One of the many great benefits of Apple Silicon is the ability to run iPhone and iPad apps on the Mac. For baseball fans, this meant support for using the iPad version of the MLB app on macOS.
Sadly, the 2024 MLB season is off to a rocky start for Mac users (just like it is for Cincinnati Reds fans).
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Major League Baseball scouts have traditionally relied on a combination of stats and experience to identify high school and college players with the potential to turn pro. But now the league is experimenting with new technology that could help make the process more reliable.
The system uses two iPhone cameras to capture movement, and artificial intelligence to analyze everything from a player’s future potential to their risk of injury …
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One of the nice perks customers get through T-Mobile Tuesdays include a free yearly subscription to MLB.TV and MLS Season Pass. However, there’s a limited window to take advantage of those offers and they closed earlier this spring. Now T-Mobile is reopening the free enrollment window for MLB.TV and is also giving customers an extra $200 per line for any other streaming sports service.
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T-Mobile has been on a roll with its partnerships this year. Following up on becoming the official mobile carrier for Vail Mountain Resorts and AAA, the Un-carrier has announced that it has renewed its MLB partnership in a new six-year deal. The news means T-Mobile customers will get to enjoy free MLB.TV through 2028, 5G coverage expansion at MLB stadiums, and more.
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Apple, in collaboration with Major League Baseball (MLB), has announced the Friday Night Baseball schedule for August. Games are still available for free, exclusively on Apple TV+. According to a company press release, game assignments for broadcasters are going to be announced weekly.
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Play ball! The MLB.TV app has a major upgrade just as the new season approaches. Through the app, you can stream out-of-market Major League Baseball games live or on demand on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV. The update brings new content to 2022 Spring Training games, MLB Big Inning, and select Pregame and Postgame coverage.
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Apple, Google, and Sony are all playing a part in helping a new MLB season start tomorrow. Two Major League Baseball games are taking place on the opening night, and the experience will be rather different than usual.
Most notably, MLB games will take place in empty stadiums – which is one of two areas where iPads come into the picture …
We learned back in June that iOS 11 would for the first time allow third-party developers to access the NFC chip for their own apps, for the first time extending its use beyond store reward and gift cards through Apple Pay.
Major League Baseball says that it has been trialling the first ever NFC tickets in Apple Wallet. A trial by Oakland Athletics lasted for six games, and was evidently deemed a success as 23 MLB teams will be using the technology next year …
Phil Schiller teased an augmented reality overlay on a live baseball game during the iPhone 8 keynote presentation. Fans viewing the match could instantly see things like how far a ball was thrown, how hard it was hit and how fast a player is running.
But while those features are coming to the MBL At Bat app, fans won’t get them until the 2018 season …
During Apple’s Special Event today, they used some onstage time to demo off the power of ARKit and Augmented Reality in the new iPhone 8. Apple announced that each camera on the new iPhone 8 is individually calibrated to work as best as possible within ARKit.
The official MLB At Bat and NHL apps on iOS have introduced a new update today that allows users to change the app’s icon to their favorite team’s logo. The new feature comes as a part of a developer related change in iOS 10.3 allowing apps to request permission to change the app icons.
Major League Baseball has updated its MLB At Bat to provide direct access to video highlights from the Notification Center – provided you have an iPhone which supports 3D Touch. When you see a notification on your lock screen, you can 3D Touch it to play the video – though you do have to unlock your phone to view it.
You don’t need 3D Touch for the two other enhancements, though …
The MLB today announced a deal with Blast Motion that will see it allow teams to use the accessory maker’s Blast Baseball iPhone-connected swing analyzer sensor.
Yahoo is today launching a Yahoo Sports app for Apple TV that lets users access free sports news, live streams, and video highlights that the service already offers via an iOS app and across other platforms.
Apple doesn’t normally improve the capabilities of Siri outside of a major operating system update, but it has made an exception this time around for baseball. Apple has dramatically improved the knowledge base Siri can draw from for Siri, allowing the voice-activated personal assistant to answer a wider range of questions about the sport. Via The Verge, Siri now covers 28 leagues, not just Major League Baseball, too.
Siri first started answering sports questions with iOS 6. Apple says that the upgrade to baseball, timed alongside the new MLB season, allows users to ask more detailed questions about career statistics and baseball history.
Apple and Major League Baseball have agreed a deal to use iPads in the dugouts during games, showing performance stats, analyze pitcher-hitter matchups, compare pitching range and more, via the Wall Street Journal. The iPads will use a custom app called ‘MLB Dugout’, created by MLB’s media division with help from Apple.
In the new deal, Apple and MLB will provide 12.9 inch iPad Pros to every team in the league, fitted with rugged cases for protection. The deal was made possible because of a recent change to the rules which lifts the ban on smartphones, tablets and laptops in the dugouts. Whether Apple paid for the promotion or MLB paid for the products was not disclosed.
How does the upgraded camera on the iPhone 6s Plus perform under real-world conditions? Today we get our best look yet thanks to a photo gallery of a recent MLB game shot by photographer Brad Mangin for Sports Illustrated.
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MLB has clarified a somewhat ambiguous Kansas City Star report that it told Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost that he must not use his Apple Watch during games. The organization told MarketWatch that Yost was merely reminded that the watch must not be connected to his phone during games.
The MLB staffers managing on-field operations did call Yost to make sure he wasn’t using the data on his watch, […] but it was just a routine call. “It’s not banned,” said an MLB spokesman.
The spokesman added that if future smartwatches gained data functionality independent of linked smartphones, the MLB would address that issue separately.
Since the device was released, many concerns regarding appropriate and inappropriate times to use Apple Watch have come up, and here is yet another one. Major League Baseball gifted Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost an Apple Watch Sport for being the manager of the All Star Game last month, and now, MLB is telling Yost that he can’t use the device during games and while in the dugout, but he can wear it.
MasterCard announced today that it’s turning on Apple Pay at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio just in time for the 2015 MLB All-Star game taking place July 14.
Those attending the game, or the pre-game events kicking off this weekend, will be able to use Apple Pay to pay for food, merchandise, and more.
“We’re thrilled to partner with MLBAM to bring contactless acceptance to the 2015 MLB All-Star Week festivities. Through our longstanding relationship with MLB and MLBAM, we are constantly looking for opportunities to create enhanced fan experiences both in-stadium and online, whether that’s through advanced payment capabilities or delivering surprises to fans.”
As it has done with past events, such as the recent PGA Tour earlier this year, MasterCard is running a promotion offering attendees that opt for Apple Pay a chance to win one of its Priceless Surprises. At other events, MasterCard has been known to offer seat upgrades, event related merchandise, VIP experiences, and more for those that pay with Apple Pay:
“MasterCard cardholders who use Apple Pay at contactless merchandise and concession acceptance locations at the T-Mobile All-Star FanFest taking place July 10th through July 14th or in-stadium at Great American Ball Park from July 12th through July 14th could get a little something extra – from All-Star branded premiums, autographed memorabilia to prepaid cards and more.”
Apple has been rolling out Apple Pay to more banks and credit unions each month since first launching the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch-based payments service in the US back in October. It most recently brought the service to 20 more US banks and credit unions ahead of an international expansion into the UK later this month.
There’s one more app joining Apple’s small list of road-ready apps for the car today as MLB At Bat for iPhone has been updated with CarPlay support.
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The MLB.com At Bat app for iPhone and iPad gets a big update today in time for Spring Training bringing Spanish language support, new features, and all the details on what content will be available. Most of the app has also been redesigned including all new UI’s for team pages, scoreboards, and the newsreader.
Also new in the app for version 8.0.0 and 2015:
• New UI for all 30 team pages & the league-wide scoreboard (iPhone only)
• Player search expanded to include all active and historical MLB player cards (iPhone only)
• Re-designed UI for the newsreader (iPhone & iPad)
• Team-by-team statistical data filters (iPhone only)
• Native resolution to optimize At Bat for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
• Easy access to every game with new team schedule navigation (iPhone only)
• Application available in Spanish language, requires device language set to Spanish (iPhone & iPad)
As for Spring Training content, here’s what you’ll get with the usual $2.99/month or $19.99/year subscription:
The updated MLB.com At Bat app for iPhone and iPad is available on the App Store now.
MLB Advanced Media has announced that R.B.I. Baseball 15 will be released this spring and will be available for the first time on Mac. This is a follow-up to the popular version from last year that made its debut on iOS.
R.B.I. Baseball 15 promises a number of updates bringing the most realistic experience to date, most notability including authentic ballparks and full 25-man rosters for all 30 Major League teams. It also includes user stat tracking for the first time as well as an online multiplayer mode with both ranked and friendly games. Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo will be on the cover for this year’s rendition. A release date has yet to be announced.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyuIplh9E4U&w=704&h=396]
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Apple Pay support is still slowly rolling out from more banks, retailers, and apps, and two notable updates added Apple Pay in-app checkout options this week.
First up is Priceline, the app that aims to save you money on flights, hotels, and car rentals anytime you’re traveling. While the app allows you to book plane tickets and reserve rental cars, Apple Pay checkout is currently limited to “Express Deals” for paying for hotel reservations.
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