MacRumors

When creating games and apps for the new Apple TV, developers are required to build in support for the touch-based remote, making all content accessible to all users without the need for additional accessories like an MFi controller.

As noted by developer Dustin Westphal and shared by our sister site Touch Arcade, Apple's App Programming Guide for the tvOS says the following: "Your game must support the Apple TV remote. Your game may not require the use of a controller."

The new Apple TV works with third-party Bluetooth controllers, but because they are an optional accessory, they are not allowed to be the primary input method for a game. This requirement will force developers who want to build games around controller use to also include a touch or motion-based control scheme for use with the Apple TV remote.

As Touch Arcade points out, the requirement is bound to be a hassle for developers, especially those with games that have complicated control schemes.

There will be games that will have control schemes that are too complicated for the remote, for sure. What if Apple rejects apps that feature terrible controls for the remote, designed only to achieve the bare minimum functionality? Or developers with complicated controls decide to skip making their app compatible with the Apple TV because it won't be worth it? Ideally, we don't want to get to a point where games aren't coming to the Apple TV, or being actively rejected, because they won't fit the remote.

Apple appears to have originally planned to allow developers to require a game controller to play Apple TV games, but the company later nixed that policy and is now requiring all games to support the Apple TV remote in addition to a controller.

Apple's choice to require support for the Apple TV is not surprising, as it also has the same requirements for iOS devices. Developers can build controller support into their iPhone and iPad apps, but apps must also include touch-based control schemes for users who do not have a controller.

Following last week's announcement of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, Tim Cook has been paying unannounced visits to a few Apple Stores to talk with the store's employees and take pictures with customers. During a ride to the company's flagship 5th Avenue location in Manhattan, BuzzFeed got a few minutes with the Apple CEO, where he discussed everything from the privacy concerns of the new "Hey Siri" feature to whether or not iPhone users will ever be able to delete those Apple-created stock apps from their smartphones.

Directly addressing the privacy and safety concerns of "Hey Siri", Cook mentioned that anyone who is fearful of such things can always turn the feature off. Still, he described "the real answer" to be the fact that any information collected by the feature remains on the iPhone, and isn't sent to Apple or anyone else. On the lighter side, when asked about the newest features coming to the next generation iPhones, Cook's favorite appears to be 3D Touch.

Cook is hot on all of this stuff; he describes Live Photos with near Jobsian hyperbole — “I think Live Photos is a medium that hasn’t existed before. It’s like discovering a new form.” But he’s most excited by 3D Touch. “I personally think 3D Touch is a game changer,” he says. “I find that my efficiency is way up with 3D touch, because I can go through so many emails so quickly. It really does cut out a number of navigational steps to get where you’re going.”

When asked whether the company ever holds back a massive innovation ready for an "S" year, for the next generation (next year's assumed "iPhone 7"), Cook was adamant in stating “As soon as products are ready we’re going to release them. There’s no holding back." Another such innovation, the new iPhone Upgrade Program, is promised by the CEO to be aimed at improving customer experience with an "easier" and "simpler" way for those who want the new iPhone each year.

Thanks in part to the announcement of products like the iPad Pro, Cook also mentions that because "we’re at the point where the iPad does what some people want to do with their PCs," he posits that some people may "never" buy a proper desktop or laptop computer. Still, he believes the Mac is a "key part" of the company's strategy and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future.

One aspect that may be changing in the future, however, is a much-requested way to delete apps like "Stocks" and "Tips" from the iPhone. Cook and the company are aware of the fans' cry for the feature and want to work something out, but it may be more complicated than it seems.

“This is a more complex issue than it first appears,” he says. “There are some apps that are linked to something else on the iPhone. If they were to be removed they might cause issues elsewhere on the phone. There are other apps that aren’t like that. So over time, I think with the ones that aren’t like that, we’ll figure out a way [for you to remove them]. … It’s not that we want to suck up your real estate, we’re not motivated to do that. We want you to be happy. So I recognize that some people want to do this, and it’s something we’re looking at.”

Apple announced the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPad Pro last week along with other products like the new Apple TV, and some new information on upcoming updates like iOS 9 and watchOS 2. The new iPhones went up for pre-order over the weekend and are scheduled to launch next week on Friday, September 25. Cook's interview with BuzzFeed in New York today precedes his upcoming appearance on the new Late Show with Stephen Colbert, airing tonight at 11:30 p.m. on CBS.

The full interview between Cook and BuzzFeed is worth a read.

Apple last week introduced the iPad mini 4, advertising the device as essentially a scaled down version of the iPad Air 2, although the device uses a A8 chip rather than the A8X found in the iPad Air 2. Ars Technica has now taken an early look at the iPad mini 4, finding that the A8 runs at 1.5 GHz, slightly faster than the 1.4 GHz A8 used in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Like the iPad Air 2, the iPad mini 4 also carries 2 GB of RAM.

Having a whole extra CPU core makes the 1.5GHz A8X in the iPad Air 2 about 50% faster than the Mini 4, but we're still looking at a 20-or-so percent improvement over the old Mini 2 and Mini 3. That extra RAM will be good for more than just Split View multitasking, too—2GB iDevices need to eject things from memory less often, cutting down on the amount of tab reloading that Safari does and generally reducing wait times when switching between different tabs and apps.

With the iPad mini 4 using a slower chip than the iPad Air 2 while still driving the same display resolution and similar other internals, performance won't be quite as good on the smaller tablet, as the smaller body likely has some heat-related impacts that drove Apple to include the less-powerful chip. Still, users should see substantial performance upgrades over earlier iPad mini models, as well as support for all of the latest iOS 9 features like Split View multitasking.

Apple is moving forward with plans to build a unified platform for cloud-based web services such as iCloud, iTunes and Siri over the next few years, according to The Information.

The new platform is based on Siri, which itself is powered by open source infrastructure software called Mesos on the backend, according to the report.

The system will be what’s called an “orchestrated infrastructure” that has the ability, among other things, to run Internet applications inside “containers,” which make it easier to scale the apps and make changes to them on the fly, one of these people says.

Apple is reportedly placing more emphasis on open source software in an attempt to attract open source engineers that can help improve its web services, but it remains to be seen how far the company shifts away from its deep culture of secrecy.

Apple sometimes requires engineers submitting code to open-source products to do so through a third party rather than let Apple be affiliated with the code. One person who’s been through the process says they felt that submitting code to an open-source project like Mesos or Hadoop is generally “frowned upon” by managers at Apple. But the process has gotten easier over time, people who have participated in the process say.

The paywalled report explains how Apple is slowly embracing the open source community and becoming more transparent about its open source projects. It also lists some of the open source technologies that Apple uses, including Hadoop, HBase, Elasticsearch, Reak, Kafka, Azkaban and Voldemort.

Bloomberg reported in June that Apple is building a high-speed content delivery network and planning upgrades to its data centers with more in-house equipment to better compete with Amazon, Google, Microsoft and other cloud service providers. The improved infrastructure will allow for faster web services and more efficient delivery of cloud-based content such as streaming music.

While the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are designed with Series 7000 aluminum, which has a stronger and marginally thicker composition compared to Series 6000 aluminum used on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the new smartphones weigh more primarily due to their 3D Touch displays.

Apple published Environmental Reports for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus that reveal the devices are about 11% heavier than their predecessors, as first noted by The Verge. But the additional weight comes almost entirely from the 3D Touch display, which weighs nearly twice as much as a regular ion-strengthened display.

The material breakdowns for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus list the display weighing 29 grams and 40 grams respectively, while the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus displays weigh 12 grams and 19 grams respectively.

Meanwhile, the individual weights of the aluminum, battery, stainless steel, glass, circuit boards, plastic and other materials on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are very similar to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus weigh 143 grams (5.04 ounces) and 192 grams (6.77 ounces) respectively, while the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus weigh 129 grams (4.55 ounces) and 172 grams (6.07 ounces) respectively.

Apple has announced the grand reopening of its Company Store at its One Infinite Loop headquarters in Cupertino, California will take place on Saturday, September 19 at 10 AM Pacific. The store has been closed for renovations since June 15.

The Company Store is open to the public and sells Apple logo t-shirts, caps and accessories, but unlike traditional Apple Retail Stores it does not offer services such as the Genius Bar or sell products like Macs, iPhones or iPads.

The Company Store will be open on Monday-Friday between 10 AM - 6 PM Pacific and on Saturday between 10 AM - 4 PM Pacific.

Burberry is launching a curated channel on Apple Music, making it the first luxury fashion house to do so. The Burberry Apple Music channel is listed under "Curator Playlists," which also includes content from brands and media sites like GQ, Wired, Pitchfork, and Rolling Stone.

Content provided by Burberry includes selections from company's current CEO, Christopher Bailey, along with music played on the Burberry runway and a selection of emerging British talent.

Burberry is the first clothing company to debut an Apple Music channel, but it's not an unusual choice due to its Burberry Acoustic campaign, which supports new British music talent and features acoustic tracks recorded exclusively for Burberry. Burberry employs a full-time music team that works on Burberry Acoustic and matches up artists with record labels.

According to the The New York Times, going forward, the Burberry channel will feature performances, songs, and films that have come out of Burberry's work with artists on Burberry Acoustic. The channel's first exclusive will come from emerging British artists set to perform at the Burberry Womenswear show on September 21.

"I am excited about our partnership with Apple on this amazing platform which will enable us to take what we do now with Burberry Acoustic and share it with an even bigger audience," Christopher Bailey, Burberry's chief executive, said in a statement.

Burberry and Apple have had a long partnership, first teaming up in 2013 to show off the photographic capabilities of the iPhone 5s. Angela Ahrendts, Apple's current head of retail, was also the CEO of Burberry until the Spring of 2014 when she joined Apple. Burberry's new Apple Music channel marks the first collaboration between Apple and Burberry since her departure.

Apple's latest fourth-generation Apple TV includes a dedicated App Store, which will allow users to access many apps and features that were not previously available on the older Apple TV. Popular media streaming apps Plex and VLC, for example, are both coming to the Apple TV, with tvOS versions already in the works.

The developers behind VLC announced their work on a tvOS app this morning, though few details have been given. "Some code to build VLCKit for the new tvOS was merged," reads a blog post. "It's very early though, but we have video playback!"

For those unfamiliar with VLC, it's a cross-platform media player that's designed to support multiple audio and video file formats and act as a streaming server. VLC is available on streaming devices that compete with the Apple TV, such as the Amazon Fire TV, but on Apple's platform, it's been limited to Macs and iOS devices.

Similarly, popular media organization and streaming app Plex is coming to the Apple TV. A tvOS version of Plex is in development, Plex co-founder Scott Olechowski told ITworld last week. Like VLC, Plex is in the early stages of development, so few details are available

There is no question we will be able to offer Plex on the platform. There are multiple ways to go about it, based on the tvOS SDK we now have access to. We are now evaluating the best path for Plex and will begin work in earnest once we have evaluated the options. The ability to access great and proven iOS frameworks on the device is great for developers like us -- we know the stuff is solid and will perform really well. Our goal is to enable people to enjoy Plex on the hardware platforms of their choice, and there is no doubt this will be a top platform for us.

Currently, Plex works with set-top boxes like the Chromecast and the Fire TV, and it is a popular choice with jailbroken Apple TVs, but it is not available to Apple TV users in any official capacity. Plex is designed to organize personal media libraries consisting of video and music files, allowing them to be easily streamed to TVs and other devices, either locally or remotely.

As of today, developers are beginning to place their orders for Apple TV Developer Kits, so we may soon be hearing a lot more about these two apps and other apps that will be coming to the Apple TV.

Apple has released four new Apple Music videos in its "Discovery" series, which is designed to highlight lesser known artists and help users discover new music. The videos feature singer Flo Morrissey, musician Leon Bridges, singer and guitarist Shamir, and DJ and rapper Flying Lotus.

Flo Morrissey's first single, "Pages of Gold," was released in December of 2014, and was followed by her first album, Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful. The video focuses just on her singing and is accompanied by the description: "Introducing artists you didn't know you couldn't live without. Discover and connect with new music and the people who make it - artists like Flo Morrissey."

Flying Lotus has been releasing albums since 2006, with his latest album, You're Dead, launching in late 2014. His Apple Music video features his electronic music with the description: "Experiment with music just like the artists do. Discover and connect with new music and the people who make it - artists like Flying Lotus."

Leon Bridges is an American gospel and soul singer whose first album, Coming Home, was released in June of 2015. His video features his song Smooth Sailin', along with the following description: "Music curation that has as much soul as the artists themselves. Discover and connect with new music and the people who make it - artists like Leon Bridges." Bridges is one of several artists who will be performing at Apple's upcoming Apple Music festival.

The final video features Shamir, a singer who released his first RP, Northtown in June of 2014 and his first album, Ratchet, in May of 2015. Shamir's video features his song "Demon," with the following description: "The track you can't get out of your head is ready to get in your head. Discover and connect with new music and the people who make it - artists like Shamir."

All of the videos feature the same black and white style with no spoken content, in order to focus primarily on the artists' work. The videos being released today are the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh videos in the "Discovery" series, which has also featured James Bay and Kygo.

The new Apple TV won't be available to consumers until the end of October, but some developers are able to get their hands on one of the devices early in order to begin preparing and testing apps for the tvOS App Store.

Following last week's "Hey Siri" media event, Apple gave developers an opportunity to sign up for a lottery for an Apple TV Developer Kit, which ended today. Developers who won the lottery are now receiving invitations allowing them to purchase an Apple TV kit, and the first Apple TVs could be in developer hands by the end of this week.

Developers who were selected for the lottery are required to order by Wednesday, September 16, with orders beginning to ship out one to three days after that. Apple is providing Apple TV Developer Kits to developers at no cost, with a $1 fee being charged to verify billing and shipping addresses.

With Apple TVs in the hands of developers in just a few short days, we may learn a lot more about the device ahead of its official October launch date, and we'll almost certainly get a glimpse at what kind of apps we can expect on it. We've already seen an unboxing of the new Apple TV, which gave us a look at the set-top box itself and the new touch-based Siri remote included with it.

Apple's new Apple TV represents a massive overhaul of the existing set-top box, which has been left untouched since 2012. In addition to a much more powerful A8 processor, 2GB RAM, and more storage space, the new Apple TV includes a whole new operating system, tvOS, that supports a full App Store, allowing apps and games to be played on the device for the first time, and Siri, for full voice-control abilities in countries where it is supported.

The Apple TV also has deep search capabilities that will make it possible for users to search for content across multiple apps to find television shows and movies, and its aforementioned touch-based remote doubles as a motion-supported gaming controller for games that will be found within the new App Store.

Earlier this month, we reported that Apple may have acquired Swiss real-time motion capture firm Faceshift, based on the company's corporate directors stepping down in August and being replaced by Martin Frey, a mergers and acquisitions attorney at Baker & McKenzie. Apple has frequently used Baker & McKenzie's services around the world, including management of some of Apple's Swiss trademarks.

Lending further credence to the rumor, Apple has posted a job listing for a PhD-level Software Engineering position within its Camera and Media Algorithms Group. The listing provides a generic location of Apple's Swiss corporate headquarters at Löwenstrasse 29 in Zurich, Switzerland, but the highly technical skills and experience required for the job suggest it may be located at nearby Faceshift.

This engineer will work to create cutting-edge imaging algorithms for both mobile and desktop photographic applications. The ideal candidate will have experience with advanced imaging techniques such as multi-scale, wavelet, or gradient-domain processing. In addition, experience with processing video for computational information is desired including experience with image registration methods. Also, experience working with multi-spectral imaging systems is desired. 5+ years algorithmic development for general image processing, computational photography, color and image quality. Strong understanding of digital imaging/camera pipelines. Strong computational and imaging for information experience. Excellent coding skills in C, C++, and MATLAB Ability to optimize/debug imaging algorithms. Familiarity with common development and debugging tools, ideally for both mobile and desktop applications. Strong verbal and written communication skills in English. Ability to manage multiple tasks and self-prioritize. PhD in image processing or computational photography field required.

Faceshift launched in 2011 out of the Computer Graphics and Geometry Laboratory at EPFL in Lausanne, also known as the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and a source working in a similar field told MacRumors that Apple may be working with Switzerland's other technical university ETH Zurich on image segmentation and characterization at a secretive location in Zurich.

Nevertheless, the acquisition still cannot be proved beyond circumstantial evidence.

• Faceshift has largely shut down its website that formerly advertised its upcoming consumer effort and a partnership for integration with Intel's RealSense 3D camera systems
• Faceshift has removed nearly all mentions of its previous Faceshift Studio software from its website and has gone silent on Twitter and Facebook
• Multiple employees at Faceshift have updated their LinkedIn profiles with "Currently Looking For New Opportunities" or "Considering New Opportunities"

Faceshift has demoed its motion capture technology several times in the past few years, including at GDC 2015.

There are numerous ways in which Apple could use Faceshift's technologies, should this acquisition rumor prove true, ranging from real-time avatars for FaceTime video chats to biometrics for unlocking devices or authorizing payments via facial recognition. Apple's past acquisitions of 3D body sensing firm PrimeSense and Swedish facial recognition firm Polar Rose make it clear the company is interested in the space.