MacRumors iPhone and iPad Blog: Apps, News, and Rumors

Apple today uploaded a new video to its YouTube channel that's dedicated to showing off the Depth Control feature available on the iPhone XS, ‌iPhone‌ XS Max, and ‌iPhone‌ XR. Entitled "The Backdrop," the video features the Depth Control in action on a shot of a woman taken on a busy street with a lot going on in the background. Depth Control is used to blur the background out, putting...

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with B&H Photo. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. B&H Photo is discounting Apple's 11-inch iPad Pro in multiple configurations this week, but one particular model is seeing its lowest-ever price point during the sale. Specifically, the 256GB and Wi-Fi only 11-inch ‌iPad Pro‌...

Following the launch of iOS 12.1.4 this morning, which addressed a serious bug in Group FaceTime, Apple has been able to bring its Group ‌FaceTime‌ servers back online. Group ‌FaceTime‌ has been unavailable as a feature on all compatible devices since the ‌FaceTime‌ bug was publicized on Monday, January 28. As Apple worked on a permanent fix for the bug, the company disabled the Group ‌Fac...

Apple is today releasing an updated version of iOS 12.1.4, which is designed to address a major FaceTime bug that was widely publicized last Monday. The new update comes two weeks after the launch of iOS 12.1.3, an update that introduced bug fixes. The iOS 12.1.4 update will be available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the update, go to Settings --> General...

Reliable accessory brands Anker and Aukey have a new suite of discount codes this week, offering customers the chance to save on portable battery packs, Lightning cables, wall chargers, car chargers, USB-C accessories, and much more. Below you can find the full list of Anker and Aukey discount codes available this week. Note that all of Aukey's codes will expire on February 13, and as always...

Back in mid-2018, First Alert launched its Onelink Safe & Sound smoke and carbon dioxide detector that doubles as a Bluetooth speaker and Wi-Fi connected Alexa assistant while also including HomeKit support to integrate with the rest of your smart home products in the Apple ecosystem. I've been using the Safe & Sound for a few months now, and I must say, it's turned out to be more useful...

In the latest Apple Pay promotion, customers can get $15 off at 1-800-Flowers when they use ‌Apple Pay‌ to shop in the retailer's "Gift Collection." This can be done in the 1-800-Flowers app or on 1800Flowers.com now through Friday, February 15 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Apple's promo is themed around Valentine's Day (taking place one week from today on February 14), and notes that "sending love is...

Back in September, iOS and macOS email app Newton were shut down, much to the disappointment of Newton Mail enthusiasts. At the time, Newton parent company CloudMagic said that though the company tried various business models, it wasn't able to figure out how to maintain profitability and growth over the long term. A couple of months later, Essential, a smartphone company owned by Android...

New Apple AirPods usually come fully charged out of the box, offering around five hours of listening time and two hours of talk time (or in the case of AirPods 2, up to three hours of talk time) before you have to charge them again. New AirPods Pro earbuds can get up to 4.5 hours of listening time or up to 3.5 hours of talk time on a single charge. There are several ways you can manually...

There are quite a few deals on Apple devices going on this week, including notable discounts on the company's 2018 9.7-inch iPad, most recent 12-inch MacBook, HomePod, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. To start off, B&H Photo has the HomePod...

Spotify today shared its Q4 2018 earnings report, detailing a 36 percent growth in Spotify Premium subscribers from the year-ago quarter. Specifically, Spotify now has 96 million paid subscribers around the world as of the end of 2018, compared to Apple Music's over 50 million paid subscribers. According to Spotify, there were a few factors that bumped up subscriber numbers in 2018,...

Following the release of iOS 12.1.3 on January 22, Apple has stopped signing iOS 12.1.1 and iOS 12.1.2 the previous versions of iOS that were available to consumers. iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners who have upgraded to iOS 12.1.3 will no longer be able to downgrade to iOS 12.1.1 or iOS 12.1.2. iOS 12.1.3, available for all iOS devices able to run iOS 12, was a minor bug fix update that ...

Transit directions for Apple Maps have recently expanded to encompass the entirety of multiple states and countries, Apple today confirmed in an update to its Feature Availability page. Transit directions are now available across all of Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Dakota, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode...

iPhones are lost and stolen every day, but luckily Apple has robust tools built into iOS that will keep your data safe and your device unusable if it's misplaced or snatched by a thief. With Find My iPhone, you can locate lost devices, disable them, and even fully erase them, but unless you've been in a situation where you've needed these services, you may not know exactly how they work,...

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming tvOS 12.2 update to its public beta testing group, one day after providing the beta to developers and a week after releasing the first tvOS 12.2 public beta. The tvOS 12.2 public beta can be obtained by going to the Settings app on the Apple TV and navigating to the Software Updates section under "System." "Get Public Beta Updates" will need to ...

Apple Music has recently launched a new advertising campaign in Los Angeles, showcasing the Memoji versions of musicians including Shawn Mendes, Ariana Grande, and Kacey Musgraves. Apple put up the billboards ahead of the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, which take place on February 10 at the Los Angeles Staples Center. I love this! Shawn Mendes: The Album has been made into an emoji! It’s on a ...

Audio company Sonos today announced a new range of speakers called "Sonos Architectural by Sonance," which are a collection of passive speakers that are designed for both indoor and outdoor use. There are three new speakers total: the Sonos In-Ceiling, Sonos In-Wall, and Sonos Outdoor Speaker. Sonos In-Wall As their names imply, the first two speakers are designed to be placed within the...

Eve, known for its line of HomeKit-enabled smart products, today announced the availability of its newest HomeKit accessory, the Eve Light Strip. First announced at CES, the Eve Light Strip is advertised as the brightest HomeKit-enabled LED strip to date with 1,800 lumens and support for full-spectrum white and millions of colors. At 1,800 lumens, the Eve Light Strip will be brighter than ...