This story is part of CNET's coverage of Apple Arcade, including exclusive first looks at some of the new games.
In a time when we question how much screen time is too much for our kids, it's given they know how to use a phone from an early age. But that raises another problem. Even though a 6-year-old might know how to find games on their parent's phone, they still need age-appropriate content.
If you're looking for something fun, manageable and family-friendly, here are a few games from Apple Arcade:
Way of the Turtle
Apple recommends: 4 years and up
Apple Arcade
Way of the Turtle is a cute, colorful, single-player platform game. In the first level, you play as Mr. Turtle and must find Ms. Turtle while on your honeymoon. Navigate a beach obstacle course while avoiding traps and gathering coins. As you continue, you'll earn shells that give you more abilities. The only trouble is that Mr. Turtle never stops moving, which might make him difficult to maneuver sometimes.
Fledgling Heroes
Apple recommends: 9 years and up
Apple Arcade
Take to the skies as Biscuit the Brave, a young macaw, in this tropical platform game. Tapping the screen makes Biscuit fly. Too much tapping sends the macaw too high, not enough tapping drops it too low. You must maintain the right altitude to avoid enemies and obstacles while collecting coins. As you explore more islands, you'll learn tricks and meet different characters like Penny the Penguin, who wants to be a pirate.
Dodo Peak
Apple recommends: 4 years and up
Apple Arcade
In this upbeat game, you play as a dodo bird who has to save its eggs when they roll out of the nest. Get them home safely while collecting coins, avoiding obstacles like monkeys and snakes and unlocking more dodos. The game has challenges like getting all the eggs back safely in under 30 seconds.
Lego Brawls
Apple recommends: 9 years and up
Screenshot/ YouTube
There are countless ways to create your character in this fast-paced 4v4 multiplayer that's set in the Lego universe. Every stage of the game brings new challenges, goals and quirky power-ups, like a pie launcher, a cactus suit, a snake car or a hot dog stand. Lego Brawls walks you through the controls, so even those unfamiliar with gaming can play. Jump into a party or a brawl -- or keep training.
Frogger in Toytown
Apple recommends: 4 years and up
Apple Arcade
In this game, you must rescue lost "froglets" from inside the human's house. You'll navigate a toy-filled terrain performing various tasks like avoiding being squashed by little cars, climbing block-buildings, collecting jelly beans and saving the froglets. When you rescue a froglet, they hop on Frogger's back (which is just as cute as you think it is). If you liked the old-school Frogger, you might like this remaster.
The Enchanted World
Apple recommends: 4 years and up
Apple Arcade
The Enchanted World centers around a young fairy whose magical world is torn apart by dark forces. In this fantasy game, you must repair the fairy's world with sliding puzzles. The tasks are set to a soothing soundtrack, and there's no time limit on solving the game. One of my favorite parts of Enchanted World is that the inspiration for it came from the developers' childhoods in war-torn Bosnia. More than just a game, the story behind its creation also could be a way to start a conversation between parents and children about serious issues in the world.
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Apple Arcade exclusive preview: The Enchanted World
3:59
Sonic Racing
Apple recommends: 4 years and up
Apple Arcade
Sonic is a classic. There's a good chance that you know who the speedy little hedgehog is, even if you've never played the games featuring him. The game is fun with controls that aren't hard to pick up. You'll race on teams with Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. As you level up, you can change your team to more characters like Shadow, Amy and others. To win you'll need to maneuver your car to grab as many rings as possible while avoiding traps.
Sneaky Sasquatch
Apple recommends: 4 years and up
Apple Arcade
In Sneaky Sasquatch, you'll play just that: A sneaky sasquatch. But you also get help from a clever raccoon. Sneak into the campsite and fill your backpack with snacks. Sometimes other animals, like the snoozing bear, are willing to pay for some picnic leftovers. You can use the money at the raccoon's shop. Just make sure you tip-toe so you don't get caught by the surly park ranger or scare any campers.
Rayman Mini
Apple recommends: 4 years and up
Apple Arcade
Rayman is another classic like Sonic. The platformer doesn't use a timer and lets you try as many times as you need to progress. While you jump, bounce off of flowers and slide down streams of water, you gather lums (little firefly type bugs), coins and other special prizes along the way.
Pinball Wizard
Apple recommends: 4 years and up
Apple Arcade
The developers of Frosty Pop paired a timeless game with a fun story. You play as a young apprentice who must bring peace back to your homeland by restoring a lost treasure in a high tower. Along the way, you must defeat enemies and collect keys to find the next room. The game works like a pinball game: The higher you go, the more health you lose if you fall out of the ring.
Now playing:Watch this:
Apple Arcade is changing video games for $5 a month
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Did you buy the updated Galaxy Fold now that it's finally available? You now have the posh support to go with it. Samsung has launched its Galaxy Fold Premiere Service in the US, offering all of the foldable phone's buyers dedicated support through video chat (through the Members app) or conventional voice calls. If you're in the right location, you can also get in-person tutorials.
Premiere Service also includes a discount on the first replacement for the folding screen, lowering it to $149 whether you visit specified service locations or get an expedited mail-in. You might need it, too, given that tests have suggested the inner screen might not last as long as Samsung estimates.
The extra support is, unofficially, an acknowledgment that the Fold is both experimental and very expensive tech. You'd likely expect Samsung to coddle you when you've spent $1,980 on a phone that will be just as obsolete as anything else in a few years. At the same time, it could make all the difference if you're willing to live on the cutting edge but want a stronger safety net if things go awry.
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Apple’s latest Mac update, macOS Catalina, was released earlier this week, and with it came a flurry of complications both minor and major.
For one, this update is the first for Apple to drop 32-bit application support, which is causing all sorts of headaches for users of smaller apps, plug-ins, and other software that may not be updated for quite some time or may have been created by a company that no longer exists. There are also a fair number of other issues with Catalina, like Adobe software incompatibility problems and unforeseen hurdles related to the removal of iTunes.
That leads us to a series of important questions for Mac users who may be at risk of having important workflows disrupted by Catalina. What exactly might go wrong if you do upgrade? Should you upgrade now, and what should you do before pulling the trigger? Or should you hold off for now, and if so, what’s the best way to do that and also monitor when it might be safe to make the jump?
What’s wrong with Catalina so far?
Apple first announced that it would ultimately wind down support for 32-bit apps more than a year and a half ago, when it began pushing alerts to macOS High Sierra users that 32-bit software was “unsupported.” The apps still worked, but with Catalina’s official unveiling back in June at WWDC, Apple made the eventual discontinuation official. With the launch of Catalina, 32-bit apps no longer function.
That has resulted in some understandably messy problems. For instance, legacy versions of Adobe products like Photoshop use some 32-bit licensing components and installers, meaning they won’t work after you upgrade. Not even Adobe’s uninstaller will work post-Catalina upgrade because that, too, is a 32-bit component.
Adobe recommends you not update your Mac if you rely on this older, pre-Creative Cloud version of Photoshop or Lightroom. It also says that, even if you do upgrade, you should probably uninstall that software first or else it will be difficult to get rid of once its rendered inoperable.
Other popular pieces of software ensnared by this 32- to 64-bit transition include older versions of Microsoft Office, numerous legacy versions of Mac apps like GarageBand, and discontinued apps like iPhoto. For those who do play games on a Mac, it’s likely quite a few are 32-bit and there’s no way to salvage them after upgrading to Catalina.
But the issues extend beyond the loss 32-bit app support. Due to incompatibility issues, even newer versions of Photoshop installed and managed using Creative Cloud are having file naming issues, plug-in verification problems, and video rendering hiccups. Adobe says on its support page for the issue that droplets, ExtendScript Toolkit, and Lens Profile Creator will flat-out fail to run.
Because Catalina marks the official end of iTunes as a standalone app, third-party apps that relied on iTunes as a repository for music files and for the features it offered for linking with other software are also running into issues. This has mainly affected DJ apps like Rekordbox and Traktor that offer the ability to sync XML files generated from iTunes, which breaks that link between the software and DJs’ music libraries, a feature crucial for live performances. For those who depend on that software, Apple is telling them not to upgrade to Catalina, either.
There are bound to be more issues that pop up as more users upgrade to Catalina and run into new, unforeseen issues. But for now, if any of the above mentioned pieces of software are vital to your job or your daily computer use, it’s likely a good idea to hold off on upgrading.
Should you upgrade now?
If you do want to upgrade, there are some easy ways to figure out if your machine will be hit hard by the loss of 32-bit support. Apple has gone out of its way to ensure that when you do choose to install the new OS, you’ll be made aware of the software installed on your machine that won’t be supported post-update.
But if you want to do that ahead of time, before downloading Catalina and getting to the final stages of the install process, you can use Spotlight search on your Mac to open the System Information tool. From there, scroll down to “Software” and click on “Legacy Software.” At the top of the window you’ll find all the software that will become inoperable once Catalina is installed. On my work machine, it was only one app — an old piece of software for recording Skype calls. But on my home machine, a years-old Mac mini, I have loads of legacy software.
I have an old version of Microsoft Office on that machine, a 32-bit version of Valve’s Steam launcher I never uninstalled, and what appears to be old versions of iMovie and pre-Creative Cloud Adobe apps. I’m using my Creative Cloud subscription on this machine, so I can uninstall that Adobe software. But had I not heeded Adobe’s warning to do so pre-Catalina, the company says I would have had to resort to using its manual cleanup tool, which can be annoying to troubleshoot and time-consuming to perform.
The question of whether you should upgrade largely rests on whether you’re okay taking the risk that some apps might no longer function or you might run into issues you were unaware of even in supported 64-bit software.
If you’re like me, you don’t use highly specialized apps and you’re not using a four- or five-year-old Mac. You mostly use your newish laptop or desktop for web browsing, general productivity stuff (calendar, notes, file management, etc.), light media creation, and editing and writing. In that scenario, upgrading to Catalina is reasonable and likely won’t cause you too much trouble.
Why you might want to hold off
There are plenty of reasons not to upgrade to Catalina. Apple says the OS will run on computers from as far back as 2012, but that, of course, means you may have tons of 32-bit software lying around that you use from time to time without realizing it.
Forgoing those apps just to use Catalina is, in my option, not worth it when the upgrades you’re getting are mostly centered on new devices. For instance, you can’t use the new Sidecar mirroring feature without a Skylake Mac and a newer iPad.
Another reason why you may want to hold off on upgrading is if you’re a creative professional, someone who uses Photoshop or any of the above mentioned music software affected by the iTunes removal. It’s always safer to work on a machine that’s integrated into your existing workflow, instead of risking breaking something and hitting a roadblock on a project that has a due date.
As The Verge’s Dieter Bohn argues in an article aptly titled, “You don’t need to update your operating system right away,” consumers, and especially Apple fans, have been lulled into a sense of complacency over software updates because of how stable the mobile variety have typically been. He calls it a low-risk, high-reward decision to update a new app or move to the latest version of iOS because, while you might run into a bug here or there, you do get access to cool new features, nice wallpapers, and generally speedy third-party app adoption of new capabilities.
The same is not true for the Mac, which as a much more open platform, can involve more complications, and carries a higher risk in the event of a serious bug or incompatibility issue. “You probably depend on your Mac or PC for ‘real work,’ and so updating on day one could threaten that real work — literally threaten your livelihood,” Bohn writes. “It’s better to wait and see how things shake out, to let other people experience the problems and report them.”
In the event you do end up holding out, there is one thing you’ll want to do: head over to Settings, click Software Update, and uncheck the box for “Automatically keep my Mac up to date.” That will ensure that your Mac doesn’t try to sneakily install the update on your behalf. Most Mac users have this box checked by default, so you’ll have to manually turn off the setting to avoid a forced Catalina install.
Despite the official announcement being on Tuesday, Best Buy in Canada has already listed the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL for pre-order. A dedicated product page notes the key features and specs, while also allowing buyers to place a deposit.
The official marketing copy for the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL heavily emphasizes that this is a phone by Google:
Built around the helpful Google software you know and love, Pixel 4 is a phone made the Google way.
There are four “Pixel perfect” bullet points. Starting with the camera, Google touts the “software in Pixel 4” as helping you take “studio-like photos anywhere” in a point-and-shoot manner. The redesigned Google Camera 7.1 with a cleaner interface is shown off.
There’s nothing new to learn and no editing required. Just point at what you want to capture, and your Pixel will help you get a fantastic shot, every time.
The next photography highlight suggests unlimited “original quality” storage in Google Photos, but oddly shows a Pixel 3a that only offers “high quality” compressed backups not at full resolution.
Meanwhile, Quick Gestures through Soli are touted as a “new way to control your phone.”
Pixel 4 has Quick Gestures, letting you get things done without having to touch your phone. Which is actually pretty great for when you’re cooking or enjoying your favourite tacos.
The last point is Assistant, which is accessible via Active Edge or the Hey Google hotword. There is no explicit reference to the next-generation Assistant, though the functionality is referenced: “Send texts, get directions, and even plan your day, all from the palm of your hand.”
Full specifications are listed with a direct comparison to the Google Pixel 3 XL. The dual-rear cameras come in at 12 and 16MP with 4K video capture, while there is a 8MP front-facer for 1080p. The 90Hz “Smooth Display” is found on the 5.7-inch Full HD+ or 6.3-inch Quad HD+ OLED. There is a 900 mAh difference between the 2,800 mAh Pixel 4 and 3,700 mAh 4 XL. Also confirmed is the Snapdragon 855 with 6GB of RAM, though only the 64GB capacity is available for pre-order. It should also be available in 128GB.
This Pixel 4 specs leak by Best Buy will likely be removed, but customers this evening are able to place a CAD$50 deposit to reserve a unit at a local store from six different carriers. The Canadian retailer offers Just Black and Clearly White, but not Oh So Orange. While the full price is not listed here, details have previously leaked.
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