Apple Bans iFixit Developer Account and Removes App After Apple TV Teardown
After the new fourth-generation Apple TV was announced on September 9, Apple provided developers with Apple TV Dev Kits to be used to create tvOS apps for the device. Teardown site iFixit took apart one of those Apple TV units meant for developers and has now run into some repercussions for doing so.
According to a post on the iFixit blog, the teardown, which unveiled all of the internal components of the new Apple TV, violated Apple’s terms and conditions. As a result, iFixit’s developer account was banned, leading to the removal of the iFixit app from the App Store.
iFixit’s Apple TV unit was sent directly from Apple with the same restrictions placed on Apple TV units sent to other developers, but iFixit ignored the fine print. “We weighed the risks, blithely tossed those risks over our shoulder, and tore down the Apple TV anyway,” reads the blog post.
A few days later, we got an email from Apple informing us that we violated their terms and conditions–and the offending developer account had been banned. Unfortunately, iFixit’s app was tied to that same account, so Apple pulled the app as well. Their justification was that we had taken “actions that may hinder the performance or intended use of the App Store, B2B Program, or the Program.”
Live and learn.
With the iFixit app removed from the Apple Store, iFixit is instead planning to revamp its mobile website and does not have plans to rewrite the app. The decision to focus on the iFixit mobile site came before the app was pulled by Apple, so it was not a huge loss to iFixit. The site says the app was outdated and riddled with bugs caused by iOS 9.
Following the release of Apple TV Developer Kits, many other developers shared photos, unboxings, and feature tidbits about the device. It is unknown if Apple has also contacted these developers about non-disclosure violations.
NVIDIA formally announces GeForce NOW, the Netflix of video game streaming
NVIDIA has today announced its latest video game streaming service GeForce NOW, which is more of a rebranding of NVIDIA GRID. With GeForce NOW you’ll be able to stream all of the latest titles from NVIDIA’s “powerful cloud-gaming supercomputers” on the company’s family of SHIELD devices.
Of course, you will need a subscription with GeForce NOW, however, the first three months of your subscription are free. After the fact, consumers can expect to pay $7.99/month. It becomes available on October 1 in North America, Europe, and Japan.
The only downside to a service like this is that in real scenarios, even playing on gigabit connections, streaming games from the cloud is still rough and a hit-or-miss at times. Hopefully this new effort with GeForce NOW will be different and will truly provide a great experience.
Anyone plan on taking it for a spin?
source: NVIDIA
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The ‘X’ in Nexus 5X and ‘P’ in Nexus 6P actually have meanings behind them
Googler Hiroshi Lockheimer and other members on the team that brought us the latest Nexus devices took to a Reddit AMA, revealing that the “X” in Nexus 5X and “P” in Nexus 6P actually aren’t just meaningless characters.
Lockheimer says that “X” stands for the core of the Nexus brand and that the “P” stands for premium, thus the Huawei 6P being the higher-end model of the two devices. And now, the mystery has been solved!
If you’re interested in checking out all of the other awesome details Lockheimer and the Nexus team are giving out on reddit today, be sure to hit the source link below!
source: Reddit
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OnePlus proposes an idea to Samsung
Carl Pei the current CEO of Chinese manufacturer OnePlus, has sent a polite letter to Samsung asking for an internship.
In the letter from OnePlus to Samsung, Carl Pei discusses how he wants to improve the company. His issue has to do with manufacturing and believes with the help of Samsung, he can turn the company around and benefit each other. As most of you know, OnePlus is experiencing difficulty producing enough handsets to reach the high amount of demand. Carl Pei says it’s mostly due to production problems and shipping delays. The company believes Samsung can help and wants to send Pei to Samsung in return of letting an executive from Samsung attend their company’s headquarters. Carl Pei goes on to congratulate Samsung for all the hard work the company has done, in addition to the success it has achieved over the years. Pei strongly “admires their operations” and believes no one company can dominate a category and that there is still space for competition in the market as well as room to learn from each other.
It sounds like the real deal and OnePlus believes the two can better the lives of consumers if they work together. Perhaps the company wants help marketing its rumored upcoming OnePlus X handset. What do you think? Will this ever happen?
Source: Carl Tech
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Google’s Hiroshi Lockheimer details why the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P lack wireless charging
There’re a few frustrating aspects about the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, with a lack of wireless charging being one of them. Google’s Hiroshi Lockheimer has taken to “the front page of the Internet,” or reddit, to reveal the thought process behind that decision.
The decision to bring wireless charging to the Nexus lineup in 2012 was that microUSB was frustrating, and wireless charging was a way around that. With the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P equipped with a USB Type-C port, that frustration has been dealt with, and thus, no need for wireless charging.
That brings up another question: why not just leave wireless charging in? Well, it also has to do with the Z axis–the thickness of the device. Basically, Google saw USB Type-C and wireless charging as redundant, and thus, opted for a thinner device. When it comes down to it, the crowd that Google is aiming the two new Nexus devices at probably wouldn’t have minded a little more thickness in trade for wireless charging, but Google didn’t see it that way.
And that’s how wireless charging was left out. Head on over to the AMA for more juicy Nexus details!
source: Reddit
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First camera samples of the Nexus 6P appear on Google+
Google used a chunk of time in its presentation on Tuesday to emphasize the improvements made to the camera sensor on the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P. Today on Google+, we found the first camera samples of the Nexus 6P.
With the camera sensor on the new Nexus devices, Google included a megapixel boost to 12.3. In addition, the company raved about the handset’s ability to take good low light shots and focus faster than ever. Rather than including optical image stabilization (OIS), the company increased the size of the camera sensor to 1.55 micron pixels, which will make for the majority of improvements. Many were upset with the lack of OIS, but Google promised photos taken on these devices will be like no other. Earlier today, the Nexus 6P camera landed a top 3 spot on DxOMark. We found this to extremely impressive. Here’s a first look of some shots taken on the new Nexus 6P, courtesy of Romain Guy on Google+.
Source: Romain Guy (Google+)
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Chinese officials open investigation into Xiaomi’s use of the word “best” in ads
A new report out of China says the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has opened an investigation into whether Xiaomi illegally used the term “best” in advertising on its web site in violation of a new advertising law. The new law went into effect on September 1st and includes prohibitions on all sorts of advertising activity, including the use of superlatives like the word “best” in advertisements. Companies that are found to be in violation may face penalties starting at $31,000 USD.
According to sources, Chinese officials were tipped off to Xiaomi’s potential misdeed by Tan Wensheng, CEO of Cong, a producer of smartphones and competitor to Xiaomi. Tan claims he is concerned with Xiaomi’s use of words like “first-class,” “the king of screens,” and others that may mislead consumers. However, many in China think Tan is just upset that his previous business venture, a smartphone manufacturer called Red Pepper, was unable to compete against Xiaomi and Cong does not appear to be faring any better. Red Pepper was fined $23,500 USD for making false statements about Xiaomi, so many think Tan is just using the new Chinese law to exact some revenge.
source: Tech in Asia
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