3.0! Blackbox turned ten this week! An incredible milestone I never imagined when I first hit submit a decade ago. The game has become so much nicer since 2.0 and, even though this update only includes some of that work, it still feels like the right moment for a big version number. Plenty more to come throughout the year ;) The New ■ Liquid Glass in delightful places ■ Smoother, curvier light transitions ■ The wormhole for leaving challenges is much smoother and now politely closes itself if you leave it open too long ■ Tutorial is a bit more forgiving now (for some) ■ Social buttons now beg to be tapped even more The Fixes ■ Fixed the hint store button sometimes disappearing when hint credits are awarded ■ Fixed hint purchase buttons not showing up after you run out of hint credits ■ Fixed a purple challenge not hearing you the first time you opened it ■ Fixed an orange challenge skipping frequencies in its volume steps ■ Fixed camera preview freezing in a couple of scan challenges ■ Fixed a pink challenge stubbornly snapping its lights to the wrong spots on first open ■ Improved accuracy handling for a blue challenge that cares about where you are ■ Fixed push button animation flickering when leaving challenges ■ Better VoiceOver support across several challenges ■ Squashed a handful of crashes ■ Lots of behind-the-scenes polish and performance work

■ Added Traditional Chinese localization! ■ Fixed a purple challenge that wasn’t behaving properly ■ Improved an orange challenge that was causing some altitude sickness ■ Fixed some animation issues with the push notification button ■ Squashed a few crashes

■ Now asking key questions at even better moments

New challenges are on the way, but for now… ■ Fixed several audio-related crashes ■ Added a new 3D glass tilt effect on Barriers ■ A certain dark-red meta challenge no longer crashes at the end of the month ■ A dizzying red challenge behaves better if you exit part-way through solving ■ A certain sticky challenge now has clearer visual and audio feedback ■ A 6 Light lavender challenge now uses far less battery ■ Fixed some AirPods audio routing issues ■ Fixed an infinite hint-credit glitch between shared devices ■ Fixed an issue that could cause players to lose progress after reinstalling

Hello! Arabic has arrived! (with full right-to-left support) ■ Lights now flash with a subtle HDR-style effect when they switch on ■ App launches are now noticeably faster ■ Fixed an orange challenge that sometimes stubbornly refused to accept the final signal ■ Fixed a rare edge case with the two-part red challenge near the top ■ Fixed QR challenges staying paused after closing the hints screen ■ Fixed the credits heart icon not filling in after you’ve read all the credits :) ■ Squashed a handful of crashes ■ Arabic and right-to-left improvements: hints now display correctly, buttons no longer get cut off, and credits scroll in the proper direction

■ Fixed several audio-related crashes (Core Audio, you keep me humble) ■ Cut CPU use with VoiceOver from “space heater” to “sensible” ■ Stopped screen rotation acting up on iOS 26 ■ Tutorial is now a bit more forgiving on iPad ■ Smoother barrier animations ■ Credits names now scroll more consistently across devices ■ iPad improvements: better text scaling, nicer store layout, fixed layout on iPad mini, fixed clipped launch image on those new massive iPads ■ Updated loads of localisations so they’re more complete!

■ Fixed a crash affecting players using the grid ■ Smoothed out wormhole transitions back to the grid (buttery once more) ■ Reduced small delays while moving around the game ■ Tried to squash yet another audio-related crash (where does it end?)

■ Slick, playful new grid ripple animations (tap, hold, and drag!) ■ Faster app startup ■ Fixed occasional stutter when opening puzzles and tapping the grid ■ Fixed a bug where sound effects sometimes only played once ■ Fixed several crashes

■ Resolved an unruly challenge near the notifications icon (properly this time!) ■ Fixed an issue where the screenshot UI wouldn't close on some devices with iOS 26 ■ Enhanced the way I request support with a nod to Alex and Yo-Wei from Hyperfixed and Proxy for the push to complete this redesign

■ Sorted the tricky challenge near the notifications icon (for good this time!) ■ Squashed a bug where the screenshot UI wouldn't close on some devices using iOS 26 ■ Enhanced the way I request support for my work (cheers to Alex and Yo-Wei from Hyperfixed and Proxy for the motivation to complete this redesign)

Minor Tweaks! (or as I say, “keeping my gem shiny”) ■ Resolved a glitch with Blackbox sharing not registering. ■ Smoothed visuals when entering the store. ■ Possibly fixed a tricky audio crash (let's hope!) ■ Corrected audio delay in the 3-pink-light challenge (a favourite soundscape of mine!) ■ Fixed broken accessibility labels. ■ Enhanced ease of the blue magnifying glass meta challenge.

■ Fixed sleek glass icons on iPad ■ Corrected bug with partially visible closed merch store on iPad (RIP) ■ Improved dynamic island animations on newer devices ■ Fixed crash when sharing to Instagram Stories from non-OLED devices ■ Added cowboy shaking warning to more challenges

Hello splendid new look ■ Numerous glass panels and buttons ■ Reworked and shiny icons for your home screen

■ Sorted a challenge issue near the notifications icon ■ Aligned some buttons correctly That's it for now :)

■ Fixed an issue that sometimes made buying the game more difficult (not a puzzle)

■ Resolved a Swift bug that sometimes made buying the game difficult (not a puzzle)

This update sorts some issues from a recent overhaul (cheers to Bennett for spotting them!) ■ VoiceOver now properly navigates hints ■ Notification settings save correctly when changed via VoiceOver ■ New rotor added for browsing lights by challenge numbers ■ Streamlined VoiceOver descriptions for lights and groups on the grid

■ Quick fix for the top two green challenges! They should now be more reliable and easier to complete!

■ Revamped the two green challenges in the top-right (challenge type 30). It's now a bit different and should be clearer with recent iOS changes. ■ Fixed a bug with the orange meta challenge in the bottom-left (challenge type 49). If you struggled before, please try again! ■ Redesigned the alert cards in the game (thanks for the help Pim!). Around two-thirds of Blackbox's code is now Swift! Cheers to me! ■ Fixed an issue with VoiceOver rotors on the home grid. ■ Resolved a bug with app icon translations.

Fixes! Big or small, all crafted with care to ease your experience ■ Resolved a tricky blue meta challenge caused by iOS 18 update ■ Improved the look of the four orange challenge on recent devices ■ Redesigned panel interfaces for fluid animations and interactions ■ Fixed accessibility features like rotors on home grid ■ Numerous visual enhancements and fixes

Hot-Hot-Hot Fix ■ Did you know that some computers are case-sensitive while others are not? Anyway, this has nothing to do with why two puzzles no longer crash!

Hello green, blue, pink icon :) You can now tint Blackbox’s icon to any colour you fancy.

■ Restored sparkles to unplayed challenges ■ Added a new nudge to pick the phone up for players starting with the phone docked or flat on a table ■ Fixed a bug where lights on the grid were briefly visible before the tutorial ■ Improved launch speed of QR-based challenges

Hot fix! Catch! ■ This fixes a certain challenge bug involving rejection if you know what I mean

Hello? You there? Why won’t you pick-up the phone when I call? Oh you did but you’re listening in with Live Voicemail?… you and your gadgets… anyway I’m calling to tell you that “that” bug is “fixed” now. You’ll have to get a little more …creative but it ain’t so broke no more, capiche?