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Apple’s App Store revenue fell by 5% year-on-year in September, with games revenue down by 14%, according to Sensor Tower analytics. Morgan Stanley, which carried out financial modeling based on the data, said that this was the biggest drop seen since it first started tracking, back in 2015. The fall is likely explained by two factors … CNBC reports: During its last earnings call, Apple suggested that year-on-year comparisons are still impacted to some degree by the strong demand for at-home entertainment during the pandemic....

Apple this week announced its own book club through the Apple Books app. However, instead of having an entire curation team behind it, all of Apple’s book club content is curated by Canadian media personality George “Strombo” Stroumboulopoulos. Called “Strombo’s Lit,” the club is offered as a special page on Apple Books where Strombo chooses the best titles to help you “better view the world” with stories from some of the world’s best authors....

Apple machine learning projects span almost every aspect of the company’s activities, but in a new speech at an AI conference, a senior exec spoke specifically about the benefits for accessibility and health. Ge Yue, Apple VP and managing director of Apple Greater China, gave her speech at the 2022 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai … NPR reports: Ge Yue gave the example of the Assistive Touch feature on Apple Watch, which the company introduced last year, alongside eye-tracking on iPad....

September 1 is ushering in a new month as well as a fresh batch of discounts ahead of Labor Day. Kicking things off, we have the best price of the year on Apple’s official MagSafe charger at $30 joined by a sitewide sale from one of our favorite accessory makers, Twelve South, in honor of the holiday. Not to mention ongoing AirPods Max deals from $370. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break....

Despite its attempts, Apple has never been known as a gaming company — even though it has one of the most popular mobile gaming platforms in the world with iOS. While it’s not impossible for Apple to compete with the big names in the gaming market, the company needs to change its mind if it wants to appeal to gamers. Following the announcement of its Q4 2021 fiscal results last week, Apple said in a regulatory filing that its devices compete with PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox as gaming platforms....

Apple’s return-to-office plans have met with objections from some employees, who want the flexibility to continue working from home full time, but a new poll suggests that the Cupertino company has hit the sweet spot in its proposal for three days a week in the office. A poll of 1,900 US adults found that this was what the average professional employee considers ideal … Background Most office-based Apple employees have been working from home during the pandemic....

Aquaman star Patrick Wilson remains optimistic about the future of DC’s movie universe, despite its recent troubles. As you’re surely aware by now, Justice League failed to live up to expectations. The fourth entry in the DC Extended Universe fell flat with critics, and it may even end up losing money for Warner Bros. when all is said and done. Fans are left pointing fingers every which way, with some calling out studio meddling, while others are blaming the director(s)....

A new Arrowverse TV series set in Star City 2040 would be the best of all possible spin-offs from Arrow. The first of The CW’s DC series will come to an end with season 8 later this year, but the world can live on by continuing the story that started in Arrow season 7’s flashforwards. Few could have predicted what Arrow would become over the course of a decade when it first aired in 2012....

The director of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey confirms the upcoming game won’t feature a battle royale mode. With everything from Call of Duty to Battlefield cashing in on the PvP deathmatch trend, it seems that some games are still sticking with tradition. As Ubisoft takes Assassin’s Creed further than its been before to the bloodthirsty era of Ancient Greece, whittling 100 players down to one victorious winner sounds like a gladiator grudge match dream....

Sponsored by Kolide: With Kolide, you can make your team into your biggest allies for endpoint security. Solve problems, right within Slack. Learn more here. Stories discussed in this episode: iPhone 14 Pro price hike could be $100, report says Apple recruitment contractors laid off as company slows hiring Apple Watch Activity Challenge to celebrate National Parks Enjoy the podcast? Follow Chance: Twitter: @ChanceHMiller Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Overcast RSS Stitcher TuneIn Google Play Don’t miss out on our other daily podcasts:...

Despite steadily turning out a series of cult classic films since he hit the big time with Shaun of the Dead, writer/director Edgar Wright has had a longer than average break from the screen. The reason for this can largely be attributed to his time spent developing Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man, only to step out of the director’s seat at the last moment over creative differences. This was a disappointment for fans, but it did allow Wright to move quickly on to his next project, Baby Driver, which hits screens later this year....

Battlefield V will be getting new maps in Chapter 4: Defying the Odds, with two 64-player environments getting added beginning June 27 this year. The announcement, made earlier today, is made in the midst of a controversy regarding the game’s at-times problematic representations of authenticity, and developer DICE and publisher EA’s unwillingness to commit to one side or the other when these representations are called into question. Battlefield V has been a steady source of problems for its developer, despite the actual gameplay remaining quite strong....

The summer movie horror hit Annabelle: Creation has passed another milestone at the box office by crossing $300 million in global ticket sales. Released in theaters August 11, the prequel to the 2014 worldwide smash Annabelle was a hit out of the gate domestically, earning $35 million domestically against the film’s $15 million budget. First introduced in the opening scenes of the 2013 horror smash The Conjuring, Annabelle: Creation examined the origins story of the demonically-possessed vintage doll, and in the process became the fourth film in writer-director-producer James Wan’s Conjuring movie universe following the release of The Conjuring 2 in 2016....

To celebrate 40 years “of innovation, creativity, and customer service across France,” Apple has announced it’s opening an Apple Music Radio studio in Paris, the first of its kind in continental Europe. Located on the Champs-Élysées, this studio is another initiative by Apple to support the French cultural scene. This “state-of-the-art” project will be the place where Apple creates local content, as it currently does in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, and London....

An Apple embezzler who was originally estimated to have cost the Cupertino company $10M has now admitted to fraudulently obtaining a total of $17M over a period of seven years. Dhirendra Prasad worked as a buyer in Apple’s global supply-chain division, and engaged in a mix of activities in order to steal the money … Background The case first came to light back in March, when Prasad was charged with five federal crimes....

Widget bugs First off, Apple says it has discovered “an issue where widgets might revert to their default settings after you restore your iPhone or iPad from a backup.” The issue affects a “limited number” of the following devices, according to Apple: iPhone 13 iPhone 13 mini iPhone 13 Pro iPhone 13 Pro Max iPad (9th generation) iPad mini (6th generation) Unfortunately, it appears that if your widgets are reset after restoring your new iPhone or iPad from an iCloud backup, there is no way to automatically fix the problem....

Update September 7, 2021: Apple is rolling out yet another updated version of AirTag firmware 1.0.291, this time with build number 1A291e. Update August 31, 2021: Apple is rolling out an updated version of AirTag firmware 1.0.291 with the build number 1A291c. This is up from the build number of last week’s release of 1A291a. Original story (first published August 26, 2021) below. Today’s new release of AirTag firmware is version 1....

Apple’s privacy bill lobbying has greater credibility than that of any other tech giant, says a privacy campaign group run by some high-profile figures. There is strong public support for a federal privacy law, but the process of creating one has been complicated by mixed political views, and by tech giant lobbying … Slow progress toward a federal privacy law US public support for a federal privacy law, and other issues to constrain the powers of Big Tech, ranges from 56% to 83%, depending on the poll....

There are more signs that Apple is aggressively expanding its ad business. In today’s edition of Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, Gurman says that Apple VP Advertising Platforms Todd Teresi aims to bring annual revenue into the ‘double digits’, up from about $4 billion-per-year today. That means (at least) a tripling of its current ad business is in sight. Gurman says that Apple has already tested adding sponsored results to search results in the Maps app, similar to the App Store Search Ads program....

There’s more variety than ever before with the 2022 Apple Watch lineup thanks to the new Ultra model and updated SE. That means there’s a lot to consider between the latest wearables and also their predecessors. Read on for a detailed look at Apple Watch Ultra vs Series 8 vs SE, and more to figure out what’s the best pick for you or someone you’re shopping for. Since Apple Watch isn’t necessarily an every-year upgrade, we’ve included everything from Apple Watch Ultra down to Series 6 and SE 1st gen to give the best perspective on the differences between all the recent models....