Fortnite brings in $1.5M/day in its first 200 days on Apple devices

Fortnite brings in $1.5M/day in its first 200 days on Apple devices 1

Fortnite, the current most popular battle royale game in the world, has done produced some deep profits with its recent iOS release on mobile for Apple devices.

Based on a report from marketing intelligence company Sensor Tower, they’ve concluded that Fortnite on iOS has brought some huge profits- in excess of $300M in the mere 200 days the game has been available on the App Store on March 15th, 2018.

Fortnite brings in $1.5M/day in its first 200 days on Apple devices 2

However, you shouldn’t really be too surprised given the current state of the game. But on mobile, the release had the momentum from the PC’s popularity as a crutch to start the snowball effect, so the PC’s start was likely (a lot) less profitable compared to the mobile version.

Fortnite is completely free-to-play that’s currently available on every modern system and generates cash through in-game purchases of purely cosmetic-only objects. In essence, Epic Games, the developer, makes money by selling virtual goods like pretty much any other game or app on the planet. This is nothing new, but I thought I’d clarify for non-gamers.

Fortnite also has a paid mode called Save the World, but the profits from this don’t hold a candle to regular cosmetic purchases. Players can buy virtual pixels on any platform: PC, iOS, Android, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch using the game’s V-Bucks virtual currency, which can be automatically synced across all systems using the same account.

The report from Sensor Tower shows that Fortnite beat out other games like Clash Royale, Honor of Kings, and Knives Out in its first 200 days. Worldwide players have spent an average of $1.5M per day on iOS alone since the launch and that number increased to $2.5M since Season 6 went live on September 27, 2018. Fortnite is no joke. It’s not even the most popular game in just the battle royale genre- you could say it’s the most popular game in the world.

Apple’s repair program for butterfly switches fixes them for free

Apple's repair program for butterfly switches fixes them for free 3

Apple has announced that the butterfly switches in some Macbook Pro and Macbook computers have glitches where they would either stick, repeat characters, or characters fail to register. It launched a new service repair program that promises to fix these issues for consumers for free– whether or not it was purchased through AppleCare.

If consumers paid previously for this fix through an authorized repair center, they’ll refund the cash.

“Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider will service eligible MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboards, free of charge.”

The repairs covers a wide range of recent units. Specifically:

  • MacBook (Retina, 12-­inch, Early 2015)
  • MacBook (Retina, 12­-inch, Early 2016)
  • MacBook (Retina, 12-­inch, 2017)
  • MacBook Pro (13­-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
  • MacBook Pro (13-­inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
  • MacBook Pro (13-­inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
  • MacBook Pro (13-­inch, 2017, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
  • MacBook Pro (15-­inch, 2016)
  • MacBook Pro (15-­inch, 2017)

AppleInsider went through a repair record dataset and came to the conclusion that butterfly switches on the 2016 MacBook Pros had nearly twice the amount of repair events related to keyboards compared to the 2015 models with the cichlet design. The 2017 models were on-par with the 2015 units.

Butterfly switches save space for other hardware and some users say they’re faster to type on since they have less travel and “clicker.” But they have just as many complaints on the opposing consumer spectrum.

Regardless, if you believe you have any of these issues, you can request a repair. It covers the following:

  • Letters or characters repeat unexpectedly
  • Letters or characters do not appear
  • Key(s) feel “sticky” or do not respond in a consistent manner

 

Apple rumored to be ditching physical buttons on the Apple Watch

Apple rumored to be ditching physical buttons on the Apple Watch 4

FastCompany released a report today saying that Apple will release a future version of the Apple Watch that’ll have touch-sensitive buttons instead of clickable ones.

This applies to both the crown and traditional single button watches that currently show the apps recently used. However, the button configuration won’t change. They’ll stay the same and the user will be able to touch each one and the watch will provide haptic feedback.

A similar change was made to the iPhone 7, which was filed with mixed reactions. MacBook trackpads did the same thing with localized feedback.

It’s also said that the change will be made to free up space in the device for other parts. This could also help with water resistance also as Apple is rumored to be working on a new biometric sensor to the buttons. This shouldn’t be surprising given their history of ditching buttons when possible.

The next Apple Watch is due for release this Septemeber. If this feature isn’t implemented yet, it’ll likely be next year’s model instead.