Feature By William Gallagher Saturday, March 23, 2019, 06:53 am PT (09:53 am ET) In the last seven days, Apple has revamped its iPad Air, iPad mini, iMacs, and AirPods and also introduced new Watch bands as well as iPhone cases. If that wasn't enough, the company has also announced a big update to its entire iWork suite. Here's a round up of all the products Apple has brought out ahead of its March 25 "Its show time" event. While Apple has skipped March events in the past, when it did have one, it has never hosted one that did not feature hardware. Equally, there have been Apple special events that introduced a lot less than we got this week. In advance of its March 25 event, Apple has systematically launched revisions to its Mac, iPad and AirPods products, plus updated Pages, Numbers and Keynote —and unveiled new colors for its Apple Watch bands and iPhone cases. There are also new Smart Covers for the iPads. Even excluding the different capacities of the iPads and iMacs, … [Read more...] about Here’s everything Apple announced this week from AirPods to iMacs
Apple may reveal a plan for iPhone & iPad game subscriptions at the March 25 event
By Mike Wuerthele Saturday, March 23, 2019, 06:48 am PT (09:48 am ET) Apple's March 25 "its show time" event is expected to be largely focused on Services, with a new report claiming that the company may debut a subscription service for paid iPhone and iPad games during the presentation as well.Civilization VI on the iPad, one of the more full-featured paid games on the App Store While the vast majority of the report reiterates what has already been gleaned about Apple's subscription and news services, it delves a bit more into Apple's rumored games as a service plan. According to the report, Apple isn't looking at building a off-device rendering service like the defunct OnLive, or Google's new Stadia service, it is looking at a paid bundle including titles from different developers, that are all accessible for a single monthly fee. According to Bloomberg's report from Saturday morning, revenue would be divided up amongst the paid titles in the service according to how long a user … [Read more...] about Apple may reveal a plan for iPhone & iPad game subscriptions at the March 25 event
Gobsmacked by the sound of the latest Massdrop Koss headphone
Audiophiles have long admired electrostatic headphones for their uber-transparency, but they're all pretty expensive. Ah, but then Massdrop worked its magic on the $1,000 Koss ESP-950, rechristened it as the Massdrop x Koss ESP/95X, and slashed the price to $500! The sound is so pure, the ESP/95X will be a revelation to anyone who never heard an electrostatic headphone before.It's a full-size, over-the-ear headphone system that includes a dedicated amp, the E/90X. The 'phones velour earpads are slightly scratchy to the touch, but overall comfort is superb, even when I'm wearing my glasses. The headphones permanently attached cable is 47 inches long, but you also get a 72-inch extension cable. It's an open-back design so it doesn't isolate the wearer from external noise, and the ESP/95X's sound can be heard by anyone nearby. The E/90X amp's connectivity options are limited to a Koss proprietary headphone jack, and two stereo analog inputs: a front-panel-mounted 3.5mm input, while on the … [Read more...] about Gobsmacked by the sound of the latest Massdrop Koss headphone
Apple might reveal its game subscription service at Monday’s event
Apple is expected to announce new services in TV, news, and finance (with a rumored credit card linked to Goldman Sachs) at its March 25th event. But there’s a chance we might also get a look at the company’s iOS game subscription service come Monday, as well. Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is “discussing” the gaming service with potential partners. Back in late January, Cheddar first reported about the service, which would let users play a bundle of games in exchange for a monthly fee. If the news subscription service is being referred to as the “Netflix for news or magazines,” then this would be a similar concept focused on gaming. For the game bundle subscription, Bloomberg notes that Apple is “likely considering” paid games only. Any titles that depend on a freemium model — free-to-play but with in-app purchases — won’t be part of the deal. That would result in hits like Fortnite and PUBG Mobile being left out, … [Read more...] about Apple might reveal its game subscription service at Monday’s event
Board game review: Ultimate Werewolf Legacy
Welcome to Ars Cardboard, our weekend look at tabletop games! Check out our complete board gaming coverage at cardboard.arstechnica.com. Our 16 games of Werewolf sprawled across 20 hours and two lengthy play sessions. They began well enough, with enthusiastic people enjoying each other's company, keen to backstab, betray, and devour their fellow participants. Villagers—and the occasional werewolf—were hanged, and each person’s hands were bloodied. Yes, this was the decade-old social deduction game we all knew well—but now with sealed boxes, fistfuls of stickers, and a huge leather tome for the moderator to scribble in. Ultimate Werewolf Legacy takes an old concept and pairs it with newfangled “legacy” game mechanisms. This means components are permanently altered—mostly the moderator's diary—and decisions are made that impact future plays. In other words, it's a campaign game with irreversible decisions, promising all the drama that … [Read more...] about Board game review: Ultimate Werewolf Legacy