A week after releasing watchOS 8. 6 beta 2 to developers, Apple is now seeding the third test version of the upcoming operating system for the Apple Watch. Here’s everything new coming with watchOS 8. 6 beta 3.
Today’s build is 19T5562f. Most of the news related to this version regards Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, which are the features also available with iOS 15. 5 beta 3. These are the :
updates
Physical Apple Card now called “Titanium Card” in Wallet settings
Apple Pay rebranded as “Apple Cash” in Messages app
iTunes Pass rebranded as “Apple Account Card” in the Wallet app
As analyzed by 9to5Mac, iTunes Pass will become a new card called the “Apple Account Card.” This card will be displayed in the Wallet app just like the Apple Card and the Apple Cash card. This way, instead of having to show a QR Code when shopping at an Apple Store, the user will be able to complete the purchase using Apple Pay.
Different from watchOS 8. 5, watchOS 8. 6 feels like a small update, since we are getting near WWDC 2022 keynote. The current version of the Apple Watch operating system offers a handful of new features, including 37 new emojis.
It also offers :
The ability to authorize Apple TV purchases and subscriptions;
COVID-19 vaccination cards in Apple Wallet, which now supports the EU Digital COVID Certificate format;
Updates to irregular rhythm notifications designed to improve atrial fibrillation identification (available in the United States, Chile, Hong Kong, South Africa, and many regions where the feature is available);
Audio Hints in Fitness+ offer audio commentary on visually-depicted moves during your workouts.
watchOS 8. 6 beta 3 is available alongside the third beta version of iOS 15. 5, iPadOS 15. 5, tvOS 15. 5, and macOS 12. 4 .
If you spot any changes in the new betas from Apple today, let us know in the comments below or on .
JoyCon-shaped TV cabinets attach to the sides of your television, turning it into a massive Nintendo Switch!
Sure, you can cast your Nintendo Switch onto a TV, but can you turn your TV into a Nintendo Switch??
Rather succinctly named the Nintendo Switch TV Cabinets, these little storage units attach to the sides of your TV, turning it into a massive wall-mounted Nintendo Switch replica. The cabinets are custom-built by WishIWoodWorkshop and can be customized to fit your TV. They’re made from a combination of wood, plywood, and MDF, and get finished with a coat of paint to make them look exactly like the JoyCons, complete with the joystick and buttons!
The cabinets come in two styles – with a hinged door on the front (shown above), and with drawers and shelves (shown below). When placing your order, you can choose the style that suits your TV best. However, the Nintendo Switch TV Cabinets are not cheap. Clearly more of a vanity purchase than a practical piece of furniture, each pair of cabinets can set you back $750 plus shipping.
Apple releases iOS 15. 5 beta 3 to developers as public release nears
One week after the release of the second beta, Apple is now rolling out iOS 15. 5 beta 3 to developers. iOS 15. 5 includes small under the hood changes, as well as updates to the Wallet app, Apple Cash, HomePod, and the App Store. For more information, see below.
Today’s new release of iOS 15. 5 beta 3 is available to developers via an over-the-air update in the Settings app. If the update doesn’t appear immediately, please check again. Sometimes, it can take a while for all registered developers to receive the update. The build number of iOS 15. 5 beta 1 is 19F5062g.
Here are the details on what’s new in iOS 15. 5 so far:
iOS 15. 5 beta 1 changes and features: Wallet updates & handy new HomePod feature [Video]
iOS 15. 5 includes support for apps with external purchases
iOS 15. 5 hints at Bancomat and Bancontact on Apple Pay
Apple to rebrand iTunes Pass in Wallet app with iOS 15. 5
iOS 15. 5 comes after the feature-packed release of iOS 15. 4, which added support for Face ID while wearing a mask, new emoji, Universal Control support on iPad and Mac, and much more. iOS 15. 5 could also be the last major update to iOS 15, with Apple planning to unveil iOS 16 at WWDC in June.
Other new releases from Apple today include:
tvOS 15. 5 beta 3
macOS Monterey 12. 4 beta 3
If you spot any changes in the new betas from Apple today, let us know in the comments below or on . Stay tuned for our full hands-on coverage with the new releases right here at 9to5Mac.
Warhammer 40K’s new $299 boxed set makes a statement of its commitment
Warhammer 40,000’s most exciting setting, the small unit skirmish game Necromunda, is getting a massive new boxed set. Independent retailers have confirmed to Polygon that Necromunda: Ash Wastes will retail for $299, and it goes up for pre-order online at the official Games Workshop website this weekend, where it’s expected to list at the same price. Yes, it’s a lot to pay for an unassembled box with plastic parts and a few cardboard pieces. It also represents a not-so-subtle change in the scale of the 40K hobby, and a show of force in the face of increased competition.
The original Necromunda system dates back to 1995, when it was introduced in the pages of White Dwarf magazine. In 2017, it was rebooted with a new ruleset and elaborate plastic miniatures. For example, a single 28-millimeter miniature could easily contain 12 or more tiny parts — including a wee little cigar the fraction of the size of a grain of rice that was a real pain to glue into place, thank you very much. This opened up a world of customization and modding that was unimaginable before.
Image: Games Workshop
Now out of print, 2017’s Necromunda: Underhive goes for about $175 on eBay. A later revision of the starter set, Necromunda: Hive War, sells for around the same price, while Necromunda: Dark Uprising is a bit more desirable and higher priced among collectors. All of these sets include a smattering of plastic scenery, rulers, markers, dice, and a manual.
Why does AshWastes almost double the price? A preview of the contents, published Monday , shows exactly what’s inside this box. It includes two gangs of 10 miniatures, two four-wheeled vehicles, and four soldiers riding mounts. This boxed set contains more fighters than the previous ones. Ash Was also contains a comprehensive rulebook, a brief narrative campaign and dice.
A close up of a habitation block, part of the new modular scenery coming to Necromunda. The vehicle and mounted soldiers will be sold separately. Image: Games Workshop via YouTube
But the real cherry on top for fans of Necromunda are the bits of elaborate scenery on offer in the form of “habitation blocks.” In 40K fiction, they’re basically slum-like modular housing that can last for millennia with zero upkeep — but for hobbyists they may as well be catnip. These blocks allow you to modify the terrain in a way that is not possible with previous Necromunda sets. There’s very little reason that your terrain should look like anyone else’s, and that’s very exciting.
The modularity of the terrain clearly shows a desire for more scenery to be made available to Necromunda fans. It should be easy to make sub-$300 sets of compatible terrain for Ash Wastes available to fans in the near future. But the design of these habitation blocks also appears to present a very simple and straightforward way to connect bits you might already own (or bits that you might want to model from scratch) to the bits included in the box. A close examination of a playthrough on the Warhammer Plus subscription service clearly shows there isn’t an Apple Lightning connector needed here, just gravity.
Simply put, this Necromunda boxed collection seems to be a reflection of what makes the hobby so special: fan-created, unique designs that blur the lines between tabletop wargaming, and art.
It is also expanding the lore for the game, adding a whole-new faction and setting, both of which were previously unexplored territory. In short, it’s a statement piece — a statement piece that costs $300.
So why make a power move like this right now? Over the last several years of the pandemic, even with many consumers unable to play together in public, Games Workshop’s sales have been through the roof. That growth in sales and earnings also comes against the backdrop of increased consumer adoption of 3D-printing technology. But instead of just rehashing the same old Space Marine factions with different details and paint schemes, Games Workshop is doing the work to expand its other franchises — Necromunda among them. The company is also committing lots of time and effort to old favorites like Blood Bowl and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, and continuing to support new lines like Warhammer: Underworlds. The next step? A reboot of the Warhammer 30,000 line, better known as the Horus Heresy.
Warmaster Horus, from a CGI trailer for a new Horus Heresy boxed set. Image: Games Workshop via YouTube
There’s a reason why Necromunda: Ash Wastes costs as much as a new video game console. Games Workshop assumes that consumers will spend the same amount of time building it, painting it and then playing with it than they would with their Nintendo Switch. It looks possible, judging by Monday’s unveiling. Games Workshop seems to have a plan for expanding and supporting these product lines. It appears to be plowing its record earnings into supporting that expansion with more research and development, more and deeper lore, and more elaborate new models that fans of the hobby are clamoring for.
The increasing depth and complexity in their product offering — positioned alongside the beloved lore that underpins it all — will be hard for even 3D printers to compete with.
Apple-funded study claims App Store Search ads business doesn’t benefit from App Tracking Transparency rules
A new study funded by Apple and released today aims to show the impact that App Tracking Transparency has had on the mobile advertising industry. The study claims that App Tracking Transparency has not benefited Apple’s own advertising business, and “Apple offers greater privacy options in its own apps than is required under ATT.”
The study, funded by Apple, was conducted by Kinshuk Jerath, Ph.D. from Columbia Business School. Jerath is a professor in Columbia’s Marketing Division.
It appears that this study was again funded by Apple to clear up some myths about App Tracking Transparency’s impact. For instance, Apple argues that its own first-party Search Ads business “grew for a variety of reasons unrelated” to App Tracking Transparency.
This is to refute allegations that developers were made to pay more for App Store Search Ads in order to combat third-party advertising being less effective because of App Tracking Transparency policies.
The study also says that “that Apple captured billions of advertising dollars from other companies as a result of ATT to lack supporting evidence.” This comes as companies such as Facebook and Snap have blamed App Tracking Transparency for impacting advertising revenue and user growth
If ATT led to significant revenue losses for prominent advertising platforms it’s unlikely that Apple is the sign-ificant beneficiary. And if the vast majority of the revenue lost would be likely diverted to Apple’s competitors, it calls into question the notion that Apple introduced ATT to benefit its ads business.
The study explains that it is highly unlikely that App Tracking Transparency has served as a “windfall” for Apple’s own advertising business at the cost of revenue for companies like Facebook and Snap.
Some observers have pointed to the growth in Apple Search Ads that coincides with the launch of ATT in 2021 as evidence that Apple introduced ATT to benefit its own ads business. However, there are other explanations for growth in Apple Search Ads unrelated to ATT.
First, Apple Search Ads is a relatively new service that was growing even prior to the introduction of ATT. It launched in 2016, and revenues are estimated by industry analysts to have grown into the low single-digit billions. The cost per “tap” on a mobile ad is also estimated to have grown over time,suggesting that advertisers value Apple Search Ads. I have seen no evidence to believe these trends would not suggest further growth in 2021 and beyond, growth which would have occurred even without the introduction of ATT.
Second, general industry trends and other decisions made by Apple may have contributed to the growth of Apple Search Ads in 2021: Continued overall growth of mobile ads and app install ads, growth of ads in certain app categories, and the launch of Apple Search Ads in China.
9to5Mac’s Take
This study that Apple published today was unsurprisingly self-serving. It is similar to previous studies regarding the App Store. Apple’s argument this time appears to be that App Tracking Transparency does not impact the ability for other companies to use first-party data. App Tracking Transparency is only applicable to third-party information.
The study shows that Apple’s Search Ads division is only a small percentage of global mobile advertising and has not seen any “significant benefits” from App Tracking Transparency.
There were three reasons Apple funded this study. The company clearly wants to challenge the narratives of companies such as Facebook. On multiple occasions, Facebook has said that App Tracking Transparency impacts small businesses more than anyone else. The study argues that ATT allows user targeting with improved privacy controls, but that such claims may be “speculative.”
Second, there’s an obvious antitrust angle here too. The App Store Search Ads company has been under increasing scrutiny as Apple is facing antitrust pressure all over the globe. The study (which does not contain any data solid) attempts to prove that App Tracking Transparency has helped the App Store search ads.
Finally, and similar to my second point, Apple repeatedly notes that its own applications offer “greater privacy options than is required under ATT.” This fact alone, Apple says, should “call into question the notion that Apple introduced ATT to benefit its ads business.”
Take this study with a grain of salt, but it’s at least worth checking out. The full study, funded by Apple, can be found on the company’s website right here.
Sega delisting classic Sonic games in May ahead of Sonic Origins release
What’s that blue blur? Sega has removed some classic Sonic the Hedgehog titles that were available on digital storesfronts.
The publisher announced Tuesday that the four games included in the upcoming Sonic Origins collection will be delisted on May 20: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD. Those who want to purchase those games legally after that date will mostly have to obtain them via Sonic Origins — and we say mostly because, as the publisher notes, there are a few Nintendo Switch-related exceptions.
The Sega Ages enhanced ports of Sonic and Sonic 2 that are available on the Nintendo Switch eShop will remain on sale, as will the version of Sonic 2 that is playable with the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass. All other ports (very nice) will be lost, just like Sonic fans’ hopes of a great game when a new one is out.
Sonic Origins arrives on consoles and PC on June 23 — a full month after the stand-alone version of its compiled games will be delisted.
Instagram for iOS to adopt TikTok-like pinned post feature on user profiles
Instagram will soon lend another TikTok feature for its app as the company is testing a new pinned post function on user profiles. It’s currently in beta for selected users, and it could be available soon to all users.
As first spotted by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi and confirmed by TechCrunch, Instagram is now showing a “Pin to your profile” option to selected users when you use the three dot menu next to posts.
“We’re testing a new feature that lets people feature posts on their profile,” a spokesperson from Meta told TechCrunch in an email.
As pointed out by the publication, ”the ability to pin a specific post [on Instagram] to your profile could be a welcome feature for users who want to highlight their favorite posts that may have been buried somewhere further down in their photo grid. The feature could also be useful for creators who post frequently but want to highlight a specific post.”
TikTok, for example, already lets its users pin videos on the top of their profiles, which helps creators to spotlight their most important videos or information.
This feature is part of Instagram’s push to become creators-friendly, as its head Adam Mosseri has been announcing almost every week a new function that will provide a better experience for those that use Instagram to promote their own content.
Instagram’s “Pin to your profile” feature has been tested at least since January and could soon see the light of the day.
Would you be interested in using this feature? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Related:
TikTok to integrate Stories with its main ‘For You’ video feed
OWC releases ‘Copy That’ for Mac beta to streamline video transfer to backups, editors, more
OWC is out with a new workflow tool today to help videographers move footage quickly from “capture to creation.” Copy That for Mac is available to try out now – in public beta – and is built to streamline the ingest process from RED, Blackmagic, ARRI cameras, and other media storage to Mac.
OWC today announced that Copy It for Mac has launched its beta. This software, which is the latest workflow tool by the company, offers copying and verification as well as presets that make it easy to transfer footage.
No matter if you need to copy specific files or everything on a card or disk, Copy That is optimized for speed and makes it easy to customize and streamline your transfers with an intuitive UI.
For verification, Checksum options include XXHash-64, MD5, SHA-1, SHA-2 256, SHA-2 512, along with file size verification.
And Copy That produces detailed reporting with “naming, file status, checksum verification, start and finish dates, and more.” The software also features a process monitor and a job archive to see previous transfers.
To customize the software for your workflows, Copy That features presets for attributes like name, location, prefix, and suffix.
Android 13 Beta 1 is now available for supported Pixels
Following two Developer Previews, released in February and March, respectively, today Google has made the first Android 13 beta build available for public testing. It’s easier than installing the Developer Preview builds to play and it is much more user-friendly with Android betas.
This is by design. Hopefully there are no major, terrible, or show-stopping bugs. Despite this, there are likely to be many issues as you use the beta version of the software. The final release will come later in the year.
If you’re interested in trying out the Android 13 Beta 1, and have a supported Google Pixel smartphone, then you can just head on over to the Android Beta Program website here and enroll your device.
Then you should receive Android 13 Beta 1 as an over-the-air software update within a few minutes (up to a few hours). Subsequent beta builds will also be sent to you over-the-air just like normal software updates, and the same goes for the final version of Android 13 once that’s fully baked and ready to get out of the oven. If you are already running a Developer Preview build of Android 13, then you’ll get the first beta (and the next ones) over-the-air as well.
Android 13 Beta 1 comes with new permissions for more granular access to media files and improved audio routing APIs. Three permissions are now available to apps that access media files on your smartphone: one each for photos and videos and one each for audio files. All of these permissions were previously included in a “media access” permission that allowed all media types to be accessed by the app. But not anymore.
When you grant one of the new permissions, the app in question will only have read access to the respective media file type(s) and nothing else. When developers’ apps will target Android 13, they will have to migrate to this new permissions model.
There are also some minute improvements to audio routing, as well as better error reporting for apps that generate keys – but these will probably be of interest primarily to app developers.
Next month at the Google I/O developer conference, the company will share more details about Android 13 along with more new features, and it’s very likely that the second beta will drop right about that time, in order to showcase the newly unveiled stuff.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 Pokemon Edition and collectible accessories launched
When something is mass-produced, it is always wise for a brand to release limited versions or collectibles. They improve the chance of a company to increase sales because of the novelty and uniqueness of an object.
While Samsung doesn’t need to make a lot of money to grow its sales, the company always offers special editions to some of its flagship smartphones. The latest offering is for the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and for fans of Pokemon. This particular foldable phone is a delight for all ages who love the pocket monsters.
The Pokemon Edition of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 also comes with special accessories, including a Clear Cover With Ring, Pokemon Palette, Pikachu Keychain, Monster Ball 3D Grip Talk, and a Pokemon Book Cover Leather Pouch. In addition, stickers of popular Pokemons are also available as part of a set.
The special edition of the Galaxy Z Flip has been released in South Korea this week. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 Pokemon Edition is listed with a KRW 1,284,000 price tag which is about $1,025. You can purchase online on the Samsung website, the Galaxy Campus Store, or 11th Street. Samsung Care+ is a one-year free subscription that you can get when your order comes from their online store. If the device is defective or damaged, Samsung Care+ may offer a special protection plan.
Samsung has been doing more collaborations recently with different brands and designers. The Samsung Galaxy x Sean Wotherspoon Sustainable Accessories Collection was made especially for the Galaxy S21 and the Galaxy Watch 4. In recent years there was also a major collaboration with American fashion designer Thom Browne. Also, limited-edition Z Flip Pocket Denims were released.
More collaborations are expected to be unveiled by Samsung. So far, we know it has worked with some 40 brands to come up with special Galaxy Z Flip 3 accessories. So the Pokemon series definitely won’t be the last from the tech company.
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is an exciting product line because of its foldable form. Samsung already has several foldable phone models. Every release becomes exciting, thanks to the limited edition and collectible items.
The foldable phone has also been a favorite for concept designs. We remember Spinelli’s rendition of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip with Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons. Samsung released two cases for the Galaxy Z Flip when it was first launched.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23417486/set.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23417860/nomads.JPG)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23342073/horus.JPG)
