MacRumors

EmojiWorks is today debuting the first hardware-based emoji keyboard, which is designed to make it easier for users to quickly type their favorite emoji using built-in shortcut keys. The keyboard looks like a standard Apple-style keyboard, but it includes emoji symbols.

emojikeyboard
Each key on the Emoji Keyboard from EmojiWorks includes an emoji in addition to a letter, which can be inserted by pressing a dedicated emoji key along with the key that houses the desired emoji. The keyboard features many popular emoji like the poop, thumbs up, unicorn head, taco, heart, and a series of faces.

emojikeyscloseup
According to EmojiWorks, typing emoji with the keyboard is up to 10 times faster than the standard emoji typing method. The Bluetooth-enabled keyboard is able to work with both Macs and iOS devices. Because the emoji shortcuts are pre-programmed and the emoji pre-printed on the keyboard, the emoji keyboard is not customizable. Some favorite emoji may be missing, so while you can ask a co-worker to get tacos for lunch, you're out of luck if you want burritos.


There are three separate emoji keyboard models available: the Emoji Keyboard ($79.95), the Emoji Keyboard Plus ($89.95), and the Emoji Keyboard Pro ($99.95). While the hardware is the same in all three, the number of emoji shortcuts differs. The cheapest Emoji Keyboard offers one emoji per key, for a total of 47 emoji. The Emoji Keyboard Plus includes 94 emoji, and the Emoji Keyboard Pro includes more than 120 emoji, with three shortcuts per key.

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Each version of the Emoji Keyboard can be pre-ordered from the EmojiWorks website starting today.

Microsoft tonight announced that it was making changes to its OneDrive cloud storage services, reducing the amount of storage both Office 365 and free users are granted and eliminating its unlimited option. The company says that the changes were needed to "ensure that we can continue to deliver a collaborative, connected and intelligent service."

onedrive

Since we started to roll out unlimited cloud storage to Office 365 consumer subscribers, a small number of users backed up numerous PCs and stored entire movie collections and DVR recordings. In some instances, this exceeded 75 TB per user or 14,000 times the average. Instead of focusing on extreme backup scenarios, we want to remain focused on delivering high-value productivity and collaboration experiences that benefit the majority of OneDrive users.

Office 365 Home, Personal and University subscribers will no longer have access to unlimited storage. Instead, these users will be limited to 1 TB of storage. The 100 GB and 200 GB plans are being eliminated for new users and will be replaced with a 50 GB plan for $1.99 a month, which will launch in early 2016. Free OneDrive users will see their storage decreased from 15 GB to 5 GB, with the 15 GB camera roll storage bonus also being eliminated. These changes will also roll out in early 2016.

Microsoft says it wants to make the transition for its users as easy as possible, outlining the steps its taking to notify users of the change. Office 365 subscribers that have more than 1 TB of storage will be notified and will be allowed to keep their increased storage for 12 months. Office 365 customers who no longer desire the service because of the change will be given a pro-rated refund. Free users who have used more than 5 GB of storage will have access to all their files for 12 months after the changes go into effect in early 2016 and will receive a free one-year subscription to Office 365. Individual OneDrive subscribers to the 100 GB and 200 GB plans will not be affected.

In June 2014, Microsoft boosted its storage plans for OneDrive, bumping Office 365 subscribers from 20 GB to 1 TB before adding unlimited storage in October 2014. The company also increased storage of its free service from 7 GB to 15 GB while also decreasing prices for the 100 GB and 200 GB plans.

At its "Hey Siri" event this year, Apple announced price reductions for its own cloud storage service, iCloud Drive. 5 GB of iCloud storage is free while 50 GB is priced at 99 cents per month, 200 GB is $2.99 per month and 1 TB is $9.99 per month.

Activision Blizzard, publisher of video games like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Destiny, has purchased Candy Crush Saga creator King Digital for $5.9 billion. Activision Blizzard has built a successful portfolio of video games on consoles and PCs, but has struggled to find the same success in the mobile space. King CEO Riccardo Zacconi notes the Candy Crush maker had 474 million monthly active mobile and Facebook users in the third quarter of 2015.

candy-crush-saga

We believe that the Acquisition will position us very well for the next phase of our company’s evolution and will bring clear benefits to our players and employees. We will combine our expertise in mobile and free-to-play with Activision Blizzard’s world-class brands and proven track record of building and sustaining the most successful franchises, to bring the best games in the world to millions of players worldwide.

Activision Blizzard says the acquisition will make the company the global leader in mobile gaming while also giving the company over half a billion active monthly users in 196 countries. In the past 12 months ending September 2015, Activision Blizzard reported revenues of $4.7 billion while King reported revenues of $2.1 billion. While quarterly spending in King's signature game, Candy Crush Saga, has declined in the past 18 months, players still spent $1.3 billion on in-app purchases in 2014 alone.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that Candy Crush Saga represented 45 percent of King Digital's quarterly revenue. King has been working to diversify its gaming portfolio to rely less on Candy Crush and remain profitable. Like Infinity Blade and Angry Birds before it, Candy Crush Saga is one of the few games to become a smash-hit cult-like success in the App Store.

The new Apple TV launched on Friday with an all-new App Store, but early adopters were quick to realize that app discovery was limited to a single featured section and a manual search option -- unlike the App Stores on iPhone, iPad and Mac, which have several genre-based categories and top charts for apps.

apple_tv_top_charts
Apple has partially addressed this issue today by adding top charts to the tvOS App Store, listing the top paid apps, top free apps and top grossing apps. Confirming our previous report, games make up the majority of the top spots so far, while apps from content providers such as HBO, FOX and CBS are also popular.

Top Free Apps
1. Rayman Adventures
2. Crossy Road - Endless Arcade Hopper
3. HBO NOW
4. The Nat Geo TV
5. FOX NOW
6. SHOWTIME
7. HISTORY
8. CBS
9. CNNgo
10. Asphalt 8: Airborne

Top Paid Apps
1. Beat Sports
2. Simple X - for Plex
3. Galaxy on Fire - Manticore RISING
4. Does not Commute TV
5. Lumino City
6. Alto's Adventure
7. Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved
8. Battle Supremacy: Evolution
9. CARROT Weather: Talking Forecast Robot
10. Oceanhorn

Top Grossing Apps
1. Beat Sports
2. Galaxy on Fire - Manticore RISING
3. Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved
4. Oceanhorn
5. Simple X - for Plex
6. Lumino City
7. Battle Supremacy: Evolution
8. Does not Commute TV
9. Transistor
10. CARROT Weather: Talking Forecast Robot

Restarting your Apple TV or force closing the App Store may be required to view the new Top Charts section. The category may still be rolling out to all users at this time.

Eric Slivka contributed to this report.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

The much-anticipated Plex app for the Apple TV is available for download on the new set-top box as of today, allowing users to stream content from their computers to the Apple TV using the Plex Media Server software. First announced in September, the official Plex app was still in review when the new Apple TV launched last Friday, but it's now been approved.

For those unfamiliar with Plex, it's a media server and personal library for content like TV shows, movies, and music. It's designed to organize personal media collections, allowing videos and music to be streamed to TVs and other devices, locally and remotely.

plexmovies
Plex on the new Apple TV has a gorgeous interface that makes it easy to see all of your media content at a glance. Plex adds artwork for movies, TV shows, and music, plus it includes information like cast members, plot summaries, and Rotten Tomatoes ratings.

Plex has long been available on set-top devices like the Chromcast and the Fire TV, and it's popular with jailbreakers, but it has not previously been available on older versions of the Apple TV in an official capacity.

moviesinterfaceplex
The Plex app for the Apple TV can be downloaded from the tvOS App Store. The app is free to download, and unlike the iOS version does not require a $4.99 in-app purchase or Plex Pass subscription to unlock functionality. Apple TV and iOS App Store apps are universal, so if you've already downloaded the app for iOS, it can be found in the Purchases section of the tvOS App Store. [Direct Link]

Tag: Plex

Knomo's Elektronista Digital Clutch is a bag that was created through a partnership with Danish tech blogger Christiane Vejlø, who founded Danish gadget site Elektronista. The Knomo Elektronista is designed to be both functional and fashionable, serving as clutch or a crossbody bag that can hold a wide range of gadgets and iOS devices, keeping them all organized in its myriad pockets.

The Elektronista is available in four colors: Blush, which is a pink shade, Grey, Black, and Navy. I've been using the Grey version for the last several weeks, and it's quickly become one of my favorite small gadget bags. The Elektronista is made from a full grain leather that's soft to the touch and the construction is flawless with not a stitch out of place, as I would expect from a high-end bag. It has gold hardware, including gold zippers and a removable strap that attaches to the back.

knomowithbatteryandstrap
At $295, the Elektronista is one of the pricier bags that Knomo sells, but the company justifies that price tag with the bag's solid construction, huge number of custom pockets, and perks like a built-in 3,000mAh battery. It unzips at the sides so it can be used at a desk as an organizer for electronic devices and other odds and ends, and then it zips back up so it can be used as a daily purse with a magnetic front flap that keeps the contents protected.

knomoopen
The unzipping feature also serves as a way for the interior storage to be accessed quickly, which is handy when you need to get at something fast. The pockets inside the Elektronista are all accessible when the purse is zipped up, but with so many different pockets, it can be hard to find things inside. It can also be difficult to access some of the lower pockets, such as the little change holder, when you're in a hurry.

knomofrontpocket
The Elektronista is essentially all pockets. At the exterior of the purse, there's a pocket in the back, where I chose to keep my cell phone for quick access, and a zippered pocket on the front flap where I kept other things I needed to access frequently. For me, this was eye drops and chapstick.

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It's been two years since Apple launched its radically redesigned Mac Pro, but the professional-level workstation has not seen any updates since that time despite the availability of upgraded versions of many of the components used in the machine. We may be getting closer to an update, however, as Pike's Universum has discovered a reference to a new Mac code name of "AAPLJ951" within OS X El Capitan.

The identity of the Mac corresponding to that code name is not explicitly revealed in OS X, but Pike points to the similar AAPLJ90 code name for the current Mac Pro as a reason to believe this new machine is a Mac Pro.

aaplj951

The data is identical to that of the late 2015 (iMac17,1 in the same file) so it may as well be a remnant of the new iMac, but the strange thing is that the XHCI data for the late 2015 iMac is also there, which is why I believe that this is not/was not added for the/a new iMac but another Mac.

And like I said earlier in the comments, there are too many USB 3 ports defined to fit on a MacBook (Pro) and Mac Mini. This and the fact that there is already support for newer graphics chips [baked] into El Capitan… is why I think that it was added for a new Mac Pro. I personally sure hope so.

Looking toward possible specs for the next Mac Pro, it seems likely it will run on Xeon-branded Broadwell EP chips and include significantly faster graphics based on AMD's Fury platform, along with faster memory and storage and perhaps Thunderbolt 3 connectivity involving a partial shift to USB-C connectivity.

Related Roundup: Mac Pro
Buyer's Guide: Mac Pro (Neutral)
Related Forum: Mac Pro

remotejailbreakEarlier this month, exploit acquisition platform Zerodium debuted an iOS 9 bug bounty that would pay out up to three million dollars to hackers who managed to develop a browser-based untethered jailbreak for iOS 9, which it could then sell to clients interested in shelling out a lot of money to gain illicit access to iOS devices.

The contest expired at the end of October, and Zerodium today announced one hacking team had successfully created a browser-based jailbreak for iOS 9.1 and iOS 9.2, the latest versions of iOS 9, earning $1 million.

Zerodium foundar Chaouki Bekrar told Wired that the exploit developed by the hackers will be given to its customers, which include major technology, finance, and defense corporations, along with government agencies. The contest rules required the exploit to be achievable remotely without requiring user interaction beyond reading a text message or visiting a website via Chrome or Safari on an iOS device.

Bekrar confirmed that Zerodium plans to reveal the technical details of the technique to its customers, whom the company has described as "major corporations in defense, technology, and finance" seeking zero-day attack protection as well as "government organizations in need of specific and tailored cybersecurity capabilities."

Because it's selling the jailbreak ("likely" to U.S. customers only), Zerodium does not plan to report the vulnerabilities in the operating system to Apple, though Bekrar says the company may share the details at a later date. The jailbreak also won't be provided to the general public, but Bekrar says Zerodium announced the results of the contest to remind people that while iOS security is "very hardened," it's not unbreakable.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple is training retail employees in Australia, France, United Kingdom and other countries for the international launch of Personal Pickup, a service that enables customers to place an order on the Apple Online Store or Apple Store app and pick it up at any Apple Retail Store within an hour, according to sources.

shop_with_specialist_large
Apple is planning to roll out Personal Pickup internationally as early as November, possibly alongside the launch of the iPad Pro, but could push back the plans until later this year or beyond, according to sources. Apple did not immediately respond when reached for comment.

Personal Pickup, which launched exclusively in the U.S. in 2011, is available for a wide range of products including Macs, iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs and the Apple Watch. Apple notifies customers via email or text message when their order is available for in-store pickup, at which point they can pick it up with a valid photo ID.

Personal-Pickup
The global expansion of Personal Pickup is likely another move orchestrated by Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts, as she continues to bridge the gap between Apple's online and retail store shopping experiences. Apple has opened over 460 retail stores in 18 countries since May 2001, with nearly 200 located outside the U.S.

Heading into November, construction on Apple's second campus is progressing nicely, with Apple's construction crews making a lot of headway on the ring-shaped main building. A new aerial video captured by drone pilot Duncan Sinfield and shared with MacRumors gives a close-up view at the current state of the building.

Four internal levels of the primary building have now been completed, and the concept Steve Jobs envisioned for the campus is starting to take shape. When completed, the interior area of the building will feature hundreds of trees and lots of greenery, with outdoor eating and viewing areas for Apple employees.


Two nearby parking structures are now close to being completed, and there's also been some progress made on the underground auditorium, where Apple will hold major press events. There have been a lot of changes since we last shared an aerial video in September.

When fully complete, the second Apple campus will feature the 2.8 million square foot ring-shaped main building, several parking structures, a 100,000 square foot fitness center, a 120,000 square foot auditorium for hosting events, and a dedicated visitor's center complete with an observation deck, cafe, and Apple Store. Apple is on track to finish construction at the end of next year.

T-Mobile has announced a new 4G LTE CellSpot that broadcasts a low-power 4G LTE signal, providing an average 3,000 square feet of full-bars LTE coverage. The 4G LTE mini-tower works in areas where a broadband internet connection and T-Mobile wireless spectrum are available, for personal and business use.

TMobile-4G-LTE-CellSpot
The 4G LTE CellSpot connects to a broadband internet connection to deliver a "strong, reliable wireless 4G LTE signal for customers with or without an indoor cellular signal on compatible 3G, 4G and LTE handsets for up to 16 callers at one time." T-Mobile says the handheld device even works in some areas without cellular signal.

The new 4G LTE CellSpot launches November 4 and is free for Simple Choice postpaid customers, as long as they remain T-Mobile subscribers, with a refundable $25 deposit and non-return fee. The device provides access to all of T-Mobile's network features, including VoLTE, HD voice, advanced messaging and video calling.

Apple last week quietly launched a new first-party app called Indoor Survey [Direct Link], which allows its users to map out the interior space of a building using their iPhone. Spotted by developer Steve Troughton-Smith yesterday evening, the app specifically uses radio frequency signals in concert with an iPhone's various sensor data to successfully map an interior location (via AppleInsider).

The app, however, doesn't appear to be entirely functional as of yet. When prompted with Indoor Survey's home menu, after entering an Apple ID and password, users will be met with an Authorization Failed message and be barred from further accessing the app's suggested indoor mapping abilities. The app is also briefly mentioned on a banner within Apple Maps Connect after signing in, asking users to sign up to the indoor mapping initiative if they represent a venue with a handful of attributes Apple is looking for.

Apple-Maps-Connect-Indoor

"Enable indoor positioning within a venue using the Indoor Survey app. By dropping 'points' on a map within the Survey App, you indicate your position within the venue as you walk through. As you do so, the indoor Survey App measures the radio frequency (RF) signal data and combines it with an iPhone's sensor data. The end result is indoor positioning without the need to install special hardware."

The new app could be the result of Apple's purchase of WifiSLAM in 2013. The indoor location company had developed a way for an app to detect someone's location within a building using Wi-Fi signals, which seems to be on par with Indoor Survey's abilities today. The technology is slightly similar to the company's iBeacons software it runs in all of its retail stores, which locates a user's iPhone when entering an Apple Store and updates them on various promotions, classes, and product information.

indoor survey app
Currently, Indoor Survey can't be found using the search function on the App Store and can only be discovered via iTunes directly. The app was last updated on October 27, so it had been on the App Store for at least a week before anyone discovered it. The app's description mentions requiring iOS 9 or later with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch compatibility and an 18MB download size.

On Friday, Apple officially launched the fourth-generation Apple TV, which for the first time included an App Store.

While Apple includes a list of featured apps, there are currently no other methods for discoverability, and users can't browse categories or Top Charts to find other Apple TV Apps that haven't been explicitly featured.

Currently, the Apple TV App Store only shows what's featured. If your game isn't featured, it effectively doesn't exist. There's no way to browse genres, top lists don't exist (this arguably might be a good thing), and finding something that isn't featured requires typing its name in the search field. Siri search doesn't work on apps (yet?) so the amount of friction to download a game like Highway Rider which didn't make the feature cut is not only incredible but also has resulted in three sales. (Well, make that four, as I bought it.)

After some digging, SlideToPlay's Jeff Scott discovered that Apple was already publishing Apple TV top lists, even if they weren't yet exposed anywhere. Scott has now compiled a realtime list of the top overall Apple TV apps as well as individual category lists for both free and paid apps.

At the time of this writing, the overall top 10 apps include:

Top 10 Paid

beatsports
1 - Beat Sports (Apple TV Only)
2 - SimpleX - for Plex (Apple TV Only)
3 - Galaxy on Fire™ - Manticore RISING (Apple TV Only)
4 - Lumino City (+ Universal)
5 - Alto's Adventure (+ Universal)
6 - Does not Commute TV (Apple TV Only)
7 - Battle Supremacy: Evolution (+ Universal)
8 - Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved (+ Universal)
9 - Shoot The Zombirds (+ Universal)
10 - Oceanhorn ™ (+ Universal)

Top 10 Free

maxresdefault-1
1 - Rayman Adventures (Apple TV Only)
2 - Crossy Road - Endless Arcade Hopper (+ Universal)
3 - HBO NOW (+ Universal)
4 - The Nat Geo TV (+ Universal)
5 - FOX NOW (+ Universal)
6 - SHOWTIME (+ Universal)
7 - HISTORY (+ Universal)
8 - CNNgo (Apple TV Only)
9 - CBS (+ Universal)
10 - Asphalt 8: Airborne (+ Universal)

Games make up the majority of the top spots in the Top Paid listings, while media apps dominate the Top Free listings. At the moment, Jeff Scott reports there are presently 996 Apple TV apps in the App Store. The full list on SlideToPlay covers the top 200, as well as the breakdown within different categories.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

The new Apple TV launched on Friday in several countries around the world, giving early adopters a chance to try out the fourth-generation device for a few days now. The consensus opinion is that the new Apple TV is a worthwhile upgrade, particularly because of new features such as the App Store, Siri, and tvOS user interface, with lots of potential to get even better in the months and years ahead.

Apple-TV-App-Switcher

Press the Home button twice to bring up the new Apple TV's app switcher

To complement our coverage of the new Apple TV, which includes a trio of hands-on videos, an Apple TV apps roundup, several tidbits, and a reviews roundup, we have created the following list of tips, tricks, and shortcuts for the new streaming device, some of which are outlined in the Apple TV user guide. The tips are centered upon useful Siri Remote shortcuts and Apple TV settings.

Siri Remote shortcuts

Siri-Remote-LabeledTouch Surface
- To rearrange an app, hover over it and hold down the touch surface until the icon starts to jiggle. Then, swipe left, right, up or down to move the app, and press the touch surface once to finish.
- The touch surface has accelerated swiping, meaning that a faster swipe results in faster on-screen scrolling.
- Hover over any letter on the keyboard and hold down the touch surface to bring up a contextual menu, which includes uppercase letters, accents and a backspace key.
- Hover over a song and hold down the touch surface to bring up a contextual menu, which includes various Apple Music options.

Menu Button
- Press the Menu button once to go back.
- Press the Menu button twice quickly from the Home screen to start the screensaver.
- Press and hold the Menu and Home buttons simultaneously to restart the Apple TV.

Home Button
- Press the Home button once to return to the Home screen from anywhere.
- Press the Home button twice quickly to bring up the App Switcher, which displays all apps open. Swipe up on the Siri Remote's touch surface to force close an app.
- Press the Home button three times quickly to access VoiceOver.
- Hold down the Home button to place the Apple TV in Sleep mode.

Siri Button
- Hold down the Siri button to use Siri.
- Press the Siri button once and wait to view a list of commands you can ask Siri.

Play/Pause Button
- Press the Play/Pause button once to change the keyboard between uppercase and lowercase.
- Press the Play/Pause button once to delete an app in wiggle mode, which requires hovering over an app and holding down the touch surface until the icon starts to jiggle.
- Hold down the Play/Pause button for 5-7 seconds to return to the Apple Music app.

apple-tv-4th-gen

Apple TV settings

General
- Apple TV can be renamed in Settings under AirPlay > Apple TV Name.
- Apple TV network strength is displayed in Settings under General > About.
- Universal remotes can learn the new Apple TV in Settings under Remotes and Devices > Learn Remote. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Siri Remote
- The sensitivity of the Siri Remote's touch surface can be adjusted in the Settings app under Remotes and Devices > Touch Surface Tracking.
- The triple-press Home button accessibility shortcut can be changed in the Settings app under General > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut.
- The Siri Remote's battery level is listed in Settings > Remotes and Devices > Bluetooth.
- The Siri Remote can power on/off or adjust the volume of your TV and speakers over HDMI-CEC or IR. In some cases, this pairing process is automatic after setup, or manually configurable in Settings > Remotes and Devices > Home Theater Control under the "Turn On Your TV with Your Remote" and "Volume Control" menus.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Along with an App Store, Siri voice integration and universal search are important software-based features available on the new Apple TV. With Siri voice integration, it's possible to search for content and control video playback, while universal search allows users to look for movies and TV shows across a range of different apps.

In the video below, we went hands-on with the new Apple TV to give MacRumors readers an in-depth look at how the new Siri and universal search features work in person.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.

Siri is linked to universal search, as the main (and simplest) way to seek out television shows, movies, and apps on the Apple TV. Siri is able to do things like pause, rewind, and fast forward, and there are also some cool tricks. For example, asking Siri "What did he say?" during a bit of missed speech in a TV show or movie will rewind a few seconds and display subtitles. Searching through television shows by specific actors, scenes, and episodes is another nifty feature.

At the current point in time, universal search is limited to a handful of sources that include Netflix, iTunes, Hulu HBO Go, and Showtime, but Apple plans to make a universal search API available, expanding the number of apps that can take advantage of the feature.

For more on the new Apple TV, make sure to check out our complete hardware overview and our look at the tvOS App Store. We've also rounded up a list of Apple TV apps and we've shared some tidbits about the new device.

On our forums, our readers are discussing the new Apple TV in the dedicated Apple TV forum. Of particular interest is a thread where new Apple TV owners are discussing their first impressions of the device, and there's also a forum dedicated to Apple TV apps.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

One of the key features of the new Apple TV is the full App Store, which mirrors the iOS App Store and allows third-party developers to create a range of apps and games for the device. We went hands-on with the new Apple TV and took a look at the App Store to give MacRumors readers a better idea of how it works.

Anyone who has downloaded an iOS app on an iPhone or an iPad will be familiar with the way the tvOS App Store works. When first logging in, the Apple TV interface is rather empty, because standard apps, like Netflix, must be downloaded from the tvOS App Store. There are a wide range of games and apps already available, and we've catalogued a number of them in a list.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.

Games in the tvOS App Store are controlled with the included touch-based Siri remote, which can be used as a touch screen or as a controller similar to the Wii Remote. The Apple TV also supports third-party Made for iPhone certified Bluetooth gaming controllers.

The tvOS App Store has faced some criticism because it’s difficult to discover new content. The App Store only displays a limited selection of featured apps and beyond that, the only way to locate content is through search. Unlike the iOS App Store, there’s no top list and there’s no way to browse through different genres to find apps. That may change in the future as tvOS evolves, but for now, it can be difficult to find all the available apps to install.

Apple is selling the new Apple TV in retail stores and from the online Apple Store. It’s priced at $149 for 32GB of storage and $199 for 64GB of storage.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

The new Apple TV officially became available for purchase today, with Apple selling the fourth-generation set-top box in retail stores around the world. We went hands-on with the Apple TV to give MacRumors readers who want to know more about the device a chance to get an overview of the hardware and the software.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.

Apple's latest Apple TV marks a significant departure from the previous-generation Apple TV, with a thicker external design, a touch-based motion-enabled remote control that doubles as a gaming controller, and a more powerful A8 processor.

On the software side, it's running a new operating system called tvOS, which includes universal search features for finding television shows and movies across a wide variety of platforms, Siri integration for voice-based search, and a full App Store that's open to third-party developers. We're going to take a closer look at the App Store and the Siri/Search features in videos coming later this evening.

Earlier today, we shared a tidbits post on the new Apple TV, and our forum members have also been posting their first impressions and thoughts on the device, a thread that's well worth reading for those still trying to decide whether to make a purchase.

Apple is selling the new Apple TV in retail stores and from the online Apple Store. It's priced at $149 for 32GB of storage and $199 for 64GB of storage.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Access to Apple Music's Beats 1: Replay feature, which allows users to listen to previously broadcast Beats 1 radio shows, is now limited only to Apple Music subscribers. MacRumors readers and users on reddit have both noticed a recent change that no longer allows those without an Apple Music subscription to access Beats 1 radio segments they've missed.

According to the reddit thread, past Beats 1 radio shows became inaccessible to non-subscribers approximately two weeks ago. The Apple Music Help Twitter account has confirmed that Beats 1 Replays now require an active Apple Music subscription.


The Beats 1: Replay feature was first introduced in early August when all Apple Music users were still under the free three-month trial period. It offers full show replays with guests, commentary, and music. Without access to Beats 1: Replay, those who do not subscribe to Apple Music will only be able to listen to missed Beats 1 radio content by catching it on the second playthrough, 12 hours after the first airing.

Attempting to access a past Beats 1 radio show via an artist's page now brings up an Apple Music login screen for non-subscribers, while subscribers are still able to access the content. Playlists are also inaccessible, but content uploaded to a Beats 1 radio DJ's connect page, such as select interviews, can be listened to without a subscription.

applemusicbeats1replays
Access to past Beats 1 shows is not the only feature limited to Apple Music subscribers. Asking Siri questions about music charts, such as "What was the top song in March of last year?" is off limits to non-subscribers. Siri tells non-subscribers that an Apple Music subscription is required, likely because these music chart questions cause the song in question to begin playing.

Apple's decision to limit past Beats 1 shows to Apple Music subscribers has undoubtedly been done in an effort to encourage Beats 1 radio fans to purchase a subscription, which is priced at $9.99 per month for individuals and $14.99 for families. In a recent interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook said Apple Music had 6.5 million paying customers along with 8.5 million still on the free trial.

(Thanks, Adam!)