well.
Google Allo launched last year and combined standard messaging threads, photo editing, and stickers with the company's AI helper Google Assistant. The AI could be brought up directly within a chat thread to find somewhere nearby to eat (even by using related emojis, like the taco), search for a YouTube video, and more.
A few of the 563 quadrillion combinations that can come from Abrams' basic feature illustrations
Google didn't confirm when the new neural network update would appear on Google Allo for iOS [Direct Link], but Android users can use the selfie feature right now.
Apple today announced that Corning, the makers of Gorilla Glass, will be the first major benefactor of its $1 billion Advanced Manufacturing Fund, which was announced by Apple CEO Tim Cook earlier this month.
Corning is a long-time Apple Supplier, and its Gorilla Glass products have been used in the iPhone and the iPad for several years. Corning Incorporated will receive $200 million from Apple's new fund, which aims to foster innovation among American manufacturers and lead to more U.S. jobs. The investment will support Corning's research and development, capital equipment needs and state-of-the-art glass processing, according to Apple's press release.
"Corning is a great example of a supplier that has continued to innovate and they are one of Apple's long-standing suppliers," said Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer. "This partnership started 10 years ago with the very first iPhone, and today every customer that buys an iPhone or iPad anywhere in the world touches glass that was developed in America. We're extremely proud of our collaboration over the years and we are investing further with Corning who has such a rich legacy of innovative manufacturing practices."
Apple said Corning's 65-year-old Harrodsburg facility in Kentucky has been integral to the 10-year collaboration between the two companies and will be the focus of its investment.
"Corning's longstanding relationship with Apple has not only led to significant glass innovations that have enabled new capabilities for consumers, it has also helped create nearly 1,000 American jobs and allowed us to continue growing and expanding in the US," said Wendell P. Weeks, Corning's chairman, chief executive officer and president. "This investment will ensure our plant in Harrodsburg remains a global center of excellence for glass technology."
Since the founding of Gorilla Glass in 2007, the partnership has created and sustained nearly 1,000 U.S. jobs across Corning's R&D, manufacturing and commercial functions, according to Apple, including over 400 in Harrodsburg. Corning is said to have procured enough renewable energy to cover all of its Apple manufacturing in the U.S.
A U.S. judge presiding over Waymo's trade-secrets theft lawsuit against Uber has asked federal prosecutors to investigate the claims in the case, it emerged on Thursday (via Bloomberg).
U.S. district judge William Alsup also partially granted Waymo's bid for an injunction against Uber's self-driving efforts, and rejected Uber's arguments that the trade secret allegations should proceed in private.
Specifically, former Google employee Anthony Levandowski is accused of stealing 14,000 confidential files that included data on Waymo's laser-based radar (LiDAR) system, which the company called "one of the most powerful parts" of its self-driving technology.
In referring the case to the U.S. Department of Justice, Judge Alsup said that in the absence of "smoking gun" proof of wrongdoing by Uber, he was not taking a position on whether or not charges are warranted, but noted there was "ample evidence" that Levandowski had breached his duty of loyalty to Waymo.
Uber declined to comment on the referral to prosecutors, while Levandowski has already recused himself from LiDAR-related work while the case is ongoing, but the news is yet another setback for the ride-hailing service as it attempts to revive its tarnished image following multiple controversies over recent months.
The Department of Justice is already investigating the company over its use of "secret" software that allowed its drivers to operate in areas where Uber was banned or restricted. The so-called "greyball" software is said to have allowed the company to identify undercover officials and block them from booking rides, in order to prevent them from proving that Uber was operating illegally.
Last month it emerged that Apple CEO Tim Cook threatened to pull Uber's app from the App Store in early 2015 after discovering that it was secretly "fingerprinting" iPhones that used the app. Uber said it used the identification method to prevent fraud, despite knowing the tactic is a clear violation of Apple's app privacy guidelines.
Apple today launched a new iPhone 7 video series entitled "How to Shoot on iPhone 7," featuring a range of tutorial videos that it's uploaded both to a new website and to its YouTube channel.
There are five videos on YouTube, which are designed to teach iPhone 7 and 7 Plus owners how to use the camera on their devices to capture various types of photos, including panoramas, portraits, action shorts, and more.
Each video is approximately 40 seconds in length and features a clear step-by-step tutorial on how to use each feature directly on the iPhone. For the Portrait Mode video, for example, step 1 is swiping over to Portrait Mode, while Step 2 is looking for the depth effect tag before taking the shot.
All of the videos are super simple and are going to be most useful for people who don't often use the camera or who haven't invested a lot of time in learning the features. Each video is just one or two steps, covering readily available photo features. The most complicated video, for example, covers taking a vertical panorama.
The videos on Apple's website are more specific and could be useful even to those who are familiar with the iPhone camera, as they contain tips like shooting at the golden hour for the best light, shooting a backlit subject, capturing a group portrait, shooting with street light, capturing a unique angle, and many more.
Sleep expert Roy J.E.M Raymann, who joined Apple back in 2014, has left the company and moved on to SleepScore Labs, where he will serve as Vice President of Sleep Science and Scientific Affairs.
Raymann joined Apple as the company was developing the Apple Watch, and at the time, his hiring spurred rumors that the device would have sleep tracking capabilities, which never materialized.
Prior to joining Apple, where he served as "Health and Health Technologies Staff," Raymann was at Philips where he founded the Philips Sleep Experience Laboratory, a non-clinical sleep research facility.
According to his LinkedIn profile, while at Apple, Raymann worked on Night Shift, the Bedtime alarm, display recommendations and color filters, and HealthKit and ResearchKit.
News of Raymann's departure comes just days after Apple acquired Beddit, a company that produces a sensor-equipped sleep monitoring system.
It's not yet clear what Apple plans to do with Beddit's technology, but Apple is continuing to sell the Beddit sleep monitor and has updated its privacy policy to note that it is collecting sleep-related data that could influence future projects at the company.
Apple plans to make a major Apple TV announcement at WWDC that should delight Amazon Prime subscribers - the addition of an Amazon Prime Video app for the Apple TV.
The news comes courtesy of BuzzFeed's John Paczkowski, who often accurately shares details on Apple's plans ahead of events. According to Paczkowski, sources of Apple's plans say the company will announce an Amazon Prime Video app during its keynote event.
There are tentative plans for the app to go live in the summer, but its official release date could change.
With Amazon Prime Video on the Apple TV, Amazon also plans to resume offering the Apple TV through Amazon.com. Amazon stopped offering the Apple TV and the Google Chromecast in 2015, citing Amazon Prime Video incompatibility as the reason why. It is not known when the Apple TV will return to the Amazon website.
News of a potential deal between Apple and Amazon that would see the app made available on the Apple TV first surfaced last week. At the time, Apple and Amazon were said to be close to an agreement, and now an agreement has been reached.
Amazon Prime Video is one of the only major streaming video services that is currently absent from the Apple TV, and Apple TV owners have long wanted to see the Prime Video app on Apple's device.
The Apple Watch's built-in heart rate monitor is 97 percent accurate when detecting the most common form of an abnormal heart rhythm when paired with an algorithm to sort through the data, according to a new study conducted by the University of California, San Francisco and the team behind the Cardiogram app (via TechCrunch).
There were 6,158 participants in the study, all of whom used the Cardiogram app on the Apple Watch to monitor their heart rate. Most were known to have normal EKG readings, but 200 suffer from paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (an occasional irregular heartbeat).
Data from these participants, along with data taken from normal Cardiogram users, was used to build a neural network that could recognize the abnormal heart rhythms solely from data collected by the Apple Watch. As of today, Cardiogram says its algorithm can almost always successfully determine when a patient is in atrial fibrillation.
In order to validate the model, we obtained gold-standard labels of atrial fibrillation from cardioversions. In a cardioversion, a patient experiencing atrial fibrillation is converted back to normal sinus rhythm, either chemically or with a shock to the heart. 51 patients at UCSF agreed to wear an Apple Watch during their cardioversion.
We obtained heart rate samples before the procedure, when the patient was in atrial fibrillation, and after, when patient's heart was restored to a normal rhythm. On this validation set, our model performed with an AUC of 0.97, beating existing methods.
Cardiogram is a startup that's aiming to garner more information from the data collected by the Apple Watch. The study, which Cardiogram has raised funding for, started in March of 2016 and will continue as UCSF and Cardiogram work to refine the neural network and detect other conditions beyond atrial fibrillation.
Cardiogram plans to put in additional work before using its algorithm to start notifying Cardiogram users of arrhythmias. The company needs to conduct further testing to make sure the algorithm works in a variety of conditions and it needs to work on scaling it so it can be used continuously by all Cardiogram users.
The Cardiogram app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Apple plans to bring its iTunes app to the Windows 10 Store, Microsoft announced today at its Build developer event. iTunes, is, of course, already available on the Windows platform, but adding it to the Windows Store will make it easier for Windows users to find the software.
Gaining iTunes for the Windows Store is a win for Microsoft, as the Windows store is currently lacking many key apps like Google's Chrome browser and Spotify. Microsoft has strict app requirements that some companies aren't able to work with.
The addition of iTunes could potentially drive more customers to use the Windows 10 Store, with iTunes said to be one of the apps that Windows users search for most often.
According to Microsoft, iTunes will be added to the Windows Store by the end of this year.
At its Build 2017 conference this morning Microsoft announced that its upcoming Windows 10 Fall Creators Update will include integration with iOS, allowing developers using Microsoft Graph to link desktop apps to mobile apps on both iPhone and Android devices (via The Verge). Users will be able to start apps on a Windows computer and, with the help of Microsoft's AI Cortana, pick up their iPhone to resume the experience exactly where they left off.
The update will also include a multi-platform cloud clipboard that will let users copy content and paste it across Windows, iOS, and Android. The new multi-device transition features coming to Windows 10 function similarly to Continuity on iOS and macOS devices.
Cortana lets users pick up where they left off on other devices
This new pick up feature is particularly useful on mobile devices, where Microsoft hopes app developers will start to link their desktop apps to resume experiences on devices like an iPhone or Android handset. Microsoft is also creating a cloud clipboard that will roam across Windows, iOS, and Android to let people copy content from a PC and paste it on a phone.
Other Windows 10 updates coming this fall include Timeline, which works in conjunction with the cross-platform pick-up feature and shows users a list of previously used apps across their devices. Additionally, OneDrive Files On-Demand will introduce an easier way to control when documents are downloaded to a device from the cloud, and a cosmetic update to Fluent Design will subtly change how the OS looks.
Timeline on Windows 10
The company continued integration with Apple's ecosystem by announcing the Xamarin Live Player preview, a live coding environment that will let developers test and debug iOS apps on Windows computers, which marks the first time iPhone and iPad apps can be developed without needing a Mac (via Thurott). Live Player will launch as an extension of the just-launched Visual Studio IDE, and will come with an app for iOS [Direct Link] and Android.
With Xamarin Live Player, developers will be able to do everything from their Windows-based PC: Just connect your Android device, iPhone, or iPad to the PC via USB and you can target those devices directly during development.
“Simply pair your device with Visual Studio by scanning a QR code, and hit debug like you normally would,” Nat explains. “The application is deployed in seconds to the Live Player app, enabling you to quickly develop and test your changes without having to recompile and redeploy your application. And you can set breakpoints and debug your application, on device, and over the air.”
Microsoft Build 2017 started on May 10 and ends tomorrow, May 12, and includes technical sessions and keynote speakers centered on developers and the tools they use to create applications and services. More information about upcoming Build 2017 events can be found right here.
Introduced in January, the PD2710QC from BenQ is the first USB-C display that comes equipped with an integrated USB Type-C dock, which offers an array of ports for MacBook and MacBook Pro owners.
The 27-inch display is aimed at designers and engineers, offering a 2560 x 1440 resolution with support for 100 percent sRGB color accuracy and specific modes for use with CAD and animation software.
Design
The display itself, a 27-inch IPS panel mounted on a plastic base, is attractive with a thin black bezel that doesn't distract from the screen. The tapered back of the display is a neutral, unassuming shade of gray that can match any decor, and while it's thin at the sides, it tapers into a thicker back.
An arm attaches the display to the USB-C dock, which is made from the same gray plastic. All of the parts are plastic so it doesn't necessarily feel high-quality, but the display is lightweight and it also doesn't come off as cheap.
The USB-C dock, as far as bases go, is going to take up a lot of desk space. It's a good inch and a half bigger than my 12-inch MacBook, and probably similar in size to the 13-inch MacBook Pro, but far thicker. It tapers from about a half an inch in the front to an inch and a half in the back.
The dock can be used as a place to put a MacBook while it's in clamshell mode or in use, but it is one of the largest display bases that I've seen. If you have a small desk, be aware of how much space this dock/base is going to take up. Personally, I think the large base is unattractive and clunky, detracting from the sleeker design of the display itself.
Linksys today introduced its first 2-in-1 wireless router and cable modem. The emphasis should be on "cable" in that sentence, as Linksys already sells a handful of routers with built-in DSL modems for internet over a telephone line.
The Linksys CG7500 supports many of the latest wireless standards, including 802.11ac Wi-Fi, IPv6, and beamforming technology. The AC1900-speed router has 3X3 internal dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz antennas, 24x8 channels, four Gigabit Ethernet ports for high-speed wired connections, and one USB 2.0 port.
The modem is DOCSIS 3.0 certified, meaning it is compatible with Comcast Xfinity and Charter Spectrum in the United States, and many other major cable providers, for internet plans with theoretical speeds of up to 300 Mbps. Linksys says it can be used with 12+ devices at once without any lag or buffering.
2-in-1 modems and routers are often considered worse than a separate router and modem combination, but the CG7500 is worth considering for anyone that wants to stop renting a modem from their cable company. For most people, it'll likely provide good enough Wi-Fi in a medium-sized house or apartment.
Linksys is accepting pre-orders for the CG7500 on its website for $199.97 in the United States. It'll be available from Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, Micro Center, New Egg, Office Depot, Target, Walmart, Fry's, and Meijer on May 15.
Competing 2-in-1 options include the NETGEAR AC1900 Nighthawk for around the same price of $198.99, and the Arris SURFboard SBG6900-AC with a reduced 16x4 channels for a current sale price of $167.99 (regular $199.99).
LG Innotek will supply Apple with 3D facial recognition modules for the iPhone 8, according to The Korea Economic Daily (via The Investor).
iPhone 8 concept with two cameras and two sensors by Benjamin Geskin
The report vaguely says LG's "new facility investment" worth roughly $238.5 million will be dedicated to Apple's orders, and adds that LG will "build a new plant" for production of the facial recognition modules, which are expected to be part of the iPhone 8's front-facing FaceTime camera system.
It's not entirely clear if the front-facing camera will also have dual lenses, or retain a single lens in line with previous iPhone models.
Kuo said the iPhone 8's front camera system will include two infrared modules that are able to determine the location and depth of objects placed in front of it, with potential applications including facial recognition, iris scanning, and some combination of augmented reality/virtual reality/mixed reality.
A patent application published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office today details a new Apple service where users could make inquiries and talk with the company's AI assistant Siri through Messages (via AppleInsider). The new patent is similar to a filing the USPTO published late last year, but now includes deeper integration with audio, video, and image files.
Similar to chatbots in Facebook Messenger and other texting services, Apple's patent describes a Siri that could perform her current duties without the user having to speak aloud, which could be helpful in certain public situations.
The "Intelligent Automated Assistant in a Messaging Environment" could respond to text, audio, images, and video when sent to it by the user, which Apple said would result in "a richer interactive experience between a user and a digital assistant." The patent gives a few examples of a conversation held between Siri and a user in Messages, with the user asking questions regarding calorie content in food, upcoming meetings, and even asking Siri to text a friend.
Interesting applications include a thread where a user texts Siri a picture of a car or a bottle of wine, and Siri sees the images and can intelligently respond to the user's inquiries about them. For the car, the user asks Siri for details on pricing for a specific model using only an image, and Siri searches the internet and returns the relevant MSRP information.
The bottle of wine image is used as an example to show Siri's memory functions, where a user asks Siri to remember their favorite wine, which she can resurface at a later date. Siri sees the wine image, reads the label, and can then respond to a user's question in text format about the brand and even year it was made.
Other image-related inquiries include "Where is this place?" and "What insect is this?", to which Siri would respond "This is the country Algeria" and "This is an earwig," respectively. Audio and video could also be recognized by Siri, including simple Shazam-like questions related to songs and the content of shared videos.
Apple points out in its patent that thanks to the chronological format of texting, users would be able to "review previous interactions" with Siri, unlike how current Siri conversations disappear immediately after they conclude. Subsequently, Siri would be able to use that history to become smarter and "define a wider range of tasks."
The messaging platform can enable multiple modes of input (e.g., text, audio, images, video, etc.) to be sent and received. As described herein, this can increase the functionality and capabilities of the digital assistant, thereby providing a richer interactive experience between a user and a digital assistant.
A digital assistant in a message environment can thus enable greater accessibility to the digital assistant. In particular, the digital assistant can be accessible in noisy environments or in environments where audio output is not desired (e.g., the library). Moreover, the chronological format enables a user to conveniently review previous interactions with the digital assistant and utilize the contextual history associated with the previous interactions to define a wider range of tasks.
The patent includes a description where Siri would be "a participant in a multi-party conversation," allowing group chats to use Apple's AI simultaneously. Apple gives an example where one user asks Siri to list nearby Chinese restaurants to begin making the group's dinner plans, and then another user responds by asking Siri to whittle down the list to only include the cheapest places. One user's personal Siri can even be asked to remind other participants of the upcoming dinner.
Apple is believed to be working on an "enhanced Siri" that might launch in iOS 11 this fall, but the exact specifications as to what would make the new Siri "enhanced" have never been divulged. A questionable rumor in March stated that deep Siri integration is coming to Messages in iOS 11, but the source of the news -- The Verifier -- doesn't have a previous track record of reporting accurate rumors.
Chatbots are certainly growingin popularity so it wouldn't be too surprising if Apple introduced some kind of text-based Siri interface, particularly considering the multiple patents the company has published on the topic. Still, as with all patents it's best to look at Apple's new filing as an intriguing insight into what the company might be working on for the future, rather than proof of an impending launch.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has commenced production of Apple's A11 processor, according to a new report by DigiTimes. The chip is expected to power the company's redesigned OLED "iPhone 8", scheduled to launch in the fall.
TSMC is the sole supplier of A11 chips, which could also make their way into the upgraded "S" cycle models of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus and potentially upcoming iPad refreshes this year, too.
TSMC originally aimed to start producing the chip in April with a view to completing 50 million units by July, but production was delayed because of issues in the 10-nanometer FinFET manufacturing process. However, those problems have now been solved, according to today's report.
TSMC has begun 10nm chip production for Apple's next-generation iPhone 8 series, the sources said. Production was once affected by issues involving stacking components in the backend integrated fan-out packaging process, but they have already been solved, the sources said.
Apart from faster A11 processors, all three rumored iPhone models may include glass bodies and wireless charging (though rumors disagree on this point). It is unclear if the two LCD models will feature the same edge-to-edge display rumored for the higher-end device and what other features will be included.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has suggested that production issues could result in a "severe" shortage of Apple's upcoming "tenth anniversary" OLED iPhone in the months following its rumored September launch, but other sources claim production is on schedule.
TSMC was also the sole maker of the A10 chip in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, which helped lead the chip maker to revenue growth towards the end of 2016.
An opera exploring the life of the late Steve Jobs has won the financial backing of opera companies in San Francisco and Seattle, ensuring the musical production will be shown in the Apple co-founder's home state of California (via CBS SF Local).
The partnerships were announced on Tuesday, ahead of the premiere of "The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs" this July at the Sante Fe Opera's open-air summer stage, in the foothills of New Mexico's Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
The opera is a "deeply layered, moving portrayal of a man grappling with the complex priorities of life, family and work," according to San Francisco opera general manager Matthew Shilvock, who called Jobs "a real person and a member of our community".
"This is not an opera about technology, although it will be the highest technology production that we've ever done," said Charles MacKay, general director of the Santa Fe Opera. "It is an opera about relationships, and it is an opera about human frailties. He could be a very difficult man."
The opera has been composed by electronica DJ Mason Bates and written by librettist Mark Campbell. Accompaniments include a live orchestra, guitar, natural sounds, and expressive electronics. The co-commission from the Seattle Opera and the San Francisco Opera will cover artistic creation of the opera as well as its physical stage production, and guarantee their right to stage performances beyond Santa Fe in California and Washington, although it could take a few years before that happens because of the time it takes to schedule opera calendars.
Since his death in 2011, Jobs' personal and professional life has been the subject of several books, documentaries, and films. MacKay said Jobs provides the "sort of heroic, tragic figure" that operas have explored for centuries, and hopes the performances may lure new and younger audiences to metropolitan opera houses.
Walter Isaacson, the biographer of Steve Jobs, went on record this week to express his belief that Google and Amazon have overtaken Apple to become the most innovative technology companies of the modern day.
The Aspen Institute CEO and writer of the best-selling biography made the frank remarks in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Alley" show, during which he singled out Apple's lack of movement in the virtual assistant space as an example of where the company had been left behind.
"Apple is no longer the most innovative of companies," Isaacson said. "But they are good at execution. The innovation in the virtual assistant space, for example, is coming from Google and Amazon, not Apple."
Isaacson said he was "surprised" that Apple hasn't moved its virtual assistant Siri into the home and claimed that he frequently used both Amazon's Echo speaker and Google Home. "Sometimes I let them compete," he said.
Apple is expected to release a smart speaker with Siri integration soon, possibly as early as next month at WWDC. However, Isaacson thinks it could be too late for the company to catch up in that space, and suggested Apple should look at other areas in which to innovate.
"You could have a great company — and Apple is a great company — without having really a next big thing, but it isn't in Apple's DNA to be that way," said Isaacson.
EA has announced a new free-to-play version of The Sims is coming to iPhone and iPad, six years after The Sims Freeplay – a simplified version of the original – launched on the mobile platform.
Called The Sims Mobile, the game looks like it will be the closest mobile approximation yet of the hit franchise, being based on The Sims 4 "legacy challenge" mode, in which players build and maintain a family across generations according to a set of self-imposed rules.
Like other games in the franchise, players will guide sims through life, establishing relationships, building homes, advancing through careers, and conquering goals.
Not much else has been revealed about the title beyond the fact that it will feature social elements, allowing players to become "virtual" best friends with their real-life friends. But the trailer for the game does show that it will include classic Sims mechanics, allowing players to design their characters and customize their home.
The Sims 4 on Mac and PC continues to have a healthy fanbase. Yesterday EA revealed that the game's number of monthly active users jumped 33 percent year on year.
The Sims Mobile for both iOS and Android launches in Brazil today and should start rolling out globally soon after.
