MacRumors

After officially launching the U.S. version of the program in late August, Apple has officially confirmed that it is launching its iPhone trade-in program today at its UK retail stores, reports Pocket-lint.

"iPhones hold great value. So, Apple Retail Stores in the UK are launching a new program to assist customers who wish to bring in their previous-generation iPhone for reuse or recycling," an Apple spokesperson has said. "In addition to helping support the environment, customers will be able to receive a credit for their returned phone that they can use toward the purchase of a new iPhone."

Under the program, users can receive a gift card in exchange for their older devices, although the gift card must immediately be used toward the purchase of a new iPhone.

Customers may also get quotes from Apple for a similar trade-in program online that launched nearly two years ago, with the option of shipping a device for recycling available as well. In the United States, the online and in-store programs are run by different third-party companies, and the same may be true in the UK, meaning that consumers may want to check both programs to determine any differences in trade-in value. Separate trade-in services may also offer greater value, although Apple's in-store program offers the convenience of an immediate no-hassle credit against the purchase of a new device.

U.S. regional prepaid carrier Cricket today announced today that it will be offering the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c to customers beginning October 25th. The devices will be compatible with the company's various nationwide 4G LTE and 3G CDMA wireless networks and feature nationwide talk, text and data plans with no annual contracts.

Cricket Communications, Inc. today announced Cricket Wireless will offer iPhone 5s, the most forward-thinking smartphone in the world, and iPhone 5c, the most colorful iPhone yet, to customers beginning on October 25, 2013. Customers may pre-register interest today at www.mycricket.com/register. For more information please visit: www.mycricket.com.

Cricket first began offering the iPhone in 2012, but stated back in Feburary that weak iPhone sales would prevent it from purchasing its full allotment of iPhones from Apple. However, Cricket's parent company Leap Wireless announced during its Q1 2013 financial results that its subsidary experienced improved iPhone sales amidst significant customer and revenue losses.

This past July, AT&T agreed to acquire Leap Wireless for $15/share -- roughly $1.2 billion in cash, plus the $2.8 billion in net debt that the company held. Cricket has now also become the third major prepaid carrier to offer the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s after Sprint's Virgin Mobile and AT&T's AIO Wireless.

Ingress, a mobile-augmented reality game created by Google for Android devices, is set to launch on iOS devices next year, reports AllThingsD.

Plans for the iOS version of the game were confirmed by Ingress product manager Brandon Badger, with the Android version experiencing over ten thousand active players a month and one million activations total since Google launched a closed beta for the title last November.

As described in the Google Play description, the multiplayer gameplay of Ingress centers around two sides, The Enlightened and The Resistance, who compete against each other for clues about a mysterious new technology. The story is set in real-time with Google delivering new clues every week, with players claiming local landmarks around them in the real-world, which earns them points for their respective team in-game.

Ingress transforms the real world into the landscape for a global game of mystery, intrigue, and competition.

Our future is at stake. And you must choose a side.

A mysterious energy has been unearthed by a team of scientists in Europe. The origin and purpose of this force is unknown, but some researchers believe it is influencing the way we think. We must control it or it will control us.

Move through the real world using your Android device and the Ingress app to discover and tap sources of this mysterious energy. Acquire objects to aid in your quest, deploy tech to capture territory, and ally with other players to advance the cause of the Enlightened or the Resistance.

An unauthorized version of Ingress was released for iOS earlier this year for both jailbroken and non-jailbroken devices, however the port's creators warn that players may be banned for using an unofficial app. A new Ingress story titled "13Magnus" began today with live events planned for 38 cities, concluding in San Francisco on December 14th. Ingress is set to launch for iOS in 2014, but Google has not specified when.

During its September iPhone media event, Apple announced that anyone who purchased an eligible new iOS device after September 1 would be able to download iPhoto, iMovie, and the iWork suite of apps (Keynote, Pages, and Numbers) for free. Apple today began sending out emails with iTunes credits to users who purchased both new iOS devices and one or more of the now-free iOS apps prior to its September 10 announcement.

Eligible users appear to be receiving credit based on the number of apps they purchased, and the credit can be used towards the purchase of any content in the iTunes Store, including books, apps, and music.

Pages, Numbers and Keynote are normally $9.99 each in the App Store, while iMovie and iPhoto are priced at $4.99 each, which is a total savings of approximately $40 for customers who purchase a new Apple device.

Thanks Tim!

Unity, the engine behind a multitude of iOS apps, was today updated to version 4.2.2, adding iOS Game Controller support. According to the release notes, iOS game controller support plugs directly into the standard Unity Input API.

Like most mobile games developers, we’ve been closely following what important additions and changes the recently released iOS 7 update has made. One of the biggest and most exciting of Apple’s initiatives is the standardization of game controllers for iOS-based platforms. So we’re happy to tell you that, in addition to several important bug fixes for Xcode 5 / iOS 7 (Build&Run, WebCamTexture and status bar), Apple Controller support is included with 4.2.2!

First introduced with iOS 7, Apple’s Game Controller API is designed to work with MFi (Made for iPhone) game controllers. While no such controllers have yet to be released, several are said to be in the works, including offerings from Logitech and GameCase.

Multiple games have also begun incorporating Game Controller support, including major titles like Walking Dead and Bastion. Though there is no information available on when MFi controllers might be available, increasing news of support suggests that the release could come at any time, possibly during Apple’s iPad-centric fall event.

Unity's blog post also has a mini tutorial for Unity developers that includes tips on how to add controller support to games.

AT&T is planning to discontinue its standard monthly voice and data plans for new customers, instead offering only its Mobile Share plans, reports Engadget.

AT&T is planning to axe its traditional monthly calling and data plans for new customers – both individual and family – in favor of the network’s latest shared data options, Engadget has learned after receiving an anonymous tip and reaching out to AT&T. It appears that this move is in response to the overwhelming success of AT&T’s Mobile Share since its original debut.

First introduced during the summer of 2012, AT&T's mobile share plans offer unlimited talk and text while providing a pool of data that can be used across multiple devices.

The plans include a monthly data cost and a per-device charge that ranges from $10 to $50 based on the type of device and the selected data plan. Data is priced between $20 and $500, for between 300MB and 50GB of usage.

At the current time, AT&T also offers individual and family plans that include separate voice, data, and messaging charges at varying price points. The company says that for 95 percent of its customers, Mobile Share plans offer a better value.

The elimination of current voice and data plans will not affect existing customers, even through phone upgrades, line activations, and other plan adjustments. New customers, however, will only be able to choose a Mobile Share plan when signing up with AT&T after the changes go into effect.

AT&T plans to continue to offer the basic $40 plan that includes 450 minutes and no texting or data for customers who require a basic option. The switch to Mobile Share for new customers will be implemented on October 25.

Video game developer Codemasters has released F1 Challenge for iOS devices, a title based on the popular internationally sanctioned auto racing league. The game includes over 90+ racing events along with specific moments from the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship, touch-optimized controls including swipe gestures for turning and boosting, and real-life drivers and licensed cars from manufacturers such as Ferrari and McLaren.

Complete over 90 racing events and recreate thrilling moments from the 2012 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP™ in F1 Challenge – an officially licensed FORMULA 1™ videogame.

Racing apps have proven popular on iOS, and titles based on the Formula One license have appeared occasionally throughout the App Store in the past couple of years, including various other racing titles and official timing apps. F1 Challenge is a $2.99 app for iOS devices and can be downloaded through the App Store. [Direct Link]

Several threads on the Apple Support Communities forum are reporting random reboots on the iPhone 5s while using Apple's iWork apps, with the issue being signaled by the brief appearance of an all-blue screen naturally being compared to the famous Windows "Blue Screen of Death" (BSOD). The issue was reported by iPhone in Canada last month but has been gaining significantly more attention today after being picked up by The Verge.

As shown in videos posted by users, the issue may appear when a user simply opens a document in Pages or another iWork app and then closes the app by pressing the home button on their device. Double-pressing the home button to enter multitasking mode can also trigger the issue. Users in the threads are also reporting random reboots during regular device use, which also may be caused by a number of reasons specific to the device.

Earlier today, a study showed that apps running on the iPhone 5s are crashing twice as frequently as on the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5, with the new 64-bit A7 chip and M7 motion coprocessor presumably adding wrinkles that may be causing some apps difficulties.

According to research firm Chitika (via GigaOM), Google's Chrome browser for iOS now accounts for 3% of total iOS web traffic, up from 1.5% when it was first released for the platform in June 2012. The research attributes the browser's rise in usage to a release of the new version of Chrome optimized for iOS 7, an advertising campaign for the browser, and the release of the new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on September 20.

While Chrome usage share on iOS devices rose only about 0.3 percentage points following September 22, keep in mind that iOS has an incredibly large existing user base meaning that usage changes need to be exceptionally great to cause a significant impact. In this realm, Google still has work to do, but the recent growth is a likely indicator that Chrome is regaining some traction in the iOS browsing space.

Google has regularly updated Chrome since its debut, including an update in July that improved interoperability with other Google Apps by giving users the ability to open links for YouTube, Maps, G+ and Drive in the app instead of the browser itself. Earlier this month, a report detailed an issue in Chrome for iOS 7 that revealed private Incognito seraches, but Google notes that this issue is the result of iOS limitations that require regular and incognito tabs to share the same HTML5 local storage.

Chrome is a free app for iOS devices and can be downloaded through the App Store. [Direct Link]

Target will be cutting the price of the iPhone 5c down to $49.99 from $79.99 starting this Sunday, October 13, reports CNET. Customers who have a Target REDcard can save an additional five percent on the device upon purchase. The move follows a rapid string of recent price cuts for the lower-cost device, inclduing Best Buy and RadioShack knocking the price of the device down to $50 with a gift card while Walmart dropped its own pricing to $45 through the holidays.

Yesterday, it was reported that Apple is cutting iPhone 5c production from 300,000 units to 150,000 units per day, with the lower-cost iPhone 5c seeing significantly better availability compared to the high-end iPhone 5s. It is, however, unclear how much of the plentiful iPhone 5c supplies are due to weak demand and how much is due to Apple simply having met demand through more effective production.

Apple announced last month that the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c had sold a record nine million units during the launch weekend for both devices, but the company did not break down the sales distribution between the two models. However, a report from earlier this week did state that the iPhone 5c finished second in sales over the month of September at US carriers AT&T and Sprint, and finished within the top three in sales at all four major carriers, which suggests that the lower-cost iPhone is at least selling fairly well.