Starting next year, apps on Google Play will show details about what data they collect, as well as other information about their privacy and security practices, in a new safety section in their listing. The announcement comes just a few months after Apple started displaying similar privacy information in the App Store. In the same way Apple’s policy covers both its own apps and those developed by third parties, Google says its first-party apps will also be required to provide this information.
According to Google, the initiative is meant to “help people understand the data an app collects or shares, if that data is secured, and additional details that impact privacy and security.” The section will detail what user data an app has access to (like location, contacts, or personal info like an email address), but Google says it also wants to let developers give context to explain how it’s used and what it means for their apps’ functionality.
Google’s timeline for introducing the new policy.Image: Google
In particular, Google says apps will give information about whether data is encrypted, whether they comply with Google’s policies around apps aimed at children, and whether users can opt out of data sharing. Google says the information will also highlight whether a third party has verified the app’s safety section, and whether users can request that their data be deleted.
The new policy won’t come into effect for several months, and Google says this should give developers enough time to implement the changes. It says developers will be able to start declaring the new privacy information in the fourth quarter of this year, and that this will start being shown to users in the first quarter of 2022. New apps and app updates will be required to include these new privacy details from the second quarter of 2022, and apps that don’t could eventually see their updates being blocked.
This new initiative to provide more information about data privacy and security follows Google’s recent announcement that it’s overhauling how apps are allowed to present themselves on the Google Play Store. Although an exact enforcement date is yet to be announced, eventually app listings won’t be allowed to use tricks to try and make themselves excessively eye-catching, like writing words in all-caps, or using emoji in app names. Google says more information on the new policies will arrive in the second half of this year.
Apple’s new item-tracking AirTags have arrived, and they come with a surprise addition: a hidden menu in the Find My app that reveals some of the back-end data used by the service.
To uncover this menu, open up Apple’s Find My app, select one of your AirTags, then tap your name in the top left corner five times. And just like Dorothy clicking her heels together, you’ll be whisked away to a comforting world of, well, sliders and data. It’s not clear what all the information means, though some of the labels (like “device pitch”) are obvious enough.
The menu seems to be an accidental remnant of Apple’s development process, with the information presumably left over from an early beta version of the Find My app. Think of it like builders leaving architectural plans under the floorboards of a house they’re constructing. This is normal stuff, you just don’t usually see it (especially from Apple).
You can access the menu by tapping in your name five times. Image: The Verge
The menu itself was discovered by a self-described “frustrated” AirTags user on Reddit, who was tapping around the app in annoyance when they uncovered the information. We were able to verify that the menu works with our own devices, as have plenty of people on Twitter, which is where we first saw this accidental Easter egg.
Over on Reddit, one user suggests that the bottom four sliders actually relate to the various colors your screen turns as you approach your AirTagged item. “A=% mixed with view; H=hue; S=saturation; V=value/brightness,” says Redditor pmarksen. “The top two sliders relate to camera blur, and brightness. Not sure what the middle ‘sum’ slider does yet.”
The “eco mode” label seems to refer to a battery-saving feature that deploys a smaller screen resolution (the Find My user interfaces includes an AR camera overlay that directs you to your item), while the “dots” options apparently refer to the number of dots that swarm on the screen as part of the animation that shows you approaching your target.
If anyone else has any more hints, clues, or wild speculation about what else the screen shows, please feel free to drop by the comments below. We’ve pinged Apple to ask about this menu and expect to hear only embarrassed silence.
A Microsoft executive has admitted that the company doesn’t earn any profit on sales of Xbox consoles alone. The admission came as part of the Epic v. Apple trial yesterday, confirming what we’ve known for years: Microsoft sells Xbox consoles at a loss. Asked how much margin Microsoft makes on Xbox consoles, the company’s head of Xbox business development, Lori Wright, said, “We don’t; we sell the consoles at a loss.”
An Epic Games lawyer asked a follow-up question: “Does Microsoft ever earn a profit on the sale of an Xbox console?” Wright replied, “No.” That doesn’t mean Xbox doesn’t make money, though. Microsoft was keen to point this out in a statement to The Verge just hours after Wright’s testimony yesterday.
“The gaming business is a profitable and high-growth business for Microsoft,” says a Microsoft spokesperson. “The console gaming business is traditionally a hardware subsidy model. Game companies sell consoles at a loss to attract new customers. Profits are generated in game sales and online service subscriptions.“
The Xbox Series S.Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
I asked Microsoft whether it never truly makes any margins on hardware alone, but the company didn’t respond in time for publication. Typically, Microsoft and Sony subsidize hardware at the beginning of a console’s lifecycle, but those early component costs tend to decrease over time. Those lower costs also translate to lower retail prices for consoles over time, though.
A teardown analysis of the Xbox One S, for example, revealed an estimated bill of materials of $324, which is $75 less than the $399 launch price for the 2TB version of the console, back in 2016. Microsoft also launched a disc-less version of the Xbox One S two years ago, which was presumably also sold at a loss.
Sony and Microsoft have similar business models for PlayStation and Xbox consoles, but Nintendo is the exception. In court documents, Microsoft estimates that hardware is generating a loss for Sony, but a profit for Nintendo. That’s backed up by Nintendo’s impressive 84.59 million Switch sales this year, up to March 31st.
Why all these costs are being discussed right now is a big part of the ongoing Epic v. Apple trial. Epic isn’t happy about Apple’s 30 percent revenue cut on in-app purchases for Fortnite, but Apple is arguing that Epic should also take issue with Microsoft or Sony’s identical 30 percent cut. It has resulted in hours of testimony about whether the iPhone is more like a PC or an Xbox, and a debate around open platforms versus locked-down ones. Microsoft clearly sees a difference between Xbox and PC, and has only cut the amount it takes on the Windows side to 12 percent, while the Xbox remains at 30 percent.
Microsoft obviously wants to maintain its business model for Xbox, and has attempted to push the industry toward digital games for years. Microsoft has very much sided with Epic Games in the case against Apple, and Epic has admitted it has never even questioned Microsoft’s digital sales cut. But how long this harmony will exist between the pair will very much depend on the future of digital game sales and cloud gaming. Microsoft is increasingly focused on its Xbox Game Pass subscription, which spans across devices that aren’t even Xbox consoles.
Game Pass also includes xCloud, Microsoft’s cloud gaming technology. Fortnite isn’t part of xCloud, because Epic Games won’t allow it. That highlights the emerging battles that are starting to take place in the game industry over shares of revenue. It looks like Microsoft has been preparing for some of them, but Epic v. Apple feels like the beginning of a greater war over the digital future of game stores.
Apple’s HomePod and HomePod mini smart speakers now support voice control for Deezer.
In Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Spain, the UK and the USA, subscribers of Deezer Premium, HiFi, Family or Student tiers can now ask Siri to play specific tracks, artists, albums, favourites or playlists on their Apple wireless speaker hands-free.
Saying “Hey Siri, play my Flow”, for example, will begin an endless mix of tracks based on the user’s tastes, plus suggested tracks to help them discover new artists. Voice commands aren’t, however, supported for Deezer’s podcasts, audiobooks and live radio.
Deezer can be set as the default music service on the (now discontinued) HomePod and the HomePod mini, however subscribers who don’t wish to do this can still use voice control with HomePod; they simply have to say “on Deezer” at the end of their command.
For Deezer voice commands on HomePod to work, Deezer subscribers must be using iOS 14.3 and above and have their HomePod running the latest software. In the Deezer app settings, their account has to be connected their HomePod.
Deezer joins Apple Music, Spotify and Pandora in supporting Siri voice control on HomePod, with the likes of Amazon Music and Tidal still without it.
MORE:
Just in: Some HomePod owners can’t access Apple Music after 14.5 iOS update
Read our Deezer review
Our pick of the best music streaming services 2021
Apple Music HiFi tier could launch alongside AirPods 3 in coming weeks
YouTuber Unbox Therapy has got hold of an iPhone 13 Pro Max dummy unit, which seems to have been put together based on leaked schematics. The unofficial (but well-made) model shows how the biggest iPhone 13 could look with a smaller notch and new camera module.
The video, which has racked up 1.4m views since it was posted on 4th May, compares the iPhone 13 Pro Max to the current iPhone 12 Pro Max. The two flagship phones look similar but the 13 Pro Max is thought to be 3mm thicker to accommodate its rumoured 120Hz display.
As for the cameras, the iPhone 13 is expected to sport Apple’s best-ever telephoto zoom lenses, which is why the dummy unit sports a larger camera module. Larger lenses should theoretically capture more light, meaning better-quality photos.
On the front, the iPhone 13’s notch is set to shrink, although it’s not expected to disappear until the launch of the iPhone 14 in 2022. As you can see from the dummy model in the video, the notch could be much less intrusive, freeing up extra space for the status bar.
The notch is almost certain to hold FaceID but there’s also talk of Apple adding a TouchID sensor under the iPhone 13 display. We could even see LiDAR depth-sensing tech rollout to the whole iPhone 13 range (it’s currently only available on the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max).
The iPhone 13 is expected to launch in September 2021, but we wouldn’t count on a foldable iPhone making an appearance. Apple is said to be working on several prototypes, but these are only due out in 2023 according to renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
MORE:
iPhone 14 to boast 8K video, 5.4-inch model to get the chop
Owners of Apple’s HomePod and HomePod mini can now connect their smart speakers directly to Deezer and make the music streaming service their default player. That means they can take advantage of the HomePod’s Siri voice controls to navigate their tunes and playlists on Deezer.
To connect the services, you’ll first need to be a paying Deezer subscriber. If you are, head to the Deezer app on your iOS device (make sure you’re on iOS 14.3 or later), hit the settings cog in the top right, then scroll down and hit “Connect with HomePod.” You can then play music from Deezer on your Apple speakers by saying “Hey Siri, play [insert cool and relevant band of choice] on Deezer.”
Alternatively,you can make Deezer your default player from Apple’s Home app and avoid having to specify which streaming service to use. We weren’t able to test this ourselves, but it’s likely the same process as for other third-party streaming services. So go to Home Settings by hitting the house icon in the top left of Apple’s Home app, tap on your face under the “People” section,” then go to “Default Service” and choose Deezer.
Phew. Isn’t it fantastic when these services just work?
Of course, the struggle to offer these sorts of basic, third-party integrations is exactly what’s hurt Apple’s smart speakers, likely contributing to the company’s decision to discontinue the original HomePod in March this year. Despite this, the reasonably-priced and good-sounding HomePod mini still soldiers on. In addition to Deezer, these devices can now directly integrate with other streaming services including Apple Music, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and Pandora.
What’s missing from this list, of course, is Spotify. Although Apple says it’s enabled integration with the music streaming giant, as far as we know Spotify hasn’t switched things on at its end. If you’re searching for an explanation, look no further than the huge lawsuit Spotify is currently pursuing against Apple. As an alternative, you can use Spotify to play music on HomePod speakers, but you’ll need to connect via AirPlay, which is frustratingly slow and lacks voice controls — one of the big draws of using a smart speaker at all.
But hey, that’s what you, the unlucky consumer, get for being stuck between two warring corporations. Enjoy.
Safari just doesn’t support key features — and Safari’s the only option
Something keeps coming up at the Epic v. Apple trial as a potential alternative for getting Fortnite on the iPhone: web apps. It’s an intriguing idea, as web apps are able to do surprisingly complex things: just look at a Chromebook or even game streaming services on the iPhone. But potential is far from reality, because the ability for web apps to look, feel, and perform as well as native apps on iOS is severely limited.
These web apps aren’t the preferred way for consumers or developers to use or create apps on the iPhone, either. But Apple has forced companies like Microsoft and Nvidia to use web apps, instead of native ones available in the App Store.
Though the term itself hasn’t really come up explicitly, what’s being discussed are Progressive Web Apps, or PWAs. If you’re unfamiliar, think of them as slightly more advanced web apps that you can “install” directly from your web browser on to your home screen. Google has been pushing the idea (though support for PWAs on its own platforms is a little mixed), and some companies like Microsoft and Twitter have wholeheartedly embraced PWAs.
Not Apple, though. There are a variety of reasons for that — ranging from genuine concern about giving web pages too much access to device hardware to the simple fact that even Apple can’t do everything. There’s also the suspicion that Apple is deliberately dragging its feet on support for features that make PWAs better as a way to drive developers to its App Store instead.
Fortnite running on an iPhone before its removal.Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge
But the App Store has restrictions that aren’t tenable for some developers. That’s the whole crux of this trial for Epic, after all. On the stand, a Microsoft executive detailed the company’s struggles to get its xCloud game streaming service onto iOS. Lori Wright, VP of Xbox business development at Microsoft, revealed the company spent around four months talking to Apple to try and get xCloud launched as a native app. Apple seemed, initially open to the idea of letting Microsoft use the same model as Netflix or Audible. But Apple changed its mind and forced Microsoft, Nvidia, and others to list cloud games as separate apps.
Submitting Xbox games one-by-one was simply a nonstarter for Microsoft, so it resorted to making a web app. In addition to the technical hurdles a web app involves, it also introduces a discoverability issue. Users simply aren’t used to installing apps from the web on their iPhones. Apple has effectively trained everybody that if they want an app, they go to the App Store.
Wright essentially admitted that the only reason Microsoft is releasing Xbox Cloud Gaming (xCloud) as a web app is because Apple’s terms on the App Store are too onerous. “People don’t play games through the browser on iPhone,” said Wright, but “it was our only outcome in order to reach mobile users on iOS.”
Even the judge in the case seemed confused by Apple’s rule, which says that services that stream movies can offer them all in a single app but services that stream games have to separate each game for individual listing and review. “I can use Netflix with a native app and I can see lots of different movies or TV shows or whatever. Is it that you didn’t want to use a subscription model?” Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers asked at one point.
Apple has forced Microsoft and others to head to the web for gaming streaming.Photo by Nick Statt / The Verge
But back to those technical hurdles: they’re tall, numerous, and can be blamed both on the nature of web apps and Apple’s own decisions. Safari on the iPhone only recently became capable of supporting a service like Xbox Cloud Gaming via specific controller support. Until then, that sort of thing was on the list of features Apple was reticent to include in Safari. There are legitimate reasons to block things like Bluetooth access from web apps, including fingerprinting for tracking, but it was getting harder to justify and Apple needed some kind of escape valve as pressure mounted to support cloud gaming services.
Google software engineer Alex Russell recently published a very comprehensive list of all the features that Safari on iOS doesn’t support yet — and it’s a long list. For PWAs to truly be a viable alternative to App Store apps, there are at least a few of these features that need to be enabled. The inability to send push notifications via a web app, for example, is particularly galling as it’s already possible on Safari on macOS. An app that can’t send notifications is simply not competitive with an app that can.
Grant is touching on some more of the benefits to native versus web apps; push notifications and ARKit both come up. The former is another example of Apple letting native apps reduce friction points — Epic needs to convince the judge these smaller features are meaningful.
— Adi Robertson (@thedextriarchy) May 5, 2021
As Russell notes, his “interests and biases are plain” as a Google engineer. But it doesn’t change the fact that there are many things that a PWA cannot do on the iPhone that a developer like Epic would need to support Fortnite as a web app.
“Native [iPhone] apps would have access to a far wider range of APIs than web apps,” explained Andrew Grant, engineering fellow at Epic Games, during the trial. “Access to things like push notifications, to Siri, to health data, and augmented reality features” are also limited to native apps, said Grant. Web apps also have to be far smaller than native apps, and are capped at about 50MB in size.
Plus, from a simple performance perspective, web apps have more overhead than native apps — and lack access to Apple APIs that can speed up games like Fortnite.
In fact, this was a sticking point for a lot of the questioning of an Nvidia employee. Nvidia, like Microsoft, has been trying to get its GeForce Now cloud gaming service into the App Store, but has faced the same restrictions that Microsoft is struggling with. Nvidia director of product management Aashish Patel spent a lot of time answering questions around latency in a browser and the benefits of using native apps.
“There are less controls over the streaming, so you could argue in some ways it’s worse,” than a native app, said Patel. Developers are also locked into using the video codecs provided in Safari on iOS, whereas they could use alternatives that might be better at handling latency inside a native iOS app.
All iOS browsers run the same WebKit engine underneath.Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
All of this is compounded by yet another Apple policy: no third party browser engines. You can install apps like Chrome, Firefox, Brave, DuckDuckGo, and others on the iPhone — but fundamentally they’re all just skins on top of Apple’s Webkit engine. That means that Apple’s decisions on what web features to support on Safari are final. If Apple were to find a way to be comfortable letting competing web browsers run their own browser engines, a lot of this tension would dissipate.
As it relates to Epic v. Apple, a lot of this PWA discussion isn’t germane to the fundamental arguments in the case. Fortnite as a PWA would necessarily be a streaming app instead of a native game and that introduces an entirely different set of compromises. Which is why it’s so fascinating to see Apple’s lawyers float web apps as a potential solution — because web apps on the iPhone are famously more limited than they are on other platforms, including even Apple’s macOS.
The human-readable versus machine-readable code bit is back now — Grant is talking about how web apps don’t go through the same kind of compilation process that increases processing efficiency, yet another reason they’re not as good as native apps.
— Adi Robertson (@thedextriarchy) May 5, 2021
Even if every single browser feature was available on mobile Safari or even if Apple allowed alternative browser engines on the iPhone, a web app will never match the performance of a native app. At the end of the day, though, all the discussion of web apps in the Epic v. Apple case highlight the limitations of Apple’s App Store policies, not PWAs.
Canalys has posted its quarterly report on the PC and tablet market, and the numbers for Q1 2021 are more than impressive – computers and slates doubled in sales on a yearly basis, while Chromebooks in particular posted a whopping a 275% increase.
Canalys is keeping the Chromebooks in a separate category because they are indeed laptops or two-in-one devices, but at the same time, they are more affordable with a different Chrome-based UI, catered to a specific audience. They are extremely browser-centric and these devices are perfect for work and study – something many of us had to do from home.
Tablets, in general, have been on a steady quarterly increase, but compared with Q1 2020, the increase was 51.8%. All major players managed to record an annual growth aside from Huawei which is still struggling to stay afloat without access to US-made technologies.
The PC market saw Lenovo stay on top, ahead of Apple, HP, Dell, and Samsung. The Top 5 kept their positions, compared with Q1 2020, but all of them improved their sales results.
Canalys analyst Brian Lynch has revealed that the education sector might be a key driver for the majority of shipments across all these categories, but general popularity with consumers is also rising. The situation was compared with a rising tide that brings all boats afloat, allowing companies to be back in the game.
João Silva 15 hours ago Featured Tech News, Software & Gaming
UL Benchmarks has recently announced the Wild Life Extreme benchmark, a more demanding version of the Wild Life benchmark. Unlike Wild Life, the Extreme version won’t be limited to smartphones and tablets, allowing users to run it on Apple computers with M1 CPUs and Windows 10 PCs, including those powered by Arm processors.
The new Wild Life Extreme benchmark is three times more demanding than the original Wild Life benchmark thanks to the addition of new effects, enhanced geometry, and more particles. Moreover, Wild Life Extreme can run at up to 4K resolution, making it even more demanding. On Windows and Android, the Wild Life Extreme benchmark uses the Vulkan API, but Windows 10 on Arm devices use DirectX 12. On Apple devices, the benchmark uses the Metal API.
With the Wild Life Extreme benchmark, users may compare the GPU performance across most of their devices. The higher the score, the better it performs. Users may choose the quick benchmark to measure peak performance or a longer one for testing sustained performance. Besides showing how your GPU performs against other machines and devices, the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme score can also predict the framerate your system will output in some games.
3DMark Advanced Edition includes the Wild Life Extreme as a free update. Customers with a valid annual license of 3DMark Professional Edition also have free access to the Wild Life Extreme benchmark.
Android users can now download Wild Life Extreme as a free update for the 3DMark Android benchmark app. To run it, your mobile device has to run Android 10 or later and support the Anisotropy feature level 16 and above.
As for Apple users, the Wild Life Extreme benchmark is available on the free 3DMark Wild Life iOS benchmark app. The iOS device compatibility list starts with the iPhone 7 Plus and beyond. Only Apple Mac computers powered by the M1 CPU are compatible with the benchmark.
KitGuru says: Have you already tried the Wild Life Extreme benchmark? What score did you get on your device?
Become a Patron!
Check Also
Gamescom 2021 will once again be an all-digital event
2020 saw many of the industries biggest events either get cancelled outright, or translated into …
One of the most interesting aspects to the Epic Games vs Apple lawsuit is the fact that it has given fans an inside look into the inner workings of these two warring companies. Alongside a number of internal documents detailing revenue information and more, it has been revealed that Epic Games had planned over a dozen different Fortnite collabs, including with Lady Gaga, Naruto, Samus from Metroid, and more.
As part of the current ongoing legal battle between Apple and Epic Games many internal documents from these companies have been brought into light. One of the more interesting ones, at least as it pertains to video game players, is the reveal of over a dozen planned and scrapped collaborations for Fortnite.
Fortnite of course has had dozens of different collaborations, ranging from pop stars to movie icons and other video games. According to these latest internal documents, Epic Games had many more planned, although the current status of whether these collaborations will ultimately come to fruition is unknown.
The collaborations include: Batman Looper, Samus Aran, The Bride (Kill Bill), Snake Plissken, Naruto Uzumaki, Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games), Lebron James, The Rock, J Balvin, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, PSY, Beyonce, and more.
While the degree to these crossovers would have varied, with some being mere emotes, while others would have been full and purchasable character skins, there is no denying that Epic Games reached into every corner of the media industry for these collaborations. It will be interesting to see which of these collabs come into existence.
Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.
KitGuru says: What do you think of the court case? Are you finding all of the internal documents interesting? What do you think of the increasing number of video game crossovers? Let us know down below.
Home/Lifestyle/Mobile/Apple/Apple execs discussed dropping App Store revenue split back in 2011
Matthew Wilson 2 days ago Apple, Featured Tech News
Ever since the launch of the iOS App Store, Apple has taken a 30 percent revenue cut from developers. Now known as the ‘Apple Tax’, Epic Games is attempting to challenge this revenue split in court. As it turns out, executives within Apple had their doubts that they would be able to maintain a 70/30 revenue split and some suggested dropping it as far back as 2011.
Internal emails amongst Apple executives were made public as part of the Epic Games v Apple trial. In one such email sent in July 2011, App Store head, Philip Schiller, asked Apple Services head, Eddy Cue, and former CEO, Steve Jobs, if the 70/30 revenue split was sustainable and even suggested dropping to 80/20.
The document, which was first publicised by Bloomberg, shows Shiller saying: “I don’t think that 70/30 will last that unchanged forever. I think someday we will see enough challenge from another platform or web based solutions to want to adjust our model”.
Later in the email, Schiller adds “once we are making over $1B a year in profit from the App Store, is that enough to then think about a model where we ratchet down from 70/30 to 75/25 or even 80/20 if we can maintain a $1B a year run rate?”
This just goes to show that Apple executives saw this challenge to its revenue model coming nearly a decade ago. At this point, Apple is making well over $1 billion per year from the App Store. In fact, in 2020, App Store revenue rose as high as $64 billion.
Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.
KitGuru Says: Apple is facing more pressure now than ever before to adjust its App Store business model. Day 2 of the Epic v Apple trial is kicking off this afternoon, so it’ll be interesting to see what else comes out from the court proceedings.
Become a Patron!
Check Also
Gamescom 2021 will once again be an all-digital event
2020 saw many of the industries biggest events either get cancelled outright, or translated into …
Matthew Wilson 2 days ago Featured Tech News, Software & Gaming
A few weeks ago, we learned that Epic Games had spent around $330 million on obtaining Epic Games Store exclusives so far. Now, thanks to testimony given during the first day of the Epic Games v Apple trial, we know that the Epic Games Store is well away from being profitable, but Epic expects things to take a turn by 2024.
Epic Games CEO, Tim Sweeney, gave testimony yesterday during the trial, stating that the Epic Games Store is “hundreds of millions of dollars short of being profitable”. Sweeney later added that this is due to the upfront costs of starting the store and that it is expected to turn a profit “within three or four years”.
An Epic Games 2019 strategy review (via PCGamer), which was one of the many documents uncovered as part of this trial, shows the five year plan to profitability for the Epic Games Store. Starting in 2019, the store generated a $181 million loss, followed by a $274 million loss in 2020. Epic expects these losses to wind down over the next few years, leading to an eventual $45 million profit in 2024.
Even with the Epic Games Store being a money drain for the time being, the company is far from being in any form of financial trouble. Fortnite still brings in billions each year and just recently, a group of investors injected the company with another $1 billion in funding.
Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.
KitGuru Says: The dominance of Steam as the go-to PC gaming platform really shows here. Just to even attempt to compete, Epic has had to spend hundreds of millions of dollars with the hope that those investments will eventually pay off.
Become a Patron!
Check Also
Gamescom 2021 will once again be an all-digital event
2020 saw many of the industries biggest events either get cancelled outright, or translated into …
That question was asked — implicitly and explicitly — over and over on the third day of Epic v. Apple testimony. The antitrust trial started on Monday with some heady pronunciations about Fortnite, the game and/or metaverse at the heart of the case. Yesterday, both sides argued about whether iPhones and iPads were truly locked down. And today, Apple and Epic delved into one of the biggest questions of the trial: whether saying iOS violates antitrust law would make every major game console an unlawful monopoly too.
Apple’s attorneys issued a dire warning to Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft during its opening statement, saying that their business models were all fundamentally similar. “If Epic prevails, other ecosystems will fall too,” they warned. But today, Epic called up Microsoft’s Xbox business development head Lori Wright as a sympathetic witness. In response to a line of questioning, Wright divided computing devices into “special-purpose” and “general-purpose” devices — in a way that clearly defined iPhones as the latter.
The Xbox, as Wright describes it, is a special-purpose device. “You are basically building a piece of hardware to do a specific thing,” she told a judge. “The Xbox is designed to give you a gaming experience. People buy an Xbox because they want to play games.” As a result, Microsoft keeps tight control of what content users can access — it’s a “curated, custom-built hardware/software experience.” The market is also much smaller: tens or hundreds of millions sold, compared to “billions” of Windows devices. Later in the day, Epic engineering fellow Andrew Grant gave his own, similar definition of gaming consoles in general, calling a console “a single-purpose device for entertainment.”
Windows computers, according to Wright, are “general-purpose” devices. “You’re buying it to do a wide variety of things, and that changes every day as new ideas are getting created,” she said. “It can do a bunch of things already, and it has the aperture to do a bunch more things.” These platforms can support unexpected, emergent applications across more aspects of people’s lives, particularly when it’s easy to get an app onto them in the first place.
Wright made a point of discussing all the different ways that users could get apps on Windows. That includes Microsoft’s own app store, but also Steam, the Epic Games Store, and direct downloads from a website. Microsoft recently dropped its commission on Windows apps to 12 percent to compete with Epic, while the Xbox still takes a 30 percent commission. Wright says there’s no plan to change that discrepancy. That’s despite the fact that under the hood, there’s not a massive hardware difference between an Xbox and a desktop PC.
It’s hard to call the iPhone anything but a general-purpose device under Wright’s definition. (She described a “special-purpose” Apple product as something like an iPod.) Intentionally or not, Wright also linked the distinction to one of Epic’s major talking points: profit.
Epic describes profit as one of the biggest differences between iPhones and consoles. It argues console makers have to treat app makers better because they lose money on hardware, unlike Apple, so they need to plan around attracting developers to the platform. And from Microsoft’s point of view, Wright emphasized in testimony that no Xbox console has been sold at a profit, even late in a generation’s lifespan after manufacturing costs fall. So part of that curated hardware/software experience includes planning around a specific genre of app and attracting the developers who will build it, rather than simply turning it loose and seeing what happens.
Microsoft later hedged in a statement saying that “profits are generated in game sales and online service subscriptions,” but it didn’t really contradict the claim — it just made clear, as Wright did, that the overall operation is profitable.
Will these distinctions convince the court? It’s hard to say, and Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has asked questions that appear lightly skeptical of Epic’s hard lines between consoles and iPhones and Wright’s strict delineation of “general” and “specific” devices.
Apple’s attorney didn’t spend as much time arguing over precise definitions. Apple’s strategy relied more on questioning Wright’s credibility by noting that she’d failed to produce documents that Apple requested. Later, an attorney similarly lambasted Grant for working on the hotfix that secretly introduced a new payment system into Fortnite, insisting that “you knew you were being dishonest, didn’t you?”
But Apple did push Wright to lay out in detail just how much more locked-down Xbox is than Windows, asking whether it did things like support rival game stores or streaming services. (This questioning was muddled by the fact that Microsoft refers to both its consoles and general gaming division as “Xbox,” so you can have an “Xbox store” on PC — a fact that led to some confusion during cross-examination.)
Why is this useful to Apple? Well, Epic began the trial by saying that iOS should work more like macOS. Both operating systems have a reputation for relative security and seamlessness, but only the latter allows installing software from outside the App Store. Epic’s opening statement questioned why Apple needed to lock down the iPhone when it had already created a perfectly workable but more open system. But with Wright and Microsoft, Apple has a perfect comparison point: a major computing company that offers two very different versions of a big black box.
In 2020, Microsoft was battling to bring xCloud or Xbox Game Streaming to the iPhone and iPad, and the conversations had an unlikely victim: Shadow — a third-party cloud gaming app that lets you stream PC games to an iPhone or iPad.
Emails between Microsoft and Apple, revealed in the Epic v. Apple trial today, show how the Xbox maker was trying to get xCloud on iOS. Microsoft was trying to figure out how Shadow, Netflix, and other similar “interactive” apps were able to exist in the App Store while Apple was refusing to approve xCloud. Microsoft put forward Shadow as an example of such a service, only to see it suddenly removed from the store.
“We were showing two examples where a game or an application was able to exist, and we didn’t understand why we couldn’t,” explained Lori Wright, Microsoft’s head of business development for Xbox, during the Epic v. Apple trial today. “I believe they [Apple] ended up pulling Shadow out of the App Store based off this email we sent until they submitted changes. That was not our intention of course, it was a byproduct.”
Shadow on iPhone.Image: Shadow
While Shadow’s removal wasn’t permanent, Apple has temporarily removed the app from the App Store twice in the past year. Shadow was first removed in February last year, with Apple reportedly citing a “failure to act in accordance with a specific part of the Apple App Store Guidelines.” Apple once again removed Shadow from the App Store in February, and the app returned a week later.
Shadow revealed that the app was removed the second time “due to a misunderstanding” around the nature of the app. “Unlike game streaming services, Shadow provides a full Windows 10 PC, rather than a library of games,” explained Luc Hancock, a community manager for Shadow. “This unique approach allows Shadow to comply with the App Store guidelines, so that you can access your Shadow PC on any iOS device to run your favorite games and software.”
Valve struggled for more than a year to launch its Steam Link game streaming service on iOS. Apple rejected the app, likely because it allowed an iOS user to access another app store, Steam, within Apple’s tightly controlled ecosystem. Apple revised its rules after rejecting Steam Link, and the app was finally approved two years ago in May 2019.
xCloud on iOS via the web.Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge
Apple continued to make it difficult for services like xCloud and Stadia to run the way Microsoft and Google wanted to on iOS devices after those conversations, only slowly making App Store policy carve-outs that would let the services operate under severe restrictions. Apple now insists that developers individually submit games as separate apps using their streaming tech, only then bundling them together as a “catalog”-style app.
Microsoft wasn’t impressed with Apple’s approach, calling it a “bad experience for customers.” This public spat has now boiled over into the courtroom battle between Epic Games and Apple, with lawyers on Epic’s side questioning Microsoft and Nvidia representatives about their struggles to bring cloud gaming apps to iOS.
Both Microsoft and Nvidia have had to give in to Apple’s restrictions and launch their cloud gaming services through the Safari web browser instead.
A bunch of traditional and not-so-traditional gift ideas
May 5th, 2021, 9:00am EDT
If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.
Finding a good gift for Father’s Day can be really difficult — especially with all those “traditional” dad gifts out there that are just, well, boring. So this year, we’ve looked around for some special, interesting gifts for dad in a wide range of types and prices.
We’ve got a bunch of stuff for the do-it-yourselfer: a Leatherman multitool, the ultimate gardening tool, and a whiskey- and rum-making kit. For the tech enthusiast, we’ve got a VR device, a gaming mouse, and a mini electric screwdriver set. And for the lovers of quirk, we offer a New York City brunch, a desk toy that can form a dodecahedron, and a subscription for two vinyl records a month, among a load of other great gift ideas. Enjoy!
Apple TV 4K
The Apple TV 4K is a great TV box for sharing photos, watching videos, and playing music for a party. Sure, it’s a bit of an expensive gift, but this is a shiny new version, and it is on its way. And even better, it has a new remote.
$179 at APPLE
$164 at AMAZON
ABLY Mini Electric Screwdriver Set
This powered screwdriver with dozens of bits is an indispensable tool for anyone who likes taking apart gadgets or small electronics. This one also comes with a handy magnetic mat for organizing screws. It’s perfect for when dad wants to upgrade the RAM in his gaming laptop.
$46 at AMAZON
Apple Watch SE
A smartwatch is a great gift. If dad is an Apple person, the Apple Watch SE will help him track his exercise, keep in touch, listen to tunes — and even tell the time.
$279 at APPLE
$279 at AMAZON
Ticwatch Pro 3
If dad’s an Android user, the Ticwatch Pro 3 is a good-looking watch that should take care of everything he needs in a smartwatch. According to our reviewer, it takes Wear OS as far as it can go.
$300 at AMAZON
Oculus Quest 2 headset
It’s fun to game with others, but sometimes it’s even better to slip off into your own little virtual world. The Oculus Quest 2 is a smart purchase if dad wants to explore virtual environments or get sweaty moving to the music in Beat Saber.
$299 at OCULUS
Misto oil sprayer
This reusable spray bottle lets you evenly coat veggies, meats, and anything in between with oil, vinegar, lemon juice, sherry, or other liquids. It makes cooking easy and enjoyable for the foodie dad.
$10 at AMAZON
$10 at TARGET
Leatherman Free P2 multitool
This P2 multitool (pliers, scissors, screwdrivers, wire stripper, etc.) can flip in and out one-handed, thanks to a combination of lightly spring-loaded locks and magnetic clasps. If you need to quickly snip a zip tie on a kid’s new scooter or slice into a grilled chicken breast to test doneness, it’s a snap.
$120 at LEATHERMAN
$120 at AMAZON
Custom money clip
If dad is still into cash, this money clip offers a way to carry bills around with convenience and class. You can personalize it with initials, a name, or any message up to 100 characters.
$16 at ETSY
Speks Geode desk toy
This fidget toy is made up of magnetic pentagons that can form a dodecahedron or be built up into a variety of weird constructions. It’s a great way to keep hands busy during boring Zoom meetings or for quick work breaks.
$20 at AMAZON
Vintage ballcaps
Dads look cool in these vintage baseball caps from Ebbets Field Flannels. There’s a whole variety of styles representing teams from long-closed leagues to choose from.
$49 at EBBETS FLANNEL
Zyllion Shiatsu back and neck massager
If your favorite parent has a sore back or sore muscles from chasing after toddlers, this home massager can help. According to The Strategist, this is the best model to get — and it’s way cheaper than going to a massage therapist.
$50.00 at AMAZON
La-Z-Boy recliner
This gift is on the expensive side, but it’s worth it. It is actually the most comfortable chair ever, especially if dad has back pain. And even if he doesn’t, it’s great for working from home and relaxing.
$399 at LA-Z-BOY
Mpix framed prints
Framed prints of the family photos that are currently languishing on your phone always make terrific gifts. Mpix is the consumer imprint for Millers, a longtime professional photo lab, and it excels at both quality and speed.
$40 at MPIX
WPA-era National Park posters
Commemorate a favorite family vacation with a faithful reproduction of one of the Works Progress Administration’s National Park serigraphed posters, designed between 1935 and 1943. (Frame not included.)
$45 at RANGER DOUG
Apple TV 4K
The Apple TV 4K is a great TV box for sharing photos, watching videos, and playing music for a party. Sure, it’s a bit of an expensive gift, but this is a shiny new version, and it is on its way. And even better, it has a new remote.
$179 at APPLE
$164 at AMAZON
ABLY Mini Electric Screwdriver Set
This powered screwdriver with dozens of bits is an indispensable tool for anyone who likes taking apart gadgets or small electronics. This one also comes with a handy magnetic mat for organizing screws. It’s perfect for when dad wants to upgrade the RAM in his gaming laptop.
$46 at AMAZON
Apple Watch SE
A smartwatch is a great gift. If dad is an Apple person, the Apple Watch SE will help him track his exercise, keep in touch, listen to tunes — and even tell the time.
$279 at APPLE
$279 at AMAZON
Ticwatch Pro 3
If dad’s an Android user, the Ticwatch Pro 3 is a good-looking watch that should take care of everything he needs in a smartwatch. According to our reviewer, it takes Wear OS as far as it can go.
$300 at AMAZON
Oculus Quest 2 headset
It’s fun to game with others, but sometimes it’s even better to slip off into your own little virtual world. The Oculus Quest 2 is a smart purchase if dad wants to explore virtual environments or get sweaty moving to the music in Beat Saber.
$299 at OCULUS
Misto oil sprayer
This reusable spray bottle lets you evenly coat veggies, meats, and anything in between with oil, vinegar, lemon juice, sherry, or other liquids. It makes cooking easy and enjoyable for the foodie dad.
$10 at AMAZON
$10 at TARGET
Leatherman Free P2 multitool
This P2 multitool (pliers, scissors, screwdrivers, wire stripper, etc.) can flip in and out one-handed, thanks to a combination of lightly spring-loaded locks and magnetic clasps. If you need to quickly snip a zip tie on a kid’s new scooter or slice into a grilled chicken breast to test doneness, it’s a snap.
$120 at LEATHERMAN
$120 at AMAZON
Custom money clip
If dad is still into cash, this money clip offers a way to carry bills around with convenience and class. You can personalize it with initials, a name, or any message up to 100 characters.
$16 at ETSY
Speks Geode desk toy
This fidget toy is made up of magnetic pentagons that can form a dodecahedron or be built up into a variety of weird constructions. It’s a great way to keep hands busy during boring Zoom meetings or for quick work breaks.
$20 at AMAZON
Vintage ballcaps
Dads look cool in these vintage baseball caps from Ebbets Field Flannels. There’s a whole variety of styles representing teams from long-closed leagues to choose from.
$49 at EBBETS FLANNEL
Zyllion Shiatsu back and neck massager
If your favorite parent has a sore back or sore muscles from chasing after toddlers, this home massager can help. According to The Strategist, this is the best model to get — and it’s way cheaper than going to a massage therapist.
$50.00 at AMAZON
La-Z-Boy recliner
This gift is on the expensive side, but it’s worth it. It is actually the most comfortable chair ever, especially if dad has back pain. And even if he doesn’t, it’s great for working from home and relaxing.
$399 at LA-Z-BOY
Mpix framed prints
Framed prints of the family photos that are currently languishing on your phone always make terrific gifts. Mpix is the consumer imprint for Millers, a longtime professional photo lab, and it excels at both quality and speed.
$40 at MPIX
WPA-era National Park posters
Commemorate a favorite family vacation with a faithful reproduction of one of the Works Progress Administration’s National Park serigraphed posters, designed between 1935 and 1943. (Frame not included.)
$45 at RANGER DOUG
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
