iOS

the-backbone-one-would-be-an-ideal-game-controller—if-the-iphone-had-more-games

The Backbone One would be an ideal game controller—if the iPhone had more games

Apple, Backbone One, gaming, iOS, IPhone, Tech / /

It works well, but there still aren’t enough modern, console-style games.

The Backbone One attachable game controller for the iPhone.

In theory, it ought to be as good a time as ever to be a gamer on the iPhone.

Classic console emulators have rolled out to the platform for the first time, and they work great. There are strong libraries of non-skeezy mobile games on Apple Arcade and Netflix Games, streaming via Xbox and PlayStation services is continuing apace, and there are even a few AAA console games now running natively on the platform, like Assassin’s Creed and Resident Evil titles.

Some of those games need a traditional, dual-stick game controller to work well, though, and Apple bafflingly offers no first-party solution for this.

Yes, you can sync popular Bluetooth controllers from Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, and 8bitdo with your iPhone, but that’s not really the ideal answer—your iPhone isn’t a big TV sitting across the room or a computer monitor propped up on your desk.

A few companies have jumped in to solve this with attachable controllers that give the iPhone a Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck-like form factor (albeit a lot smaller). There’s a wide range of quality, though, and some of the ones you’ll see advertised aren’t very well made.

There’s some debate out there, but there’s one that just about anyone will at least put up for consideration: the Backbone One. That’s the one I picked for my new iPhone 16 Pro Max, which I have loaded with emulators and tons of games.

Since many folks are about to get iPhone 16s for the holidays and might be in the market for something similar, I figured it’d be a good time to write some quick impressions, including pros and cons. Is this thing worth a $99 price tag? What about its subscription-based app?

Switching from the Razer Kishi

Here’s some background, real quick: I previously owned an iPhone 13 Pro, and I played a lot of Diablo Immortal. I wanted to try the controller experience with that game, so I bought a first-generation Razer Kishi—which I liked for the most part. It had excellent thumbsticks that felt similar to those you’d find on an Xbox controller, if a little bit softer.

That said, its design involved a back that loosened up and flexed to fit different kinds of phones, but I found it annoying to take on or off because it immediately crumbled into a folding mess. The big issue that made me go with something else, though, was that the controller worked with a Lightning port, and my new iPhone traded that for USB-C. That’s a good change, overall, but it did mean I had to replace some things.

The Kishi I had is now discontinued, and it’s been replaced with the Kishi V2, which looks… less appealing to me. That’s because it ditches those Xbox-like sticks for ones more similar to what you see with a Nintendo Switch. There’s less range of motion and less stability.

The Razer Kishi V2 (top) and Razer Kishi V1 (bottom). I had the V1. Credit: Ars Technica

The Backbone One has similar drawbacks, but I was drawn to the Backbone as an alternative partly because I had enough complaints about the Kishi that I wanted to roll the dice on something new. I also wanted a change because there’s a version with PlayStation button symbols—and I planned to primarily play PS1 games in an emulator as well as stream PS5 games to the device instead of a PlayStation Portal.

Solid hardware

One of my big complaints about the first-generation Kishi (the folding and flimsy back) isn’t an issue with the Backbone One. It’s right there in the name: This accessory has a sturdy plastic backbone that keeps things nice and stable.

The PlayStation version I got has face buttons and a directional pad that seem like good miniature counterparts to the buttons on Sony’s DualSense controller. The triggers and sticks offer much shallower and less precise control than the DualSense, though—they closely resemble the triggers and sticks on the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons.

A Backbone One and a DualSense controller side-by-side

This version of the Backbone One adopts some styling from Sony’s DualSense PS5 controller. Credit: Samuel Axon

I feel that’s a big downside. It’s fine for some games, but if you’re playing any game built around quickly and accurately aiming in a 3D environment, you’ll feel the downgrade compared to a real controller.

The product feels quite sturdy to hold and use, and it doesn’t seem likely to break anytime soon. The only thing that bugs me on that front is that the placement of the USB-C port for connecting to the phone is in a place where it takes enough force to insert or remove it that I’m worried about wear and tear on the ports on either my phone or the controller. Time will tell on that front.

There’s an app, but…

The Backbone One is not just a hardware product, even though I think it’d be a perfectly good product without any kind of software or service component.

There is a Backbone app that closely resembles the PlayStation 5’s home screen interface (this is not just for the PlayStation version of the controller, to be clear). It offers a horizontally scrolling list of games from multiple sources like streaming services, mobile game subscription services, or just what’s installed on your device. It also includes voice chat, multiplayer lobbies, streaming to Twitch, and content like video highlights from games.

A screenshot showing a scrollable list of games

The Backbone One app collects games from different sources into one browsing interface. Credit: Samuel Axon

Unfortunately, all this requires a $40 annual subscription after a one-month trial. The good news is that you don’t have to pay for the Backbone One’s subscription service to use it as a controller with your games and emulators.

I don’t think anyone anywhere was asking for a subscription-based app for their mobile game controller. The fact that one is offered proves two things. First, it shows you just how niche this kind of product still is (and transitively, the current state of playing traditional, console-style games on iPhone) that the company that made it felt this was necessary to make a sufficient amount of money.

Second, it shows how much work Apple still needs to do to bake these features into the OS to make iOS/iPadOS a platform that is competitive with offerings from Sony, Microsoft, or even Nintendo in terms of appeal for core rather than casual gamers. That involves more than just porting a few AAA titles.

The state of iPhone gaming

The Backbone One is a nice piece of hardware, but many games you might be excited to play with it are better played elsewhere or with something else.

Hit games with controller support like Genshin Impact, Call of Duty Mobile, and Infinity Nikki all have excellent touch-based control schemes, making using a gamepad simply a matter of preference rather than a requirement.

While Apple is working with publishers like Capcom and Ubisoft to bring some hardcore console titles to the platform, that all still seems like just dipping toes in the water at this point, because they’re such a tiny slice of what’s on offer for PlayStation, Xbox, PC, or even Nintendo Switch players.

In theory, AAA game developers should be excited at the prospect of having iPhone players as a market—the install base of the iPhone absolutely dwarfs all home and handheld consoles combined. But they’re facing two barriers. The first is a chicken-and-egg problem: Only the most recent iPhones (iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 16 series) have supported those console AAA titles, and it will take a few years before most iPhone owners catch up.

A Backbone One attached to an iphone 16 Pro Max with the RetroArch main menu on its screen

Emulators like RetroArch (seen here running on an iPhone 16 Pro Max) are the main use case of the Backbone One. Credit: Samuel Axon

The second is that modern AAA games are immensely expensive to produce, and they (thankfully) don’t typically have robust enough in-game monetization paths to be distributed for free. That means that to profit and not cannibalize console and PC sales, publishers need to sell games for much higher up-front costs than mobile players are accustomed to.

So if mobile-first hardcore games are best played with touchscreens, and gamepad-first console games haven’t hit their stride on the platform yet, what’s the point of spending $100 on a Backbone One?

The answer is emulators, for both classic and homebrew games. For that, I’ve been pleased with the Backbone One. But if your goal is to play modern games, the time still hasn’t quite come.

Photo of Samuel Axon

Samuel Axon is a senior editor at Ars Technica. He covers Apple, software development, gaming, AI, entertainment, and mixed reality. He has been writing about gaming and technology for nearly two decades at Engadget, PC World, Mashable, Vice, Polygon, Wired, and others. He previously ran a marketing and PR agency in the gaming industry, led editorial for the TV network CBS, and worked on social media marketing strategy for Samsung Mobile at the creative agency SPCSHP. He also is an independent software and game developer for iOS, Windows, and other platforms, and he is a graduate of DePaul University, where he studied interactive media and software development.

The Backbone One would be an ideal game controller—if the iPhone had more games Read More »

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Apple botched the Apple Intelligence launch, but its long-term strategy is sound

AI, Apple, apple intelligence, generative ai, iOS, iOS 18.1, iOS 18.2, llm, Tech / /

I’ve spent a week with Apple Intelligence—here are the takeaways.

Apple Intelligence includes features like Clean Up, which lets you pick from glowing objects it has recognized to remove them from a photo. Credit: Samuel Axon

Ask a few random people about Apple Intelligence and you’ll probably get quite different responses.

One might be excited about the new features. Another could opine that no one asked for this and the company is throwing away its reputation with creatives and artists to chase a fad. Another still might tell you that regardless of the potential value, Apple is simply too late to the game to make a mark.

The release of Apple’s first Apple Intelligence-branded AI tools in iOS 18.1 last week makes all those perspectives understandable.

The first wave of features in Apple’s delayed release shows promise—and some of them may be genuinely useful, especially with further refinement. At the same time, Apple’s approach seems rushed, as if the company is cutting some corners to catch up where some perceive it has fallen behind.

That impatient, unusually undisciplined approach to the rollout could undermine the value proposition of AI tools for many users. Nonetheless, Apple’s strategy might just work out in the long run.

What’s included in “Apple Intelligence”

I’m basing those conclusions on about a week spent with both the public release of iOS 18.1 and the developer beta of iOS 18.2. Between them, the majority of features announced back in June under the “Apple Intelligence” banner are present.

Let’s start with a quick rundown of which Apple Intelligence features are in each release.

iOS 18.1 public release

  • Writing Tools
    • Proofreading
    • Rewriting in friendly, professional, or concise voices
    • Summaries in prose, key points, bullet point list, or table format
  • Text summaries
    • Summarize text from Mail messages
    • Summarize text from Safari pages
  • Notifications
  • Reduce Interruptions – Intelligent filtering of notifications to include only ones deemed critical
  • Type to Siri
  • More conversational Siri
  • Photos
    • Clean Up (remove an object or person from the image)
    • Generate Memories videos/slideshows from plain language text prompts
    • Natural language search

iOS 18.2 developer beta (as of November 5, 2024)

  • Image Playground – A prompt-based image generation app akin to something like Dall-E or Midjourney but with a limited range of stylistic possibilities, fewer features, and more guardrails
  • Genmoji – Generate original emoji from a prompt
  • Image Wand – Similar to Image Playground but simplified within the Notes app
  • ChatGPT integration in Siri
  • Visual Intelligence – iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro users can use the new Camera Control button to do a variety of tasks based on what’s in the camera’s view, including translation, information about places, and more
  • Writing Tools – Expanded with support for prompt-based edits to text

iOS 18.1 is out right now for everybody. iOS 18.2 is scheduled for a public launch sometime in December.

iOS 18.2 will introduce both Visual Intelligence and the ability to chat with ChatGPT via Siri.

Credit: Samuel Axon

iOS 18.2 will introduce both Visual Intelligence and the ability to chat with ChatGPT via Siri. Credit: Samuel Axon

A staggered rollout

For several years, Apple has released most of its major new software features for, say, the iPhone in one big software update in the fall. That timeline has gotten fuzzier in recent years, but the rollout of Apple Intelligence has moved further from that tradition than we’ve ever seen before.

Apple announced iOS 18 at its developer conference in June, suggesting that most if not all of the Apple Intelligence features would launch in that singular update alongside the new iPhones.

Much of the marketing leading up to and surrounding the iPhone 16 launch focused on Apple Intelligence, but in actuality, the iPhone 16 had none of the features under that label when it launched. The first wave hit with iOS 18.1 last week, over a month after the first consumers started getting their hands on iPhone 16 hardware. And even now, these features are in “beta,” and there has been a wait list.

Many of the most exciting Apple Intelligence features still aren’t here, with some planned for iOS 18.2’s launch in December and a few others coming even later. There will likely be a wait list for some of those, too.

The wait list part makes sense—some of these features put demand on cloud servers, and it’s reasonable to stagger the rollout to sidestep potential launch problems.

The rest doesn’t make as much sense. Between the beta label and the staggered features, it seems like Apple is rushing to satisfy expectations about Apple Intelligence before quality and consistency have fallen into place.

Making AI a harder sell

In some cases, this strategy has led to things feeling half-baked. For example, Writing Tools is available system-wide, but it’s a different experience for first-party apps that work with the new Writing Tools API than third-party apps that don’t. The former lets you approve changes piece by piece, but the latter puts you in a take-it-or-leave-it situation with the whole text. The Writing Tools API is coming in iOS 18.2, maintaining that gap for a couple of months, even for third-party apps whose developers would normally want to be on the ball with this.

Further, iOS 18.2 will allow users to tweak Writing Tools rewrites by specifying what they want in a text prompt, but that’s missing in iOS 18.1. Why launch Writing Tools with features missing and user experience inconsistencies when you could just launch the whole suite in December?

That’s just one example, but there are many similar ones. I think there are a couple of possible explanations:

  • Apple is trying to satisfy anxious investors and commentators who believe the company is already way too late to the generative AI sector.
  • With the original intent to launch it all in the first iOS 18 release, significant resources were spent on Apple Intelligence-focused advertising and marketing around the iPhone 16 in September—and when unexpected problems developing the software features led to a delay for the software launch, it was too late to change the marketing message. Ultimately, the company’s leadership may feel the pressure to make good on that pitch to users as quickly after the iPhone 16 launch as possible, even if it’s piecemeal.

I’m not sure which it is, but in either case, I don’t believe it was the right play.

So many consumers have their defenses up about AI features already, in part because other companies like Microsoft or Google rushed theirs to market without really thinking things through (or caring, if they had) and also because more and more people are naturally suspicious of whatever is labeled the next great thing in Silicon Valley (remember NFTs?). Apple had an opportunity to set itself apart in consumers’ perceptions about AI, but at least right now, that opportunity has been squandered.

Now, I’m not an AI doubter. I think these features and others can be useful, and I already use similar ones every day. I also commend Apple for allowing users to control whether these AI features are enabled at all, which should make AI skeptics more comfortable.

Notification summaries condense all the notifications from a single app into one or two lines, like with this lengthy Discord conversation here. Results are hit or miss.

Credit: Samuel Axon

Notification summaries condense all the notifications from a single app into one or two lines, like with this lengthy Discord conversation here. Results are hit or miss. Credit: Samuel Axon

That said, releasing half-finished bits and pieces of Apple Intelligence doesn’t fit the company’s framing of it as a singular, branded product, and it doesn’t do a lot to handle objections from users who are already assuming AI tools will be nonsense.

There’s so much confusion about AI that it makes sense to let those who are skeptical move at their own pace, and it also makes sense to sell them on the idea with fully baked implementations.

Apple still has a more sensible approach than most

Despite all this, I like the philosophy behind how Apple has thought about implementing its AI tools, even if the rollout has been a mess. It’s fundamentally distinct from what we’re seeing from a company like Microsoft, which seems hell-bent on putting AI chatbots everywhere it can to see which real-world use cases emerge organically.

There is no true, ChatGPT-like LLM chatbot in iOS 18.1. Technically, there’s one in iOS 18.2, but only because you can tell Siri to refer you to ChatGPT on a case-by-case basis.

Instead, Apple has introduced specific generative AI features peppered throughout the operating system meant to explicitly solve narrow user problems. Sure, they’re all built on models that have resemblances to the ones that power Claude or Midjourney, but they’re not built around this idea that you start up a chat dialogue with an LLM or an image generator and it’s up to you to find a way to make it useful for you.

The practical application of most of these features is clear, provided they end up working well (more on that shortly). As a professional writer, it’s easy for me to dismiss Writing Tools as unnecessary—but obviously, not everyone is a professional writer, or even a decent one. For example, I’ve long held that one of the most positive applications of large language models is their ability to let non-native speakers clean up their writing to make it meet native speakers’ standards. In theory, Apple’s Writing Tools can do that.

Apple Intelligence features augment or add additional flexibility or power to existing use cases across the OS, like this new way to generate photo memory movies via text prompt.

Credit: Samuel Axon

Apple Intelligence features augment or add additional flexibility or power to existing use cases across the OS, like this new way to generate photo memory movies via text prompt. Credit: Samuel Axon

I have no doubt that Genmoji will be popular—who doesn’t love a bit of fun in group texts with friends? And many months before iOS 18.1, I was already dropping senselessly gargantuan corporate email threads into ChatGPT and asking for quick summaries.

Apple is approaching AI in a user-centric way that stands in stark contrast to almost every other major player rolling out AI tools. Generative AI is an evolution from machine learning, which is something Apple has been using for everything from iPad screen palm rejection to autocorrect for a while now—to great effect, as we discussed in my interview with Apple AI chief John Giannandrea a few years ago. Apple just never wrapped it in a bow and called it AI until now.

But there was no good reason to rush these features out or to even brand them as “Apple Intelligence” and make a fuss about it. They’re natural extensions of what Apple was already doing. Since they’ve been rushed out the door with a spotlight shining on them, Apple’s AI ambitions have a rockier road ahead than the company might have hoped.

It could take a year or two for this all to come together

Using iOS 18.1, it’s clear that Apple’s large language models are not as effective or reliable as Claude or ChatGPT. It takes time to train models like these, and it looks like Apple started late.

Based on my hours spent with both Apple Intelligence and more established tools from cutting-edge AI companies, I feel the other models crossed a usefulness and reliability threshold a year or so ago. When ChatGPT first launched, it was more of a curiosity than a powerful tool. Now it’s a powerful tool, but that’s a relatively recent development.

In my time with Writing Tools and Notification Summaries in particular, Apple’s models subjectively appear to be around where ChatGPT or Claude were 18 months ago. Notification Summaries almost always miss crucial context in my experience. Writing Tools introduce errors where none existed before.

A writing suggestion shows an egregious grammatical error

It’s not hard to spot the huge error that Writing Tools introduced here. This happens all the time when I use it.

Credit: Samuel Axon

It’s not hard to spot the huge error that Writing Tools introduced here. This happens all the time when I use it. Credit: Samuel Axon

More mature models do these things, too, but at a much lower frequency. Unfortunately, Apple Intelligence isn’t far enough along to be broadly useful.

That said, I’m excited to see where Apple Intelligence will be in 24 months. I think the company is on the right track by using AI to target specific user needs rather than just putting a chatbot out there and letting people figure it out. It’s a much better approach than what we see with Microsoft’s Copilot. If Apple’s models cross that previously mentioned threshold of utility—and it’s only a matter of time before they do—the future of AI tools on Apple platforms could be great.

It’s just a shame that Apple didn’t seem to have the confidence to ignore the zeitgeisty commentators and roll out these features when they’re complete and ready, with messaging focusing on user problems instead of “hey, we’re taking AI seriously too.”

Most users don’t care if you’re taking AI seriously, but they do care if the tools you introduce can make their day-to-day lives better. I think they can—it will just take some patience. Users can be patient, but can Apple? It seems not.

Even so, there’s a real possibility that these early pains will be forgotten before long.

Photo of Samuel Axon

Samuel Axon is a senior editor at Ars Technica. He covers Apple, software development, gaming, AI, entertainment, and mixed reality. He has been writing about gaming and technology for nearly two decades at Engadget, PC World, Mashable, Vice, Polygon, Wired, and others. He previously ran a marketing and PR agency in the gaming industry, led editorial for the TV network CBS, and worked on social media marketing strategy for Samsung Mobile at the creative agency SPCSHP. He also is an independent software and game developer for iOS, Windows, and other platforms, and he is a graduate of DePaul University, where he studied interactive media and software development.

Apple botched the Apple Intelligence launch, but its long-term strategy is sound Read More »

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iOS 18.2 developer beta adds ChatGPT and image-generation features

AI, Apple, apple intelligence, chatgpt, iOS, ios 18, iOS 18.1, iOS 18.2, ml, openai, Tech / /

Today, Apple released the first developer beta of iOS 18.2 for supported devices. This beta release marks the first time several key AI features that Apple teased at its developer conference this June are available.

Apple is marketing a wide range of generative AI features under the banner “Apple Intelligence.” Initially, Apple Intelligence was planned to release as part of iOS 18, but some features slipped to iOS 18.1, others to iOS 18.2, and a few still to future undisclosed software updates.

iOS 18.1 has been in beta for a while and includes improvements to Siri, generative writing tools that help with rewriting or proofreading, smart replies for Messages, and notification summaries. That update is expected to reach the public next week.

Today’s developer update, iOS 18.2, includes some potentially more interesting components of Apple Intelligence, including Genmoji, Image Playground, Visual Intelligence with Camera Control, and ChatGPT integration.

Genmoji and Image Playground allow users to generate images on-device to send to friends in Messages; there will be Genmoji and Image Playground APIs to allow third-party messaging apps to work with Genmojis, too.

ChatGPT integration allows Siri to pass off user queries that are outside Siri’s normal scope to be answered instead by OpenAI’s ChatGPT. A ChatGPT account is not required, but logging in with an existing account gives you access to premium models available as part of a ChatGPT subscription. If you’re using these features without a ChatGPT account, OpenAI won’t be able to retain your data or use it to train models. If you connect your ChatGPT account, though, then OpenAI’s privacy policies will apply for ChatGPT queries instead of Apple’s.

Genmoji and Image Playground queries will be handled locally on the user’s device, but other Apple Intelligence features may dynamically opt to send queries to the cloud for computation.

There’s no word yet on when iOS 18.2 will be released publicly.

iOS 18.2 developer beta adds ChatGPT and image-generation features Read More »

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No more bricked iPads: Apple fixes several bugs in iOS, iPadOS, macOS updates

Apple, iOS, ios 18, iOS 18.0.1, iPadOS, iPadOS 18, iPadOS 18.0.1, macOS, macOS 15.0.1, macos sequoia, Tech, visionOS, visionOS 2, visionOS 2.0.1, watchos, watchOS 11, watchOS 11.0.1 / /

On Thursday, Apple released the first software updates for its devices since last month’s rollout of iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia.

Those who’ve been following along know that several key features that didn’t make it into the initial release of iOS 18 are expected in iOS 18.1, but that’s not the update we got on Thursday.

Rather, Apple pushed out a series of smaller updates that fixed several bugs but did not add new features. The updates are labeled iOS 18.0.1, iPadOS 18.0.1, visionOS 2.0.1, macOS Sequoia 15.0.1, and watchOS 11.0.1.

Arguably, the two most important fixes come in iPadOS 18.0.1 and iOS 18.0.1. The iPad update fixes an issue that bricked a small number of recently released iPads (those running Apple’s M4 chip). That problem caused Apple to quickly pull iPadOS 18 for those devices, so Thursday’s iPadOS 18.0.1 release is actually the first time most users of those devices will be able to run iPadOS 18.

On the iPhone side, Apple says it has addressed a bug that could sometimes cause the touchscreen to fail to register users’ fingers.

No more bricked iPads: Apple fixes several bugs in iOS, iPadOS, macOS updates Read More »

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Also releasing today: New iOS 17, macOS 14 updates for the upgrade-averse

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safe space —

Security updates without the headaches for the risk-averse (and bug-averse).

–

Also releasing today: New iOS 17, macOS 14 updates for the upgrade-averse

Today is the official release date for the public versions of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15 Sequoia, and a scad of other Apple software updates, the foundation that Apple will use for Apple Intelligence and whatever other features it wants to add between now and next year’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June. But for those who value stability and reliability over new features, you may not be excited to update to a new operating system with a version number ending in “0.”

For those of you who prefer to wait for a couple of bugfix updates before installing new stuff, Apple is also releasing security-only updates for a bunch of its (now) last-generation operating systems today. The iOS 17.7, iPadOS 17.7, and macOS 14.7 updates are either available now or should be shortly, along with a security update for 2022’s macOS 13 Ventura. An updated version of Safari 18 that runs on both macOS 13 and 14 should be available soon, though as of this writing is doesn’t appear to be available yet.

Apple has historically been pretty good about providing security updates to older macOS releases—you can expect them for about two years after the operating system is replaced by a newer version. But for iOS and iPadOS, the company used to stop updating older versions entirely after releasing a new one. This changed back in 2021, when Apple decided to start providing some security-only updates to older iOS versions to help people who were worried about installing an all-new potentially buggy OS upgrade.

Eventually, iOS and iPadOS users will need to install iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 to keep getting security updates. But for the handful of older iPads that can’t run iPadOS 18, Apple will usually keep supporting those specific devices with security updates for a year or two. Apple was still providing new security updates for 2022’s iOS 16 as recently as August, keeping older devices like the iPhone 8 and the first-generation iPad Pros reasonably secure even though they were incapable of running newer operating systems.

Also releasing today: New iOS 17, macOS 14 updates for the upgrade-averse Read More »

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Unicode 16.0 release with new emoji brings character count to 154,998

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right there with you, bags-under-eyes emoji —

New designs will roll out to phones, tablets, and PCs over the next few months.

–

Emojipedia sample images of the new Unicode 16.0 emoji.

Enlarge / Emojipedia sample images of the new Unicode 16.0 emoji.

The Unicode Consortium has finalized and released version 16.0 of the Unicode standard, the elaborate character set that ensures that our phones, tablets, PCs, and other devices can all communicate and interoperate with each other. The update adds 5,185 new characters to the standard, bringing the total up to a whopping 154,998.

Of those 5,185 characters, the ones that will get the most attention are the eight new emoji characters, including a shovel, a fingerprint, a leafless tree, a radish (formally classified as “root vegetable”), a harp, a purple splat that evokes the ’90s Nickelodeon logo, and a flag for the island of Sark. The standout, of course, is “face with bags under eyes,” whose long-suffering thousand-yard stare perfectly encapsulates the era it has been born into. Per usual, Emojipedia has sample images that give you some idea of what these will look like when they’re implemented by various operating systems, apps, and services.

Unicode 16.0 also adds support for seven new modern and historical scripts: the West African Garay alphabet; the Gurung Khema, Kirat Rai, Ol Onal, and Sunuwar scripts from Northeast India and Nepal; and historical Todhri and Tulu-Tigalari scripts from Albania and Southwest India, respectively.

We last got new emoji in 2023’s Unicode 15.1 update, though all of these designs were technically modifications of existing emoji rather than new characters—many emoji, most notably for skin and hair color variants, use a base emoji plus a modifier emoji, combined together with a “zero-width joiner” (ZWJ) character that makes them display as one character instead. The lime emoji in Unicode 15.1 was actually a lemon emoji combined with the color green; the phoenix was a regular bird joined to the fire emoji. This was likely because 15.1 was only intended as a minor update to 2022’s Unicode 15.0 standard.

Most of the Unicode 16.0 emoji, by contrast, are their own unique characters. The one exception is the Sark flag emoji; flag sequences are created by placing two “regional indicator letters” directly next to each other and don’t require a ZWJ character between them.

Incorporation into the Unicode standard is only the first step that new emoji and other characters take on their journey from someone’s mind to your phone or computer; software makers like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, and others need to design iterations that fit with their existing spin on the emoji characters, they need to release software updates that use the new characters, and people need to download and install them.

We’ve seen a few people share on social media that the Unicode 16.0 release includes a “greenwashing” emoji designed by Shepard Fairey, an artist best known for the 2008 Barack Obama “Hope” poster. This emoji, and an attempt to gin up controversy around it, is all an elaborate hoax: there’s a fake Unicode website announcing it, a fake lawsuit threat that purports to be from a real natural gas industry group, and a fake Cory Doctorow article about the entire “controversy” published in a fake version of Wired. These were all published to websites with convincing-looking but fake domains, all registered within a couple of weeks of each other in August 2024. The face-with-bags-under-eyes emoji feels like an appropriate response.

Unicode 16.0 release with new emoji brings character count to 154,998 Read More »

apple-will-release-ios-18,-macos-15,-ipados-18,-other-updates-on-september-16

Apple will release iOS 18, macOS 15, iPadOS 18, other updates on September 16

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update time —

Apple Intelligence won’t be part of the initial launch.

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Apple will release iOS 18, macOS 15, iPadOS 18, other updates on September 16

Apple

Apple plans to release the next versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS to the general public on September 16, the company announced via its website following its iPhone-centric product event earlier today. We should also see updates for tvOS and the HomePod operating system on the same date.

The new releases bring a number of new features and refinements to Apple’s platforms: better texting with Android devices thanks to support for the RCS standard, iPhone Mirroring that allows you to interact with your iPhone via your Mac, more UI customization options for iPhones and iPads, and other improvements besides.

What won’t be included in these initial releases is any hint of Apple Intelligence, the batch of generative AI and machine learning features that Apple announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. Apple is testing some of the Apple Intelligence features in betas of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS 15.1, updates that will be released later this fall. When Apple Intelligence does arrive, compatibility will be limited: it will require an iPhone 15 Pro or one of the just-announced iPhone 16 or 16 Pro models; an iPad Air or Pro with an M1, M2, or M4 chip; or an Apple Silicon Mac. Apple will also be withholding Apple Intelligence from devices in the EU, at least for now.

The new operating systems will run on most of the same hardware that is currently compatible with iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma, including the last few generations of Intel Macs from 2018, 2019, and 2020. But there are a handful of exceptions, like the 2018 MacBook Air and a handful of older iPads. Phones as old as 2018’s iPhone XR and XS will be able to install and run the iOS 18 update.

Apple has released multiple beta versions of each operating system since WWDC in June, and release candidate builds will likely go out to users and developers today. These will enable developers to get final versions of their apps ready for launch day. Users who want to move over to the new operating systems early can also do so—you can be relatively confident that most of the biggest bugs have been worked out over the summer betas. However, as always when installing major updates, you should ensure you have good backups of your data beforehand.

Apple will release iOS 18, macOS 15, iPadOS 18, other updates on September 16 Read More »

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What to expect from Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event

airpods, AirPods Max, Apple, apple watch, Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Series X, apple watch ultra, iOS, ios 18, iPad mini, IPhone, iPhone 16, iphone 16 pro, Tech / /
Apple It's Glowtime event promo image depicting a neon Apple logo

Enlarge / Apple’s event will likely discuss Apple Intelligence, though that’s not going to launch until later in the year with iOS 18.1

Apple

For years, Apple’s September event has focused almost exclusively on new flagship iPhones and new Apple Watch models. Once in a while, other second-tier products make an appearance. And in recent cycles, the Mac and high-end iPads had their shining moment later in the year—often in October or November.

We expect the same to happen this time. You can almost certainly count on new iPhones and Watches. As for what else to expect: well, no Macs, but there are a couple of interesting possibilities.

Here’s what we expect to see next week.

iPhone 16 and 16 Pro

Gone are the days of radical changes to the iPhone; the last dramatic redesign was the iPhone X in 2017. Since then, Apple has iterated a little bit each year—never enough to drive yearly upgrades, but perhaps enough to entice consumers with phones that are three years old or so.

The iPhone 16 and 16 Pro are expected to continue this pacing, with a grab bag of improvements to existing features but nothing too radical.

The only notable design change that has been rumored is the introduction of the “Capture” button on all models; this will allow taking pictures without using the touchscreen on all models. This could be done with the Action button on last year’s iPhone 15 Pro, and that Action button is expected to come to all iPhone 16 models (not just Pro) this year.

But adding a Capture button frees the Action button up for other things, and the Capture button is expected to produce different results depending on how you press it, making it more useful.

The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus rear camera arrangement will switch to two vertically aligned lenses instead of the diagonal arrangement of the previous model. Apart from that and the new buttons, there will be no noticeable design changes in the non-Pro phones this year.

The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will also not have noticeable design changes, but they will have slightly larger screens. The Pro is going from a 6.1-inch screen to 6.3 inches, while the larger Max version will go from 6.7 to 6.9 inches. The phones will be slightly larger, but much of the screen-size gain will come from Border Reduction Structure (BRS) implementation that will reduce the already barely there bezels a little bit.

Speaking of the screens, the Pro models will feature new panels that will provide just a bit more maximum brightness, following a trend of improvements in that area that has spanned the last few iPhones.

  • The general look of the new iPhones isn’t expected to change compared to these designs from last year, except for the camera arrangement on the base iPhone 16.

    Samuel Axon

  • The Action Button, seen here on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, will reach the non-Pro iPhones this year.

    Samuel Axon

That’s it for changes visible on the outside. Inside, the phones are expected to get an improved thermal design—which hopefully addresses our biggest complaint when we reviewed the iPhone 15 Pro—as well as faster 5G modems in the Pros and a new A-series chip that will probably offer modest gains in performance and efficiency over the top-tier chip from last year.

All the remaining changes that are rumored from leaks, supply-chain insights, or news reports are tweaks to the camera systems. All models will get better ultra-wide cameras that handle low light better, and the iPhone 16 Pro will go to a 48-megapixel ultra-wide camera to better match the wide-angle lens’ overall performance. Additionally, the 5x zoom telephoto lens that was reserved only for the Pro Max last year will make its way to the smaller Pro this time.

That’s all we’ve heard so far. Looking back on paragraphs of text here, it sounds like a lot, but most of these things are pretty modest improvements. Those coming from an iPhone 13 Pro or earlier may be tempted by all this, but it’ll be pretty silly to upgrade from an iPhone 15 to an iPhone 16 unless Apple has managed to keep some earth-shattering new feature a secret.

What to expect from Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event Read More »

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Balatro arrives on phones Sept. 26, so plan your “sick” days accordingly

android, balatro, gaming, iOS, localthunk, mobile games, roguelike deckbuilders / /

The joker is on you —

It has already sold 2 million copies. Now the fun gets even more multiplied.

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A

LocalThunk, the pseudonymous lead developer of the surprise smash hit deckbuilding/roguelike/poker-math-simulation game Balatro, has long given the impression that he understands that his game, having sold 2 million copies, might be a little too good.

To that end, LocalThunk has made the game specifically not about actual gambling, or microtransactions, or anything of the kind. Shortly after it arrived in February 2024 (but after it already got its hooks into one of us), some storefronts removed or re-rated the game on concerns about its cards and chips themes, causing him to explain his line between random number generation (RNG), risk/reward mechanics, and actual gambling. He literally wrote it into his will that the game cannot be used in any kind of gambling or casino property.

So LocalThunk has done everything he can to ensure Balatro won’t waste people’s money. Time, though? If you’re a Balatro fan already, or more of a mobile gamer than a console or computer player, your time is in danger.

Balatro is coming to iOS, both in the Apple Arcade subscription and as a stand-alone title, and the Google Play Store on September 26. The pitch-perfect reveal trailer slowly ratchets up the procrastinatory terror, with the word “MOBILE” punctuating scenes of gameplay, traditional businessmen crying, “Jimbo Stonks” rising upward (Jimbo being the moniker of Balatro’s joker), and a world laid to waste by people chasing ever-more-elusive joker combos.

Please note in the trailer, at the 36-second mark, the “Trailer Ideas” for Balatro on Mobile, including “Announcing Balatro is now a Soulslike,” “Romanceable Jimbo Reveal,” and “It’s like that apocalypse movie with the meteor but instead Jimbo is in the sky.”

Playstack

Even more Balatro content is coming

The mobile version of Balatro is one of three updates LocalThunk has planned for 2025. A gameplay update is still due to arrive sometime this year, one that will be completely free for game owners. It won’t feel like a different game, or even a 1.5 version, LocalThunk told Polygon last month, but “extending that vision to, I think, its logical bounds instead of shifting directions … [M]ore about filling out the design space that currently exists, and then extending that design space in interesting directions that I think people are going to love.”

What else is coming? Perhaps “Friends of Jimbo,” teased today on Balatro’s X (formerly Twitter) account, tells us something. Notably, LocalThunk says that he developed the mobile ports himself.

As we noted in our attempt to explain the ongoing popularity of roguelike deckbuilders, Balatro is LocalThunk’s first properly released game. He claims to have not played any such games before making Balatro but was fascinated by streams of Luck Be a Landlord, a game about “using a slot machine to earn rent money and defeat capitalism.” That game, plus influences of Cantonese game Big Two and the basics of poker (another game LocalThunk says he didn’t actually play), brought about the time-melting game as we know it.

Balatro, in turn, took off with streamers, who would break the game with seeds, hit scores of 30 quintillion, or just keep coming back with everything they’ve learned.

A number of Ars writers have kept coming back to Balatro, time and again, since its release. It’s such a compelling game, especially for its indie-scale price, that none of us could really think of a way to write a stand-alone “review” of it. With its imminent arrival on iPhones, iPads, and Android devices, we’re due to re-educate ourselves on how much time is really in each day and which kinds of achievements our families and communities need to see from us.

Maybe the game won’t sync across platforms, and the impedance of having to start all over will be enough to prevent notable devolution. Maybe.

Balatro arrives on phones Sept. 26, so plan your “sick” days accordingly Read More »

novel-technique-allows-malicious-apps-to-escape-ios-and-android-guardrails

Novel technique allows malicious apps to escape iOS and Android guardrails

android, Biz & IT, iOS, malicious apps, malware, phishing, Security / /

NOW YOU KNOW —

Web-based apps escape iOS “Walled Garden” and Android side-loading protections.

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An image illustrating a phone infected with malware

Getty Images

Phishers are using a novel technique to trick iOS and Android users into installing malicious apps that bypass safety guardrails built by both Apple and Google to prevent unauthorized apps.

Both mobile operating systems employ mechanisms designed to help users steer clear of apps that steal their personal information, passwords, or other sensitive data. iOS bars the installation of all apps other than those available in its App Store, an approach widely known as the Walled Garden. Android, meanwhile, is set by default to allow only apps available in Google Play. Sideloading—or the installation of apps from other markets—must be manually allowed, something Google warns against.

When native apps aren’t

Phishing campaigns making the rounds over the past nine months are using previously unseen ways to workaround these protections. The objective is to trick targets into installing a malicious app that masquerades as an official one from the targets’ bank. Once installed, the malicious app steals account credentials and sends them to the attacker in real time over Telegram.

“This technique is noteworthy because it installs a phishing application from a third-party website without the user having to allow third-party app installation,” Jakub Osmani, an analyst with security firm ESET, wrote Tuesday. “For iOS users, such an action might break any ‘walled garden’ assumptions about security. On Android, this could result in the silent installation of a special kind of APK, which on further inspection even appears to be installed from the Google Play store.”

The novel method involves enticing targets to install a special type of app known as a Progressive Web App. These apps rely solely on Web standards to render functionalities that have the feel and behavior of a native app, without the restrictions that come with them. The reliance on Web standards means PWAs, as they’re abbreviated, will in theory work on any platform running a standards-compliant browser, making them work equally well on iOS and Android. Once installed, users can add PWAs to their home screen, giving them a striking similarity to native apps.

While PWAs can apply to both iOS and Android, Osmani’s post uses PWA to apply to iOS apps and WebAPK to Android apps.

Installed phishing PWA (left) and real banking app (right).

Enlarge / Installed phishing PWA (left) and real banking app (right).

ESET

Comparison between an installed phishing WebAPK (left) and real banking app (right).

Enlarge / Comparison between an installed phishing WebAPK (left) and real banking app (right).

ESET

The attack begins with a message sent either by text message, automated call, or through a malicious ad on Facebook or Instagram. When targets click on the link in the scam message, they open a page that looks similar to the App Store or Google Play.

Example of a malicious advertisement used in these campaigns.

Example of a malicious advertisement used in these campaigns.

ESET

Phishing landing page imitating Google Play.

Phishing landing page imitating Google Play.

ESET

ESET’s Osmani continued:

From here victims are asked to install a “new version” of the banking application; an example of this can be seen in Figure 2. Depending on the campaign, clicking on the install/update button launches the installation of a malicious application from the website, directly on the victim’s phone, either in the form of a WebAPK (for Android users only), or as a PWA for iOS and Android users (if the campaign is not WebAPK based). This crucial installation step bypasses traditional browser warnings of “installing unknown apps”: this is the default behavior of Chrome’s WebAPK technology, which is abused by the attackers.

Example copycat installation page.

Example copycat installation page.

ESET

The process is a little different for iOS users, as an animated pop-up instructs victims how to add the phishing PWA to their home screen (see Figure 3). The pop-up copies the look of native iOS prompts. In the end, even iOS users are not warned about adding a potentially harmful app to their phone.

Figure 3 iOS pop-up instructions after clicking

Figure 3 iOS pop-up instructions after clicking “Install” (credit: Michal Bláha)

ESET

After installation, victims are prompted to submit their Internet banking credentials to access their account via the new mobile banking app. All submitted information is sent to the attackers’ C&C servers.

The technique is made all the more effective because application information associated with the WebAPKs will show they were installed from Google Play and have been assigned no system privileges.

WebAPK info menu—notice the

WebAPK info menu—notice the “No Permissions” at the top and “App details in store” section at the bottom.

ESET

So far, ESET is aware of the technique being used against customers of banks mostly in Czechia and less so in Hungary and Georgia. The attacks used two distinct command-and-control infrastructures, an indication that two different threat groups are using the technique.

“We expect more copycat applications to be created and distributed, since after installation it is difficult to separate the legitimate apps from the phishing ones,” Osmani said.

Novel technique allows malicious apps to escape iOS and Android guardrails Read More »

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Epic Games Store and Fortnite arrive on EU iPhones

Apple, dma, epic games, epic games store, EU, fortnite, gaming, iOS, IPhone, Tech / /

It’s still a mess —

Epic also launched its store on Android.

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Artist's conception of Epic dodging harm from Apple's decisions (and perhaps its own).

Enlarge / Artist’s conception of Epic dodging harm from Apple’s decisions (and perhaps its own).

It’s been four years since Fortnite, one of the world’s most popular games, was pulled from the Apple App Store in a blaze of controversy and finger-pointing. Today, it’s returning to the iPhone—but only in the European Union.

Today marks the launch of the Epic Games Store on Android and iOS—iOS just in Europe, Android worldwide. Right now, it just has three games: Fortnite, Rocket League Sideswipe, and Fall Guys. And you’ll have to be in Europe to access it on your iPhone.

The Epic Games Store is run by Epic Games, the same company that develops and publishes Fortnite. Most folks who have been paying attention to either Epic or Apple in recent years knows the story at this point, but here’s the quick summary and analysis.

Opinion: Users are still the losers after four years

At the direction of CEO Tim Sweeney, Epic knowingly made changes to Fortnite related to digital payments that violated Apple’s terms for developers on the platform. Apple removed Fortnite accordingly, and a long, ugly PR and legal battle ensued between the two companies in multiple countries and regions.

In the US, a judge’s decision granted some small wins to Epic and other developers seeking to loosen Apple’s grip on the platform, but it kept the status quo for the most part.

Things went a little differently in Europe. EU legislators and regulators enacted the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which had far-reaching implications for how Apple and Google run their app stores. Among other things, the new law required Apple to allow third-party, alternative app stores (basically, sideloading) on the iPhone.

Apple’s compliance was far from enthusiastic (the company cited security and privacy concerns for users, which is valid, but the elephant in the room is, of course, its confident grip on app revenues on its platforms), and it was criticized for trying to put up barriers. Additionally, Apple rejected Epic’s attempts to launch its app store multiple times for a few arcane reasons amid a flurry of almost comically over-the-top tweets from Sweeney criticizing the company.

Despite Apple’s foot-dragging, Epic has finally reached the point where it could launch its app store. Epic had already launched a relatively successful App Store on PC, where Valve’s Steam holds a strong grip on users. The new iPhone app store doesn’t offer nearly as many options or perks as the PC version, but Epic says it’s working on wrangling developers onto its store.

It also says it will release its games on other alternative app stores on iOS and Android, such as AltStore PAL.

It’s been a long, winding, angry path to get to this point. In the battle between Epic and Apple, there remains some debate about who really has won up to this point. But there isn’t much dispute that, whether you want to blame Apple or Epic or both, users sure haven’t been the winners.

Epic Games Store and Fortnite arrive on EU iPhones Read More »

apple-stealthily-adds-minor-features-in-ios-176,-macos-14.6-releases

Apple stealthily adds minor features in iOS 17.6, macOS 14.6 releases

Apple, iOS, iOS 17, iOS 17.6, iPadOS, iPadOS 17, iPadOS 17.6, macOS, macos sonoma, macOS Sonoma 14.6, software updates, Tech, tvos, tvOS 17, tvOS 17.6, watchos, watchOS 10, watchOS 10.6 / /

Catch Up —

The M3 MacBook Pro now supports multiple external monitors.

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An iPhone lies on a wood surface, showing the Software Update panel on its screen

Enlarge / iOS 17.6 installing on an iPhone 13 Pro.

Samuel Axon

Apple has some minor updates for all its operating systems, and the releases include iOS 17.6, iPadOS 17.6, tvOS 17.6, watchOS 10.6, and macOS Sonoma 14.6.

Apple’s notes for these updates simply say they include bug fixes, security updates, or optimizations. However, there are a few hidden features.

macOS 14.6 reportedly enables multi-display support in clamshell mode on the M3 MacBook Pro, allowing users of that device to use two external displays at once. That was already possible on the M3 Pro and M3 Max variations. Apple had previously released a similar update to bring that functionality to the M3 MacBook Air.

iOS 17.6 and iPadOS 17.6 have added a feature called Catch Up, which is targeted at sports fans who use Apple’s TV app.

The feature allows users to watch a quick sequence of highlights that have been produced so far from an in-progress Major League Soccer game before joining the live feed.

That’s about it, though. These are minor updates, and they are likely the final ones other than security hotfixes until Apple begins rolling out its annual updates, such as iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia 15, later this fall.

Those updates are expected to include several new features, though the biggest—Apple Intelligence, a suite of generative AI features—will not arrive until iOS 18.1, which was just released as a developer beta for the first time.

iOS 17.6, iPadOS 17.6, tvOS 17.6, watchOS 10.6, and macOS Sonoma 14.6 are available to download and install on all supported devices now.

Apple stealthily adds minor features in iOS 17.6, macOS 14.6 releases Read More »