Posts tagged with "iPhone"

Assassin’s Creed Mirage Is Coming to iPhones and iPads on June 6th

At last fall’s iPhone event, Apple and Ubisoft announced that Assassin’s Creed Mirage would be coming to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Today, Ubisoft confirmed with a press release that the game is coming on June 6th, just before WWDC. In addition to the iPhone, the game is coming to iPad Air and iPad Pro models with an M1 chip and later, which includes the 5th generation iPad Pros released in the spring of 2021 and later, as well as the current iPad Air.

According to Ubisoft’s website:

Developed by Ubisoft Sofia, these ports offer an intuitive, comfortable and engaging gaming experience with optimized touch controls and controller support. Cross-save and cross-ownership will also be available for players to enjoy the game between iPhone and iPad as they please.

The game will also be a Universal Purchase that will work across the iPhone and iPad and will be free to download and play for 90 minutes. The full version of Mirage will unlockable for $49.99. If you’re interested in pre-ordering Assassin’s Creed Mirage, you can do so now on the App Store.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage launched on consoles and PCs last fall to favorable reviews. I’m looking forward to giving it a try on the iPhone and iPad, but I’m a little disappointed that it’s not also launching on the Mac.

Apple Announces Expansion of Support for Used iPhone Parts in Repairs

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Today, Apple announced that it is extending its repair program to make it easier for repair shops to work with used parts while also limiting the use of lost or stolen devices.

A complaint leveled at Apple by right to repair advocates is that its use of parts pairing limits the use of used parts by repair shops. With its announcement today, Apple says that it has developed a system that satisfies customer privacy, security, and safety while broadening the use of used parts:

The process of confirming whether or not a repair part is genuine and gathering information about the part — often referred to as “pairing” — is critical to preserving the privacy, security, and safety of iPhone. Apple teams have been hard at work over the last two years to enable the reuse of parts such as biometric sensors used for Face ID or Touch ID, and beginning this fall, calibration for genuine Apple parts, new or used, will happen on device after the part is installed. In addition, future iPhone releases will have support for used biometric sensors. And in order to simplify the repair process, customers and service providers will no longer need to provide a device’s serial number when ordering parts from the Self Service Repair Store for repairs not involving replacement of the logic board.

The iPhone’s Activation Lock and Lost Mode are being extended to used parts as a deterrent to thieves pulling apart iPhones for their parts. If a lost or stolen part is detected, Apple says its calibration capabilities will be restricted. Also, Apple says it will expand the Parts and Service History section of its Settings app to include information about whether parts used in an iPhone are new or used.

AppStories, Episode 377 – Why the DOJ Claims Apple Is a Monopoly

This week on AppStories, we explain what’s going on with the US Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Apple that claims the iPhone-maker is monopolizing the smartphone market.

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The US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Complaint Against Apple

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On AppStories+, I explain the research and writing workflow I developed for big projects like covering the DOJ’s lawsuit against Apple.

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A MacStories Setups Update→

Last November, we created the MacStories Setups page. It’s a collection of the gear, apps, and services that Federico and I use for work and play. We knew when we created the page that it would change regularly, and it has. Today, we’re introducing our third update in four months, which collects changes related to Federico’s MacPad setup and some smaller adjustments that we’ve both made recently.

The MacPad additions to Federico’s setup include:

However, Federico isn’t living a MacPad-only lifestyle. He uses the Vision Pro daily and has added it along with the following accessories to his setup:

Other additions include:

Our app lineups change constantly, too, and most recently, Federico has added:

As for me, since my big desk setup upgrade, I’ve made a handful of changes to my desk and gaming setups, along with other adjustments.

The Logitech Casa Pop Up Desk.

The Logitech Casa Pop Up Desk.

With summer around the corner, I’ve been refining my portable setup. The Logitech Casa Pop Up Desk that I reviewed recently is perfect for an afternoon at a coffee shop or sitting out on my balcony. I’ve enjoyed the Boox Tab Ultra so much that I added a Boox Palma for ultra-portable e-ink reading on-the-go.

The articles I save to read on the Palma and elsewhere are currently split between GoodLinks and Readwise Reader. I’ve also swapped out NaturalReader for Speechify for text-to-speech workflows, but I’m not completely satisfied with any read-aloud solution I’ve tried yet.

I’m also slowly refining my gaming setup. The ASUS ZenWiFi Pro Wi-Fi 6E mesh router system is a big step up from the Linksys Atlas routers I was using before in terms of both coverage and speed. I’m still floored by the bandwidth I get with my iPhone 15 Pro Max and Ayn Odin 2 Pro. I also picked up a Miyoo Mini+ retro gaming handheld because I’m traveling soon and wanted an ultra-portable handheld to take with me. Also, to track what I’m playing, I’ve been using GameTrack, which I recently reviewed.

Both of us have added a handful of other apps and gear, too, so be sure to browse through the Setups page to find the complete listing of our current setups.

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Understanding the DOJ’s Antitrust Complaint Against Apple

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice, 15 states, and the District of Columbia sued Apple for alleged federal and state antitrust violations. Apple issued an immediate response, and before anyone had time to read the DOJ’s 88-page complaint, the Internet was overrun with hot takes.

However, the thing about lawsuits – and especially big, sprawling, high-stakes ones like the DOJ’s – is that they’re the proverbial tortoise to the Internet’s hare. Barring a settlement among the parties, the case against Apple isn’t likely to go to trial anytime soon. Add to that appeals, and this process is going to take years, not months.

So, since we have plenty of time, I thought I’d kick off our coverage at MacStories with a look at the DOJ’s complaint and its legal underpinnings, along with some observations on what’s going on and what you can expect to happen next.

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Emulation on iPhone→

Last year I wrote an about retro gaming on iOS. I’ve had a lot of fun playing games on the platform, especially through emulation. Much of what I wrote last year is still applicable today, but I thought I’d revisit the topic with a focus on the state of emulation on iOS and all of the software and accessories you’ll need to get started.

Excellent overview by Mike Rockwell on the different options iPhone users have for running emulators on iOS. I can also recommend the G8 controller, which, as Club members know, I even modded to fit an iPad Pro.

See also: Wulff Den’s video on using the iPhone as a gaming handheld, and Riley Testut’s announcement that AltStore’s MarketplaceKit entitlement has been accepted by Apple in Europe.

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Apple Releases New Spring Colors for iPhone Cases and Watch Bands

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

As has become a tradition, Apple released new colors of some of its cases and Apple Watch bands today. The new Silicone Case colors are Soft Mint, Sunshine, Light Blue, and Pink and come in all iPhone 15 model sizes. No new colors are available for the FineWoven cases.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Apple also released 23 new bands. There are bands that match the new iPhone 15 case colors, as well as a dozen new Hermès bands. There are no new Apple Watch Ultra bands, the selection of which is still limited to a woefully inadequate selection of three styles and nine choices.

Tucked Away Nearby: A Refinement of my Desk Setup

When Federico and I published our setups last November, I was happy with mine, but there was still something that bothered me. Every day, I wound up with too much stuff strewn across my desk. At the same time, some of the things I use most days felt annoyingly out of reach. These weren’t monumental annoyances, but they were daily distractions that led me to leave things on my desk for long stretches of time where they were in the way. So, I started thinking about ways to improve my setup again.

What I realized is that I had nowhere to put any of the little things I use each day, so they’d end up all over my desk, which then snowballed into a bigger mess. The solution was to bring those little things closer but create places for them that are out of the way. At the same time, I made a greater effort to tuck cables and wires out of the way where I can’t see them, which has also helped cut down on clutter.

The centerpiece of this revised setup is a Balolo Setup Cockpit. There are a lot of companies that make desk shelves, but they never appealed to me because I’ve always been able to adjust my Studio Display to a comfortable height without one. I could tuck things under the shelf, but I needed more than that.

What I like about the Balolo shelf is that it has a system of attachment points on the underside of the shelf for adding accessories that have allowed me to get more off my desk and out of the way. It’s turned out to be the perfect floating, modular extension of my old setup that makes a long list of small adjustments that add up to a big difference overall.

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Bezel: The Best Way to Screen Capture Your iPhone From a Mac

I have recently been working on a personal web project that involves a lot of testing on my iPhone. While I would usually just have my iPhone to the side on my desk to test my changes in real-time and take screenshots, I was looking for a solution to mirror my iPhone’s screen directly on my Mac’s desktop. This is where I stumbled upon Bezel.

Bezel is a fantastic utility from Nonstrict that allows you to start capturing your iPhone immediately after connecting it to your Mac. The app is both simple and extremely convenient.

To start using Bezel, all you need to do is allow the app to start at login. Then, plug in your iPhone when you want to start mirroring your screen. That’s it. Bezel will automatically display your iPhone on your desktop. Similar to Federico’s Apple Frames shortcut, the app will frame your iPhone’s display with a bezel that matches your iPhone model.

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