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

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming watchOS 5 update to developers, two weeks after releasing the third beta and more than a month after introducing the software at the Worldwide Developers Conference. To install the beta, you'll need the proper configuration profile, which can be obtained through the Apple Developer Center. Once the profile is in place, the watchOS 5 beta can be ...

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of a new tvOS 12 operating system to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after releasing the third beta and more than a month after introducing the new software at the 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference. Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV, the tvOS 12 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV using a profile that's...

A few months ago, in an internal document obtained by MacRumors, Apple acknowledged that some iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus users may experience a grayed-out speaker button during phone calls, or not be heard during phone calls or FaceTime chats. Apple didn't identify a cause for the issues. If an affected iPhone is no longer covered by warranty, Apple's document said Genius Bars or Apple...

Global shipments of 3D sensing smartphones are expected to reach over 100 million units in 2018, according to China-based analyst Sigmaintell, as Android phone makers gradually adopt the technology that Apple introduced to market last year. China-based Xiaomi and Oppo have already unveiled phones featuring their own versions of the 3D scanning technology that Apple launched in the iPhone X...

The latest Sonos product, the Sonos Beam, is today available for purchase from the Sonos website and from various retailers around the world. First announced in June, the Sonos Beam has been available for pre-order, but today is its official launch date. The Sonos Beam is a $399 smart, compact sound bar that's designed for use with TV sets. Sonos says the Beam offers five Class-D digital...

Belkin was one of the first companies to come out with a faster 7.5W wireless charger for the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus after wireless charging launched, and the company has now had time to create a second round of wireless chargers with a more refined design. Released this spring, the $60 Belkin Boost Up Bold Wireless Charging Pad and the $70 Belkin Boost Up Wireless Charging Stand...

Uber today announced new tools for its iOS app that aim to simplify and streamline stressful pickup situations for both riders and drivers. To start, there's a new "Spotlight" feature that will light up the rider's iPhone display with a bright, color-specific hue. The driver will be notified to which color has been chosen, so when the rider holds their iPhone in the air they'll know exactly...

Apple sold fewer than a million iPhones in India in the first half of 2018, according to Bloomberg. The company has suffered slowing sales in the world's second largest smartphone market, which has reportedly seen three high-ranking sales executives leave Apple as the company restructures its operations there. Among the executives who've departed are its national sales and distribution chief,...

iOS 12 introduces several significant new features like Memoji, Siri Shortcuts, Screen Time for keeping track of the time you're spending on your iOS devices, Group FaceTime with up to 32 people, new parental controls, ARKit 2.0, and more. Along with all of the major additions, there are dozens of smaller, more hidden features. In our latest YouTube video, we've pulled out several of the most...

Texture, the digital magazine service that Apple acquired earlier this year, recently dropped its $14.99 Premium price point for existing subscribers. Texture Premium, which allows for access to both weekly and monthly magazines, is now priced at $9.99 for all customers, new and existing. The price change was shared in an email from Harry McCracken yesterday, and confirmed today by...

Apple today announced a new collaboration between its Apple Developer Academies in Brazil and the Malala Fund to further advance education opportunities for girls. Apple became the Malala Fund's first Laureate partner in January 2018. The Malala Fund, led by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, advocates for quality education and equal opportunity for girls around the world. Apple ...

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Eve Systems to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win the company's entire HomeKit product line, which includes an Eve Motion, an Eve Energy, an Eve Door & Window sensor, an Eve Button, an Eve Light Switch, an Eve Degree, and an Eve Aqua. Eve Systems, formerly known as Elgato, was one of the first companies to create HomeKit products for Apple's...

LG Display has signed a deal with Apple to supply both LCD and OLED panels for the company's 2018 range of iPhones, according to a new report by Korea-based Newspin (via DigiTimes). The contract will see LG Display ship around 20 million LCD smartphone panels to Apple in 2018, according to the report, which also puts the number of OLED panels to be supplied by LG in the 3 to 4 million ballpark ...

Plex's new Live TV grid view, which is designed to allow customers to find TV shows and movies through a traditional grid-based user interface, is now available for Apple TV. The grid view is available for both live TV content and content saved using the built-in DVR functionality in Plex. It first rolled out on the web in June before launching for tvOS today. Grid view organizes TV shows ...

Real-time traffic information in Apple Maps expanded to several new countries today, including Brunei, Kenya, Mozambique, Philippines, Nigeria, and Vietnam, according to Apple's Feature Availability page. The feature will allow Apple Maps users in those countries to see traffic congestion as depicted through orange or red lines on roads where there's heavy traffic to contend with. Details ...

Apple's "Carpool Karaoke: The Series" TV show was today nominated for an "Outstanding Short Form Variety Series" Emmy according to the list of Emmy nominations on the Emmy Awards website [PDF] (via The Hollywood Reporter). "Carpool Karaoke: The Series" was nominated alongside "Between the Scenes" from Comedy Central, "Creating Saturday Night Live" from NBC, "Gay of Thrones" from Funny or Die,...

Sprint today announced an update to its lineup of unlimited cellular plans, with four tiers that offer unlimited data, talk, and text, HD streaming, global roaming, and more. At the top, Unlimited Plus offers unlimited data, talk, and text nationwide with a 15GB LTE mobile hotspot, Hulu (Limited Commercials) and Tidal Premium (not HiFi) subscriptions, 1080p video streaming, and text and data...

This week's Apple Pay promo offers concertgoers and sports fans the chance to get $10 off a purchase of $100 or more from StubHub. To get the discount, browse tickets in the StubHub iOS app, use Apple Pay to checkout before August 1, and enter the code APPLEPAY-10 during the checkout process. The new promotion is themed around summer music festivals, and encourages users to pay with Apple...