Plenty of Apple, iPhone, and iPad news gets released every single day – but we know you’re busy, so we’ve got your back. Here, we’ve picked out some of the most important stories from the past week or so and summarized them for easy digestion. You’re welcome.
Let’s take a quickfire look at some of the most interesting recent headlines of late. As ever, click through to read the full stories if you want to know more!
Google Stadia coming to iOS
Google has announced that its Stadia game streaming service is coming to iOS soon via a web browser work–around. The service has been banned from the platform up to now due to restrictions on cloud gaming services. Essentially, Apple wants to be able to review every playable game on its platform separately, which runs counter to the ‘Netflix for games’ nature of Google Stadia and Microsoft’s Project xCloud. The solution: to run a game streaming service through the Safari web browser instead.
Halide developer evaluates iPhone 12 Pro Max camera
One of our favorite iOS photography apps of all time is Halide, which brings pro-level camera features without laying on unnecessary complexity. So when the developer of this fabulous app offers a detailed breakdown of the new iPhone 12 Pro Max camera, we’re all ears. Sebastiaan de With found that the Max camera’s 47% larger sensor leads to big improvements in low light and when shooting RAW. “It allows photographers to get steady and well-exposed shots in conditions that weren’t imaginable a year ago,” he says. “It captures low-light shots beyond anything we’ve seen on an iPhone. By a lot.”
Apple cuts App Store fees for small developers
There have been serious rumblings of late over Apple’s standard 30% cut of app income. Fortnite developer Epic Games is particularly disgruntled, and has launched legal action over the matter. In response to the unrest – whilst simultaneously thumbing its nose at Epic, it seems – Apple has announced plans to cut its App Store fees to just 15% for developers earning less than $1 million a year in app revenue. Apple claims that the new App Store Small Business Program will “benefit the vast majority of developers who sell digital goods and services on the store”. But not Epic.
MagSafe Duo Charger slower than regular MagSafe charger
Apple’s fancy new MagSafe Duo Charger might be able to charge your iPhone 12 and your Apple Watch simultaneously, but it won’t do so as fast as the regular MagSafe charger. While the aforementioned MagSafe charger can hit 15W, the MagSafe Duo is stuck at either 11W or 14W, depending on the power brick you pair it with. You’ll need to buy a whopping 27W USB–C power adapter on top of the $129 MagSafe Duo (whenever it becomes available) in order to hit 14W.