‘Rocket League’ hits Nintendo Switch November 14th

Car soccer fans who’ve been itching to take their Rocket League fun on the go are about to be rewarded for their patience. The popular competitive video game is set to release on the Nintendo Switch on November 14th for $20.

According to developer Psyonix, the Switch version of Rocket League “will include the features, upgrades and content that millions of players worldwide have come to know and love, and will support all of the system’s various play modes.” There will, however, be a few Battle-Cars exclusive to the Switch, including “Mario NSR,” Luigi NSR” and “Samus’ Gunship.” These will be free to unlock at launch.

Nintendo Minute went to Psyonix headquarters in San Diego to check out the game running on the Switch and made the following video to show off the new cars and features like local split-screen gameplay.

Source: Psyonix

Skype Launches Redesigned Desktop App With Cross-Device Functionality Between iOS and macOS

After first redesigning its iOS app and previewing a new update for Macs and desktop computers earlier this year, Microsoft has announced that its new Skype desktop software is launching today. The next-generation Skype desktop software is built to emulate the redesigned mobile application, which launched in June with an emphasis on media sharing and social networking features, although the iOS app’s Snapchat-like “Highlights” feature isn’t on Mac at this time.

The new Skype Mac app connects across devices to the iOS app, and includes customizable themes, an organizable chat list, and cloud-based file sharing. A new “notification panel” lets users catch up on missed messages in one place — including reactions, @mentions, and quotes — and you can jump directly to these notifications by clicking on them.

A new chat media gallery has been implemented as a place users can quickly find shared content including media, links, and files. Add-ins can also be introduced into each chat, ranging from GIF-based applications to event scheduling, sending money, video sharing, and more.

When in a video chat or a text conversation, users can send reactions to express how they’re feeling, and set status updates to let friends know when they aren’t available. In total, Skype said that the goal for the new update is to help its users increase personal and professional productivity, while also unifying the Skype ecosystem across devices.

To download the new features, Skype said that anyone with automatic updates enabled on Mac, Windows 10 November Update (2016) and lower, Windows 8, Windows 7, or Linux will receive the update as it begins rolling out today. To download it manually, users can visit Skype.com.

Tag: Skype
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Apple Lets Several YouTubers Get Closer Look at iPhone X Ahead of Friday’s Launch

In addition to journalist Steven Levy’s first impressions of the iPhone X, Apple recently invited a number of YouTube channels to try out the highly-anticipated device at a nondescript building in New York City.

Brian Farmer and Noah Thomas of lifestyle website Highsnobiety shared a five-minute video in which they demo Animoji, 4K video playback at 60 FPS, Face ID, front-facing Portrait Mode, wireless charging, and other features.

YouTube personality Mark Watson, known as Soldier Knows Best, praised the iPhone X’s design and performance. He said the new swipe-up gestures for unlocking the device and multitasking will take some time to get used to.

BooredAtWork.com’s executive editor Enobong Etteh said the iPhone X is one of the best looking iPhones ever. His video provides a side-by-side comparison of the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, along with hands-on time with Face ID and Animoji.

Sam Beckerman went to New York on behalf of Canada’s FASHION Magazine for an exclusive hands-on look at the new iPhone X. The video recaps her 10 favorite features of the device, such as Face ID, Animoji, and ARKit.

Beyond the event in New York, a few other videos of the iPhone X have surfaced on YouTube today. We’ve embedded videos from Popular Science, French channel TheiCollection, and Turkish channel ShiftDelete.net below.

iPhone X pre-orders began on Friday, with shipping estimates now at five to six weeks for orders placed today. The device launches November 3, with limited in-store availability for walk-in customers on a first come, first served basis.

Related Roundup: iPhone XBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
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YouTube TV Announces New Smart TV App With Apple TV Support Coming Soon

YouTube today announced that its live-streaming service, YouTube TV, is now launching as a dedicated app for smart TVs, streaming devices, and gaming systems. The company also confirmed that an Apple TV app for YouTube TV will launch “in the coming weeks.”

Today, YouTube TV will be available on Android TV devices and smart TVs, as well as the Xbox One, Xbox One S, and upcoming Xbox One X.

So today we’re excited to unveil the new YouTube TV app built for TV devices. In the next few days, you’ll be able to stream live TV through the new YouTube TV app on Android TV devices including NVIDIA SHIELD and TVs with Android TV built-in, such as Sony, as well as on the Xbox One family of devices (Xbox One, Xbox One S, and soon Xbox One X).

In the coming weeks we’ll be launching the new app on Smart TVs, such as LG, Samsung, Sony, along with Apple TV.

The new YouTube TV app is similar to the app on mobile, with Home, Live, and Library tabs for viewing content. New features include a dark background, Live guide to look at upcoming shows, and the ability to navigate the app while keeping video running in the background.

YouTube TV originally debuted in early April and continued expanding throughout the spring, and was initially available only for iOS and Android mobile devices, as well as on the web. YouTube TV allows viewers to live stream and watch shows on ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, CW, Disney, ESPN, FX, USA, and dozens of other major cable channels, alongside standard YouTube video content.

Related Roundup: Apple TVBuyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Buy Now)
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Apple Maps Transit Directions Now Available in Phoenix and Birmingham, AL Areas

Apple Maps has been updated with comprehensive transit data in the Phoenix, Arizona and Birmingham, Alabama areas, enabling navigation with public transportation options such as buses and trains in those regions.

In the Phoenix area, supported vehicles include Valley Metro buses and trains, and the PHX Sky Train at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Routes extend to and from suburbs such as Chandler, Mesa, Glendale, Scottsdale, and Tempe.

In the Birmingham area, supported vehicles include MAX Transit buses operated by the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority. Transit directions have also recently been enabled in Montgomery and Huntsville.

MacRumors reader Bernd Keuning, who keeps close tabs on Apple Maps, also sees hints of transit directions eventually expanding to Nordic and Baltic countries. Progress is visible in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Keuning has a good track record, having tipped us ahead of time about transit in several cities and countries where the functionality eventually launched, including Las Vegas, Phoenix, Ottawa, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Taiwan, and Singapore.

The telltale sign is that Apple Maps typically adds station outlines to a region shortly before launching transit directions in the area.

Apple Maps gained a Transit tab in iOS 9. The feature lags several years behind Google Maps, but Apple’s public transportation support is at least exhaustive, mapping all station entrances and listing departure times. Apple Maps also provides detailed advisories about service interruptions and other changes.

At launch, the feature was limited to Baltimore, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto, and over 300 cities in China. Since then, Apple has been working to expand support for public transportation to other cities around the world.

For an occasionally updated list of cities and regions with Apple Maps transit directions, visit the iOS Feature Availability page on Apple’s website.

Tags: Apple Maps, transit
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Apple Releases First Beta of iOS 11.2 for Developers

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming iOS 11.2 update to developers, just over two weeks after releasing iOS 11.0.3 and while the upcoming iOS 11.1 update is still in beta testing.

Registered developers can download the iOS 11.2 beta from Apple’s Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center.

It’s not yet clear what’s included in the iOS 11.2 beta, but it could potentially introduce support for features that were not included in the original iOS 11 release.

Apple has said both peer-to-peer Apple Pay payments and iCloud support for iMessages will be introduced in later iOS 11 updates, and neither of these features has appeared in the iOS 11.1 beta, though employees have been testing Apple Pay Cash.

iOS 11 marks a major update to the operating system, with systemwide design tweaks, a new Lock screen experience, a revamped Control Center, and an entirely new interface for the iPad that includes a Dock, Drag and Drop support, and a redesigned App Switcher for better than ever multitasking.

Related Roundup: iOS 11
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Apple Seeds First Beta of watchOS 4.2 to Developers

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 4.2 update to developers, more than a month after releasing the new watchOS 4 operating system to the public and while watchOS 4.1, the first major update to watchOS 4, is still in testing.

Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS 4.1 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General -> Software update.

To install the update, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it has to be in range of the iPhone.

It’s not yet clear what new features watchOS 4.2 will introduce, but it could bring support for Apple Pay Cash, Apple’s new peer-to-peer payments feature. We’ll know more about what’s included in the update once developers are able to download the software and dig into the new features.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
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Apple Seeds First Beta of tvOS 11.2 to Developers

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.2 update to developers for testing purposes, more than a month after releasing tvOS 11 to the public and while tvOS 11.1, the first tvOS update, is still in testing.

Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the tvOS 11.1 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that’s installed using Xcode.

According to the release notes accompanying the tvOS 11.2 beta, the update fixes several bugs related to 4K support and introduces new 4K features.

tvOS 11.2 includes new features, bug fixes, and security improvements in the OS and SDK, including:
– Automatic mode switching to native frame rate and dynamic range of video content with Apple TV 4K
– Support for switching Apple TV 4K display output to SDR for apps that are GPU-bound when running in HDR
– Restoring Unwatched category in Home Sharing for Movies, TV Shows, and Home Videos

Apple has released a video for the new AVDisplayManager feature for developers. With tvOS 11.2, Apple TV 4K is able to automatically switch video display modes to match the native frame rate and dynamic range of video content, so developers will need to make sure their apps and video content are ready to support the new functionality.

Does your tvOS app play video? Learn about the new mode switching options in tvOS 11.2 using AVDisplayManager: https://t.co/P1vzpBeSIV

— Josh Tidsbury (@joshtidsbury) October 30, 2017

tvOS 11 was something of a minor update, introducing features like full support for AirPods, automatic switching between light and dark mode based on local time, Home screen syncing options designed to keep multiple Apple TVs in a single household in sync, and new background modes and notification support.

Related Roundup: Apple TVBuyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Buy Now)
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Apple Releases New Firmware for HomePod Ahead of December Launch

Apple this morning released new firmware for the HomePod ahead of its December launch. The new firmware isn’t available through the Developer portal, but it will be downloadable by testers who have a HomePod and it is listed on third-party iOS software sites, making it available for download by the public.

HomePod devices are currently in the hands of Apple employees who are testing the smart speaker to iron out bugs before it becomes available for purchase later this year.

Apple previously released publicly available HomePod firmware in July, unwittingly leaking many secrets about the iPhone X. The HomePod firmware referenced the unreleased iPhone and confirmed its design and several features like Face ID facial recognition.

The update also highlighted details about the HomePod like its startup process and internal features that include display resolution and RAM.

This time around, there are no unreleased iOS devices coming in the immediate future so the new HomePod firmware is unlikely to be as exciting as the first, but it could potentially unveil new information about the HomePod itself as developers dig into the firmware code.

HomePod is Apple’s Siri-based smart speaker that focuses heavily on high-quality sound. It incorporates a 7 tweeter array, an Apple-designed 4-inch upward-facing woofer, and an A8 chip to power features like spatial awareness.

When it launches this December, HomePod will be priced at $349.

Related Roundup: HomePod
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iOS 11.2 Beta Fixes Calculator Bug Causing Incorrect Calculations when Numbers Are Rapidly Entered

The new iOS 11.2 beta, released to developers this morning, addresses a Calculator animation issue that’s been present since iOS 11 was released to the public in September and throughout the iOS 11 beta testing process.

In all versions of iOS 11 prior to iOS 11.2, a calculator animation causes some symbols to be ignored when entered in rapid succession. As an example, if you tap 1+2+3 and then hit the equals sign quickly, animation lag is likely to case the result to be 24 instead of 6.

With the iOS 11.2 beta, Apple has removed the animations from the calculator app, so calculations can be conducted rapidly with no need to pause between entering numbers to obtain the correct result.

Though the Calculator bug was present throughout the iOS 11 beta testing process, it gained significant attention last week, likely prompting the fix in today’s beta. An Apple engineer said dozens of people had filed bug reports about the problem, and hundreds of complaints were lodged on reddit and the MacRumors forums.

iPhone users who regularly use the Calculator app should find it to be much more accurate with the slow animations removed.

Related Roundup: iOS 11
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