Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, has confirmed on Twitter that the popular game Fortnite will not be returning to Apple's App Store anytime soon.
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Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, has confirmed on Twitter that the popular game Fortnite will not be returning to Apple's App Store anytime soon.
The post Fortnite isn’t coming back to iOS anytime soon appeared first on Pocketnow.
According to the ruling, Apple’s practices are anti-competitive, and the company must allow App Store developers to redirect to third-party payment options.
The post Epic vs Apple: Judge rules Apple must allow App Store developers to link to third party payment options appeared first on Pocketnow.
The year 2021 has been all about video calls and virtual meets, and one area that has been affected significantly by this drastic social shift is the domain of sports. And with sports, I mean both in-person physical sports fixtures as well as esports events. And as bad as it sounds, we don’t know how long that will continue to be the state of affairs. In yet another setback for fans that many saw coming, Epic Games has today announced that it won’t hold its big-money Fortnite World Cup event in 2021. In fact, Epic Games it doesn’t plan to hold any in-person event next year.
“Our intent is to eventually hold global in-person tournaments again, but our priority for any such event is the health and safety of our players and staff. With so much still unknown about what is practical and safe, we do not plan to hold in-person events in 2021, including a Fortnite World Cup. We will continue to provide online competitions throughout 2021 with the hopes that physical events, in some form, can return at some point in the future,” said the blog post.
While in-person events, including Fortnite World Cup, have been nixed for the year 2021, Epic Games has promised to host multiple online tournaments to make up for it. The company revealed that it is currently scheduling more weekly tournaments, unique tournaments, and Creator Cups for next year. To recall, the inaugural Fortnite World Cup in 2019 was one of the biggest esports events of the year and had a prize pool of a cool $30 million.
While the party size has been standardized to Trios for the Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) – the key ranking system for competitive Fortnite – Epic Games has promised a lot more competitive stuff is in the pipeline than just Trios. The studio is also implementing the new Bars for competitive playlists and will also be listening to feedback from players on how the new gameplay mechanics in the latest season fan out for Fortnite’s competitive gaming space.
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The newest chapter of the Apple vs Epic Games drama has just been revealed. Both companies are waiting for a preliminary injunction hearing that will decide if the Fortnite app will be allowed back on Apple’s App Store, but things have taken an interesting turn. It seems that Apple has decided to make Epic Games pay for their actions, literally.
We could see the Apple vs Epic games issue rise to new dimensions, as Apple has filed counterclaims and responses against Epic Games. Cupertino is requesting damages for breach of contract and other counts, trying to get back all the money Fortnite collected through its payment system. Apple also claims that Epic’s lawsuit is “nothing more than a basic disagreement over money.”
“Although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood, in reality it is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App Store. Epic’s demands for special treatment and cries of “retaliation” cannot be reconciled with its flagrant breach of contract and its own business practices, as it rakes in billions by taking commissions on game developers’ sales and charging consumers up to $99.99 for bundles of “V-Bucks.”
“For years, Epic took advantage of everything the App Store had to offer. It availed itself of the tools, technology, software, marketing opportunities, and customer reach that Apple provided so that it could bring games like Infinity Blade and Fortnite to Apple customers all over the world. It enjoyed the tremendous resources that Apple pours into its App Store to constantly innovate and create new opportunities for developers and experiences for customers, as well as to review and approve every app, keeping the App Store safe and secure for customers and developers alike.”
At this moment, we can’t tell just how much money Apple may want to claim in damages from Epic, but we know that Cupertino said in the filing that Epic Games had earned over $600 million from its App Store. On the other hand, Epic is still looking to get Fortnite back on the store, with the direct payment option that goes against Apple’s policies. Now, we only have to wait until September 28, when the preliminary injunction hearing is set to take place. If you’re curious, you can take a look at Apple’s complete filing by clicking on this link. It will also help you understand Apple’s perspective on the issue at hand.
Source CNBC
Via MacRumors
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The Epic Games-Apple feud over Fortnite has taken a new turn. Epic Games has filed for a preliminary injunction against Apple, asking the court to force Apple put back Fortnite on the App Store. “Today we ask the Court to stop Apple from retaliating against Epic for daring to challenge Apple’s misconduct while our antitrust case proceeds,” Epic Games said in a statement. And as expected, Epic Games is not pulling any stops and is calling Apple a ‘monopolist’ that forces developers into silence with its retaliatory stance.
To give you a quick background, Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store when Epic Games introduced its own in-app payment system in the game, something that goes against the App Store policies. Epic followed it up with a lawsuit against Apple, and soon after, Apple terminated Epic Games’ developer account in what appears to be an ugly spat between the two companies, a feud in which Epic Games is trying to position itself as the savior for the whole developer community that is losing revenue opportunities due to strict Apple Store policies.
Apple is a monopolist and standing up to them is a necessary step to free consumers and developers from the unlawful restrictions Apple has imposed over app distribution and in-app payment processing on iOS. For too long, developers have not spoken out because they fear Apple’s retaliation. The company’s recent actions show that if you challenge Apple’s monopoly, Apple will attempt to destroy your business. We are committed to speaking up and securing lower cost, competitive access for all.
Epic Games
Apple, on the other hand, claims that the whole dispute is Epic Games’ own making, adding that the developer demanded a special deal from the company, something Apple didn’t accept. The Tim Cook-led company has also made it clear that Fortnite can return to the App Store if Epic Games agrees to the App Store policies and removes its own in-app payment system from the game.
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Fortnite is currently at the centre of an ugly spat between Epic Games and Apple, which has resulted in the game getting kicked off the App Store. But there is finally some good news for players. Epic Games and NVIDIA have announced that Fortnite is getting support for real-time ray tracing and NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DSLL) technology to boost the game’s visuals.
The hit battle royale game is getting support for ray-traced reflections, shadows, global illumination and ambient occlusion, all four of which collectively enhance the details in a frame and improve the visual experience of playing Fortnite. NVIDIA’s AI-driven DLSS technology will boost the frame rates and also helps enhance the output resolution.
Additionally, Fortnite is also one of the first games to support the new NVIDIA Reflex tech that helps reduce system latency and improves responsiveness. Moreover, a special map called RTX Treasure Run has also been introduced in the Creative mode to highlight the benefits of ray-tracing. All the aforementioned advancements are coming to Fortnite’s Chapter 4 of the second season which is now live for players with a ton of Marvel content.
Source NVIDIA
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It seems that Apple wasn’t playing when it said that it would terminate Epic Games’ developer accounts if Fortnite continued to have direct payment options. Now, the threat has become action, and Epic has lost access to its Apple developer account.
Apple has taken the next step in its fight against Epic Games. A war that was started by Epic, when it decided to introduce a way for Fortnite players to avoid paying Apple’s 30% commission. Apple quickly removed the Fortnite App, and the legal problems started. Now, every Epic Game in the App Store has been removed, including titles like Battle Breakers and Infinity Blade Stickers.
“We are disappointed that we have had to terminate the Epic Games account on the App Store. We have worked with the team at Epic Games for many years on their launches and releases. The court recommended that Epic comply with the App Store guidelines while their case moves forward, guidelines they’ve followed for the past decade until they created this situation. Epic has refused. Instead they repeatedly submit Fortnite updates designed to violate the guidelines of the App Store. This is not fair to all other developers on the App Store and is putting customers in the middle of their fight. We hope that we can work together again in the future, but unfortunately that is not possible today.”
Apple has only terminated the accounts of Epic Games, and not Epic International, as the court issued a temporary restraining order that will prevent Cupertino from closing every account related to Epic. Epic International is a separate account linked to Epic´s Unreal Engine, which is also used by third-party app developers.
On a positive note, Fortnite users who downloaded the app on their iPhone or iPad before this mess can still play the game, but they will miss out on the new Season 4 and future updates.
Source MacRumors
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Deals. The Google Pixel 4 is currently $250 off on Amazon, this leaves the entry level variant for $549 shipped. The 4 XL is also $89 off, leaving that at $810 shipped. Best Buy actually has up to $300 off on it, leaving it at $500 but, the catch is that you have to activate it immediately. These phones are discontinued so, right now is your chance to buy. The 27in 5K iMac is $123 off, leaving the 8GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD variant for $1875. If you want to laugh a little, the Pro XDR Display is $500 off at B&H, leaving it at $4500, so you can pretty much get the stand for half off. We have more deals on Gaming headsets, Acer monitors and more in the links below.
It’s been a while since we’ve gotten a global flagship from Sony but, it looks like the company is back at it. We have a new high resolution render from Evan Blass of the Sony Xperia 5 II. This naming scheme hints that this might be a minor upgrade of the Xperia 5 which launched last year, right about this time at IFA. It’ll retain Sony’s 21:9 aspect ratio with the thin side bezels, and the even top and bottom bezels which aren’t too slim. It also brings a triple camera setup at the back with the same “ZEISS T” branding. This is a teal color variant but, sadly we don’t have any details on the internals or a possible launch date just yet so we’ll have to keep you posted on that one.
We know that LG has been reluctant to adopt foldables when most of the competition is at least testing the waters with this market, and by the way, this is the company with the roll able TV. Instead we’ve been getting dual screen devices like my personal favorite, the Velvet. However, we do know that they are working on a rotating screen device codenamed “Wing“. Well, Android Authority recently published a 10 second clip of the phone fully working on someone’s car. On the video you can see him getting map directions on the primary display while controlling the music with the secondary screen. After that, the driver also takes a phone call on the secondary display. Something interesting here is that there seems to be no notch or punch hole on the display. This device is most likely targeted at people who want a multi-tasking device so it might be a good balance between phones like the Z Fold 2 and the Surface Duo.
We’re still waiting for the official launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 2 but, now we get even more rumors of Samsung’s roadmap for their foldables. According to a tipster on Twitter, Samsung will be launching at least three new foldables. The list starts with the Galaxy Z Fold Lite which will apparently bring a CPI display instead of the UTG which we get on the newer variants. Next up, we got the Galaxy Z Fold 3 which we talked about yesterday and this one will apparently bring S Pen features and, this tipster mentions it as well and according to him, it might bring a hefty price tag. Finally, there’s a Z Fold S which will apparently be a new form factor that folds both in and out. We don’t exactly know when we’ll be getting these device but, if Samsung does get rid of the Note line with the S21, this could be Samsung’s fall line-up.
Let’s get back to the Epic vs Apple drama because, it’s getting really interesting now. Epic released a blog post today where they said that “Apple is blocking Fortnite updates and new installs on the App Store, and has said they will terminate our ability to develop Fortnite for Apple devices. As a result, Fortnite’s new Chapter 2, Season 4 will not be released on iOS and Macs tomorrow“. This means that if you have Fortnite on your iPad, iPhone or Mac, you’ll technically still be able to play but, here’s where it gets interesting. Epic also announced that there will no longer be cross-play between Apple devices and PCs, Consoles and Android phones as, there will be two separate versions of the game. One for iOS and Macs, with the older season and no updates, and one for the rest of the community with the latest and greatest. This is kind of a weird development considering that to play on the Mac, you download it through the Epic installer and not the App Store. Again, Apple is still ready to welcome Epic back, once they remove their in-app payment option but, it looks like Epic wants to take a separate route. There’s also a hearing happening in a month so, we’ll see how this ends.
And finally the most interesting news have to do with iPhone 12 Pro, or at least one of the variants, and the idea of 120hz on the display. If you remember, yesterday we did cover the different screenshots with the camera settings and the 120Hz display. And sure we know some of you might not necessarily believe a screenshot given how easy it is to tinker with them. Well right after, Jon Prosser owned his leaks by later posting a full hands on video with the phone showing off other details. Also, keep in mind that this is a Production Validating and Testing unit of the iPhone 12 Pro Max so, these features might still not make it to the final product. On it we get to see the person turn on the high refresh rate and the adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, he also browsed through the camera options that we covered yesterday and we also get to see some design changes. If you look closely, the display is kinda larger, taller and the bezels are getting thinner, which makes it seem like the notch is smaller but, it really isn’t. Prosser also mentioned other changes, including that the camera array is now 10% larger, the glass is flat but it’ll have a slight curve and that Face ID will now work from more angles like the iPad Pro can, even if the phone is laying on a flat surface. So yeah, there is a working prototype of the 120Hz iPhone 12 Pro, let’s just hope it makes it to the final unit.
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Epic Games today confirmed that Fortnite on iPhones, iPads, and Macs won’t get the Chapter 2 Season 4 update which releases on August 27, while players on other platforms will enjoy the new content. With that schism created, we were wondering what would happen to cross-play support? Well, that ends as well with the arrival of the next content update.
The publisher has told The Verge that once the new season kicks off on August 27, cross-platform support for the game’s older version on Apple devices will end. What this means is users who have installed Fortnite on their iPhone, iPad or Mac will be able to play with each other, but not with players running the new version on Android and other compatible platforms.
For players, it means Fortnite is now split into two domains – one is the Apple ecosystem that won’t get access to new content introduced by Chapter 2 Season 4 of Fortnite and also loses out cross-play support, and the other one is where the new season kicks off without any impact and with cross-play intact. The rift was not totally unexpected, as Epic Games had been banned by Apple from submitting new updates for Fortnite and was told that it can get the game back on the App Store if the Epic’s own in-app payment system was removed.
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The Epic Games-Apple feud has put the future of Fortnite in jeopardy for players, especially when it comes to the arrival of new content. Today, Epic Games has confirmed that the next major content update that arrives with Season 4 of Fortnite’s Chapter 2 won’t be released on iPhones, iPads, and the Mac platform.
“Apple is blocking Fortnite updates and new installs on the App Store, and has said they will terminate our ability to develop Fortnite for Apple devices. As a result, Fortnite’s newly released Chapter 2 – Season 4 update (v14.00), will not release on iOS and macOS on August 27, ” Epic Games mentioned in a blog post that was updated on August 26.
What this means is users who have Fortnite installed on their iPhones, iPads, or Macs will be able to play the game, but they won’t receive the Chapter 2 Season 4 update that will be released on August 27. And that is unlikely to change, As Apple has made it clear that Fortnite will only be accepted back on the App Store when Epic Games removes its own in-app payment option.
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Deals. Let’s start today off with the Galaxy S10+ which is currently $150 off on Amazon, leaving the Unlocked, 128GB of storage variant for $700 shipped. If you want more storage, the 512GB variant is also $150 off, leaving that at $950 and, the regular S10 is also getting these same discounts on more variants. The Razer Blade Stealth 13 is also $300 off, leaving it at $1500 shipped for the Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage variant. Finally, the latest iPad Mini is $50 off, leaving the entry level Gold variant for $350. We also have more deals on TCL phones, Samsung tablets and more in the links in the description.
And I think we now know why Apple decided to switch from Intel to their own Apple Silicone.. I mean, if you look at Intel’s roadmap its full of a lot of the same, TSMC is currently hosting their annual conference and they just shared their roadmap for the next two years. The company will employ 8,000 new people to manufacture 3nm chips which should hit the market by the end of 2022. They will also be working on a 2nm process which will be built around “Gate-All-Around” technology rather than the FinFET solution on the 3nm. We’re not exactly sure when these 2nm chips will hit the market but they can’t be to far off if we’re relatively close to the 3nm chips in 2022
We know that Apple gave Epic 14 days to remove the direct payment option from Fortnite and, those 14 days end in 3 days. Well, Epic filed a restraining order to prevent Apple from blocking Fortnite updates but, the judge ruled in favor of Apple in this instance. However, Mark Gurman reports that the judge is “inclined” to unblock the Unreal Engine off the store but not Fortnite. And, of course inclined doesn’t mean that a decision has been made, it just means they are leaning more towards that option at the moment. In the mean time, Apple is ready to welcome Fortnite back to the App Store, so long as they remove this direct payment option. Apple knows that Epic wants to get this done as soon as possible because there’s a new Fortnite season coming out on the 27th, which is one day before the 14 day deadline and iOS users won’t be able to enjoy it. Since the restraining order wasn’t granted, Epic’s only choice might be to obey Apple’s rules.
Yesterday we talked about how the possibilities of a 120Hz display on the iPhone 12 Pro were slim. Now, we have some new screen shots from Jon Prosser that give us some hope. The screen shots show the toggles in the settings screen to “enable high refresh rate” and enable “adaptive refresh rate” and they clearly show that this is 120Hz. He also posted another screen shot of the camera settings showing off some new features. There’s different toggles, including “enable the LiDAR camera”, and enable “video modes” which include 4K at 120FPS and 4K at 240FPS for Slow Mo. There’s another toggle for an “Enhanced Night Mode”, “Advanced Noise Reduction”, “Bit Depth Video” and “Zoom Capabilities”. He also mentioned that the 120Hz is for the 6.7in iPhone 12 Pro. Again, we’re not sure if this is going to make it to the final production, but we hope that the camera features will.
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 2 earlier this month but, we didn’t get much details from the company. Well, a Chinese channel just posted a full 4 minute review of the phone. And, we can’t really understand what they’re saying but, this review gives us pictures and video shots of this phone from every possible angle. We get to see the device fully working, the 120Hz display, the outer display and more. They provided some audio tests, gaming tests and they also compared it to the original Fold, at least from the design stand point. The only thing we’re missing is some camera samples even if they showed us the camera working but, we do expect it to perform like the Galaxy Note 20 in this department. We should know the official specs, price and more in a few days.
It looks like it’s going to happen. For years we’ve been hearing rumors that Samsung might get rid of the Note Series and will move everything into one phone but, that has obviously never happened just yet. Well, according to a new report from The Elec, we will be getting three Galaxy S21 models next year, and the top-end variant will bring an S Pen. According to this report, the S21 is codenamed “Unbound” and it has three different project names, M1, N2 and O3, with O3 being the “Ultra” variant that will allegedly bring the S Pen. Now, where things get a little more interesting is when the report adds that Samsung is looking forward to introduce a Galaxy Z Fold 3 with S-Pen support. This most likely means that the Z Fold 3 will serve as Samsung’s Fall flagship which will replace the Note line-up since, the S21 will already bring the S-Pen features. It still isn’t explicitly clear if Samsung is getting rid of the “Note” moniker but, the future for it looks uncertain.
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The first outcome of the legal battle between Apple and Epic Games has concluded with a tie. Epic Games asked for a restraining order to prevent Apple from terminating Epic’s developer accounts on August 28. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, has decided not to require Apple to allow Fortnite on the App Store, but Apple won’t be able to terminate all of Epic’s developer accounts.
Epic Games has managed to find limited success in the latest chapter of the Apple VS Epic Games story. The court decided to give Apple a restraining order that will prevent Apple from terminating developer accounts relating to Epic International, including Unreal Engine. Unfortunately, Apple will be able to end the Epic Games developer account, and it seems that the Fortnite app will not be allowed back on the App Store anytime soon.
According to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple seems to be happy with this decision, as it expresses that it’s ready to welcome Fortnite back if Epic Games decides to remove the direct payment option and return to the status quo.
“We thank the court for recognizing that Epic’s problem is entirely self-inflicted and is in their power to resolve. Our very first priority is making sure App Store users have a great experience in a safe and trusted environment, including iPhone users who play Fortnite and who are looking forward to the game’s next season.
“We agree with Judge Gonzalez-Rogers that ‘the sensible way to proceed’ is for Epic to comply with the App Store guidelines and continue to operate while the case proceeds. If Epic takes the steps the judge has recommended, we will gladly welcome Fortnite back onto iOS. We look forward to making our case to the court in September.”
Apple’s response to the Judge’s temporary order pic.twitter.com/BXwvWcgiCB
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) August 25, 2020
Now, Epic’s lawyer claimed that Epic Games can’t go back into an anticompetitive contract, so only time will tell if iOS users will be able to enjoy the next season of Fortnite that starts in just a couple of days.
Source MacRumors
Via Bloomberg
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Epic Games is now being supported by Microsoft, as the company believes that Apple should restrict Epic’s access to developer tools on iOS and Mac.
The latest chapter in the Apple VS Epic Games saga now features Microsoft. The software and tech giant believes that Apple’s actions would damage a “critical technology” form many game creators. This is because Epic’s Unreal Engine is a tool used by several developers and studios around the planet to build games, VR experiences, and special effects in TV shows and movies.
Today we filed a statement in support of Epic's request to keep access to the Apple SDK for its Unreal Engine. Ensuring that Epic has access to the latest Apple technology is the right thing for gamer developers & gamers https://t.co/72bLdDkvUx
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) August 23, 2020
“Denying Epic access to Apple’s SDK and other development tools will prevent Epic from supporting Unreal Engine on iOS and macOS, and will place Unreal Engine and those game creators that have built, are building, and may build games on it at a substantial disadvantage.
“(a)Developing a game using different game engines for different platforms may be prohibitively expensive and difficult. In any event, it is not as cost-effective as using a game engine that supports different platforms.
“(b)As a result, game creators, including Microsoft, that are preparing to develop a game targeted at multiple platforms generally choose game engines based both on the functionality they provide as well as their ability to support development for those platforms.
“(c)If Unreal Engine cannot support games for iOS or macOS, Microsoft would be required to choose between abandoning its customers and potential customers on the iOS and macOS platforms or choosing a different game engine when preparing to develop new games.”
This whole mess started when Epic Games introduced a “discount” that allowed users to complete in-game purchases directly from the Epic Store, instead of having to pay Apple its 30 percent cut. Apple then took down the app from its Play Store and has also threatened to remove Epic’s access to developer tools. Epic is taking legal actions to stop Apple’s “monopoly,” but only time will tell how this story will end. If you want to read Microsoft’s complete statement on the matter, follow this link.
Source BBC
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