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Jeremy’s 5: Rethinking Apple TV, Touch ID failures, Kimoji, Badland 2 + Real Boxing 2

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Welcome to the latest edition of Jeremy’s 5, my latest quick roundup of 5 interesting little things I’ve been testing over the past week. These are all items that aren’t big enough for full articles, but are worth sharing with you anyway.

This week’s edition discusses the state of Apple TV apps/games as we close out 2015, a tip on how to deal with a broken Touch ID sensor, and three apps: KimojiBadland 2, and Real Boxing 2 CREED

1. Rethinking Apple’s 4th-Gen Apple TV. As 2015 draws to a close, I wanted to revisit an editorial I wrote back in October, “Apple’s fourth-gen Apple TV will be worth the $149 gamble.” The editorial’s bullish recommendation was that the new device was a safe long-term bet, though it would likely have a somewhat rocky launch:

[T]he next year will be a wild ride for early adopters, though I do think the first two or three months may be somewhat chaotic as developers rush to get their hastily-completed apps and games into the Apple TV App Store.

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By contrast, my colleague Chance Miller was bearish, opining two weeks after the Apple TV’s release that the price and app quality made it a “risky upgrade from the prior model.” Chance recommended sticking with the older $69 version until apps improved and/or an Apple cable TV streaming service launched.

Although I use the new Apple TV every day, I’ve thought about Chance’s take quite a few times, because our Apple TV 4 is used mostly like our prior Apple TV 3: for playing videos. Ever since the Apple TV App Store opened, I’ve been actively hunting for “great” apps, but apart from new video channels — too many of which are locked behind cable subscriptions — I’ve found very few non-gaming downloads worth keeping on the device. Another way to put this is that if you’re not a gamer, the Apple TV 4 is certainly not a must-buy right now.

Games are a different story. As of today, there are a handful of compelling Apple TV games, including Geometry Wars 3, Oceanhorn, and Lumino City, while the accessory-required Guitar Hero Live is also remarkably popular. For better or worse, virtually all of them are ports of existing iPhone and iPad games. There are two huge positives to this: you can instantly pick up on your Apple TV where you left off on your smaller device, and your iOS purchase gives you immediate (free) access to the Apple TV version. But thus far, you have little incentive — apart from seeing games on a larger screen — to play heavily on the Apple TV itself, and unless you have a Bluetooth game controller, you probably won’t want to use the Siri Remote for gaming. It stinks.

My nightstand is currently loaded with Apple TV accessories: a Bluetooth game controller, a pair of wireless headphones for quiet listening, a headphone stand, and a charging dock that alternates between refueling my Siri Remote and iPhone. Right now, it’s comforting that all of these accessories can also be used with my iPad and iPhone. I remain optimistic that the Apple TV will soon be making equally good use of them, as well.

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2. Has Your Touch ID Sensor Failed? Don’t Use iTunes To Update iOS! I’ve been pretty lucky with iPhones over the years — partial or complete hardware failures have thankfully been rare. But I ran into a new situation this past week that shows how one small (and arguably trivial) broken piece can completely destroy your ability to use a recent iPhone or iPad.

Just after my wife’s iPhone 6 warranty ran out, her Touch ID sensor stopped working — it started reading slowly, then stopped reading entirely, erased her stored fingerprints, and refused to store new ones. She wasn’t thrilled to lose Apple Pay access, but willing to live with the issue until her next iPhone upgrade. Over the course of the next few weeks, however, we learned that a failure of the Touch ID sensor actually creates bigger issues for an iOS device than just removing fingerprint scanning.

When iOS 9.2 came out, we discovered that she couldn’t do an over-the-air iOS software update on her phone; it repeatedly failed without explanation. Then, we made the mistake of trying to use iTunes to update the iPhone. iTunes got 50% of the way through the “verifying” stage before failing, and completely bricking the phone, which at that point couldn’t be revived or moved past the “Connect to iTunes” screen. An “Error 53” in iTunes identified the issue as Touch ID-specific, without providing any fix. At that point, your only real alternative is to pay to have the iPhone (or iPad, if that’s your Touch ID device) replaced.

People who have tried to replace their Touch ID sensors using third-party repair services have discovered that it’s not easy — each Touch ID sensor is tied to the specific CPU inside an iPhone, so if Touch ID fails, and you want to keep upgrading your iPhone, you’ll need to replace the entire logic board, a prohibitively costly option. (I would imagine that attorneys are already working on the class action lawsuit for this, if it hasn’t been filed already.) Your other replacement alternative is AppleCare+, which isn’t cheap. But if you want to just keep using your phone without Touch ID, my advice is simple: avoid using iTunes to update iOS.

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3. Kimoji (Seriously) May Be The Start Of Something Bigger. Building on emoji — the little smiley face, heart, unicorn, pizza, and taco icons found in iOS’s alternate picture keyboard — Kim Kardashian’s latest app, Kimoji ($2), raced to the top of the App Store’s “Top Paid Apps” charts the day it was released. Kim claimed that she broke the App Store, and Apple, uncharacteristically, responded with a denial. Today, Kimoji is the App Store’s #4 paid app, behind Minecraft, Minecraft: Story Mode, and a party game called Heads Up! — it’s also the only non-game app in the top 10. Is there a reason for its success, apart from Kardashian’s popularity?

Yes. I give Kim and developer Whalerock Digital Media credit for capitalizing on something that’s become apparent over the past year: people love new emoji. Believe it or not, readers have shown more interest in new emoji additions to iOS than pretty much any other individual feature Apple has added over the past year or two. By including some racy content, Kimoji goes further than other new emoji apps for iPhones and iPads, which are comparatively tame.

For a variety of reasons, third-party “emoji” apps need to rely on a hack: they include images that you paste into text entry fields, and send just like picture messages. But as Kimoji demonstrates, having handy access to more images can actually be fun, particularly if you want to exchange those images with friends or family who appreciate icons such as suggestive fruits, fancy cars, and rainbow hearts. In 2016, I would be surprised if we didn’t see other celebrities, particularly musicians (say, Snoop Dogg), follow in Kim’s footsteps.

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4. Badland 2. For years, Apple has been encouraging iOS developers to release games that are beautiful and easy to control using a touchscreen. That’s why the side-scrolling adventure game Badland won an Apple Design Award two years ago; it was gorgeous and simple. Using only one button — “move” — you could maneuver a furry, flying little ball through a variety of comically deadly environments. All of the characters and obstacles were rendered in highly detailed but jet black silhouettes, contrasting with rich, colorful backgrounds.

The just-released sequel Badland 2 ($5) preserves the original game’s formula, but quickly ups the ante with new elemental hazards such as liquids, flames, frost, and light, all including improved special effects. A new two-button control scheme (“move left,” “move right”) lets you explore crazier, twisting level designs, with 3D Touch support for the latest iPhones that can make your character’s wing-flapping a little more precise. While many of the core gameplay elements feel familiar, they’ve been made more fun (and random) by cranking up the number of objects on screen at once: it’s common to take control of dozens of clones simultaneously, only to see (most of them) shredded in the gears of machines, or squashed between compacting walls; if only one survives, it gets to continue on. Badland 2 is worth seeing if you appreciate simple controls, dark humor, and rugged, industrial art.

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5. Real Boxing 2 CREED. The original Real Boxing was the best-looking and -playing boxing game released for iOS. But the sequel, featuring improved graphics and tie-ins from the latest Rocky movie, is even better. Released in November and recently updated with new bosses and gifts, Real Boxing 2 CREED (Free) still lets you completely custom-create a boxer from scratch and take him through a series of training sessions and “career mode” fights. The major change this time is the option to play through the career of Adonis “Creed” Johnson, son of legendary Rocky opponent Apollo Creed; Sylvester Stallone himself shows up as Rocky in training sequences.

If you’re not a boxing fan, the biggest reason to download Real Boxing 2 is to see just what your iOS device is capable of doing. Powered by the console game-building Unreal Engine 4, it features some of the most detailed 3D characters, backgrounds, skin textures and special effects that iPads and iPhones can handle, and the controls are easy to learn, too. While the career mode can get repetitive, online multiplayer modes and one-off challenges are available to keep the game interesting from day to day. Based on the longevity of the original Real Boxing, you can expect lots and lots of new features to be added over the game’s lifetime.

More From This Author

Check out more of my reviews, How-To guides and editorials for 9to5Mac here! I’ve published a lot of different topics of interest to Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, and Apple Watch users, as well as a personal gift guide for Apple fans, a great gift guide for iPhone users, a detailed gift guide for Mac users, and a separate gift guide for Apple photographers.

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Comments

  1. TfT_02 - 8 years ago

    Touch ID failure that is tied to other malfunctions? Why are you so quickly to conclude that these two things are tied to each other. Maybe the phone has been dropped, or has suffered from water damage? Breaking more internals aside from just the Touch ID.

    • Jeremy Horwitz - 8 years ago

      (A) Because the error message (53) specifically pointed to the Touch ID failure as the reason for the software update failure/bricking of iPhone.
      (B) Because this was subsequently confirmed by Apple itself.

      • TfT_02 - 8 years ago

        That is a serious issue then, I wonder why Apple does not have a replacement program for this.

  2. chrisl84 - 8 years ago

    I just think Apple shot the Apple TV 4 in the foot using iPhone 6 chips and not including 4K. The 6S shoots 4K, the iPad Pro edits 4K but Apple damn sure doesnt want you to enjoy it on your TV. Please, this is classic Apple, recycling out of date parts as a “new” product. Then they price is 3 times as much as the old model that does 95% of the same things at launch. Consumers aren’t dumb they do their research before making a purchase. “Oh, you mean all the other streaming devices will push 4K to my brand new 4K TV except this expensive Apple TV…..well gosh, I’ll take 5 of them!”

    • kevicosuave - 8 years ago

      I have no problem buying the ATV4 without 4K. Currently there isn’t much 4K video out there and I’m not shooting in it. I don’t have a 4K TV either. In 1-2 years, I’m pretty sure I’ll be transitioning my home theater to 4K, but in the meantime, the ATV4 is the best box on the market if you don’t consider 4K as a variable. When Apple does release a 4K ATV, I’ll simply move the ATV4 to another location where I have a 1080p TV, or sell it for what will probably be a pretty fair price. The cost per month on this is going to be really low regardless.

      • chrisl84 - 8 years ago

        “and I’m not shooting in it”

        Well that settles it folks, kevicosuave doesn’t use 4K on his 6S so obviously no does. In 1 single year he will go 4K, so obviously 4K isn’t ready. Call him in 12 months! You all can enjoy 4K when kevicosuave is good and damn ready to do it too.

      • To be fair, your reasons (Chris) are: made-up stats (95%.. unless you can show me a listing of things the old ones does that is 95% of what the new one does) and an unattributed quote from a made-up consumer. Sounds like you two are only differentiated by the side of the debate you’re on, not how valid your point is.

      • kevicosuave - 8 years ago

        Tweet Beaver (@tweetbeaver)

        The difference is that I totally accept the idea that someone looking for 4K compatibility wouldn’t find it in the ATV4 and wouldn’t call someone in that situation “dumb” for not buying it.

    • Jake Becker - 8 years ago

      I wish this was true, but most people aren’t really like us on here. Every time I’m in an Apple Store or Best Buy there are packs of people who don’t even know what the thing they’re looking at is. “Well, I’m on Lion now with my 2010 Mac, is this thingy still on Lion?”

    • kevicosuave - 8 years ago

      You would think that it couldn’t be any more obvious that when I started a comment with the word “I” that I’m speaking about my personal perspective, which was contrary to the idea that buying it would be “dumb”.

      To paraphrase your logic… “Hey everyone… return your ATV4s if you were dumb enough to buy one. Chrisl84 says Apple shot themselves in the foot! So even if you don’t even have a 4K TV or plan to get one, don’t be dumb enough to buy a device that doesn’t support the TV or content you don’t even have!”

    • standardpull - 8 years ago

      “Consumers aren’t dumb they do their research before making a purchase”

      Well that settles it folks, chrisl84 has proclaimed that those that procure an Apple TV after doing research are dumb. Using deep analysis, he has carefully concluded that the old Apple TV does 95% of what the new Apple TV does, and the mere 5% more that the new Apple TV does do can be safely ignored.

      Furthermore, he proves that 3 x 69 = 149.

      If you disagree, please DO NOT post here. chrisl84 gets very upset when someone disagrees with him, and then his mom has a really tough time calming him down.

      • chrisl84 - 8 years ago

        Wait, were did you disprove anything that I said….any of you for that matter? If you’d check out 9to5toys youd often find Apple TV 3 for ~50 bucks but continue to be ignorant and uninformed. You can argue the 95% all you want but the facts are the facts, people use the Apple TV for Airplay, Netflix, HBO, YouTube, ESPN 95% of the time. And that ALL CAN BE DONE WITH THE 3rd Gen. Yes Siri is that tiny percentage of ability the new device provides, beyond that you know damn well 4th Gen offers nothing AT THIS POINT over the 3rd Gen.

      • chrisl84 - 8 years ago

        Further I stated my point and you all get butt hurt because someone posts how sorry the product you purchased actually is. So its actually all of you who get upset around here. Its ALL OF YOU who rush to defend yourselves, not me. Pretty ironic last sentence there, got to love a hypocrite.

  3. Jake Becker - 8 years ago

    TouchID dying, that’s not a nice thought. Hope that’s no 6/6S trend in the making. IDGate.

  4. robertsm76 - 8 years ago

    I was hoping for better Apps on the Apple TV too. Ticket to Ride and other board games would be so much better on the TV than on an iPad.

  5. rwanderman - 8 years ago

    For what it’s worth, I’ve done at least half if not more of my iPhone and iPad iOS upgrades via iTunes and haven’t had a problem (yet). I’m no fan of iTunes but I like to sync/backup my iPhone completely before an upgrade like that.

    I bought and returned the Apple TV 4. Yours is the first review I’ve read that supported my feeling about it, I don’t think it’s quite ready yet unless one is a gamer or there are some essential apps that are out that make it worthwhile. We watch Netflix and movies through Apple/iTunes and that’s it. So, for us, the old one is fine for the time being. The search feature of the new one is great and I experimented with it but not great enough to get me to keep it.

  6. Inaba-kun (@Inaba_kun) - 8 years ago

    “you can instantly pick up on your Apple TV where you left off on your smaller device, and your iOS purchase gives you immediate (free) access to the Apple TV version”

    Sometimes. Rather too many games for my liking are “TV” versions which have no save game sync and need to be bought all over again. As you say though, the Siri controller is utterly miserable for gaming anyway, it may well be the worst game controller ever created, so this may not be a huge loss. I picked up a Horipad to try Apple TV gaming and came away unimpressed. Lots of lag and the tiny game selection makes it pointless so far. I wasn’t expecting Fallout 4 on it, but I was expecting to be able to play some of the deeper iOS games, such as the Final Fantasies and Dragon Quests. Most big iOS game devs seem uninterested in the ATV so far.

    Gaming aside, the ATV 4 from a UK point of view is already streets ahead of the ATV 3 due to the arrival of the BBC iPlayer. It’s the most bare bones and feature lite version of iPlayer out there, but it’s still better than nothing, which is what the ATV 3 offered. Other apps are arriving too which the ATV 3 lacked, such as my favourite movie streaming service MUBI, as well as anime service Viewster. There’s still a long, long list of missing apps of course, with Amazon right at the top, and many apps need to be rewritten too – far too many are pig ugly ports of very basic ATV 3 “apps”.

    I’m planning on going 4K next year so I hope Apple really are preparing the ATV 5 as was in a rumour not so long ago. Like it or not, 4K is here to stay, and by the end of next year I imagine it will be very difficult to buy a TV which isn’t 4K. This isn’t another 3D style waste of time gimmick.

  7. Ty - 8 years ago

    Using only two buttons — “left” and “right”

    Mmm nope. Badland has only one button/function. There is not left or right.

    • Jeremy Horwitz - 8 years ago

      Fixed. That was an improvement to Badland 2.

  8. Scott Lunsford - 8 years ago

    My biggest complaint about the new AppleTV is the remote. You can’t easily determine which end is the top and orient the remote! This occurs frequently, so much so my wife wants me to put the old one back on the TV.

  9. ramanjassal98 - 8 years ago

    My sister’s iPhone 6 had the exact same problem with the TouchID Sensor around the same time. Apple refused to do anything as it was no longer in warranty. The phone was in perfect condition and had no problems whatsoever and one day the sensor stopped working. Apple advised me to restore using iTunes, causing the error to appear (Error 53).

    However I was extremely lucky I could exercise my rights as a UK/EU citizen under the Sales of Goods Act and EU Consumer Law and managed to convince the Mobile Provider (EE) to replace the device as they were the retailer.