Pocket Tactics

It’s all systems go over at Hoyoverse. New information suggests the upcoming mobile game we assumed was Astaweave Haven may now be called Petit Planet, according to a new trademark registered under the latter. A screenshot posted to r/gachagaming by Alternative-Duty-532 shows plenty of worldwide accounts for PetitPlanet instead of Astaweave Haven, allegedly with the original Astaweave account being deleted. Hoyoverse filed a trademark for Petit Planet on October 31, 2024. This may now be the final name for the upcoming farm game inspired by games like Animal Crossing. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eXEf48bt For all the latest mobile, Nintendo Switch, and industry news, follow Pocket Tactics, the biggest mobile and Switch gaming site in the world! #gaming #mobile

In terms of both flippable and foldable phones, Samsung is by far the leading name of the last few years. However, the high prices of devices like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6 mean not all users have had the chance to try out the alternative form factors. That could change in 2025, though, with new rumors pointing to the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip FE, a cheaper version of next year’s clamshell flip phone. For those that don’t know, an FE, or Fan Edition, version essentially means a cheaper alternative, as we’ve seen with devices such as the Galaxy S23 FE and S24 FE. Both of those devices fall within a similar price range and have similar specs to the devices on our guide to the best mid-range phones, including the OnePlus 12R and the Nothing Phone (2), so we estimate the Galaxy Z Flip FE to retail for somewhere between $500-700. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ebNTQMpu For all the latest mobile, Nintendo Switch, and industry news, follow Pocket Tactics, the biggest mobile and Switch gaming site in the world! #mobile #samsung

Opening digital trading card packs just got a whole lot more thrilling thanks to the discovery of Pokémon TCG Pocket’s god packs. These extremely scarce packs come stacked with beautiful, high-rarity illustrated cards in every slot, and there’s no way to tell if and when you’ll get one. In comparison to other mobile card games on the market, Pokémon TCG Pocket is very much aimed at Pokémon collectors, dazzling us with unique, immersive art and satisfying pack-opening animations. And so, it makes perfect sense that Pokémon would include god packs in this game. So-called ‘god packs’ are physical trading card packs where every single card is a hit, and they are extremely rare and sought after in the collecting community. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e3TeeRHX For all the latest mobile, Nintendo Switch, and industry news, follow Pocket Tactics, the biggest mobile and Switch gaming site in the world! #gaming #mobile

After little change to Apple’s iPhone App Store in recent years, it looks like the brand is planning a shakeup to make it easier for us all to find useful apps. According to a new report, Apple is looking at integrating AI summaries into the App Store so you can find out what others think about a specific app or game before downloading it. As it stands, Apple tends to boost what it determines as the “most helpful reviews” to the top of the page, but these are still only written by one user. These reviews show up under everything in the App Store, from Apple Arcade games to health apps. However, they often don’t give you the full picture, pushing overly positive or negative reviews to the top without offering a balanced or nuanced view. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eR4tfnnx For all the latest mobile, Nintendo Switch, and industry news, follow Pocket Tactics, the biggest mobile and Switch gaming site in the world! #mobile #Apple

It’s update season for Apple, with the tech giant rolling out new software for its cell phones, tablets, and PCs. For those who have picked up the iPhone 16, that means the arrival of the first few Apple Intelligence features, but there’s something important for older iPhone users to check out, too. It’s not as exciting, but this iPhone security patch is crucial to the safety of your device. iOS 17.7.1 is now available for those who haven’t yet updated to iOS 18 or 18.1, providing “important security fixes” for your iPhone, according to Apple. It’s a big deal for some of the more budget-friendly picks from our list of the best gaming iPhones, like the iPhone 14 and SE models, as it means they’re just as safe to use as the newer devices but without the much higher price tag. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e4jXZrd3 For all the latest mobile, Nintendo Switch, and industry news, follow Pocket Tactics, the biggest mobile and Switch gaming site in the world! #mobile #apple

In a collab that no one saw coming, Netflix and TED Conferences have announced the TED Tumblewords release date, a new daily word game. This launch sees Netflix’s videogame portfolio dive further into the casual gaming market than it has before with its mobile ports of indie titles. If you’re a fan of word games and thought-provoking talks, you need to check out Netflix’s TED Tumblewords, which is made in collaboration with TED Talks. The Netflix games-exclusive title encourages you to train your brain daily with unique word puzzles and compete against friends and strangers to climb the leaderboard. You need to rearrange letters in a three-by-three grid to make longer and more complex word chains than your opponent or the TED bot, and you can include certain letters to increase your score each day. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gPc6r6Ej For all the latest mobile, Nintendo Switch, and industry news, follow Pocket Tactics, the biggest mobile and Switch gaming site in the world! #gaming #mobile

Apple is finally making an iPhone Games app outside of the App Store! Given that Apple has dedicated apps for podcasts, music, TV, books, and more, it’s strange that the tech giant has never gone all in on mobile gaming. However, it looks like that’s about to change, with a new report suggesting that Apple is developing its own iPhone Games app separate from the App Store. Well, it took them long enough. As it stands, if you want to check out some new games on your iPhone, you have to go into the App Store and then flick over to either the Games or Arcade tab. That’s a lot of effort. The new gaming hub would put free-to-play games like Zenless Zone Zero and PUBG Mobile, as well as some of the titles from our guide to the best Apple Arcade games, front and center, so you can always find something new to pick up and play. According to reports, the mobile gaming hub will have multiple tabs, including a ‘Play Now’ tab with suggestions for what to try next, plus sections for your friends list and all your downloaded games. We’re also expecting leaderboards, achievements, in-game challenges, and Game Center integration, so you shouldn’t lose any achievements you’ve already gained, and you won’t have to go through the settings menu to check your gaming profile. The big question is: Why has it taken Apple so long? Mobile games have always been a massive part of the iPhone’s success story, from the early days of Angry Birds and Candy Crush to offering AAA titles on the iPhone 15 and 16 in recent years. It’s fair to say that some mobile gamers have felt a little taken for granted by Apple. However, this development and Apple’s promise of “30% better” gaming performance on the iPhone 16 series point to the brand taking iPhone gaming more seriously than ever before. This move from Apple may be in response to the brand’s infamous dispute with Epic over allowing users to download the Epic Games Store on iPhone, with the app recently returning to Apple devices in Europe thanks to a change in European law. It’s just speculation, but Apple could be preparing for similar rule changes outside of Europe by offering its own bespoke gaming service to draw potential users away from the Epic Games Store, or any other mobile gaming platforms. The only thing we don’t know is when we can expect Apple’s new gaming hub to arrive on iPhone, but the original report suggests it could either be part of a future iOS 18 update or next year’s iOS 19 rollout. If the latter is the case, we can expect to discover more during the brand’s next WWDC presentation, which should fall in early Summer 2025. Either way follow Pocket Tactics for any official updates. https://lnkd.in/db8ru8KD #iphone #apple #mobilegames

Apple is finally making an iPhone Games app outside of the App Store! Given that Apple has dedicated apps for podcasts, music, TV, books, and more, it’s strange that the tech giant has never gone all in on mobile gaming. However, it looks like that’s about to change, with a new report suggesting that Apple is developing its own iPhone Games app separate from the App Store. Well, it took them long enough. As it stands, if you want to check out some new games on your iPhone, you have to go into the App Store and then flick over to either the Games or Arcade tab. That’s a lot of effort. The new gaming hub would put free-to-play games like Zenless Zone Zero and PUBG Mobile, as well as some of the titles from our guide to the best Apple Arcade games, front and center, so you can always find something new to pick up and play. According to reports, the mobile gaming hub will have multiple tabs, including a ‘Play Now’ tab with suggestions for what to try next, plus sections for your friends list and all your downloaded games. We’re also expecting leaderboards, achievements, in-game challenges, and Game Center integration, so you shouldn’t lose any achievements you’ve already gained, and you won’t have to go through the settings menu to check your gaming profile. The big question is: Why has it taken Apple so long? Mobile games have always been a massive part of the iPhone’s success story, from the early days of Angry Birds and Candy Crush to offering AAA titles on the iPhone 15 and 16 in recent years. It’s fair to say that some mobile gamers have felt a little taken for granted by Apple. However, this development and Apple’s promise of “30% better” gaming performance on the iPhone 16 series point to the brand taking iPhone gaming more seriously than ever before. This move from Apple may be in response to the brand’s infamous dispute with Epic over allowing users to download the Epic Games Store on iPhone, with the app recently returning to Apple devices in Europe thanks to a change in European law. It’s just speculation, but Apple could be preparing for similar rule changes outside of Europe by offering its own bespoke gaming service to draw potential users away from the Epic Games Store, or any other mobile gaming platforms. The only thing we don’t know is when we can expect Apple’s new gaming hub to arrive on iPhone, but the original report suggests it could either be part of a future iOS 18 update or next year’s iOS 19 rollout. If the latter is the case, we can expect to discover more during the brand’s next WWDC presentation, which should fall in early Summer 2025. Either way follow Pocket Tactics for any official updates. https://lnkd.in/db8ru8KD #iphone #apple #mobilegames

Following the launch of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite platform, we’ve seen the first official HONOR Magic7 series teasers, with the upcoming Android flagship devices utilizing the newly announced silicon. As is very much the trend in 2024, there’s a heavy focus on AI, but this time around, there’s a surprise addition that could dramatically improve gaming performance. Details are sparse at the moment, but Honor has begun teasing real-time AI graphics rendering for mobile gaming powered by its on-device NPU. It’s an industry first, and the brand says it’ll reduce GPU load, lower temperatures, and deliver a higher overall image quality. That could make it real competition for some of the devices on our list of the best gaming phones, such as the RedMagic 9S Pro, though there are more Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered rivals on the way in the form of the newly announced Asus ROG Phone 9. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eWKmU3ns For all the latest mobile, Nintendo Switch, and industry news, follow Pocket Tactics, the biggest mobile and Switch gaming site in the world! #mobile #gaming #Honor

Following the recent iPhone 16 launch, it looks like the next Apple smartphone we’re getting is the iPhone SE 4 in early 2025. However, according to a new rumor, it might not be alone, with a detailed report suggesting there’s a possibility of a Plus model arriving alongside the fourth-generation mid-range iPhone. The report that suggests we might get an iPhone SE 4 Plus also delves into the design of the base model. According to Mac Otakara, via Tom’s Guide, the affordable iPhone is almost identical to the iPhone 14 in terms of form factor, but with a single camera on the back. There’s no word on specs, but given what we’ve heard so far, we expect the iPhone SE 4 to be a rival to some of the options from our guide to the best mid-range phones, such as the OnePlus 12R and Google Pixel 8, by retailing for around $500. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ed2r4BST For all the latest mobile, Nintendo Switch, and industry news, follow Pocket Tactics, the biggest mobile and Switch gaming site in the world! #mobile #iPhone