If you've been missing Fortnite on the iPhone and the iPad during the Apple vs. Epic Games legal battle, Microsoft has good news for you - the Xbox Cloud Gaming service now supports Fortnite, which means you can play on your iOS device using Safari or another browser.
In our latest YouTube video, we thought we'd check out Fortnite through the Xbox Cloud Gaming service to see how it works, what the gameplay experience is like, and whether it's a suitable substitute for a native app.
Fortnite is the first free-to-play game available through the Xbox Cloud Gaming service, which means there's no cost at all to play. All you need is a Microsoft account that's linked to your Epic Games account and you can log in and play right alongside your friends.
It's Fortnite, so there are, of course, plenty of in-app purchases to be had, but the core gameplay experience is entirely free. Xbox Cloud Gaming is available in 26 countries and while it's still operating in a beta capacity, gameplay is not bad at all.
There's a small amount of input lag playing Fortnite, but that may vary depending on your location and your connection speed. It does impact first person shooter games like Fortnite, but ultimately, we were able to navigate and play without issue.
You can play using touch-based controls right on the iPhone or the iPad, or you can connect a controller for a more console-like gameplay experience.
It's worth noting that Nvidia's GeForce NOW service is also working on a browser-based version of Fortnite that's currently in closed beta, but Microsoft's version is available now to everyone. We did try Fortnite through GeForce NOW, and it's a very similar gaming experience.
All in all, if you want to play Fortnite on iPhone or iPad while on the go, or if an iOS device is your only device, the Xbox Cloud Gaming platform is a viable solution that's worth checking out.
Have you played Fortnite through Xbox Cloud Gaming? Let us know what you thought of the experience in the comments below.
We're taking a look back at this week's best discounts and offers that are all still available to purchase today, including the best prices we've ever seen on iPad mini 6 and iPad.
iPad mini 6
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This week we saw the iPad mini 6 drop to a new record low price of $399.99 for the 64GB Wi-Fi model, down from $499.00. This was paired with another all-time low price drop for the 256GB Wi-Fi iPad mini 6, available for $539.99, down from $649.00.
The entry-level 64GB Wi-Fi iPad dropped to $309.00 this week, down from $329.00. The 256GB Wi-Fi tablet saw an even more drastic discount, available for $429.00, down from $479.00, and both of these iPads can be found on Amazon.
We saw the AirPods 2 return to their best price of 2022 this week, available for $99.99, down from $129.00. This is the model of the AirPods 2 that comes with the Wired Charging Case, and currently the cheapest entry point for a new model of the AirPods family.
Magic Keyboards
What's the deal? Take $50 off Magic Keyboards for iPad Pro
Amazon took $50 off the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro this week, in both the 11-inch and 12.9-inch configurations. The 11-inch model is on sale for $249.00 and the 12.9-inch model is on sale for $299.00.
Satechi
What's the deal? Take 20% off Satechi Wireless Chargers
Over on Satechi, the retailer introduced a new sale that marked down select wireless chargers by 20 percent when using the coupon code MOTHER at checkout. This includes accessories for iPhone, AirPods, Apple Watch, and more, with chargers starting at just $24.00.
If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.
Yet another rare Apple-1 computer is up for auction, and this one already has a bid of over $250,000. The Apple-1 was the first Apple product created by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak when Apple Computer was founded, and there are few left in existence.
Apple-1 models that come up for auction often fetch high prices because of their rarity, and this particular Apple-1 up for sale is number 7 on the registry with a Steve Jobs handwritten serial number. It is a first batch machine, and according to the auction website, it is the only first batch Apple-1 that has gone up for auction in many years and it is the first Apple-1 that has an authenticated serial number handwritten by Jobs.
Daniel Kottke, who was one of the first employees to work at Apple, has verified that it is in working order. It comes with a power supply and other period-appropriate components that include a Sanyo VM-4509 monitor and a Datanetics keyboard. It is also being sold with a modern cassette interface, power supply, connecting cords, and a reproduction of the original operation manual signed by Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.
The auction site is also selling a 1993 Apple MacTV, which was Apple's first effort at creating a TV-computer hybrid, and a Steve Jobs name badge, Versace shirt, and leather wallet.
The Apple-1 auction is set to end on Saturday, May 21, so there are still two weeks for additional collectors to enter bids.
iOS 15.5 will include the reintroduction of a popular Apple Music API used by third-party music players that allowed users to change the playback speeds of songs within the app, an Apple software engineer has announced.
With iOS 15.4, Apple removed an API used by third-party Apple Music players that let users change the playback speed of songs. The Apple Music app itself does not let users change playback speed, but popular App Store apps like Perfect Tempo offer users that ability. For some unknown reason, Apple removed the API with iOS 15.4 but with the upcoming release of iOS 15.5, currently in testing, Apple is adding back the functionality.
Joe Kun, an Apple software engineer on the Apple Music team, posted this update to frustrated developers earlier this week (via iGeneration):
Hello,
We have re-evaluated our previous decision to disable changing the playback rate for subscription content from Apple Music in third-party applications, and we came to the conclusion that we could safely enable that functionality again, just like before the release of iOS 15.4.
As such, this issue is fixed in iOS 15.5 beta 4.
I hope this helps.
Best regards,
Apple this week released the fourth beta of iOS and iPadOS 15.5 to developers. iOS 15.5 will include only small changes and features, alongside performance and security fixes. You can find all the changes coming with iOS and iPadOS 15.5 here.
Apple's privacy chief Jane Horvath is listed as a speaker at the 2022 Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection conference in Brussels, Belgium. Apple is also sponsoring the conference, which is scheduled for May 23 through May 25.
It's unclear when Horvath will speak or what topics she plans to discuss at the conference, but Apple has been advocating against the EU's proposed Digital Markets Act that would require Apple to allow sideloading of apps on the iPhone outside of the App Store. At past conferences, Apple executives like CEO Tim Cook and software engineering chief Craig Federighi have argued that sideloading poses privacy and security risks.
Cook spoke at last year's Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection conference, where he implied that companies like Facebook with a business model of maximizing engagement through algorithms can lead to polarization and violence.
"At a moment of rampant disinformation and conspiracy theories juiced by algorithms, we can no longer turn a blind eye to a theory of technology that says all engagement is good engagement — the longer the better — and all with the goal of collecting as much data as possible," said Cook, adding that "it is long past time to stop pretending that this approach doesn't come with a cost — of polarization, of lost trust and, yes, of violence."
Horvath joined Apple in 2011 as Senior Director of Global Privacy and now holds the title of Chief Privacy Officer at the company. She has two decades of information privacy and legal experience, with her previous roles including Global Privacy Counsel at Google and Chief Privacy Counsel and Civil Liberties Officer at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News 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 has released a special edition version of its Powerbeats Pro headphones with a special and funky yellow and dark purple pattern in partnership with a London-based designer for $250.
The special edition headphones were made in partnership and inspired by the designs of Paria Farzaneh, an English-Iranian designer based in London. Alongside their unique yellow and dark purple pattern printed on the Powerbeats Pro case and headphones themselves, the Bluetooth earbuds also come in a unique box and with special stickers.
The special edition headphones, like the normal PowerBeats Pro themselves, costs $250 and is currently exclusively available on SSENSE. Apple is currently holding a special offer for the regular Powerbeats Pro on its website for $200.
A cluster of Apple TV owners over the last several months have been complaining about several issues when using external speakers with the Apple TV and attempting to listen to Dolby Atmos audio.
A thread on Apple's support forums, which started in September 2021 and has over 25 pages of users sharing complaints, chronicles how users are experiencing issues with their Apple TV and Dolby Atmos. According to users, when listening to Dolby Atmos content, audio will sometimes either completely cut out and go silent, goes out of sync with the videos on the screen, or is choppy and stutters.
While there are some users who are experiencing the issue across Apple TV apps, a large portion of the complaints come from when users use the Netflix app. Some users have found that changing audio settings and disabling Dolby Atmos entirely solves the issues. Apple released tvOS 15.4.1 last month and that update does not seem to have addressed the bugs. Are you experiencing similar issues? Let us know down in the comments.
Peloton is looking for a major company like Apple or Amazon to buy a stake of around 20 percent in its business in an effort to improve the company's fortunes amid dwindling demand for its products and fierce competition from services like Apple Fitness+, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Sources believed to be familiar with the matter speaking to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Ed Hammond claim that Peloton is seeking a big-name corporation or private equity firm that could help to validate Peloton's business in a show of confidence with a significant investment. The company is reportedly already contacting potential buyers, but the process remains at an early stage.
Following months of bleak news about Peloton's "precarious state" as demand for the company's products has dried up, including the revelation that it had halted production of its bikes and treadmills, Apple was floated as a potential buyer of the troubled fitness business at the start of this year.
In January, it emerged that Peloton was temporarily stopping production of its connected fitness products for up to six months due to a "significant reduction" in consumer demand, a pressing need to control costs, and amplified competitor activity. As a business, Peloton has high customer acquisition costs, translating to high product pricing. Toward the end of last year, the company reduced the price of its entry-level bike by almost 20 percent to $1,495 in an attempt to drive up sales through the end of 2021. It then emerged that the company was planning to lay off 41 percent of its sales and marketing staff.
The company's fiscal forecasts did not take into account new delivery and setup fees between $250 and $350 that customers had to pay on top of the cost of the Bike or Tread. In addition, Peloton saw low email capture rates for its $495 strength training product, "Peloton Guide," and has struggled to rekindle momentum after heightened interest in its products during lockdowns in 2020 stalled. There are also indications that Peloton is losing market share in the connected fitness industry.
Peloton CEO John Foley said that the company is "taking significant corrective actions to improve our profitability outlook and optimize our costs." The Information reported that Peloton's production halt and the precarious state of its business looks like a prelude to an acquisition by a bigger company, positing that Apple is the ideal candidate to buy Peloton:
If Peloton is to have a future, it would be better off as part of a bigger, more diversified company. Apple is an ideal candidate to take on that project. It has the Fitness+ subscription service for classes and it markets the Apple Watch as a device that can help with jogging and other exercise activities. It could close Peloton's stores and sell the equipment through its own stores. And hey, after today, Peloton's market capitalization is down to $7.9 billion. Cook could pay for that by dipping into the change jar in his kitchen.
The idea of Apple acquiring Peloton then gathered steam among some market observers, with the possibility being weighed up by The Motley Fool, Inc., and more. Even so, Apple has expressed no interest in acquiring Peloton or buying a stake in the company.
It is highly unlikely that a company like Apple could acquire Peloton's entire business by aggressive means since Peloton co-founder John Foley is part of a group that controls the company with super-voting stock, while CEO Barry McCarthy has said that this sort of deal is not his wish.
Currently, Peloton's main goal appears to be to obtain a single, significant investment from a well-known backer, rather than be acquired in its entirety. Receiving a major new supporter like Apple or Amazon could help to calm panicked investors, but the news that the company was seeking further investment caused Peloton shares to fall further this week. The stock is already down around 80 percent over the past year.
Apple may also be disinterested in any stake in Peloton due to possessing its own connected fitness brand, Apple Fitness+. Analyst Neil Cybart previously highlighted how Peloton is actively threatened by Apple Fitness+, not least because it is considerably cheaper, costing up to $388.01 less annually for digital classes alone. Cybart cautioned that without major changes in 2022, "Peloton is on track to be a Fitbit 2.0 - a company unable to compete with the giants subsidizing health and fitness tracking as an ecosystem feature." Peloton will report its latest quarterly earnings next week.
Amazon today kicked off a new sale on Apple accessories, including the AirTag, MagSafe Battery Pack, iPhone 13 cases, MagSafe Charger, and much more. When you add two of these accessories to your cart, you'll get 30 percent off one of the products at checkout.
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To see the deal, head to this landing page and add any two of the products to your cart. Once at the checkout screen, the 30 percent off markdown will be applied automatically and you won't need any coupon codes for this sale.
Amazon says this sale is a limited time offer, so be sure to browse the full event soon before it expires. Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.
A new Apple patent has suggested that a future iPad or version of iPadOS could include the ability to transform the tablet into a macOS-like user experience when it's attached to an external keyboard.
The patent, first reported by Patently Apple, is wide-ranging in its potential implementation. Apple regularly patents dozens of ideas, and only very few ever see the light of day. Nonetheless, this patent describes a base device, such as a keyboard that includes keys and a trackpad, that could be coupled with a computing device, such as an iPad, to deliver what seems like a macOS similar experience with an Apple Pencil.
Image from the patent that depicts a macOS-like user experience with an Apple Pencil
Adding credence that the patent depicts an iPad and keyboard combo, other images in the filing reveal how the computing device can be detected from the keyboard and used standalone, similar to how users can currently detach the iPad from the Magic Keyboard.
Alternatively, the patent could be envisioning a future MacBook and iPad combo, where both devices merge into one. Detached from a keyboard, the combo serves as an iPad with the Apple Pencil; then, when attached to a keyboard, it transforms into a Mac with touchscreen capabilities. Apple has long said a touch screen Mac is not something it aims or wants to make, so perhaps a combo of the iPad and MacBook is the future of Apple's computer line.
Bloomberg'sMark Gurman, in his April 17 edition of his Power On newsletter floated a seemingly identical idea to the one presented in Apple's patent filed earlier this week. Gurman speculated in the newsletter that the future of the iPad should consist of three modes: a touch-screen mode, an Apple Pencil optimized experience, and a "Pro" mode that turns on when a keyboard or external display is attached/connected. While purely speculative and wishful thinking, Gurman has reported that Apple is planning a revamped multitasking experience for iPadOS 16.
iPadOS 16 is set to be previewed in one month at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference that's taking place from June 6 through June 10. There, Apple will preview not only iPadOS 16 but also iOS 16, which is rumored to include new health features, improved notifications, and more. For a full rundown of everything we expect from iOS 16 and iPadOS 16, be sure to see our roundup.
Following reports that the UK government had dropped plans to heavily regulate Apple and other big tech companies using a new Digital Markets Unit (DMU), the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has assured that it will empower the DMU with statutory powers to penalize firms that do not meet its rules (via Reuters).
The government announced plans to set up the DMU in 2020, stating that it would grant powers to the body to create a code of conduct that big tech companies have to abide by in the UK or face fines of 10 percent of annual turnover. An interim report published by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) earlier this year was intended to focus the DMU's attention, and it was met with an aggressive response from Apple.
While the DMU currently exists with around 60 members of staff, it has no powers beyond the CMA's existing capabilities. The DMU is currently working on a number of investigations, including into the terms of Apple's App Store and Apple and Google's "duopoly" over mobile ecosystems. A government spokesperson yesterday confirmed that the DMU will be given powers to address the "predatory practices" of some big tech companies with the aim of boosting competition and giving users more control.
The DCMS's proposals include provisions to make it easier for users to switch between iOS and Android, and give users more control over search engines and how their data is used. App developers would be able to distribute their apps "on fairer and more transparent terms." There are also plans to give small and medium-sized businesses better pricing from services offered by big tech companies, as well as insights into the algorithms that drive traffic and revenues. Digital minister Chris Philp said:
The dominance of a few tech giants is crowding out competition and stifling innovation... We want to level the playing field and we are arming this new tech regulator with a range of powers to generate lower prices, better choice and more control for consumers while backing content creators, innovators and publishers, including in our vital news industry.
The DMU will be able to fine companies that break its code of conduct 10 percent of their annual global turnover, with an extra five percent of daily global turnover added per day that the violation continues. In Apple's case, this could quickly reach fines of tens of billions of dollars if it is found to have broken the DMU's rules. Senior managers could also face civil penalties if their companies are deemed to have not engaged properly with requests for information.
A spokesperson for the DCMS declined to comment on if legislation to empower the DMU will be included in this year's Queen's Speech, which sets out the government's agenda for the coming year. It is still unclear when exactly the powers will come into force, with the government simply saying that the necessary legislation will come "in due course."
Apple's ecosystem is increasingly coming under intense scrutiny by governments around the world, including in the United States, Japan, South Korea, the European Union, and more, with a clear appetite from global regulators to explore requirements around app store policies, app sideloading, and interoperability.
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News 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.
As AirPods Pro were under development in the years before their launch in 2019, Apple was pushed by a small team of HR managers to adopt a more transparent and less secretive work atmosphere for employees, a departure from the ultra-secretive and siloed work culture that leads to most of the company's products.
The revelation comes from a guest article on Fast Company written by Chris Deaver, a former Apple HR manager who worked at the company from 2015 to 2019. In the article, Deaver describes, as is well-known, Apple's stringent culture of product secrecy and confidentiality. Employees working on products such as the Mac or iPad have no insight into what teams working on the iPhone or other products are doing, creating a great sense of exclusion for some employees.
That culture of immense Apple secrecy and confinement of information often left employees working on different products and disciplines in uncomfortable dilemmas of not knowing who they can speak to and who they must keep secrets away from out of fear of legal or work-related punishments. "How do I operate like this? If I can only share information with certain people, how do I know who and when? I don’t want to end up fired or in jail," Deaver quotes one employee saying during his time at the company.
Beyond personal and social dilemmas for employees, the culture of secrecy also caused friction across teams at the company. Deaver describes his role as part of the HR department as having to deal with internal disputes, which he said often came from complaints of "that team not sharing."
Deaver, alongside a close business friend, Ian Clawson, conceived a small team of HR experts and partners to think of a new, more transparent way for Apple's teams to work that would result in less friction during the development of products. Deaver said he was inspired to do this based on his experience having seen the development of the original AirPods, which reportedly left staff feeling burned out and frustrated.
Teams were innovating for months in silos only to finally converge in the eleventh hour before launch, ending up in five- or six-hour-long daily meetings, causing tremendous friction and burnout. People were frustrated. They wanted to leave or to “never work with that one person again.”
How could Apple have avoided the internal turmoil we faced with the development of AirPods? How do cultures take the shape they do? These questions and the inspired sessions with Ian, led me to form a mini braintrust at Apple. As a small group of HR partners, we started to explore this by getting curious about the Apple culture.
The brainstorming of this team ultimately led Apple to adopt a more transparent and collaborative work culture for the AirPods Pro. Instead of separate groups working in silos, all on the same products but not being able to communicate or work together, Apple opted for an open, free-flowing workflow for the AirPods Pro.
As teams converged with leaders becoming more open, connected, and driving higher quality collaboration than ever before. We spent time coaching, collaborating, and influencing key leaders and engineers driving the next frontier of AirPods. What emerged was a braintrust with regular sessions, openness, and connection that brought to life the insanely great, noise-canceling AirPods Pro. It was a testament to innovation, but also to the power of sharing. Yes, sharing could be done in the context of secrecy.
The new culture was internally dubbed "Different Together," a play on Apple's iconic "Think Different" campaign. Part of Apple's priority in maintaining high secrecy is preventing leaks and rumors about what the company is working on. As Deaver tries to prove, Apple can both be secretive and collorbaritve simultaneously, as demonstrated by the development of AirPods Pro.
Feral Interactive has been porting games to the Mac since 1996, earning it a reputation for extremely faithful, high-quality PC and console conversions. With Apple's transition from Intel processors to Apple silicon across the Mac lineup now almost complete, MacRumors asked the publisher and developer how it thinks the Mac gaming landscape has changed in the intervening years and where it could be headed.
"The changes have been cyclical, but bringing games to the Mac platform over that time has had its challenges," admits Feral. "Apple's move from PPC to Intel, 32-bit to 64-bit and, most recently, Intel to Apple silicon – all of these required transitional periods and substantial work, but in each case they facilitated a situation in which better games could be brought to Mac. What has remained constant is that there is a community of Mac users who want to play games on their computers. There's an audience for good games that are well optimized for the platform."
That doesn't mean Mac gamers haven't felt perpetually frustrated at Apple's seeming lack of interest in the Mac as a gaming-capable machine. As many Mac gaming fans will know, Apple has historically hamstrung the Mac's graphics power by using integrated Intel graphics and designed-for-mobile GPUs in its laptops and all-in-one desktop machines. For this reason, Feral says that apart from their interest in a game, licensing negotiations, and the proven success of a given IP, the other big variable it has always had to consider when porting a triple-A title is how demanding a game is – and if a Mac can handle it.
"Before [Apple silicon], nearly all the most popular Apple computers, particularly their entry level laptops, used Intel Integrated Graphics. That was a problem. We had to spend a large part of extended development cycles optimizing games to make sure they ran as well as possible on devices which were not intended or designed for gaming," says Feral.
Alien: Isolation
"The problem is that AAA games often push the limits on hardware, and we need to be confident that we can get a game to run well on a broad range of machines, often stretching back several years. However, the current transition to Apple silicon opens up some exciting opportunities. In comparison to the previous generation of Intel-based Macs, it offers a big step up in power, and for games that translates to better performance and enhanced graphical fidelity."
"This gives us a greater degree of freedom in looking at more demanding games, as we have greater confidence that they can be made to work well on a broad range of Macs including entry-level laptops, which represent a big chunk of the potential audience."
It hasn't just been hardware that Feral has had to contend with – Apple's shifting software standards have also been a challenge to overcome. In 2018, for example, Apple deprecated OpenGL and OpenCL and encouraged game developers to move to Metal, which is pitched as a platform-optimized, low-overhead API for developing graphics-intensive software.
Total War: Rome Remastered
"When Apple announced Metal for macOS, its implementation of OpenGL already fell well short of DirectX in terms of performance and was missing many of the features needed for gaming," says Feral. "However, Metal is a big step forward, simply by being a performant graphics API."
"We started work the day Apple announced Metal for Mac, and provided a lot of feedback and feature requests to Apple, much of which, to their credit, they acted on." Feral went on to release its first Metal game in early 2017 and updated a number of its older games to use Metal instead of OpenGL. "The benefits of doing so was that it allowed them to run natively on the latest Macs, and in many cases brought big performance improvements," says the publisher.
Feral has already released a native Apple silicon game (Total War: Rome Remastered), and while developing exclusively for Apple silicon will depend on the player base, the specific game requirements, and support from third-party middleware, Feral says that the combination of Apple silicon's power and a modern graphics API in Metal has improved the situation "hugely."
Total War: Warhammer III
Feral promises it will continue to support Intel Macs "for as long as it is both technically feasible and commercially viable." But while it understands the importance of continuing to support owners of older machines, "with ever more demanding games, we are already beginning to see the end of support for Macs with Intel processors coming into view."
A case in point: Earlier this week Feral released Total War: Warhammer III for Apple silicon Macs only. Reflecting its acceptance of the gradual demise of Intel-powered Macs as gaming platforms, Feral admitted that "Unfortunately, during testing, there were severe performance and stability issues on Intel Macs with integrated Intel GPUs. This means we cannot support them for this game, and will not be able to add support for them in the future."
As for the prospects for Apple silicon Macs and the future of Mac gaming more generally, Feral is bullish. "We're enthusiastic about its renewed capability as a gaming platform. We intend to remain focused on bringing great games to the platform, making them run as well as possible, and supporting them for a long time."
WhatsApp has announced it is rolling out multiple new features today that have undergone long testing periods, including emoji reactions, bigger file transfers, and larger groups.
WhatsApp has been working on message reactions – or "Tapbacks" in Apple Messages parlance – for some time, with evidence of their development first coming to light last summer.
The feature gives messaging app users a quick and easy way to respond to a message (a thumbs-up or thumbs-down in iMessage, for example) without having to type out a lengthier text-based reply in the chat thread.
Similar to Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp users will soon see a row of emoji just above a message. To begin with, only a handful of common reactions are available, but WhatsApp parent company Meta has said that support for "all emojis and skin-tones" will be added in the future.
WhatsApp is also rolling out a much larger 2GB cap for file transfers between users of the instant messaging platform. WhatsApp's file-sharing capabilities have become a key feature of the service, and the app has included the ability to share media files within conversations since 2017, but its 100MB file size limitation hasn't changed in that time.
Upping the limit to 2GB should make the platform a lot more amenable to sharing video clips and other large media file types, which would also be securely transferred via WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption.
Also from today, WhatsApp is expanding the default maximum size of group chats, upping the cap from 256 to 512 users. In its blog post announcing the new features, WhatsApp says the larger group limit is being rolled out "slowly," while message reactions and larger file size transfer limits are currently rolling out to users globally and should be available in the current version of the app.
We're five months into 2022 with the Worldwide Developers Conference on the horizon, to be followed not too long after by Apple's September event. The second half of the year is shaping up to be exciting, as rumors suggest we can look forward to an array of updated Macs, iPhones, and accessories set to launch. In our latest YouTube video, we rounded up the five products we can't wait to get our hands on.
MacBook Air - The MacBook Air is getting its biggest refresh since 2010, which puts it at the top of our list. Apple is going with a fresh iMac-like design, which means the MacBook Air is expected to get fun new colors and off-white bezels and white keyboard like the 24-inch iMac. It's also going to get a new look, with Apple finally abandoning the tapered look for a more streamlined MacBook Pro-style look. Rounding out the upgrades, the MacBook Air is expected to be one of the first to adopt the M2 chip, a follow up to the M1. The M2 is rumored to feature an 8-core CPU and a nine or 10-core GPU.
Mac Pro - The Mac Pro is perhaps the most exciting product coming in 2022 because it will see Apple finishing its transition to Apple silicon. After the Mac Pro comes out, Apple will no longer be reliant on Intel chips, and the Mac Studio has shown us that the Mac Pro's Apple silicon chip is going to be impressive. The Mac Pro is expected to feature a chip that has up to a 40-core CPU and a 128-core GPU, double the M1 Ultra.
iPhone 14 Pro Max - All of the iPhone 14 models will be an upgrade over the iPhone 13 models, but we picked the 14 Pro Max because it's going to get all of the bells and whistles. It will not have a notch, with Apple instead implementing a dual display cutout look with a pill-shaped cutout and a circular cutout. It will come in new colors, include camera improvements, and have a faster A16 chip, which actually won't be coming to the iPhone 14 and 14 Max.
AirPods Pro - Apple is finally going to refresh the AirPods Pro in 2022, and they could have an all-new design that does away with the short stem at the bottom. Apple is testing a more rounded, compact shape. There are also rumors that the next-generation AirPods will feature support for Apple Lossless audio and improved Find My integration that will let them play a sound if they're lost.
Apple Watch Series 8 - Last but not least, the Apple Watch Series 8 launch is going to be interesting because there's a new model coming this year - a rugged model. In addition to the standard Apple Watch Series 8, Apple is rumored to be working on a more durable version of the Apple Watch aimed at athletes, hikers, and those who use the watch in more extreme conditions. A body temperature sensor and car crash detection are also rumored features.
What do you think of our list? What are you looking forward to from Apple? Let us know in the comments.
Apple Music appears to be affected by a bug that is causing the app to install itself directly into the dock when downloaded from the App Store, with the app even replacing other first and third-party apps located in the dock.
There have been several complaints about the problem on Twitter from users who downloaded Apple Music and then had it replace another app. Kevin Archer, for example, had Apple Music replace Spotify in his dock.
Archer claimed that the app was only replacing non-Apple apps, but that appears to be incorrect, as TechCrunch tested the bug and had Apple Music install itself over the Camera app, Twitter, and Safari. We had it install over the Mail app and Dropbox, so music apps are not being targeted or solely impacted.
Seems like if you download the Apple Music app from App Store, it will automatically appear on your device (iPhone) dock, more than this, it will change any other 3d party app with the Music app. If on your dock, you only have Apple apps it won't do anything. pic.twitter.com/c0pkO9G2pq
— Kevin Archer (@IM_Kevin_Archer) May 5, 2022
There have also been complaints that Apple Music is setting itself as the default music service when it is downloaded even if another music app was set as the default, but we have not been able to replicate this behavior.
iOS devices running iOS 15.4.1 are affected, and we were also able to get Apple Music to install itself over another app in the iOS 15.5 beta. Other older versions of iOS 15 also appear to be exhibiting the same issue. There's even a complaint from 2019, well before iOS 15.
As TechCrunch points out, this behavior has not explicitly been explained as a bug by Apple, but it is likely unintended. Apple has already been accused of favoring its own apps over third-party apps and is facing regulatory scrutiny, so there's little chance that Apple would blatantly replace third-party apps with its own.
There also appears to be no set pattern to the apps that Apple Music will replace, with Apple's own apps replaced as well, nor does the issue happen consistently. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has, however, suggested that Apple "rigged" iOS to replace apps with Apple Music.
I just verified this on iOS 15.4.1. With Spotify installed and on the dock, installing Apple Music removed Spotify from the dock and put Apple Music there - without asking. Happens without Apple Music being run, so clearly Apple has rigged their OPERATING SYSTEM to do this!
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) May 5, 2022
Given that the Apple Music issue is receiving quite a lot of attention, including accusations of preferential treatment, Apple will likely address it soon.
Update: Apple told MacRumors that it is aware of the issue and is looking into it.
Microsoft today announced that Fortnite is available through its Xbox Cloud Gaming service, which means iPhone and iPad users can play Fortnite for free with just a Microsoft account.
Fortnite is the first free-to-play game that has been aded to Xbox Cloud Gaming, which is still available in a beta capacity. Xbox Cloud Gaming is available in 26 countries and Fortnite can be played on Android smartphones and tablets, and Windows PCs in addition to iPhones and iPads.
Nothing needs to be installed since Xbox Cloud Gaming is browser-based over-the-air gaming, and there is no membership required because Fortnite is free. The game supports native touch controls or a connected controller.
With Fortnite available via Xbox Cloud Gaming, iPhone and iPad users who have not been able to play Fortnite on their mobile devices since the game was pulled from the App Store will once again be able to get access.
Cloud-based gaming service GeForce NOW has also been beta testing Fortnite support on iPhones and iPads, but Fortnite on GeForce NOW is only available in a closed beta. Fortnite through Xbox Cloud Gaming is available to anyone with a Microsoft account.
Apple has no plans to allow Fortnite back into the App Store while its legal battle with Epic Games is ongoing, so cloud-based gaming is the only way to access the popular battle royale game on iOS devices.
Apple this week lowered its estimated trade-in values for select Mac, iPad, and Apple Watch models in the United States.
Apple has reduced trade-in values for the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, MacBook, iMac, iMac Pro, Mac Pro, Mac mini, iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad, iPad mini, Apple Watch Series 3 through Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Watch SE, and select Samsung and Google smartphones. Apple is also no longer accepting Apple Watch Series 2 trade-ins.
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