MacRumors

In the wake of major reveals surrounding the Nintendo Switch and its launch titles, Nintendo has announced a new app coming to smartphone devices that will allow parents to set granular control settings on their family's Switch console (via IGN). The free "Nintendo Switch Parental Controls" app will offer various settings like time limits and remote sleep mode activation, all without a parent having to be near the Switch itself.

The basic feature of the app lets adults set customized play times on the Nintendo Switch, and whenever that time limit is reached the system will notify the player in the top left corner of the screen. Whenever the applied time limit is exceeded, parents can use a "last resort" feature and remotely suspend the software being played, ensuring that "further play won't be possible for the rest of the day."

Other standard controls include restricting particular ESRB rated games, online communication, and the ability to connect and post to social networks from the Switch. Nintendo says that it hopes the new app can help parents and their kids "enjoy gaming together." During its presentation yesterday, the company also mentioned another app centered around users connecting to their Switch console for online chat, but no details have yet been provided on that particular app.

Keep the focus on fun by using parental controls to manage how your family interacts with Nintendo Switch. You can manage Nintendo eShop purchases, limit sharing on social networks, restrict access to games based on their ESRB ratings, and more. A free app gives you even more choices and a handy way to manage your Nintendo Switch parental controls from anywhere via your mobile device.

It also wasn't specified which platforms the Parental Controls app will launch on, but given that Nintendo's first smartphone games -- Miitomo and Super Mario Run -- launched as iOS exclusives, it's likely this app will be available on Apple devices as well. The full Nintendo Switch presentation, as well as each game trailer that debuted during the event, can be found on Nintendo's YouTube channel.

For more details on the Switch and its family settings, check out Nintendo's website here.

Foxconn and Sharp are looking closer than ever to building a manufacturing plant within the United States, according to one Sharp executive who said that the plan is still "on the table" (via Nikkei). The plant would mainly be focused on the manufacturing of LCD panels for TV sets and home appliances, but Foxconn is said to be considering moving iPhone production stateside as well.

The news continues a rumor from last year born out of President-elect Donald Trump's comments on wanting Apple to make its products stateside. Foxconn laid out plans for such a move in December, along with Japan-based SoftBank Group, with each company hoping to create a combined 100,000 jobs in the U.S. over the next four years.

Nothing is yet official, however, and the same Sharp executive noted that "we will make a decision carefully."

Hon Hai Precision Industry and its Japanese subsidiary Sharp have begun studying the possibility of building a liquid crystal display panel plant in the U.S., a Sharp executive said Friday.

With Trump urging American manufacturers to bring operations back to the U.S., Hon Hai is considering production in the U.S. due to its huge market for TVs and other home appliances.

Although details about the cost of the plant and its location remain unspecified, people familiar with the plan said Foxconn would spend about the same amount on constructing the U.S. location as it did on a similar facility in Guangzhou -- around 1 trillion yen, or $8.69 billion.

As an incentive, Donald Trump in November told Apple CEO Tim Cook that he would offer the company a "very large tax cut" to make its products in the U.S. Cook was said to have remained largely neutral on the subject during his call with Trump, later pointing out that one of the major reasons Apple's manufacturing is so heavily centered in China is due to the country's large number of individuals with the required "vocational kind of skills."

Foxconn and Apple both have manufacturing facilities on a very small scale in the U.S., but the newly discussed facility by Foxconn and Sharp would be notably larger. Currently, Foxconn has plants in Virginia and Indiana, along with logistic locations in California and Texas. Apple has a comparably limited facility in Austin, Texas which manufactures the company's Mac Pro.

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.

Feral Interactive has announced it is bringing ROME: Total War – Barbarian Invasion to iPad this March. The title is a standalone expansion pack to the critically acclaimed ROME: Total War, which was faithfully ported to iOS late last year.

As with the previous Creative Assembly conversion, the iPad release of Barbarian Invasion promises a full port of the original desktop game, supplemented by intuitive touch controls, enhanced Retina graphics, and mid-battle autosaves.

Barbarian Invasion is a game of epic scale, offering players a seamless integration of strategy and tactics to fight spectacular battles, while using diplomacy, subterfuge and assassination to dominate the ancient world. Featuring a campaign set in the declining years of the Roman Empire, players can either hasten its fall as a Barbarian commander or take up arms as a Roman General to extend its civilization in a glorious new epoch.

"We have been delighted by the reception of ROME: Total War on iPad and we are confident that Barbarian Invasion, bringing as it does a plethora of new tactical options, will be just as well-received," said David Stephen, Managing Director of Feral Interactive.

ROME: Total War – Barbarian Invasion for iPad will be available exclusively via the App Store for $4.99. The game can be played without ROME: Total War, which is available on the App Store now for $9.99.

Smart wireless thermostat maker Ecobee is rolling out a firmware update to Ecobee3 devices that brings individual HomeKit support to the device's remote sensors for the first time.

The Ecobee3 enables owners to use additional remote sensors to keep track of ambient temperature as well as detect motion in different locations within the home. With firmware version 3.7.0.969, currently rolling out to the devices, owners can now access individual sensors directly from within the iOS HomeKit app.

The official change log for the firmware is as follows:

• Automatically Restore HomeKit Connection. Occasionally some ecobees could lose its connection to Homekit and have to be rebooted in order to re-establish the connection. This firmware update enables the ecobee to automatically reconnect without any user action.

• The usual background cleanup and stability. As always, to smooth things out for a better experience.

The Ecobee3 firmware is an automatic update currently being rolled out. Owners unsure of the version of their devices who aren't seeing their sensors in HomeKit should contact Ecobee support.

Google is rolling out an update to Google Maps for iOS that lets users request a ride from Uber without ever having to leave the app.

Previously, users of Maps could get a ride cost estimate and start the process of hailing a ride, but would eventually be kicked into the Uber app proper for confirmation and payment.

Now however, users can book and pay for an Uber directly within Google Maps, without having to have the official Uber app installed on their device, thanks to a redesigned "ride services" section.

Google announced the update on Thursday in a blog post, explaining that Maps users need only to sign in to their existing Uber account (or create one) in order to book an Uber ride, track the driver on the map, and connect with the driver, all from within the Maps app.

Google Maps is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Snapchat has been updated with an improved universal search feature that makes it easier for users to find friends, groups, stories, and other content on the social network, reports TechCrunch.

The new universal search bar is located at the top of the Snapchat app, making it accessible when browsing, sharing a photo, and more, an improvement over the previous search features that were split up across the app.

According to Snapchat, the search bar interface change is designed for speed, allowing users to find content quickly.

With the new search bar, you can jump to your own profile by tapping your Bitmoji on the left. If you tap a friend's auto-suggest card or search result, you'll start a chat with them, or you can tap their Story thumbnail to instantly start watching it full screen. Tapping and holding on someone's card shows their mini profile. Beyond accounts, you can find specific daily editions of Discover channels or particular Our Stories by searching for their titles.

Snapchat is also planning to allow all of its users to submit video clips to "Our Story," which employees use to create content focused on events and locations.

Apple today announced that the size limit of a tvOS app bundle has increased from 200MB to 4GB, allowing developers to include more media in their app submissions for a "complete, rich user experience upon installation."

Previously, tvOS apps were limited in size to 200MB, but were allowed to download additional resources after being installed. This led to short initial installation times, but caused customers to have to wait for content to download after installing an app.

Apple is also allows tvOS apps to use On-Demand Resources to host up to 20GB of additional content on the App Store. Apple recommends app developers use On-Demand Resources to enable faster downloads. On-Demand Resources allow apps to do things like download the first couple of levels of a game and update as a user progresses, deleting content that's no longer needed.

Best Buy is holding a flash sale that offers U.S. customers a $100 iTunes gift card for $85, which is 15% off, until 12 p.m. Pacific Time. The gift card is a physical version delivered with free two-day shipping to most U.S. addresses.

iTunes gift cards can be used to purchase apps, games, music, movies, TV shows, books, and more on the App Store, iTunes Store, the iBooks Store, and the Mac App Store. The credit can also be used towards an Apple Music subscription. The gift cards can be used on iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Mac, or PC.

If you are reading about this deal after it has expired, be sure to check out Best Buy's other deals on Apple products this week, including $100 off select iPad and MacBook Pro models and discounted Apple Watch models. U.S. only.

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