Month: September 2023

Enlarge

Apple is releasing the initial versions of most of its major operating system updates today, following their announcement at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference in June and the unveiling of new iPhone and Apple Watch hardware last week. Compatible devices can now download the iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, and tvOS 17 updates without signing up for one of Apple's beta programs.

The iOS 17 update this year is fairly mild; it includes a smart-display-esque feature called StandBy that can keep your screen on when your phone is plugged in and placed on a stand, plus "contact posters" that display full-screen photos when someone in your contacts list is calling, improved autocorrect, and live voicemail transcription.

Many of iOS 17's announced features, including a new journaling app, several Messages improvements, and Internet-enabled AirDrop transfers, will be coming in later iOS 17 releases. This is a pretty typical practice for Apple these days, though the list of "later this year" features (via MacRumors) does seem a bit longer than usual.

Enlarge / Unity says it will be announcing changes to its recently revealed fee structure in the coming days. (credit: Unity)

After nearly a week of protracted developer anger over a newly announced runtime fee of up to $0.20 per game install, Unity says it will be "making changes" to that policy and will share a further update "in a couple of days."

In a late Sunday social media post, Unity offered apologies for the "confusion and angst" caused by the sudden announcement of the policy last Tuesday. "We are listening, talking to our team members, community, customers, and partners, and will be making changes to the policy," the post reads. "Thank you for your honest and critical feedback."

It's currently unclear whether those changes will amount to tinkering around the edges of the fee structure as currently planned or represent a more complete rollback of the idea of charging install fees in the first place. But even a full about-face might not be enough to satisfy some longtime Unity developers at this point.

Enlarge / Microsoft's Surface Pro 9. Panos Panay has been in charge of the Surface line since its inception. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

Microsoft's Panos Panay, who has been in charge of the Surface hardware line for its entire existence and of Windows development since 2020, is leaving the company, according to a press release Microsoft sent out today. Panay's duties on the Surface and Windows teams will be taken over by Consumer Chief Marketing Officer Yusuf Mehdi, who in the last year has been most visible as the face of most of the company's big generative AI-related announcements.

“Thank you, Panos, for your impact on our products, culture, company, and industry over the past two decades. I’m grateful for your leadership, support, and all you’ve done for Microsoft and our customers and partners," wrote Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in a message that was shared with the press. "We remain steadfast and convicted in our strategy, and Yusuf Mehdi will take lead on our Windows and Surface businesses and products externally.”

If you've ever watched a Microsoft Surface announcement, you'll know Panay from his emotional delivery, soulful eyes, and colorful shirts and by how genuinely he seemed to relish the opportunity to be telling you about what processors would be used in Microsoft's next laptop. Panay joined Microsoft in 2004 and most recently was promoted to the company's senior leadership team in 2021.

Enlarge / SHANGHAI, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 - A light box advertising Huawei Mate 60 mobile phone is seen in front of the Apple store on Nanjing Road in Shanghai, China, September 13, 2023. (credit: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty)

In March, Tim Cook was among the first batch of foreign executives to land in Beijing to court high-level officials after the lifting of pandemic-era restrictions, with Apple’s chief lauding how the company and China had grown together in a “symbiotic relationship.”

Six months on, that relationship is under strain. Apple is facing new competitive pressures in a country that is not only its largest manufacturing hub but also its biggest international market, responsible for nearly 20 percent of sales in its last quarter.

A share sell-off cut almost $200 billion from Apple’s market capitalization this month after news that various government agencies had imposed bans on the use of Apple products in government departments and state-owned enterprises. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday denied any formal prohibition but alluded to iPhone-related “security incidents” and told smartphone makers to comply with the law.