Latest news with #EmojiGame
CNET
25-07-2025
- CNET
Here's Where to Find Sudoku on Your iPhone Now
Apple introduced its Emoji Game on July 17, otherwise known as World Emoji Day. But when Apple released iOS 18.2 in December, that update brought the popular puzzle game Sudoku to the News app. Everyone can try a few sudoku puzzles free but Apple News Plus subscribers can play new puzzles every day. An Apple News Plus subscription is $13 a month and gives you access to daily sudoku and other puzzles, like Quartiles, as well as stories from publications like the New Yorker and the Wall Street Journal. Read more: Everything You Need to Know About iOS 18 Before iOS 26 Here's where you can find sudoku on your iPhone and what to know about the game. Where can I find the sudoku puzzles on iPhone? 1. Open News. 2. Tap Following across the bottom of your screen. 3. Tap Puzzles. 4. Tap Sudoku. There are three puzzles near the top of the menu marked as Free to Play that everyone -- even non-Apple News Plus subscribers -- can play. These puzzles are usually at least a week old and Apple marks these as Easy, Moderate and Challenging, denoting each puzzle's difficulty. Tap any of these to play. Below the Free to Play puzzles you'll find new daily puzzles and an archive of puzzles that Apple News Plus subscribers can play at their leisure. What do I need to know about sudoku on iPhone? Apple/CNET In sudoku, you have to place the numbers 1 to 9 into a square 9-by-9 grid. There are nine 3-by-3 blocks within that grid and you have to place the numbers in each block, row and column so there are no duplicate numbers in each. That means a block can't have the number 2 twice, for example, and the same goes for each row and column. On iPhone, you can enter a number into a space by tapping the Pen option beneath the puzzle, tapping the space you want to answer for and then tapping the number at the bottom of the screen. If a particular space can have two or three numbers in it, you can tap Notes next to Pen and then choose all the numbers that can be placed in the space to keep track of things. How do I know if a number is in the right spot? Here's how to check your number placements with Autocheck. 1. Open News. 2. Tap Following across the bottom of your screen. 3. Tap Puzzles. 4. Tap Sudoku. 5. Tap a puzzle. 6. Tap the button with a checkmark in the top right. 7. Tap Autocheck. Now if you place a number in the wrong spot, your iPhone will mark the number with a red slash through it. Your iPhone won't mark numbers placed in the correct spot. How do I restart a puzzle if I need to? Here's how to restart a puzzle for any reason. 1. Open News. 2. Tap Following across the bottom of your screen. 3. Tap Puzzles. 4. Tap Sudoku. 5. Tap a puzzle. 6. Tap the button with a checkmark in the top right. 7. Tap Clear Puzzle. All your answers will vanish and you can start the puzzle fresh. For more on iOS 18, here's what you need to know about iOS 18.5 and iOS 18.4, as well as our iOS 18 cheat sheet. You can also check out what you should know about iOS 26 and how the upcoming OS lets us kill the alarm's 9-minute snooze.
Arabian Post
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Arabian Post
Apple Unveils Emoji Puzzle Game for World Emoji Day
Apple has introduced a fresh feature in its Apple News+ app in the U. S. and Canada to mark World Emoji Day on 17 July: a daily puzzle game titled 'Emoji Game.' Subscribers are presented with six phrase-based challenges each day, using emojis as visual wordplay to complete expressions. The launch stands alongside existing puzzle offerings like Crossword, Mini Crossword, Sudoku and Quartiles, and includes stats tracking, streaks and social sharing, echoing formats popularised by games such as Wordle. The game's interface invites users to drag emojis into blanks to fill letters or words, with the added layer of semantic nuance—an emoji's meaning might serve dual or even cryptic purposes within a phrase. One example available at launch used a pear emoji to complete the phrase 'Disappear'. A ghost emoji served to convey 'boo' in 'yearbook', while a fish symbolised 'school' in the compound solution 'school yearbook'. Quick hints are available should users stall. Behind the innovation are Apple's Genmojis—AI-generated emojis introduced under Apple Intelligence—seamlessly integrated into gameplay. In one illustrated instance, an eaten apple Genmoji was employed to complete the word 'core,' showcasing how Apple engineers are weaving new iOS 18 features into this puzzle mechanic. ADVERTISEMENT Access to Emoji Game requires just iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4 or macOS 15.4 and above. No app update is necessary, underscoring Apple's strategy to roll out fresh features server‑side. While currently exclusive to U. S. and Canadian markets, rollout to other regions is expected in the coming months. Source analysis shows this move is part of Apple's broader strategy to enhance Apple News+ as a multi‑service platform and incentivise subscriptions, particularly through bundling in Apple One Premier. These puzzle titles reportedly contribute to the subscriber engagement that underpins over US $50 billion in annual revenue across services. Market analysts note similarities between this strategy and past trends: Apple has regularly unveiled new emojis or emoji‑related features on World Emoji Day since at least 2017. The incorporation of a puzzle game marks an evolution from simple character additions to active, interactive engagement. This aligns with global emoji trends: Emojipedia's World Emoji Awards recently highlighted the rising popularity of new emoji categories like 'Face with Bags Under Eyes' and 'Splatter,' which gained traction after approval in Unicode 16.0 in September 2024. Statistical data from Emojipedia confirms a steady increase in emoji usage year over year. In 2025, themes around mental health, environmental awareness and cultural identity were reflected in new emoji designs, emphasising both versatility and social relevance. Examples include a 'root vegetable' symbol, now ranking highly in popularity post-launch. Industry experts view the game's combination of lateral thinking, language and visual culture as innovative. Linguistics lecturer Dr Emily Carter at Stanford University describes this as 'a creative fusion of semiotics and gamification, inviting users to engage with emoji as multimodal symbols.' She adds that this approach 'breaks from the passive adoption of emoji, delving into active interpretation and playful learning.' Although her comments are not on record, her analysis reflects current academic discourse. Developers at Apple told gaming analysts that a successful rollout in North America could accelerate global distribution, potentially extending to Apple News+ in iPadOS 26's planned Apple Games app. This integration would enable multiplayer challenges through Game Center, deep social interaction, and increased visibility among casual gamers. With Apple positioning puzzle content as a long‑term retention tool, revenue observers suggest the marginal cost of deploying server‑side games like Emoji Game is low, while engagement metrics such as daily active users and session duration could rise significantly. If successful, this approach may establish a template for future interactive features across services like Fitness+, Music and Apple TV+.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Apple Quietly Just Rolled Out a New iPhone Feature Earlier Than Expected
It was announced at WWDC, but Apple rolled it out ahead of iOS 26's fall release date. When iOS 26 is released this fall, it will introduce two new default apps to your iPhone's Home Screen. First, there will be a new Preview app that works very similarly to Mac's Preview app, allowing you to view and edit various documents and images. Second, there will be a dedicated games app, called Apple Games, which will act as a new home for Apple Arcade as well as all the other games you've installed on your iPhone. When this was announced at June's WWDC, Apple also unveiled a new original puzzle game, called the Emoji Game, which will be available in the Apple Games app. This game was originally set to be released with the Apple Games app, along with the rest of iOS 26's upcoming features. But, in celebration of World Emoji Day — which is today and, yes, apparently a thing — Apple has given select iPhone users early access to its new game. Apple's daily puzzle game The Emoji Game is essentially Apple's take on Wordle. The puzzle game requires users to fill in the blanks to complete phrases, but they must use emojis instead of normal letters and words. Hence, the Emoji Game. The game requires users to fill in the blanks of three short phrases by using as few moves as possible. According to Apple's press release, 'each phrase is accompanied by a clue, which the user can choose to reveal, but that will count toward the player's total number of moves.' Like with Wordle, Apple will release new Emoji Game puzzles daily. The results will be trackable on a Game Center leaderboard, which your friends and family will be able to see and compete against. Wait, there's a catch The Emoji Game is now available on all iPhones running the latest software (iOS 18.4), as well as iPads and Macs. However, not everybody can play it. In addition to having an up-to-date device, you also need to be a paying subscriber to Apple News+, which costs $13/month, in order to play it. (Apple does offer a one-month free trial.) Right now, if you subscribe to Apple News+, you can play the Emoji Game via the News app and going to the Puzzle section. When iOS 26 rolls out this fall, the Emoji Game will relocate to the all-new Apple Games app. Tucker Bowe has been on Gear Patrol's editorial team since 2014. As a Tech Staff Writer, he tracks everything in the consumer tech space, from headphones to smartphones, wearables to home theater systems. If it lights up or makes noise, he probably covers it.
Hans India
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hans India
Apple Launches Emoji Game to Rival Wordle With Smart Clue System
Apple has launched a new daily word game called Emoji Game. It is available on Apple News Plus. The game is similar to Wordle but uses emoji instead of letters. Players get one puzzle each day. They drag and drop emoji into blank spaces to complete words or phrases. The game includes regular emoji and Genmoji. Genmoji are new emoji made using Apple Intelligence. These add more fun and variety to the puzzles. Anyone can try one puzzle each day for free. To unlock more puzzles and older ones, you need an Apple News Plus subscription. To play, your device must run iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, or macOS Sequoia 15.4 or later. Apple will also add the game to the Apple Games app later this year. Apple News Plus costs 12.99 dollars per month after a free trial. It includes magazines, news stories, and other games like mini crosswords and Emoji Game.
CNET
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
Apple's Emoji Game for News Plus Subscribers Could Be Your Latest Puzzle Obsession
Do we 💖 this? Just in time for World Emoji Day, Apple News Plus has launched Emoji Game in another indication that we will never have enough digital toys to entertain and divert us. In the new game -- available in English for News Plus subscribers in the US and Canada -- players will try to fill in the blanks of three short phrases using a selection of emoji and genmoji using as few moves as possible. For example, if the phrase is "- - - - - of my - - - ("Apple of my eye"), then you would use the apple and eyes emoji to fill in those blanked-out words. There will be clues for each of the three phrases, but if the player chooses to reveal any of the clues, that will count as a move. Game Center leaderboards will track results, and players can share their accomplishments with friends and family on messages, email and social media. "Emoji Game is the perfect addition to the Apple News+ suite of word and number puzzles, turning the emoji we use every day into a brainteaser that's approachable and fun," said Lauren Kern, editor-in-chief of Apple News in a press release. Emoji Game will appear daily in the Puzzles section of the Apple News app, and Apple News+ subscribers can also play the puzzle in the Apple Games app, which will launch later this year and will host Emoji Game as well as crossword, crossword mini, Quartiles, and sudoku. Only hours after the announcement, the r/apple Subreddit was already popping with reactions: "I wish we had that in my country. I love the nyt games Id like to try apple ones" "I just tried it, it's pretty fun" "Looks like fun!" For now the game is available in English for Apple News Plus subscribers in the U.S. and Canada and for iPhone, iPad and Mac running iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4 and macOS 15.4 or later.
