The week has been a mixed bag for Apple. First, it launched a new iPhone app for organizing events and being actually social; then, it had to contend with a third-party app store offering a porn app in the European Union. And there’s nothing like an Apple-pornography headline to draw the eye.
But first, Apple Invites, where you can host an unlimited number of events, each one limited to 100 participants. It’s also possible to invite non-iPhone users. What?!
You can use your own photos or backgrounds in the app as an image for the invite and even arrange a communal playlist through Apple Music.
Of course, there’s some Apple Intelligence shoehorned in. Image Playground is built into Invites to generate images for your events when there aren’t any appropriate photos.
Engadget
What about the future for existing invite apps, like Evite, Partiful, Luma and the rest? Well, all isn’t lost: Only paid iCloud subscribers can create invites in the app — and prices start there at 99 cents a month, while rival apps offer free basic event invites. Also, the web experience for non-iPhone people is pretty clunky and painful. At least for now.
Meanwhile, a third-party app store called AltStore PAL announced a porn app called Hot Tub was now available to iOS users in the European Union. The marketplace described it as the “first Apple-approved porn app” — which probably isn’t entirely accurate.
It’s seemingly the first time a porn app has been available natively for the iPhone. Apple said it was “deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore porn apps of this type create for EU users, especially kids.”
And just to add further corporate spice: Longtime Apple App Store foe Epic gave the alternative app store a MegaGrant last year to help fund the “core technology fees” third-party app stores are required to pay Apple. Not that it’s directly affiliated with this adult entertainment portal. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney took to X to say, “the Epic Games Store doesn’t carry this app, doesn’t carry any porn apps, and has never carried porn apps.”
— Mat Smith
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How to use Apple Invites to plan your next event
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Oura Ring 4 long-term review
It remains the smart ring to beat.
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Despite the appearance of rival smart rings from the likes of Samsung, the Oura Ring 4 remains the best option. It tracks your sleep, activity and stress levels, is comfortable to wear and looks, shock, like a regular ring. The battery life is admirable, lasting up to seven days, with new features including 24/7 heart rate tracking and temperature monitoring. However, these features are only available if you pay for a monthly subscription — and that may remain the biggest caveat for this $349 ring.
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In 1996, IBM’s Deep Blue beats Kasparov at chess
The first chess win for a computer against a world champion.
IBM
This week, we go back 29 years. Back when we were barely saying artificial intelligence, let alone AI, on February 10, 1996, IBM’s Deep Blue chess computer defeated fleshbag world champion Garry Kasparov. It marked the first time a computer beat a high-level opponent. However, Kasparov won the series 4-2. It wasn’t until a year later that Deep Blue bested him in a rematch.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-133509185.html?src=rss
