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

Instagram today debuted a new feature called "Nametag," which is a customizable identification card that's designed to allow people to easily find your Instagram profile when it's scanned. The Nametag feature makes it simpler for people who you meet in real life to follow you on Instagram. You can set up your Nametag by going to your profile, tapping the hamburger button at the top, and...

For those who may have missed the news, Apple has confirmed the HomePod launches in Spain and Mexico on Friday, October 26. Apple actually made the announcement last month, but it was buried in a footnote of a press release on the day of its iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and Apple Watch Series 4 event, so the news did not make many headlines at the time. HomePod will be available in Space...

Yahoo today announced the launch of a new group messaging app that it's calling Yahoo Together, which features built-in organization and smart tools to make it easier to streamline conversations about different topics. Yahoo Together supports different groups, such as family, friends, book clubs, etc., with conversations able to be split up by topic. According to Yahoo, this is designed to...

BBC Radio DJ Charlie Sloth has announced this week that he is leaving the company, and according to various sources speaking to Music Business Worldwide, Sloth is headed to Apple Music. On the BBC, Sloth's last appearance on "The Rap Show" will be on November 3. Image via BBC News On an Instagram post announcing his departure, Sloth said that he "seeks a new challenge," and he will be...

Popular turn-based game Civilization VI, which has previously been available for the iPad, is today expanding to the iPhone. Aspyr Media, the company that ported the game to iOS, is making the iPad version universal, so customers who have already purchased Civilization VI for iPad can play on iPhone at no additional cost. Civilization VI is a turn-based strategy game that tasks players with...

Popular calendar app Fantastical 2 for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, was today updated to version 2.10, introducing full support for the recent iOS 12 and watchOS 5 updates. Starting today, Fantastical 2 offers Siri Shortcuts that are designed to let you add new calendar events, view upcoming events and reminders, and more. Some examples of Fantastical Shortcut options: Set a...

Apple today revamped the BeatsX earphone lineup available from its online and retail stores, eliminating several colors and lowering the price. The BeatsX Earphones are now available from Apple in black or silver, with all other colors, including space gray, gold, white, and blue, discontinued. Apple has also removed the Black/Red Defiant BeatsX collection. Apple has also dropped the...

Amazon today revealed its latest streaming TV device, the Fire TV Stick 4K, which includes support for Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and HDR10+. The device also comes shipped with a revamped Alexa Voice Remote, all packaged together for $49.99. Amazon says the 4K stick is over 80 percent more powerful than the previous generation, with a new quad core, 1.7GHz processor for quicker load times and...

Plex today announced that it is adding a new Plex Web Shows beta feature to the Plex service, allowing Plex users to watch web shows for free without a media server or a Plex subscription. Plex Web Shows provides unlimited on-demand streaming of a curated selection of web shows on any device where Plex content can be accessed. At launch, Plex plans to offer access to web shows across a...

The Philips Hue app for iOS this week updated with support for Siri Shortcuts, allowing users to add their lights to a Shortcut to turn on scenes like "Movie Time." Siri will also now learn when people are using their favorite scenes and suggest them for quick activation on the iOS lock screen, in Siri search, and on the Siri Apple Watch face (via 9to5Mac). The Shortcuts app launched to the...

Apple today updated its Apple Store app with support for Siri Shortcuts, which the company says can be used to make pre-ordering the upcoming iPhone XR with the iPhone Upgrade Program faster than ever. When getting pre-approved for an iPhone XR, iPhone Upgrade Program members will see a new "Add to Siri" button that can be used to record a custom phrase like "pre-order my iPhone." Once...

Apple has established an exclusive playlist deal with the Ministry of Sound label, an Apple representative told Variety this afternoon. Under the terms of the partnership, Ministry of Sound-created playlists will be available on Apple Music starting on Thursday, October 4. Owned by Sony, Ministry of Sound currently offers several popular playlists on Spotify, such as "Dance Nation," "Rave ...

Eve Systems has been offering HomeKit-connected devices since 2015, and the Eve Room, able to measure temperature, humidity, and air quality, is the newest Eve product available for purchase. The new Eve Room is actually an upgraded version of an original Eve Room that was one of Eve's first product releases back in 2015, but the new version has been overhauled with a redesigned enclosure...

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming watchOS 5.1 update to developers, two weeks after seeding the first watchOS 5.1 beta and a little over two weeks after releasing the new watchOS 5 operating system. Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone...

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming tvOS 12.1 update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the first update and a little over two weeks after releasing the tvOS 12 update. Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the new tvOS 12.1 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that's installed using Xcode. We're...

Last month Ikea began rolling out the HomeKit-compatible Trådfri smart plug to Sweden and a few other countries in the European Union. Today, HomeKit News spotted the same smart plugs in listings on the United States Ikea website, suggesting a launch in the U.S. sometime later this month. Ikea's Trådfri smart plug connects to the company's existing Trådfri Gateway ($29.99), which connects a...

Opera Touch was released today for iOS. The "light, fast, and secure" browser is specially designed for all-screen devices with no home button like the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, and comes with an interface that's optimized for one-handed use. Thanks to a floating "Fast Action" menu button located at the bottom of the screen, users can touch to access a radial menu and swipe through...

Tile, known for its range of battery-powered Bluetooth-enabled tags for tracking various items, today announced the launch of upgraded Tile Mate and Tile Pro accessories. The new Tile Mate and Tile Pro feature a longer range, louder volumes when pinging them from an iPhone, and, for the first time, batteries that can be replaced. Previous Tile versions have not had user-replaceable...