What we have now is a safe subscription service that essentially curates the best of what other people have already discovered and (thankfully) strips out ads and microtransactions. That's a nice enough value proposition, especially for the price. But we're unlikely to see breakout hits on Arcade making waves among players, influencers, or the press because, for the most part, Apple is following the headlines with this service, not leading them.
Apple has issued a new round of threat notifications to iPhone users across 98 countries, warning them of potential mercenary spyware attacks. It’s the second such alert campaign from the company this year, following a similar notification sent to users in 92 nations in April.
Apple will open its tap-and-go mobile payments system to rivals, EU antitrust regulators said on Thursday, ending a four-year long investigation that could have resulted in a hefty fine for the iPhone maker.
[...]
Apple said its offer would give European developers an option to enable tap-and-go payments for car keys, closed loop transit, corporate badges, home keys, hotel keys, merchant loyalty/rewards, and event tickets from within their iOS apps.
The critically-acclaimed workplace thriller "Severance" returns to Apple TV+ early next year, according to a teaser video released today.
Apple said the 10-episode season will premiere on Friday, January 17, and then one episode will follow every Friday through March 21.
Apple and Google have teamed up to introduce a new data portability tool that lets users transfer their Google Photos collections straight to iCloud Photos. This follows the launch of a tool that lets you transfer iCloud Photos to Google Photos back in 2021.
Apple today adjusted its trade-in values for select devices in the United States, with several reductions in value going into effect across the iPhone 14 series, Apple Watch models, select Macs and iPads, and some Android smartphones.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has notified digital ID holders that the state is in the process of finding a new vendor to support the program. The FLHSMV has informed users to delete their digital ID apps and revert to only using physical ID cards until a new (cheaper?) vendor is selected.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with two other international consumer protection networks, announced on Thursday the results of a study into the use of “dark patterns” — or manipulative design techniques — that can put users’ privacy at risk or push them to buy products or services or take other actions they otherwise wouldn’t have. In an analysis of 642 websites and apps offering subscription services, the study found that the majority (nearly 76%) used at least one dark pattern and nearly 67% used more than one.
Some day, I will need to rewatch the first season of Severance, as I probably have already forgotten half of the plot, and I guess I will need to pay attention to stuff in the second season for this show.
On the other hand, I just started watching Sunny on Apple TV+. No spoilers, but in the first episode, the lead character failed to do something in a room due to a lack of material, and I can't stop thinking whether she did do that something for the rest of the episode. I strongly suspect that is not what the writer wanted me to be thinking. :-)
~
Thanks for reading.