Microsoft will let anyone buy cloud gaming playtime hours through the Xbox Store starting in November, letting non-subscribers stream eligible owned games without Game Pass. At the same time, Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will face a new monthly cap of just 15 cloud gaming hours, pushing heavy users toward buying extra hourly bundles. Microsoft is also testing a free, ad-supported cloud gaming tier for Xbox Insiders.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-03
Microsoft will end unlimited Xbox Cloud Gaming access less than a year after introducing it, replacing it with monthly caps of 15 hours for Ultimate subscribers, 10 hours for Premium, and 5 hours for Essential. Players who exceed these limits will need to buy additional playtime bundles through the Xbox store, though unused hours can roll over. Microsoft says the change affects about 4% of Game Pass subscribers and cites rising infrastructure costs as the reason.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-03
Apple emailed Mac App Store developers saying universal apps requiring macOS 13 or later can now remove Intel-based Mac support entirely and build for arm64 only. This follows Apple's completed six-year transition to its own silicon and its earlier statement that macOS 26 Tahoe would be the last major release supporting Intel Macs. Rosetta, the tool letting Apple-silicon Macs run older Intel apps, will lose general-purpose support after macOS 27.
techspot.com
· 2026-09-03
Microsoft says its August 11, 2026 security update (KB5121003) is causing Teams and New Outlook to fail to launch or crash unexpectedly on ARM-based Windows 11 24H2 devices like the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7. The problem mostly hits new or freshly imaged machines that haven't yet grabbed Microsoft Store updates, while Classic Outlook, Word and Excel remain unaffected.
bleepingcomputer.com
· 2026-09-03
MapQuest climbed from No. 8 to the top spot on the U.S. App Store this week after declining to comply with an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as 'Lake America,' a change Google Maps and Apple Maps both adopted. Sensor Tower estimates 632,000 U.S. downloads since the order, while MapQuest claims over 1.5 million installs across the U.S. and Canada combined.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-02
Amazon has cut the price of Apple's AirPods Pro 3 to $199, a $50 discount off the $249 list price, as part of its Labor Day sale event. The retailer is also running an all-time-low deal on AirTag 2 at $20 each, restocking refurbished M5 MacBook Air units, and offering pre-order discounts on the new M6 Mac mini alongside cheap Apple accessories starting at $5.50.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-09-02
IBM has released an open source initiative called the CE Store, providing a research environment for ITA Controlled English, a structured form of English designed to be readable by both people and machines. The system lets users define concepts and instances through simple English sentences that form data models, and it can be deployed via IBM Cloud or run locally by cloning the code from GitHub.
github.com
· 2026-09-02
Apple emailed developers announcing that universal macOS apps requiring macOS 13 or later can now be built as arm64-only, removing Intel compatibility. Developers must update build settings to arm64 and resubmit; Intel Mac users can still use the last compatible version of an app they already have.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-09-02
A proposed $7.85 million settlement in Caccuri v. Sony Interactive Entertainment has won preliminary court approval after being rejected twice, most recently in July 2025 over unclear recovery estimates. The suit accused Sony of monopolizing digital game sales by ending game-specific vouchers that once let PlayStation owners buy titles from rival retailers, forcing them toward the PlayStation Store. Sony denies wrongdoing, and no court has ruled it broke any law, but a final approval hearing is set for Oct. 15.
cnet.com
· 2026-09-01
Aurora Store, the popular open-source client used to download apps without a Google account, has started failing for many users with a 'Server busy, please try again later' error when installing apps anonymously. The problem persists across troubleshooting steps like clearing cache, using a VPN, or restarting devices, suggesting Google may be blocking access at the server level rather than a local bug.
gitlab.com
· 2026-09-01
The piece is a fictional 'day one' briefing addressed to Apple's John Ternus, satirizing the company's ongoing struggles across hardware, services and AI. It jokes about delayed Siri upgrades, price hikes on new iPhones, rebranding an AirPods camera as a 'sensor,' low morale on the Vision Pro team, and new EU App Store commission rules taking effect in a month.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-01
Google has hiked the U.S. price of its TV Streamer 4K from $99.99 to $149.99, citing rising component costs, with the change already reflected on the Google Store and Best Buy. Certain Nest Cam and doorbell models are also getting price increases effective August 31, though the new Google Home Speaker is unaffected for now. Amazon and Walmart are still selling remaining stock at the older $99.99 price, but supplies are limited.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-09-01
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