Latest news with #Cupertino
Stuff.tv
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Stuff.tv
What I think the Apple Games app needs to work – and why it won't
The rumour mill is frothing about a dedicated Apple games app. Which, given Cupertino's dearth of app-naming imagination, will presumably be called Apple Games. After hastily rebuilding an office wall I blew down due to sighing so heavily on hearing this news, I figured I should at least consider how Apple could make this work. And why it won't. Because Apple. Clearly, Apple Games would be intended as a statement, to convince gamers, developers and even Apple itself that the company is a market leader in this space and serious about games. Despite years of evidence to the contrary. It would also be a combination of launcher, games discovery engine, friends hub and leaderboards. Which sounds a lot like Game Centre, a once standalone app Apple forgot about and left broken for six months, before taping it back together and burying it so deep inside its operating systems that it now only appears when you sacrifice a ZX Spectrum on the night of a blood moon. But, hey, Apple rakes in huge sums of cash from App Store games and services like Apple Arcade. So if Apple wants to make Apple Games work, here's the minimum that it needs to do. 1. Nail the basics Achievements. Leaderboards. Social features. These aren't bold innovations in gaming. They're the bare minimum. If Apple execs rock up on stage and even remotely infer Apple invented any of these things, we should riot. 2. Highlight controller support It's 2025. If a fancy new Apple Games app can't say whether Lara Croft: Guardian of Light will work with my Gamesir G8 or Backbone, it's already failed. Just like the App Store, which will, bizarrely, instead denote the game's position on the UK App Store Action chart, as if I or anyone else cares. Great until you stick your iPhone in one and realise the Home Screen is still in portrait orientation. 3. Add landscape support Any iPhone in a controller means landscape orientation. That grinds against Apple's portrait-mode iPhone app obsession, but I don't want to crane my neck 90 degrees to launch a game, like I currently have to when using the iOS Home Screen. 4. Embrace openness (LOL) Someone may have to break it to Apple execs that Apple Arcade isn't all of gaming. Gamers should be able to pin and rapidly access third-party games – and ideally even tap into Steam, Xbox Cloud Gaming and Antstream Arcade. Otherwise Apple Games will be little more than an Apple Arcade app wearing comedy spectacles and a fake moustache. 5. Recommend good games Apple editorial too often highlights IAP nightmares over legitimately good games, for some reason. No, hang on, for this reason: money. But gamers hate all that even more than 20-minute unskippable cutscenes. So: surface genuinely and objectively great games. Get smart game journos to help if need be. Easy. 6. Not get bored after 11 seconds The big one. Apple has a bad track record with its own apps. Many launch in a blaze of glory, only to be caked in cobwebs a year later. If that's Apple Games (as it was for Game Centre) , I'd sooner Apple would permanently leave its gaming ambitions in another castle. Why Apple Games will fail Even if Apple ticks a few boxes, it probably won't tick enough. Because there's no sense of gaming spirit, drive and commitment at Apple's highest levels. Games are seen as cash generators, not culture. They're benchmarking tools, rather than experiences – a way to show off the power of a new iPhone or Mac before quietly forgetting games exist for another year. I'd love to be wrong. But when I yet again hear Apple is getting excited about games, I get a pang of hope that's instantly, mercilessly crushed under a 20-tonne weight of reality and history. So I want Apple Games to thrive and for this to be the year Apple finally cracks gaming. But I think there's more chance that 2025 will be the year of Linux on the desktop.
Phone Arena
a day ago
- Business
- Phone Arena
At 24% off, the Apple Watch SE 2 helps you complete your ecosystem without breaking the bank
Looking for an Apple Watch that won't break the bank? Well, say "Thank you, Lady Luck," as this deal on the Apple Watch SE 2 is exactly what you're looking for. Amazon is currently offering a sweet $60 discount on the 40mm GPS version of this bad boy, letting you snag one for just south of $190. Granted, the markdown isn't as glamorous as the $80 price cut the timepiece received a few weeks ago. Nonetheless, it's still a top choice for buyers who want to enjoy the full watchOS experience and complete their Apple ecosystem without spending a fortune. $60 off (24%) The 40mm Apple Watch SE 2 is now $60 off on Amazon, knocking 24% off the price. It covers all the essentials without the premium cost, making it a smart pick for budget-minded shoppers. Don't wait—save while you can! Buy at Amazon Of course, Cupertino had to cut some corners to keep the SE 2 budget-friendly. But while our friend here skips premium features like ECG, blood oxygen tracking, an always-on display, and temperature sensing, it still provides a reliable and well-rounded experience. It boasts all the essential stuff like heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and activity tracking, helping you stay on top of your health and also packs some key safety features, including Emergency SOS, Fall Detection, and Crash Detection. And with watchOS, it gives you access to the App Store, where you can find various apps to enhance your experience. As for battery life, it should get you through the day, but like most Apple Watches, you'll need to recharge it overnight. All in all, the Apple Watch SE 2 offers incredible value at its current price on Amazon. So, don't waste any more time—tap the offer button at the beginning of this article and grab this budget-friendly smartwatch at a lower price now while the offer lasts!
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
There's No Apple iOS 19: iPhone 17 To Have iOS 26 In Radical Change, Report Claims
Updated May 30 with more details of the new OS coming to the iPhone, Mac and beyond, and what it means for naming of hardware. Apple is about to radically overhaul its iPhone and other software this year, and it looks like that will even mean make massive changes to the way it names its operating systems, according to a new report. So, the software predicted to be called iOS 19 will actually be iOS 26. Here's what it means — and how it will affect other products in the Apple ecosystem, too, as Bloomberg has just commented. More on that below. On June 9, Apple is set to hold this year's World Wide Developers Conference in Cupertino, California. As part of what's predicted to be the most sweeping software overhaul in more than a decade, Apple will change its naming system out of all recognition. This could have repercussions for the hardware Apple releases, too. Instead of iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16, tvOS 19 and visionOS 2, Apple will standardize the numbers so they all refer to a year, specifically next year, rather like the way automobiles are named for the upcoming year. This is all according to a new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who claims the change is 'to bring consistency to its branding.' In a way, it's been brewing for a while, for example with tvOS and iPadOS already having the same number as iOS, even when the number of updates has been widely different. 'The next Apple operating systems will be identified by year, rather than with a version number, according to people with knowledge of the matter. That means the current iOS 18 will give way to 'iOS 26,' said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plan is still private. Other updates will be known as iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26 and visionOS 26,' Gurman claims. There's a logic to this when some operating systems use one number, while others have completely different ones. If cohesion is the goal, this makes sense. Samsung changed the names of its Galaxy S phones to match the year of release back in 2020 with the Galaxy S20. Since the Galaxy S series is announced early in the year, often as soon as January, it understandably matches the number to the current year. And Apple has done something similar in the past when it had software products like iLife and iWork. The August 2007 releases were called iLife 08 and iWork 08, with iLife 11 going on sale in October 2020, as Gurman points out. But wait, I hear you ask, what about the naming of the macOS version? Since OSX, as it was then called, Apple enjoyed naming Mac software after big cats, and then parts of California. In fact, WWDC always had a comical highlight when exec Craig Federighi lightly teased his colleagues in marketing for how they came up with the new name. Well, the new system doesn't preclude a suffix being added, so it could be macOS 26 Miramar, or whatever. But it doesn't seem likely. WWDC won't be the same. What I don't think will happen is that the iPhone names will follow suit. To introduce iPhone 26 instead of iPhone 17 seems far-fetched, especially because the iPhone 16, which will certainly remain in the range, would sound suddenly terribly old-fashioned. But we'll see. The first reveal is less than two weeks away in the WWDC keynote on Monday, June 9. Mark Gurman has also weighed in on the naming of the iPhone. 'It's a good question for SEO, but I would be surprised if Apple moved to the 'iPhone 26' this year,' he commented on X. I agree, though I note in passing that Apple surprised everyone back in 2011 when instead of releasing the iPhone 5, we saw the iPhone 4s. Every editor relying on SEO that I knew at the time went into a hot panic. One other thing: there's a benefit to this new software naming system if you're me, and you keep forgetting that watchOS and Apple Watch releases are just one number out of sync. Apple Watch Series 10 launched alongside watchOS 11. I have confused the numbering on either the hardware or the software more times than I care to remember.
Phone Arena
a day ago
- Business
- Phone Arena
macOS 26 leak: Apple's next update could spell the end for these Macs
MacOS 26, yep, 26, not macOS 16, is likely going to be the next macOS version that Apple will release in the fall. The new OS is rumored to drop support for some older Intel-based Mac models that are currently supporting macOS Sequoia. The report comes from uncited sources familiar with the matter, who spoke with AppleInsider. These sources claim that the following Macs and MacBooks will not be supported for the new macOS version this fall: MacBook Pro (2018) iMac (2019) iMac Pro (2017) Mac mini (2018) MacBook Air (2020, Intel-based) These models are the oldest models of Macs that were supported by Apple's current macOS, macOS Sequoia. The fact that those models are said to have been omitted during the development of the new operating system indicates that they may not be in the supported list when macOS 26 drops. If this is true, it would mean that for a second consecutive year, Apple is narrowing support for Macs running on Intel processors. The Cupertino tech giant is also delivering the full feature set primarily to Apple devices powered by its own, homegrown Apple Silicon. If this rumor is true, here are the models that would support macOS 26: MacBook Pro (2019 and later) iMac (2020 and later) Mac Pro (2019 and later) Mac mini (M1 and later) Mac Studio (all models) MacBook Air (M1 and later) Reportedly, macOS 26's first developer beta may exceed 17GB in size. This is more or less 2GB larger than the first beta of macOS Sequoia. Rumors indicate the new operating system will be heavily inspired by visionOS's design language. So, expect translucent materials and rounded window elements. This would be the most significant visual update to macOS in years if this turns out to be true. Meanwhile, the naming scheme is worth a comment. Rumors say Cupertino will be shifting the naming system for its software platforms to match the year. The change is also said to happen for iOS (iOS 26) and all other Apple OSes. Apple's WWDC 2025 is coming soon, starting on June 9 with a keynote. During this conference, Apple will reveal macOS 26 as well as iOS 26 and other software. The first developer beta of the new macOS is said to be released immediately after the keynote ends, while the stable, public version will be released sometime in the fall.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Forget iOS 19: Apple To Launch iPhone 17 With Radical Software Change, Report Says
Updated May 29 with more details of the new OS coming to the iPhone, Mac and beyond. Apple is about to radically overhaul the way its iPhone and other software this year, and it looks like the naming will also be massively changed, according to a new report. It'll mean that the software expected to have been called iOS 19 will actually be named iOS 26. Here's what it means — and how it will affect other products in the Apple ecosystem, too. The next iPhones could have software with a very different name. On June 9, Apple holds this year's World Wide Developers Conference in Cupertino, California. As part of what's predicted to be the most sweeping software overhaul in more than a decade, Apple will change its naming system out of all recognition. Instead of iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16, tvOS 19 and visionOS 2, Apple will standardize the numbers so they all refer to a year, specifically next year, rather like the way automobiles are named for the upcoming year. This is all according to a new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who claims that the change is 'to bring consistency to its branding.' In a way, it's been brewing for a while, for example with tvOS and iPadOS already having the same number as iOS, even when the number of updates has been widely different. 'The next Apple operating systems will be identified by year, rather than with a version number, according to people with knowledge of the matter. That means the current iOS 18 will give way to 'iOS 26,' said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plan is still private. Other updates will be known as iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26 and visionOS 26,' Gurman claims. There's a logic to this when some operating systems use one number, while others have completely different ones. If cohesion is the goal, this makes sense. Samsung changed the names of its Galaxy S phones to match the year of release back in 2020 with the Galaxy S20. Since the Galaxy S series is announced early in the year, often as soon as January, it understandably matches the number to the current year. And Apple has done something similar in the past when it had software products like iLife and iWork. The August 2007 releases were called iLife 08 and iWork 08, with iLife 11 going on sale in October 2020, as Gurman points wait, I hear you ask, what about the naming of the macOS version? Since OSX, as it was then called, Apple enjoyed naming Mac software after big cats, and then parts of California. In fact, WWDC always had a comical highlight when exec Craig Federighi lightly teased his colleagues in marketing for how they came up with the new name. Well, the new system doesn't preclude a suffix being added, so it could be macOS 26 Miramar, or whatever. But it doesn't seem likely. WWDC won't be the same. What I don't think will happen is that the iPhone names will follow suit. To introduce iPhone 26 instead of iPhone 17 seems far-fetched, especially because the iPhone 16 which will certainly remain in the range would sound suddenly terribly old-fashioned. But we'll see. The first reveal is less than two weeks away.
