Andrew Webster, The Verge:

Last week, Apple Arcade received its biggest update since launching back in 2019. More than 30 titles were added to the subscription service, including much-anticipated games like Hironobu Sakaguchi’s roleplaying epic Fantasian. But while the quantity and quality of titles added were impressive, the most important part of the announcement was a change in direction. Among those big-name exclusives were a number of classics, ranging from Monument Valley to chess to Threes, that help round out the service. Apple Arcade has finally matured into something close to a Netflix for mobile games.

If you dipped your toes in the Apple Arcade waters and haven’t been back, worth another look. I’ve found some new games that really caught my attention, and the relaunches add some depth to the catalog.

Apple Arcade still feels like an experiment, running in parallel with the IAP and paid games section of the App Store. I hope it finds its groove with subscribers, bringing in enough value for Apple so they continue to invest in its growth.

Sami Fathi, MacRumors:

In a slight slip-up, however, Intel has accidentally used a MacBook instead of a Windows laptop in one of its newest ads to promote one of its new 11th-generation chips as “the world’s best processor.”

Follow the headline link, check the ad. That’s a MacBook Pro, from this Getty Images stock photo page, tagged as:

Hipster asian man playing games on a laptop at home

Who writes these captions?

Caption aside:

But while Apple still sells Intel-based Macs, the chip referenced in the ad is not used in any Mac, and in fact, it was launched around the same time Apple released its M1 Apple silicon chip late last year.

This just does not feel well thought through.

Sami Fathi, MacRumors:

> Eleftheriou has highlighted yet another scam app on the ‌App Store‌. This time Eleftheriou is shining a light on how one scam app called “Privacy Assitant: StringVPN” uses Apple’s in-app purchasing system to trick people into purchasing either a weekly, monthly, or yearly subscription for a fake VPN service.

Here’s the tweet:

First things first, wrap your head around what’s going on here. Then wonder why these sorts of apps are allowed on the App Store.

I posed that question in this tweet. Follow the link, read the responses.

Some have suggested that Apple makes money on the scams, is not motivated to fix the problem. I just can’t accept that explanation. No way.

A better explanation is in this tweet from Joe Cieplinski:

> I think it’s because for every one of these, there are 10,000 more that they did take down. I don’t think most of us understand the scale at which people are scamming the App Store. How many per day can a small group of reviewers take down, realistically?

If so, feels like Apple either needs to ramp up their efforts here, budget for more reviewers, or find a way to get smarter. Maybe they could create a trusted list of third party reviewers, starting with @Keleftheriou, who can help trim the scams out of the App Store. Maybe even offer them a bounty.

This hurts users, hurts Apple’s reputation, and also harms the developer community, especially indie devs, because it makes it so much harder for their apps to stand out/stay in business. This has got to change.

This is a good post to scan, just to see if anything catches your eye. But also an excellent post to share with folks new to the ecosystem.

Nice job by Craig Grannell. A lot of focus on indie-apps, some excellent exposure.