Remember Apple Arcade? The gaming subscription service from Apple turns six years old today, but you might not have realized that — or even recalled that it still exists. As a Mac gamer, I feel like it’s Apple’s forgotten gaming platform.
These days, Apple Arcade barely gets a mention from its creator, whether that’s at a showy Apple event or in a quick press release. There’s practically no significant promotion for Apple Arcade, wherever you look. And that feels odd considering how much Apple is pushing Mac gaming these days.
The problem is that Apple Arcade has never really lived up to its potential. Games on Apple Arcade carry saves across to whatever Apple product they’re played on, and that means they have to work on every device from the beefiest Mac Pro to the most modest iPhone. As a result, developers inevitably have to make compromises. Many games simply feel like iOS ports that got lost and found themselves on the Mac, with huge buttons designed for thumbs instead of mouse pointers and blurry textures blown up large on Mac displays. Few feel at home on the Mac.
Then there are the tales of developer discontent. As reported by MobileGamer.biz, Apple Arcade developers have faced declining revenues and a lack of interest from Apple. One even said the service has “the smell of death” about it.
An earlier report from Midia Research claimed that up to 10% of US consumers play Apple Arcade games weekly, but I’d be willing to bet that the vast majority of those gamers play on mobile devices, not the Mac. Mobile gaming is a huge business and Mac gaming is decidedly not. I wouldn’t be surprised if that trend is reflected in Apple Arcade.
I’ve been an Apple Arcade subscriber off and on almost since it debuted, and right now I’m decidedly in the “off” camp. It pains me to say it, but I can’t remember a single Apple Arcade game that has justified the ongoing fee and really stuck in my mind. Sure, there are plenty of good titles available, but few that I find compelling specifically from a Mac gamer’s perspective, as opposed to someone who plays on mobile.
That’s not necessarily the fault of the developers. Apple Arcade games are constrained by serious limitations, and that’s holding them back. Developers must ensure that their games run well and look good on the least powerful Apple device available, which inevitably means that more weight is put on iPhone performance than how the game will run for Mac players.
Now, there’s another serious threat to Apple Arcade: the Mac itself.
Mac hardware is getting more powerful every year and AAA games are arriving on the Mac’s sunny shores in increasing numbers. In the coming years, the choice for Mac gamers will increasingly be between Apple Arcade games optimised for iOS and proper, native Mac gaming experiences. As a Mac gamer, I know I would choose Cyberpunk 2077 or Assassin’s Creed Shadows over an Apple Arcade title every day of the week.
I say this as someone who has given Apple Arcade plenty of time (and money) over the years. I liked the idea of being able to start playing a game on my Mac and then pick up on my iPhone if I need to leave the house. And I appreciate being able to play games free from microtransactions and adverts, which is a stipulation of getting a game onto Apple Arcade.
But in the end, the dearth of compelling titles for Mac gamers — a situation prompted by the very nature of Apple Arcade’s cross-platform requirements — has turned me away.
Fortunately, with the Mac looking like a more viable gaming destination, the slow decline of Apple Arcade might not be so keenly felt. After all, a game expressly designed for desktops will likely always be a better experience than something that has to work on every screen, from a 6-inch iPhone to a 32-inch Pro Display XDR.
But as I mark Apple Arcade’s sixth birthday, I can’t help but wonder whether Apple should simply drop the Mac compatibility requirement from its game subscription service entirely. That would allow mobile games to thrive on their own terms, without forcing unsuitable ports onto the developers.
If Apple can give other enticements to Mac developers and give them solid reasons to make native Mac games, everyone will be better off. That’s the kind of world where Mac gaming can thrive.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.