MacRumors

Netflix's mobile gaming platform has been engaging less than 1 percent of Netflix subscribers since its launch last November, according to new data from app analytics company Apptopia (via CNBC.).

Included with every Netflix subscription, Netflix Games allows users to play a handful of games on their mobile devices. Games are released as individual apps on the iOS App Store, while the full catalog of games, currently numbering 24 titles, is maintained in the Netflix app.

Similar to the way Apple Arcade operates, there are no ads, additional fees or in-app purchases included in the games, with the idea being that customers remain engaged with the streaming service while they are waiting for new installments of TV shows and series hosted by the platform.

For example, Netflix has tied in several of the available games to popular shows, such as "Stranger Things: 1984," "Stranger Things 3: The Game," and an upcoming chess game based on The Queen's Gambit. Netflix hasn't said how much it's investing in games, but the company acquired Finnish developer Next Games for around $72 million, and Netflix says the catalog will grow to 50 games by the end of the year.

Despite Netflix's investment, however, the latest engagement figures are unlikely to be warmly received by Netflix, as less than 1% of Netflix's 221 million subscribers play the games according to Apptopia. In total, the games have reportedly been downloaded 23.3 million times and average 1.7 million daily users, which is far short of leading mobile games.

Last year, Netflix's COO Greg Peters said the company was "many months and really, frankly, years" into learning how games can keep customers on the service. "We're going to be experimental and try a bunch of things, but I would say the eyes that we have on the long-term prize really center more around our ability to create properties that are connected to the universes, the characters, the stories that we're building."

Intensifying competition for user attention in recent months has likely since increased the importance of games to Netflix's overall strategy. According to data shared by the company's Q2 2022 earnings call, despite revenue increasing 9 percent year on year, Netflix lost 1.3 million subscribers in the United States and Canada over the quarter.

Netflix has also been raising its prices, which has resulted in some customers turning away from the service. In January, the company increased the prices for all of its plans. The basic standard definition plan went from $8.99 to $9.99, the Standard HD plan went from $13.99 to $15.49, and the 4K plan went from $17.99 to $19.99.

Netflix blames its subscriber loss on connected TV adoption, account sharing, and competition, and to continue to improve revenue growth, the company says that it is focusing on evolving monetization. A lower-priced ad-supported tier is in the works and is set to launch in early 2023, and the lower-cost plan could draw in some of the subscribers that have abandoned Netflix because of the rising costs.

Apple has informed suppliers that it's now expecting the iPhone 14 lineup to sell better than it originally thought, increasing the number of devices it will produce and ship to 95 million rather than 90 million, according to the Taiwan Economic Times.

According to the report, Apple told suppliers to increase the number of iPhones it will produce and ship to 95 million units, an increase of 5% compared to the company's prior expectations. Citing research, the report says the highest-end ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max will be the most abundant.

Apple reportedly repeated a similar sentiment to suppliers last month, saying the ‌iPhone‌ 14 is likely to do better than the ‌iPhone‌ 13 series.

Mass production of the ‌iPhone‌ 14 is expected to begin this month as suppliers have been ramping up component shipments in the last several weeks. The ‌iPhone‌ 14 series will consist of two 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch models, including the ‌iPhone‌ 14, the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Max, the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro, and the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max.

On the higher-end models of the upcoming ‌iPhone‌ lineup, users can expect several notable changes, including bolstered camera capabilities with a new 48MP lens, a new pill-shaped and hole-punch notch replacement, faster performance with the A16 chip, and more.

Apple plans to ship approximately 1.5 million units of its upcoming AR/VR headset in 2023, according to reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a research note, Kuo reiterated that Apple plans to announce its long-rumored mixed-reality headset during an event in January 2023. The company's first AR/VR headset is expected to cost upwards of $2,000, making it a niche product. As a result, Kuo says shipments of the device are unlikely to exceed 1.5 million units in 2023.

In May, Apple presented its AR/VR headset to Apple board members, indicating that the device is nearing its final stages before launch. Despite having worked on the headset for several years, recent problems during development related to overheating and performance have delayed the launch of the product.

The headset is expected to be powered by a chip with on-par performance as the M1 Pro in the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro.

The headset will feature more than a dozen cameras for tracking hand movements, two ultra-high-resolution 8K displays and advanced eye-tracking technology. Renders shared by The Information last year offered us a look at the potential design of the headset.

Apple is already reportedly working on the second-generation version of its AR/VR headset. According to Kuo, the new model of the headset will launch in the first half of 2025, alongside a cheaper and more affordable model.

A new rumor claims that the next-generation 12.9-inch and 11-inch iPad Pro will feature two new four-pin connectors of some sort, distinguished from the current three-pin Smart Connector in the iPad Pro.

The rumor from Mac Otakara, citing "reliable sources," says that the next iPad Pro, expected to debut possibly as soon as this fall, will feature a new connector on the top and bottom edges of the device that has four pins rather than three. The publication suggests that the new connector could be intended to power accessories connected to the device's Thunderbolt port.

Apple is working on updated versions of both the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro that are expected to launch in September or October. It has been recently reported that Apple plans to delay the launch of iPadOS 16 until October, which could coincide with the launch of new iPads. The 2022 iPad Pro will feature the M2 Apple silicon chip and MagSafe charging capabilities. You can learn more about the 2022 iPad Pro with our dedicated guide.

Apple is reportedly considering an update to the HomePod mini as it plans a larger push into the Home devices market, which includes releasing an updated version of the full-sized HomePod in the early months of 2023, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman reports that Apple is considering updating the ‌HomePod mini‌, which was announced in October 2020. Gurman doesn't shed any details on what a possible update could include but states it's unlikely to be anything "super-impressive."

As has been previously reported, Apple is planning to resurrect the original full-sized ‌HomePod‌ after discontinuing it in March 2021. The updated version of the ‌HomePod‌ is rumored to feature an updated S8 processor and possibly a new multi-touch display on top.

Gurman says the new full-sized ‌HomePod‌ is on track for a launch in early 2023, lining up with a timeline set forth by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Other than an updated ‌HomePod mini‌ and a new full-sized ‌HomePod‌, Gurman has previously reported that Apple is working on several new products for the Home. The most ambitious project under development is reportedly a ‌HomePod‌ product that combines a speaker, Apple TV functions, and a FaceTime camera into one device.

Additionally, Apple is working on a device focused on use in the kitchen that combines an iPad and a speaker connected to a robotic arm. Gurman expects at least one of these two Home products to launch towards the end of 2023 or in early 2024.

Apple has "started to record" its virtual September event, where it's expected to announce the upcoming iPhone 14 lineup, the Apple Watch Series 8, and a new "rugged" Apple Watch model, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says the event, which is expected to take place in the early part of September, is already under production, implying that Apple is planning another virtual, pre-recorded event.

Some may have hoped that Apple would resume full in-person events for its headlining ‌iPhone‌ launch this year, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Apple held a mostly digital WWDC event in June but had a limited in-person crowd at Apple Park to watch the pre-recorded keynote and have hands-on time with new products.

Gurman says that Apple may plan to hold two events this fall, similar to the last several years. The September event will focus on the new ‌iPhone‌ and Apple Watch, while the second event in October will be Mac and iPad-focused.

Apple has a long list of products it's aiming to launch this fall, so it's not surprising we could see two events in the coming months. Alongside the new iPhones and Apple Watch, Apple is also planning to announce a new iPad Pro, the second-generation AirPods Pro, and more.

The big Apple news this week was word that the upcoming iPadOS 16 update apparently won't be arriving alongside its counterpart update for the iPhone in September, largely due to a need to continue refining the new Stage Manager multitasking feature.

Other popular stories this week included more hints about the iPhone 14 Pro's rumored always-on display, potential design leaks for the next-generation entry-level iPad, speaker issues with the Apple Studio Display, and more, so read on for all the details on these stories and more!

Apple to Delay iPadOS 16 Launch Until October

Apple plans to delay the release of iPadOS 16 until October, instead of releasing the update in the usual timeframe of September, according to a report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

iOS 16 and watchOS 9 are still expected to be released in September, with iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura to follow in October.

Gurman said delaying the release of iPadOS 16 will allow Apple to dedicate more engineering resources towards finishing iOS 16 development, and provide Apple with more time to refine iPadOS 16's new Stage Manager multitasking feature, which has received some criticism.

Hints of iPhone 14 Pro Always-On Display May Be in Xcode 14

Rumors suggest that the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro models will feature an always-on display, similar to the Apple Watch, and hints of what that always-on display might look like are possibly hiding in plain sight in the latest beta of Apple's developer tool Xcode.

The always-on display would let users view the time and date, number of unread notifications, and iOS 16's new Lock screen widgets without having to tap to wake the screen.

Next Entry-Level iPad Rumored to Feature Flat Edges, Camera Bump, and More

Apple is expected to update its entry-level 10.2-inch iPad later this year, and newly leaked renders offer a look at what to expect from the device.

According to the renders, shared by MySmartPrice, the 10th-generation iPad could feature a design closer to that of the latest iPad mini, including flat edges and a protruding rear camera. The report also reiterated rumors of a larger display, USB-C port, 5G, and A14 chip.

Apple Acknowledges Studio Display Speaker Issues, Releases Software Update

In an internal memo to Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers, obtained by MacRumors, Apple has acknowledged that some customers may experience audio-related issues with the Studio Display's speakers, including sound unexpectedly and abruptly cutting out, audio playing at a high speed, distorted audio quality, and choppy playback.

Shortly after sending out the memo, Apple released a new Studio Display software update that appears to address the speaker issues.

Apple Adds Eight More Macs to Vintage Products List

Apple this week updated its vintage products list with eight more MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and iMac models released in 2015 and 2016.

Notably, the first MacBook Pro models with the Touch Bar are now classified as vintage. Apple first introduced the Touch Bar in October 2016 as part of a complete redesign of the MacBook Pro, but Apple has since dropped the feature on all models except the 13-inch MacBook Pro.

YouTubers Test macOS Ventura's Continuity Camera Feature With Belkin Mount

One of the new features coming with macOS Ventura and iOS 16 is Continuity Camera, which allows an iPhone to be used as a webcam for a Mac.

Belkin has designed a MagSafe-enabled Continuity Camera mount that allows an ‌iPhone‌ to be set up in an ideal spot on a Mac to be used as a webcam, and while the mount is not yet released, several YouTubers have been able to test it out to give us an idea of how it works.

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

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Although not a particularly busy week for Apple deals, we continued to track ongoing solid sales on a few Apple products, including the Apple TV 4K and 10.2-inch iPad. Additionally, if you're shopping for back to school, don't forget to visit our guide for the best back to school Apple accessory deals.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Apple TV 4K

• What's the deal? Take $59 off Apple TV 4K
• Where can I get it? Amazon
• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

The week kicked off with a solid deal on the 32GB Apple TV 4K, available for $119.99 on Amazon, down from $179.00. Later in the week, Amazon doubled down on the Apple TV 4K deals by introducing a sale on the 64GB model, on sale for $139.99, down from $199.00.

iPad

• What's the deal? Take up to $80 off iPad
• Where can I get it? Amazon
• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Mirroring the Apple TV 4K deals, in the beginning of the week we tracked a deal on the 64GB Wi-Fi iPad for $299.00 on Amazon, down from $329.00. Then, later in the week Amazon decided to introduce an all-time low price on the 256GB Wi-Fi model as well, available for $399.00, down from $479.00.

AirPods Max

• What's the deal? Take $99 off AirPods Max
• Where can I get it? Amazon
• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

You can get three colors of the AirPods Max for $449.99 on Amazon, down from $549.00, and you won't see the deal price until you reach the checkout screen with these sales.

Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.

Last year in iOS 15, Apple added a feature that is designed to let you highlight and select written and typed text from photos, interacting with it as you would text in any other place in the operating system.

With iOS 16, available now, Apple has continued to improve Live Text, and it has some impressive new capabilities, which we've outlined below.

Live Text in Videos

Video support is the biggest new feature added to Live Text. Rather than just being able to select text in photos, you can now pause a video and interact with the text like you would in an image.

Text in any paused video frame can be copied and pasted or translated, plus it works with Look Up. Live Text works across the operating system in Photos, Camera, Safari, and other apps.

To copy text in a video, pause it on the frame that you want and then touch and hold on a word. You can grab the two blue markers to narrow or widen your selection, and then you can press and hold to get to options like translate and copy.

• How to Copy and Translate Text That Appears in Videos on Your iPhone

Quick Actions

Text that is in a photo or a video also supports quick actions, something that Apple added in iOS 15. In iOS 16, there are new quick actions that let you track flights, track packages, translate languages, and convert currencies right from a photo or video.

If you have a photo with a sign in a foreign language, for example, you might see the "Translate" quick action available. Or if there's a foreign currency, Apple will offer up the conversion quick action.

• How to Get a Currency Conversion Using Your iPhone's Camera

Translate Camera

Apple is using Live Text's functionality in the Translate app, adding a Camera button that opens up the device camera so you can get live translations in real time.

New Languages

Live Text now works with Japanese, Korean, and Ukrainian text in addition to English, Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.

Live Text Spotlight Search

Live Text capabilities that allow for text to be recognized in photos and videos can be used in Spotlight search in iOS 16, so you can do a Spotlight search to find specific text in an image or video.

Live Text Requirements

Using Live Text features requires an iPhone with an A12 Bionic or later. The ‌iPhone‌ XR, ‌iPhone‌ XS, and ‌iPhone‌ XS Max from 2018 are equipped with an A12 Bionic, so if you have one of these devices or newer you can take advantage of Live Text.

Guide Feedback

Have questions about Live Text in iOS 16, know of a feature we left out, or want to offer feedback on this guide? Send us an email here.

Apple has been working to expand its updated Apple Maps app to additional countries, and has started testing the revamped design in Israel, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia, according to Maps expert Justin O'Beirne.

It will be the sixteenth expansion of the updated ‌Apple Maps‌ design since the update first rolled out in September 2018. Apple in 2020 completed its U.S. rollout, and has since expanded to Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Singapore, the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, and more.

Apple will test the update for several weeks before the Maps app sees an official update for all users. Apple's "new" Maps design includes more detailed views of roads and foliage, faster and more accurate navigation, three-dimensional landmarks, better views of parks, buildings, airports, and shopping centers, and the Look Around feature.

The standard 41mm and 45mm models of the Apple Watch Series 8 will feature the same design as the Apple Watch Series 7, according to Twitter user @ShrimpApplePro, who was first to reveal that iPhone 14 Pro models would feature a new pill-and-hole display.

Titanium will not be an option for the standard Apple Watch Series 8 models either, according to @ShrimpApplePro, but Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that a new higher-end "extreme sports" version of the Apple Watch Series 8 will have a titanium case, so there would still be a titanium option within the overall Series 8 lineup. The "extreme" model is also expected to have a slightly larger display compared to standard Series 8 models.

@ShrimpApplePro said their source is not aware of any new sensors on the standard Apple Watch Series 8, which will supposedly enter mass production this month.

The leaker said color options for the standard Apple Watch Series 8 will include Midnight, Starlight, Silver, and (PRODUCT)RED for aluminum models and Silver and Graphite for stainless steel models. This would be fewer colors than offered for Series 7 models, which also came in finishes like Blue, Green, Space Black, and Gold.

Apple Watch Series 8 models are expected to be announced in September alongside the iPhone 14 series. watchOS 9 should be released in September as well.

Apple has announced a new offer that gives Apple Card customers three months of Apple TV+ for free, in part to celebrate the premiere of the new animated film "Luck" on the streaming platform.

The offer, which runs until October 31, will give ‌new and existing ‌Apple TV‌+ subscribers who are ‌Apple Card‌‌ customers a free three-month subscription to the service. Alongside access to the new animated show "Luck," users will have access to the ever-growing catalog of ‌Apple TV‌+ shows and movies, including Ted Lasso, The Morning Show, Servant, and more. Apple One subscribers who are also ‌Apple Card‌ customers are not eligible for the offer.

Following last week's introduction of a rare deal on the blue HomePod mini, B&H Photo now has the yellow color also on sale for $89.99, down from $99.00. As of now, only blue and yellow are being discounted and only B&H Photo has the discount, with free expedited shipping available for both options.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

This still isn't an all-time low price on the HomePod mini, but it remains the only major markdown that we've seen on the speaker this year. The last major discount was during the 2021 holiday season, and since then deals have been nearly nonexistent. If you're interested in either the blue or yellow version of the HomePod mini, be sure to visit B&H Photo before the sale ends.

Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

YouTube is testing the ability for users to zoom into videos on iOS as part of its suite of features offered to premium subscribers.

The "Pinch to zoom" feature is available as an experimenatal feature to YouTube Premium subscribers, and as it sounds, lets viewers zoom up to 8x into a video as they're watching it. The feature will be available until September 1 and may become a permanent fixture of the YouTube Premium package somewhere down the line.

YouTube has been rolling out picture-in-picture to all users in the U.S. and premium subscribers globally over the last several weeks.

Amazon has knocked the 256GB Wi-Fi iPad down to $399.00 today, from an original price of $479.00. This is a new all-time low price on the tablet, and it beats the previous record low by about $30.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Only silver is available at this price, and as of writing there is a slight shipping delay of five days. You can still lock in the sale right now ahead of the delivery estimate, which is around August 8-10 for most United States residents.

You can also get the 64GB Wi-Fi iPad for $299.00 right now on Amazon, down from $329.00, which is another all-time low price. For even more iPad deals, head to our full Best Deals guide for iPad. In that guide we track the best discounts online for iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro.

Apple has removed an app that it was unknowingly hosting on the App Store that scammed Facebook advertisers and led hackers to use advertisers' ad budgets to run possibly malicious ads on Facebook's platforms, Business Insider reports.

The app previously ranked highly on the ‌App Store‌ when searching for "Facebook ads manager," the app used by advertisers to control their presence and ads they're running on the Facebook platform. The app presented itself as the legitimate ads manager for Facebook but was actually a backdoor that let hackers gain access to an account. One employee of an ad agency told Insider they were locked out of their account within just 10 minutes of downloading and logging into the app from Apple's ‌App Store‌.

Apple said that the app was originally submitted to the ‌App Store‌ as a simple document manager with no ties or functionality to the Facebook platform. Apple claimed in a statement to Insider that the app turned malicious after it was approved for the company's platform. Facebook flagged the app to Apple in mid-July, but only after Insider's request for comment to the Cupertino tech giant was the app removed from the platform.

Apple proudly states that the ‌App Store‌ is "a safe and trusted place to discover and download apps," with apps being held to the "highest standards for privacy, security, and content." Apple screens all apps before they're presented for download on the ‌App Store‌. According to the company, over 250,000 apps were rejected for the ‌App Store‌ last year for violating privacy guidelines, with an even larger 1 million apps rejected for possibly harmful and unsafe content.

Despite Apple's efforts, scam apps have remained a problem for the platform. A study last year found that 2% of the top 1000 top paid apps on the ‌App Store‌ at the time were scam apps, with those apps reportedly earning over $1 million in revenue. In a separate instance, a fake bitcoin app scammed its way to gain over $610,000 after being on Apple's platform.

Apple supplier Pegatron has denied media reports claiming shipments to and from its factories in China were being held for scrutiny by Chinese customs officials, following a Pegatron executive's meeting with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (via DigiTimes).

In a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange, the company indicated that iPhone production at its China-based sites is continuing as normal and shipments have not been affected.

The reports appeared after Pegatron vice chairman Jason Cheng met with Pelosi on Wednesday at a lunch hosted by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. TSMC founder Morris Chang and chairman Mark Liu were also reportedly among the guests.

Pelosi's visit to Taiwan has angered the Chinese government, which sees the island as a breakaway province that will eventually be part of the country, despite many Taiwanese people considering their self-ruled island to be a separate nation.

In response to the visit, China is currently conducting live-fire military drills in and around the Taiwan strait, with some aircraft and naval vessels reported to have crossed the median line, an unofficial but once largely adhered-to border that separates Taiwan and China. Chinese media on Friday reported that its missiles flew over Taiwan during its latest drills.

Pegatron is the second largest Taiwanese contract electronics manufacturer and ‌iPhone‌ assembler behind Foxconn, while TSMC is the sole supplier of Apple's custom silicon chips and the world's most valuable semiconductor company. All three firms operate plants in China.

Apple has been trying to diversify its supply chain outside of China to reduce its reliance on the country and mitigate the impact of geopolitical unrest, with Vietnam, and more recently India, emerging as important locations for supply chain expansion and investment.

Update: Nikkei reports that Apple on Friday asked suppliers to ensure that shipments from Taiwan to China strictly comply with Chinese customs regulations, which state that Taiwanese-made parts and components must be labeled as being made either in "Taiwan, China" or "Chinese Taipei," language that indicates the island is part of China.

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.

You've probably experienced visiting a website like Reddit or LinkedIn on your iPhone only to be greeted with an annoying, almost full-screen pop-up urging you to view the content in their app instead of on the website.

It's a common practice for websites that have accompanying iOS apps to push users to open (if they already have the app installed) or download their app from the App Store to view the content they're trying to view. It can be very annoying for end-users, though, as these pop-ups are usually rather intrusive to the actual content, creating a subpar experience.

Thankfully, there is a new way to block these pop-ups within Safari on ‌iPhone‌ and iPad. Developer Alex Zamoshchin has created a new Safari extension called "Banish" (via Daring Fireball) that can run on iOS and iPadOS and is designed to specifically get rid of those pop-ups. The app, which costs $2, helps eliminate a majority of those pop-ups in popular web versions of apps, but it doesn’t get rid of similar banners that show up at the top of Safari to recommend opening the current page in an installed app.

The banner at the top of Safari is built into Safari and WebKit itself, so to get rid of those, you'll have to uninstall the respective app from your device. Banish, instead, gets rid of pop-ups implemented in the websites themselves.

To use Banish, download it from the App Store and follow the on-screen instructions to give the app the needed permission within Settings, Safari, and Extensions. You can learn more about Banish here.