Apple Quietly Updated the App Store Review Guidelines to Require Disclosure of "Loot Box" IAP Odds
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Apple's App Store Review Guidelines is the law of the land of the App Store. Inside this document you'll find everything you can and can't do inside Apple's walled garden, and over the years Apple has modified it to stay on top of new trends on the App Store. If something problematic is popping up, it usually doesn't take them too long to add an official rule to the guidelines so everyone is on the same page. Well, it seems the recent "loot box" drama of Star Wars: Battlefront II which set the internet on fire might have caused Apple to institute an official policy before they face a similar PR disaster of their own.
Per section 3.1.1 on in-app purchases, Apple has added the following bullet point:
Apps offering “loot boxes” or other mechanisms that provide randomized virtual items for purchase must disclose the odds of receiving each type of item to customers prior to purchase.
Basically, the App Store now operates on the same level of some Asian countries which have laws on the books about loot box (or gacha) mechanics. If you're buying something random, you need to know your chances of getting things. Historically, Apple's policies have favored consumers, and forcing developers to show that the cool hat you really want out of that loot crate only has a 0.001% chance of being there when you open it is pretty consumer friendly.
It'll be interesting to see what if any impact this has on the popularity of gacha mechanics in mobile games. Scratch off lottery tickets have the odds printed on all of them, and it doesn't seem to stop anyone from buying them. I suspect this will be the same. Regardless, once Apple starts enforcing this new policy, I'm sure it will be eye opening to see just how rare getting anything good in games that lean on this style of monetization actually is.
But if you mean that those earphones need such a thing: yeah, they do. I've heard quite a few stories of people losing them while cycling or running and them being damaged or lost as a result. What do you expect from things you stick in your ear with nothing else keeping them there but the slight pressure of the inner-ear canal.
I used to have expensive Shure inner-ear phones that cost €200+ and one side kept falling out of my ear no matter how hard I shoved it inside. Apple can say what they want, but I'd have zero faith in their earphone remaining in my ear while jogging.
Sin317-"im 31 years old and still surprised at how much shit comes out of my ass actually ..."
SteamDRM-"Call of Duty is the symbol of the true perfection in every aspect. Call of Duty games are like Mozart's/Beethoven's symphonies"
deadpoetic-"are you new to the cyberspace?"
I have been using iphones since iphone 4 back in 2013 and have never had problems with my phone except for the usual dropping it multiple times onto concrete and cracking the screen. I like the apple iphone interface because I prefer a simple smartphone. I never use my phone for anything complicated its mainly for some social media, texting, calling, checking emails. I have colleagues at work with androids telling me their android is so much better that my phone and then half the time they cant even figure out where to go to add their exchange email account....
I think the main appeal of Apple products is its simplicity. My GF has the newer macbook pro with the touch bar and I can definitely see its appeal. The build quality of the chassis feels way better than any laptop I have worked with and Ive worked with the new MS surface pro and Lenovo X1 Carbon (6th Gen). When it comes to computers, I prefer to have more options so Id obviously go with something like the Lenovo but a lot of people just want simplicity.
Im not sure if I would consider myself an Apple fanboy though. I dont think I have any brand loyalty EXCEPT for the apple smartphone because again Ive been using the same interface since 2013 so I am way too comfortable with it. But whenever a new iphone comes out, Im never dying to upgrade my current phone. I will change it out if I cracked the screen by dropping it but other than that no real reason to get the latest smart phone
I dunno though maybe I am a fanboy and I just dont know it? Ive never had to deal with Apple repair or warranty services so from personal experience I just havent had any real issues with Apple
Spoiler:
My real tech complaint is why the hell are cars in 2018 still not using google maps on their nav interface. And most car companies you need to pay for nav service such as onstar/xm traffic link, mbrace, porsche connect, etc... Get the fuck out of here with that BS when google maps is free
ASUS Maximus XII Formula | Core i9 10900k @ 5.2Ghz | 32GB G.Skill DDR4 4200Mhz | EVGA RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra Hydro Copper | ASUS ROG PG35VQ
Gets better and better because the SSD is soldered in the logic board, and in 2018 models, there are no service ports for data extraction, they are unable to recover data if laptop breaks.
Gets better and better because the SSD is soldered in the logic board, and in 2018 models, there are no service ports for data extraction, they are unable to recover data if laptop breaks.
That doesn't surprise me. Apple has this weird mentality where productivity means jack shit and it's all about protecting their own interests while pretending it's about style and class. It's why fewer and fewer companies still buy this overpriced garbage.
It's not that they soldered an SSD drive. They actually put the SSD chips on the main board. Think of it as 4TB of on-board fastest SSD storage.
Wow, you're still drinking the kool aid?
It's ridiculous how people defend this crap:
"Oh it makes it cheaper to produce" (as if Apple is the right choice if you value your money)
"It makes it harder for someone to access my data" (and it makes it harder for YOU to access your own data, you fool)
"That's what Time Machine is for, why don't you use it?" (yes because forcing everyone to use a shitty tool because you make shitty laptops is the right way to go)
It's pathetic. I've hated Apple for over 10 years now because they keep making things way harder than they ought to. If fixing something on PC takes 3 steps, it takes 30 for a Mac and costs 10 times as much too.
It's not that they soldered an SSD drive. They actually put the SSD chips on the main board. Think of it as 4TB of on-board fastest SSD storage.
Wow, you're still drinking the kool aid?
It's ridiculous how people defend this crap:
"Oh it makes it cheaper to produce" (as if Apple is the right choice if you value your money)
"It makes it harder for someone to access my data" (and it makes it harder for YOU to access your own data, you fool)
"That's what Time Machine is for, why don't you use it?" (yes because forcing everyone to use a shitty tool because you make shitty laptops is the right way to go)
It's pathetic. I've hated Apple for over 10 years now because they keep making things way harder than they ought to. If fixing something on PC takes 3 steps, it takes 30 for a Mac and costs 10 times as much too.
Where the fuck am I defending, dumbass?
All I said is chips are soldered to the main board. If you notice, you quoted me, " "ing at the inability to extract information.
Where the fuck am I defending, dumbass?
All I said is chips are soldered to the main board. If you notice, you quoted me, " "ing at the inability to extract information.
My mistake - I thought you were defending it in a "well it means the drive will be faster" way. I've seen that defense on the article you linked.
No.
I mean, technically it is very fast—2018 MBPs have the fastest created SSD storage—likely because of the soldering, but since SSD is already so fast, I really don’t give a fuck if it’s faster. I’d rather be able to recover my drive if the thing burns and dies.
After seeing whats to come in the world of iphones, Im finally looking to move to Android as my next phone.
Ive been using iphone since 2010 with the iphone 4 as my first smartphone. Im currently using an iphone 7 that I got in January 2017 because the screen of my previous phone cracked. Once im ready to move to the next phone I think Im willing to try a totally new and exciting device. Been looking at the Sony Xperia phones
ASUS Maximus XII Formula | Core i9 10900k @ 5.2Ghz | 32GB G.Skill DDR4 4200Mhz | EVGA RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra Hydro Copper | ASUS ROG PG35VQ
Apple's T2 Chip Makes Third-Party Mac Repairs Impossible
If you own a 2017 iMac Pro or 2018 MacBook Pro, Apple requires proprietary software to repair your device, even if all you need is a new battery or keyboard replaced, which means only Apple and authorized service providers can fix your Mac.
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Teardowns of Apple's hardware have repeatedly revealed just how difficult it is to repair the company's devices. Apple doesn't want you to repair them, so why make it easy? But with the introduction of the T2 chip, Apple switched from deterring repairs to outright blocking them by anyone other than Apple authorized service providers.
The T2 chip is an 64-bit ARMv8 part that runs an operating system called BridgeOS.
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As MacRumors reports, an internal Apple document reveals that in order to complete some repairs on the iMac Pro and MacBook Pro fitted with the T2 chip, a proprietary piece of diagnostics software is required. If Apple's diagnostic software isn't used, a system will be rendered inoperative.
As you've probably guessed, Apple only makes the diagnostic software available to its own stores and authorized service providers. So if you own an Apple device fitted with a T2 chip you won't be able to carry out repairs yourself or take it to a repair shop that isn't certified by Apple. What makes this worse is the fact that once Apple decides to stop supporting models fitted with a T2 chip in future, there will be no way to repair them. They will become dead products.
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Blocking repairs ultimately leads to higher prices and enforces planned obsolescence.
Apples shenanigans makes you wonder why people got so pissed at Microsoft nearly two decades ago or so. In comparison Apple is much worse since it's aimed at it's own customers (and to me it seems the whole T2-chip + proprietary software scheme should be illegal since it makes it's own consumers into potential enemies).
Sounds a bit like what's happening in the automotive industry with cars and how problematic repairing or servicing the newer models can be, not the most perfect comparison but a similar development which is unfortunate to see especially if it's just for things like battery replacements but it just won't work at all until someone reverses the software and whatever that might require for DIY fixes for this device since Apple isn't providing anything.
"Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed nonage. Nonage is the inability to use one's own understanding without another's guidance. This nonage is self-imposed if its cause lies not in lack of understanding but in indecision and lack of courage to use one's own mind without another's guidance. Dare to know! (Sapere aude.) "Have the courage to use your own understanding," is therefore the motto of the enlightenment."
In this case they do. It just happens to be aimed at the customer who bought a ridiculously overpriced piece of poorly built machine and can't even get a borked keyboard replaced by anyone else than someone from Apples Service Center or one of the few authorized dealers/repair shops. You're basically stuck in a vice once you've bought one of these Pandoras boxes.
Apples shenanigans makes you wonder why people got so pissed at Microsoft nearly two decades ago or so. In comparison Apple is much worse since it's aimed at it's own customers (and to me it seems the whole T2-chip + proprietary software scheme should be illegal since it makes it's own consumers into potential enemies).
I think people just loved jumping on the Microsoft hating bandwagon because it was cool to do so.
In actuality, Microsoft most likely made PC gaming what it is today - if you look at the 80's and how many different operating systems and home computers there were, it was a giant mess. Because Microsoft decimated the opposition while paying attention on gaming along the way (let's not forget that - Apple didn't and we see where that ended), they offered a single strong platform to develop on. No it wasn't perfect but it was affordable and able enough. Microsoft actually didn't do all that much to screw over the consumer - they did it more to the competition.
Apple has confirmed to The Verge that some of its 2018 iPad Pros are shipping with a very slight bend in the aluminum chassis. But according to the company, this is a side effect of the device’s manufacturing process and shouldn’t worsen over time or negatively affect the flagship iPad’s performance in any practical way. Apple does not consider it to be a defect.
The bend is the result of a cooling process involving the iPad Pro’s metal and plastic components during manufacturing, according to Apple. Both sizes of the new iPad Pro can exhibit it.
"Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed nonage. Nonage is the inability to use one's own understanding without another's guidance. This nonage is self-imposed if its cause lies not in lack of understanding but in indecision and lack of courage to use one's own mind without another's guidance. Dare to know! (Sapere aude.) "Have the courage to use your own understanding," is therefore the motto of the enlightenment."
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because the SSD is soldered in the logic board, and in 2018 models, there are no service ports for data extraction, they are unable to recover data if laptop breaks.
