This Week's Sponsor:

Turbulence Forecast

Know before you go. Get detailed turbulence forecasts for your exact route, now available 5 days in advance.

Posts tagged with "app store"

Apple Announces 45 App Store Awards Finalists for 2024

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Today, Apple announced the finalists for its App Store Awards, a selection of apps picked by the App Store Editorial team each fall to recognize “exceptional user experience, design, and innovation from developers across the world.”

This year’s awards are a little different than in the past. 2023 was the first time finalists were announced, so that part isn’t new. But this year, Apple has expanded the number of categories from 10 to 12 and increased the finalist count from about 40 to 45 to include apps and games for Vision Pro. It’s also notable that the finalists were introduced in a press release last year by Phil Schiller, while this year’s awards are being introduced by Carson Oliver, Apple’s head of Worldwide App Store, who had this to say about the finalists:

We’re thrilled to celebrate this year’s App Store Award finalists, whose imagination and craftsmanship have produced amazing apps that users love. From games that transport players to fantastical new worlds, to apps that fuel creativity, these developers are delivering remarkable experiences that captivate and inspire.

Let’s take a look at the categories and finalists as they’re described in Apple’s press release.

iPhone App of the Year Finalists

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Finalists in the iPhone App of the Year category empowered users to enhance real-life experiences through personalized tools and easy-to-use features:

Kino, for turning everyday moments into cinematic masterpieces. 

Runna, for offering tailored training plans to runners of all experience levels. 

Tripsy, for keeping travelers organized and stress-free.

iPhone Game of the Year Finalists

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Finalists in the iPhone Game of the Year category brought players captivating narratives with rich visuals and compelling characters:

AFK Journey, for building enchanting fantasy worlds with striking battles. 

The WereCleaner, for delivering comical and creative gameplay. 

Zenless Zone Zero, for immersing players in action-packed storylines.

iPad App of the Year Finalists

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Finalists in the iPad App of the Year category inspired imaginative play and creativity:

Bluey: Let’s Play, for delivering lovable characters and family-friendly fun.

Moises, for elevating music practice with AI-powered tools.

Procreate Dreams, for bringing animated stories to life.

iPad Game of the Year Finalists

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Finalists in the iPad Game of the Year category featured dynamic storytelling and beautifully crafted worlds:

Assassin’s Creed Mirage, for transporting players into a world of narrative-driven adventure. 

Disney Speedstorm, for bringing exciting, high-speed racing experiences. 

Squad Busters, for combining the thrill of competition with welcoming, playful gameplay.

Apple Arcade Game of the Year

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Finalists in the Apple Arcade Game of the Year category offered epic stories and a refresh of the classics:

Balatro+, for inventing a thrilling card game that’s like no other.

Outlanders 2, for captivating players with revamped graphics and imaginative levels.

Sonic Dream Team, for introducing new adventures to the characters players know and love.

Mac App of the Year Finalists

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Finalists in the Mac App of the Year category delivered powerful tools, helping users tackle projects with ease:

Adobe Lightroom, for enhancing the photo editing process with AI-powered features. 

OmniFocus 4, for fostering focus with simplified task management.

Shapr3D, for transforming the 3D design workflow.

Mac Game of the Year Finalists

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Finalists in the Mac Game of the Year category brought gamers unique protagonists, visual style, and endless fun:

Frostpunk 2, for expanding on the city-building genre.

Stray, for capturing both mystery and playfulness in its dark world. 

Thank Goodness You’re Here!, for amusing players with nonstop humor and absurdity.

Apple Watch App of the Year Finalists

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Finalists in the Apple Watch App of the Year category provided convenient access to helpful tools and information, right on their wrist:

LookUp, for improving vocabularies with daily definitions.

Lumy, for connecting users to the rhythms of the sun and moon.

Watch to 5K, for giving runners a boost, all the way to the finish line.

Apple Vision Pro App of the Year Finalists

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Finalists in the Apple Vision Pro App of the Year category pushed the boundaries of spatial computing:

JigSpace, for empowering users to view 3D and augmented reality models with ease. 

NBA, for redefining the future of how users watch the sports they love.

What If…? An Immersive Story, for inviting players into a new kind of Marvel experience.

Apple Vision Pro Game of the Year Finalists

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Finalists in the Apple Vision Pro Game of the Year category stunned players with vibrant scenes and intuitive gameplay:

Loóna, for crafting relaxing puzzles to unwind with.

THRASHER, for introducing smooth, trailblazing controls and a mesmerizing alien world.

Vacation Simulator, for taking players to destinations filled with funny characters and even funnier activities.

Apple TV App of the Year Finalists

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Finalists in the Apple TV App of the Year category brought stunning experiences to the biggest screen in the home:

DROPOUT, for providing endless laughter and fun.

F1 TV, for transporting fans straight into the cockpit of a race car. 

Zoom, for keeping groups connected in innovative ways.

Cultural Impact Finalists

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Finalists in the Cultural Impact category brought users powerful stories and helped them bring out their best selves to create a lasting impact:

Arco, for letting players shape their own story. 

The Bear, for turning bedtime into a calming, interactive experience. 

BetterSleep, for helping users sleep — and feel — better. 

Brawl Stars, for delivering quick bites of action-packed gameplay. 

DailyArt, for inspiring curiosity about artistic masterpieces. 

Do You Really Want to Know 2, for addressing misconceptions about HIV through an endearing interactive story.

EF Hello, for empowering language learners with AI-enhanced tools.

NYT Games, for uniting puzzle lovers across generations with a daily dose of fun.

Oko, for making street-crossing safer and more accessible to all.

Partiful, for simplifying social gatherings to foster connection and community.

Pinterest, for inspiring new ideas and endless possibilities. 

The Wreck, for telling an intimate and impactful story via cinematic gameplay.

As always, it’s great to see MacStories favorites like Kino, Tripsy, Procreate Dreams, Balatro, OmniFocus, LookUp, Arco, and others among the finalists. Apple says the winners will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Apple Announces New Games Coming to Apple Arcade

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Apple has announced fifteen games coming to Apple Arcade between December 5 and January 9, ranging from all-new titles to App Store games making the jump to Arcade.

Snowman is making another Skate City game dedicated to New York. The original Arcade title takes place in cities around the world, but on January 9, Skate City: New York will take Arcade subscribers on a tour of the Big Apple.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Arcade is getting three Final Fantasy titles too. Apple describes Square Enix’s Final Fantasy IV (3D Remake)+ as:

beautifully revived with updated graphics, and improved gameplay and voice acting for event scenes. The hit fourth game in the iconic FINAL FANTASY series is also the first title to introduce the Active Time Battle system that players have come to love in the franchise.

The game, which will be out on December 9, looks similar to what is available for Windows on Steam. FF IV: The After Years+ will also debut on Arcade December 9.

Then on January 9, Apple Arcade will get Final Fantasy+, which is the first of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster games that are currently available as paid upfront games on the App Store and other platforms.

Apple also announced Gears & Goo, a Vision Pro exclusive game by Resolution Games. It’s a colorful tower defense game that plays out in front of you and will release on January 9.

Apple announced the following games, too:

That’s a lot of games for the holiday season with a nice variety that should appeal to a wide audience. I’m looking forward to dipping into a few of these games soon.

App Store Connect Adds New Tools for Developers to Promote Their Apps

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

App Store Connect, the web app that developers use to submit their apps to Apple’s App Store and manage them, was updated yesterday with new tools developers can use to promote their apps.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Developers have been able to submit promotional requests to Apple for quite some time, but the new Featuring Nomination process is now baked right into App Store Connect. Developers can submit nominations from App Store Connect where they will be asked for information about their app. Nominations can be made for events such as a new app launch or adding in-app content and features. When an app is chosen by the App Store editorial team for a feature, developers will be notified in App Store Connect, too.

App Store Connect has also added the ability to generate promotional materials. The assets created can be used on social media and other platforms to promote app launches and other significant events.

These new App Store Connect tools promise to make promoting apps more convenient by including the Featuring Nomination process alongside other aspects of app submission. However, I expect it’s the ready-made promotional assets that are the more significant addition for smaller developers who may not have the budget or skills to create the materials themselves.

Pokémon TCG Pocket Launches Early

Pokémon TCG Pocket, originally slated to be released on October 31st, is out now and available to download from the App Store. The free-to-play game from The Pokémon Company recreates the company’s trading cards as a mobile experience, with a focus on collecting and casual battling.

According to the game’s release notes:

  • You can open packs every day to get cards!
    Collect cards every day! You can open two booster packs every day at no cost to collect Pokémon cards featuring heartwarming illustrations from the past as well as all-new cards exclusive to this game.
  • New Pokémon cards!
    Immersive cards, a brand-new kind of card, make their debut here! With new illustrations that have a 3D feel, immersive cards will make you feel like you’ve leapt into the world of the card’s illustration!

  • Show off your collection!
    You can use binders or display boards to showcase your cards and share them with the world!

  • Casual battles—alone or with friends!
    You can enjoy casual battles during quick breaks in your day!

I’ve played through the game’s tutorial, which walks players through how to retrieve packs of cards, explains missions, and tours other parts of the game’s interface. The highlight of the game is the cards themselves, which look beautiful on the iPhone’s screen. Battling is locked at first, as are a few other areas, which I think makes sense given the depth of areas and features that are available to explore initially.

It’s worth noting that there have been many reports on Reddit of the game crashing on launch. I haven’t experienced that, but I know, for example, Brendon Bigley has.

It’s too early to judge whether The Pokémon Company will have a hit on their hands with Pokémon TCG Pocket, but I like what I’ve seen a lot. The game offers a premium subscription and in-game currency, but my early sense is that there’s plenty to do for free, too. If The Pokémon Company can get the game stabilized quickly, I expect it will become a big hit.

Pokémon TCG Pocket is free to download on the App Store and offers In-App Purchases for a premium subscription and in-game currency.

Monument Valley 3 Is Heading To Netflix Games Along with the Series’ First Two Installments

Yesterday, during Gamescom’s opening night ceremonies, Netflix Games released a trailer for Monument Valley 3. The franchise’s sequel from Ustwo Games, which has been in development for five years, will be published exclusively on Apple’s App Store and Android by Netflix Games on December 10th. Monument Valley 1 and 2 are also moving to Netflix Games on September 19th and October 29th, respectively. Both games previously launched on the App Store as paid titles and were later added to Apple Arcade.

Few details have been shared about Monument Valley 3, although the trailer does reveal that the game’s protagonist Noor will sail a boat for the first time. According to Jennifer Estaris, Ustwo’s Game Director of Monument Valley 3:

Monument Valley is a title that has pushed boundaries of what is possible in games, from the power of minimalist design, to the simplicity of play and the emotion of interactive storytelling. Our goal is to bring our biggest Monument Valley yet to as many people as possible, which is why we partnered with Netflix to deliver the game to hundreds of millions of players around the world as part of their memberships.

Netflix has promised additional information about the game during its September 16th Geeked Week event.

I’ve had my eye on Netflix Games for a while. Its catalog, which we discussed on NPC: Next Portable Console and I’ve written about a lot, is full of high-quality indie games as well as casual games and TV tie-ins. I’ve half expected Netflix to veer in a more Arcade-like direction, but so far, the company’s game library continues to outdo Apple Arcade in terms of game quality and balance among genres.

Patreon Lays Out How It Will Deal with Apple’s Insistence That It Use App Store In-App Purchases

Today, Patreon alerted creators who use its platform that Patreon must begin using Apple’s In-App Purchases system in its iOS app or face the app’s removal from the store. According to Patreon:

This has two major consequences for creators:

  1. Apple will be applying their 30% App Store fee to all new memberships purchased in the Patreon iOS app, in addition to anything bought in your Patreon shop.
  2. Any creator currently on first-of-the-month or per-creation billing plans will have to switch over to subscription billing to continue earning in the iOS app, because that’s the only billing type Apple’s in-app purchase system supports.

This change was first publicized by Patreon late last year, but the exact date of the 2024 transition was unknown at the time. The Patreon post linked above and a video by Patreon founder Jack Conte explain the situation in depth and walk through what the company is doing to help transition creators and their members to new billing systems.

The changes don’t affect supporters who purchase a membership before November 2024. Also, Patreon has created a tool for creators to pass Apple’s 30% fee on to their members who sign up using the iOS app, which it recommends doing. However, that’s bound to create some ill will with members, and it doesn’t solve the fact that certain kinds of billing like ‘per creation’ charges aren’t available as part of Apple’s payment system, meaning that many creators will need to change their financial arrangements with their members.

It’s a real shame to see this. On the one hand, I’ve always wondered why Patreon was able to use its own billing system. Apparently, so was Patreon. On the other hand, though, Apple allowed Patreon to do its own thing for years. Patreon and creators built businesses that don’t fit neatly into Apple’s payment system, so it doesn’t strike me as fair that now, they have to find a way to fit that square peg into a round hole.

I wish this were an isolated thing, but it isn’t. Apple’s caring-for-creators engine seems to have run out of gas.

Delta 1.6 Released in the EU and for Patreon Members with a Worldwide App Store Release in the Works

Delta, the retro gaming emulator that took the App Store by storm when it was released earlier this spring and now has over 10 million users, has been updated in the EU via AltStore PAL and for Patreon members, who can sideload the app. An update to the App Store version has been submitted to the App Store for the rest of the world but has not been approved yet.

Playing the SNES version of Donkey Kong Country.

Playing the SNES version of Donkey Kong Country.

The update brings official iPadOS support to Delta for the first time. That means support for native iPad features like Split View, Stage Manager, multiwindowing, and even Handoff, which can be used to move a game from one device to another. The update also introduces a refinement of Delta’s new icon, which was changed because Adobe thought it looked too much like its own logo and demanded that Delta make changes to the icon. Delta’s built-in skins have been updated too to work with the iPad’s larger screen:

Multiwindow gaming.

Multiwindow gaming.

I’ve had a chance to try the new Delta 1.6 iPad features and they’re great, so it was disappointing to see that the app has been rejected by App Review. According to the AltStore Mastodon account, the reason was that the app included a link to the developers’ Patreon page, even though that link appeared in prior versions of the app. The Patreon link has been removed and the app resubmitted, so hopefully the update will be available worldwide soon.

It’s a shame that Delta 1.6 is being held up in App Review, but barring any further objections from Apple, I expect we’ll see the update on the App Store soon.

European Commission Preliminarily Finds That Apple Has Violated the Digital Markets Act

Today, the European Commission informed Apple that based on its preliminary investigation it has determined that the company is in violation of the Digital Markets Act. The EC has also opened a separate non-compliance procedure against Apple over the Core Technology Fee and other changes instituted earlier this year as part of its response to the DMA.

In particular, the EC’s preliminary findings take issue with Apple’s response to the DMA’s anti-steering provisions:

Apple currently has three sets of business terms governing its relationship with app developers, including the App Store’s steering rules. The Commission preliminarily finds that:

  • None of these business terms allow developers to freely steer their customers. For example, developers cannot provide pricing information within the app or communicate in any other way with their customers to promote offers available on alternative distribution channels.
  • Under most of the business terms available to app developers, Apple allows steering only through “link-outs”, i.e., app developers can include a link in their app that redirects the customer to a web page where the customer can conclude a contract. The link-out process is subject to several restrictions imposed by Apple that prevent app developers from communicating, promoting offers and concluding contracts through the distribution channel of their choice.
  • Whilst Apple can receive a fee for facilitating via the AppStore the initial acquisition of a new customer by developers, the fees charged by Apple go beyond what is strictly necessary for such remuneration. For example, Apple charges developers a fee for every purchase of digital goods or services a user makes within seven days after a link-out from the app.

Apple may respond to the EC’s preliminary findings in writing. A final decision regarding compliance with the law is due by March 25, 2025, the one year anniversary of the beginning of DMA proceedings against Apple.

The EC has also opened a separate investigation regarding Apple’s compliance with Section 6(4) of the DMA, which provides that:

The gatekeeper shall allow and technically enable the installation and effective use of third-party software applications or software application stores using, or interoperating with, its operating system and allow those software applications or software application stores to be accessed by means other than the relevant core platform services of that gatekeeper. The gatekeeper shall, where applicable, not prevent the downloaded third-party software applications or software application stores from prompting end users to decide whether they want to set that downloaded software application or software application store as their default. The gatekeeper shall technically enable end users who decide to set that downloaded software application or software application store as their default to carry out that change easily.

The gatekeeper shall not be prevented from taking, to the extent that they are strictly necessary and proportionate, measures to ensure that third-party software applications or software application stores do not endanger the integrity of the hardware or operating system provided by the gatekeeper, provided that such measures are duly justified by the gatekeeper.

Furthermore, the gatekeeper shall not be prevented from applying, to the extent that they are strictly necessary and proportionate, measures and settings other than default settings, enabling end users to effectively protect security in relation to third-party software applications or software application stores, provided that such measures and settings other than default settings are duly justified by the gatekeeper.

Specifically, the EC says it will investigate whether the Core Technology Fee, the multi-step process for downloading apps from alternative app marketplaces, and the eligibility requirements for running an alternative app marketplace are ‘necessary and proportionate’ under the DMA. The EC also notes that it is continuing to investigate Apple’s process for validating apps and alternative app marketplaces.

None of this is particularly surprising, given the complexities of the provisions Apple put into place in the wake of the DMA. The ‘necessity and proportionality’ of Apple’s changes are, by their nature, subjective determinations. That makes the DMA hard to comply with, but it also leaves ample room for the EC and Apple to negotiate a resolution of their dispute over the DMA. It’s time for the parties to put this dispute to rest.

Retro Videogame Streaming Service Antstream To Launch on the App Store Next Week

In the wake of the Digital Markets Act, Apple made a couple of worldwide changes to its App Review Guidelines, along with many EU-specific updates. One of the worldwide updates was to allow third-party game streaming services.

Today, Antstream became the first game streaming service to announce that it will launch an app on Apple’s App Store. Antstream is a retro game streaming service with a catalog of over 1,300 videogames. The service, which is available on multiple other platforms in the EU, US, and Brazil, will bring its licensed library of games to the iPhone and iPad next week on June 27th.

Antstream’s catalog covers a wide variety of retro systems, including the Atari 2600, Commodore 64, SNES, Megadrive, PlayStation One, and Arcade classics. Antstream Arcade normally costs $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year but will be available for $3.99 per month or $29.99 per year for a limited time when it launches on the App Store.

I haven’t used Antstream Arcade yet, but I’m looking forward to trying it to see what’s in the catalog and check out how it performs over Wi-Fi.