Apple Arcade Is a New Game Subscription Service For iOS, Mac, and Apple TV

• Apple has unveiled a few different subscription services today at its “show time” event, including a new Apple Arcade game subscription service for titles that can be installed from the App Store.
• The company is aiming to curate some of the 300,000 games currently available from the App Store into this new ad-free subscription service.
• “There will be 100 new and exclusive games available on Apple Arcade, which will launch on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV,” reports The Verge.
• These games won’t be available on any other mobile platform or any subscription service other than Apple Arcade.
• Games will be downloaded and played straight from the App Store, and subscribers will be able to try games whenever they want and resume them across devices.
• All of the game features, content, and future updates will be included, and there will be no ads shown within the games.
• SimCity creator Will Wright is also making a game for the service.
• Apple is promising games from Annapurna Interactive, Bossa Studios, Cartoon Network, Finji, Giant Squid, Klei Entertainment, Konami, Lego, Mistwalker Corporation, SEGA, Snowman, ustwo games, and more.
• Apple isn’t just curating the games for Apple Arcade; it’s actually planning to contribute to the development costs of creating them. Apple might not have announced its own game studio today, but it’s certainly a big step toward that.
• Apple Arcade is launching this fall in more than 150 countries, but Apple is not yet revealing pricing for this subscription service. Apple does say that “access for up to six family members,” will be available, suggesting you’ll be able to share the subscription.
• While the full list of games isn’t available yet, some of the titles revealed on Apple Arcade’s website include: LEGO Brawls, HitchHiker, Kings of the Castle, Where Cards Fall, and Frogger in Toy Town.

Apple TV+, With Shows From Spielberg, Oprah and J.J. Abrams, is Coming This Fall

• Apple TV+, a place for its new slate of original shows. The new service, billed as a place for the “highest-quality storytelling,” will be available in over 100 countries and released starting this fall through the Apple TV app.
• It will be ad-free, on-demand and available both streaming online and downloadable. Pricing will be announced this fall.
• Apple TV Plus is the company’s way of jumping into the streaming video game, where Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and others have already established themselves and brought in millions of cord-cutter customers fleeing cable subscriptions.
• The new service also works as a way for Apple to grow its thriving services business, helping it continue to grow despite lagging iPhone sales.
• The company in 2017 hired Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg from Sony Pictures Television to oversee “all aspects of video programming.” The two were responsible for shows such as Breaking Bad, The Crown and Rescue Me.
• And in the past year, Apple has continually announced original content it’s producing — including a multiyear partnership deal with Oprah and deals with Reese Witherspoon, J.J. Abrams and dozens of others. The company has reportedly gone well past its original $1 billion budget to bring in this list of movie and television A-listers, who are slated to create about 30 shows and a handful of movies.

Apple Unveils $9.99 News Subscription Service Dubbed Apple News+

• Apple today unveiled a news subscription service called Apple News+ at its services event in Cupertino, Calif.
• The $9.99 service gives paying subscribers access to over 300 magazines as well as select newspapers and premium digital news services.
• “We believe in the power of journalism and the impact it will have on your lives,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook.
• Some of the magazines part of the service are including GQ, Esquire, Popular Science, The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, New York Magazine and Vogue, as well as Variety and the Rolling Stone.
• Newspapers included in the package are the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal. Digital publications include theSkimm, TechCrunch and The Highlight by Vox. For now, it is available just in the U.S., and come to three more markets — Canada, Australia, and the U.K., later this year.

Apple Launches no-fee Apple Credit Card

• Apple announced they are getting into the Credit Card business.
• It will start out as a virtual card (on your phone or watch).
  • It will work everywhere that accepts Apple Pay. (Uses faceID or touchID)
  • It will have a “Titanium Card” (physical card?) for those places that don’t have apple pay.
  • The sleek, minimalist titanium card just has the holder’s name etched onto it with lasers. It forgoes card numbers and other sensitive information.
• The card gives 2% cash back on Apple Pay transactions and 3 % on direct Apple purchases. Customers get 1% on purchases with the physical card and the company said rewards are dispensed daily.
• Cash back will be “Daily Cash”.
  • Not sure if it has to be spent through the Apple Store, Account (Apply Music, TV+) or even on the balance of your statement.  
• Apple will charge a 1 percent fee to make an instantaneous transfer from an Apple Pay Cash balance to a debit card, maxing out at $10, although direct bank transfers are free. This means that while Apple Card doesn’t have fees, some of Apple’s associated services might have one.
• Apple will no longer let you send money to other people that use apple pay unless you have the apple credit card.

HTC Debuts New ‘Vive Focus Plus’ VR Headset; Available To Developers April 15 For $799

• HTC has debuted their new virtual-reality headset called the Vive Focus Plus. Starting at $799, the headset functions similarly to the Oculus Quest, which starts shipping this spring at half the cost, but has improved specifications and is geared towards the business market.
• HTC says the Vive Focus Plus would be available to developers on April 15.
• The Vive Focus Plus will ship in most markets with an enterprise license.
• The headset is said to launch with 250 Vive Wave applications while its Viveport Infinity subscription program claims to include “over 70 premium titles.”
• [Some of the specifications include a 3K AMOLED (2880×1600) display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 75Hz frame rate, 110-degree field of view, and inside-out tracking.] HTC is a company that appears to be in technological transition — with the Vive Focus Plus the latest example.
• HTC’s first generation Vive headset debuted in 2016 for $$799, a full $200 more than the Rift with a wider feature set.
• HTC is trying to gear the headset to the business market but it is not clear how the headset or its business license will outperform Oculus Quest for business use cases.

Meng Whanzhou was Carrying an iPhone when she was arrested.

• According to court released documents, Meng Whanzhou had many apple products on her.
  • MacBook Air, iPad Pro, iPhone 7 Plus.
  • She also had a Huawei Mate RS Porsche Design (hopefully her main phone).
• Just a few months ago, there was a New Years tweet from the Company’s Twitter account that came from an iPhone.  That person was apparently demoted and Huawei believes it hurt their brand.
• Update
  • China has banned all Canola from Canada (originally saying there were pests).
  • It’s just more pressure to on Canada to release Meng Wanzauo.

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