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

Apple may adopt LED backlighting chips for the LCD panels in its forthcoming 6.1-inch iPhone that enable it to reduce screen bezel size and bring LCD panels closer to bezel-free OLED screens. DigiTimes reports that Japan-based Nichia will become the exclusive supplier of the LED chips for use in backlighting of the panels used in the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone, which Apple is expected to launch...

Disney today announced a major expansion of its "Dream Big Princess" photography campaign that first launched in 2017, which will see 21 talented young women provided with the tools to create inspiring digital short stories. Disney has selected aspiring filmmakers from around the world, who will be tasked with "telling the stories of inspiring female role models." Each filmmaker will be paired ...

Last week, Amazon announced that its annual Prime Day sale event will be held one week from today, on July 16. Ahead of the event, Amazon has begun Prime Day countdown discounts, which today includes a collection of solid deals on Anker power banks, chargers, wireless chargers, and cables. As with the upcoming Prime Day event, these Anker deals require you to have an Amazon Prime subscription ...

Alongside the release of iOS 11.4.1, the latest update to the iOS operating system, Apple has also released new 11.4.1 software that's designed for the HomePod. The new HomePod software will be installed automatically on the HomePod after you update to iOS 11.4, but you can also manually update and check your software version by following the instructions in our HomePod software how to....

Apple today released watchOS 4.3.2, a small update to the watchOS 4 operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 4.3.2 comes more than one month after the release of watchOS 4.3.1, a minor update. watchOS 4.3.2 can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at...

Apple today released tvOS 11.4.1, a minor update to the tvOS operating system designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models. tvOS 11.4.1 comes more than a month after the release of tvOS 11.4, an update that introduced support for AirPlay 2. tvOS 11.4.1 can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the Apple TV by going to System --> Software Update. Apple TV owners ...

On June 19, former AT&T executive and new chief executive of Warner Media John Stankey spoke to a group of HBO employees about changes coming to the premium cable company in the near future. The discussion was held in the wake of AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner, which owns HBO, and also included HBO's chief executive officer Richard Plepler. The telecommunications company previously stated...

The company behind social media app Timehop has revealed its servers suffered a data breach in which the personal details of around 21 million users were stolen. The company, whose service integrates with users' social media accounts to display photos and memories they may have forgotten about, said it became aware of the attack as it was happening in the early hours of July 4. In a stateme...

Arizona-based speech recognition technology company AVRS, short for Advanced Voice Recognition Systems, Inc., has filed a lawsuit against Apple this week, accusing the iPhone maker of infringing on one of its patents with its virtual assistant Siri, according to court documents obtained by MacRumors. The asserted patent is U.S. Patent No. 7,558,730, titled "Speech recognition and...

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with V-Moda to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a set of Crossfade 2 Wireless headphones. Priced starting at $330, the Crossfade Wireless headphones fit over the ear with memory foam ear cushions for comfort even when listening for long periods of time. The hexagon shape is designed to reduce force on the head and ears while minimizing gap for a ...

Tap is a hand-worn, futuristic replacement for a keyboard, mouse, and game controller that connects to iPhones and iPads, Macs, and PCs, and other devices using Bluetooth. Tap fits over your fingers and can be used on any surface, meaning you can do away with a traditional desk, but mastering its use takes some intensive practice that may turn some people away. Design Tap is meant to be...

Newton Mail today announced a new feature for its iOS mail app called "Recap," aimed at resurfacing conversations that are awaiting your reply or that need to be followed up. Recap covers not only basic text response prompts, but emails that include upcoming due dates, reminders, and more in an effort to ensure you don't miss any important threads. The company explains that this works through...

Microsoft may be working to bring its Windows-based Movies & TV app to iOS devices, according to Windows Central. The app lets users browse and play movies and TV shows purchased from Microsoft's Store, but it's only available on Windows 10, Xbox, and Windows 10 Mobile, and Microsoft is apparently eager to bring it over to rival platforms to give consumers more of a reason to buy from its...

iOS 12 includes a new feature called USB Restricted Mode, which is designed to make your iPhone and iPad immune to certain hacking techniques used by law enforcement and other potentially malicious entities to gain access to an iOS device. There are some iPhone access methods that use a USB connection, downloading data from your iPhone (or iPad) through the Lightning connector to crack the...

Twitterrific today updated its Twitter clients for iOS and Mac devices to implement some changes to the way the service works ahead of upcoming API changes that will go live on August 16, 2018. Starting on that date, Twitterrific says that its iOS app will no longer be able to receive and display native notifications. Users will not be notified when someone likes their tweet, quotes a tweet,...

MoviePass in June said that it would introduce surge pricing for moviegoers watching movies at peak times, and as of today, those new surcharges have gone into effect. In an email sent out to customers and a new section on its website, MoviePass explains that its new "Peak Pricing" system may require subscribers to "pay a small additional fee depending on level of demand" for a movie....

The Inbox by Gmail app for iOS devices was today updated with support for the iPhone X, a full eight months after the larger-screened iPhone launched. Since November 2017, Inbox by Gmail has received 13 updates, none of which included iPhone X support until today. Inbox is one of Google's last apps to get iPhone X support, with most other apps updated earlier in the year. Before update on ...

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming tvOS 12 update to its public beta testing group, giving non-developers a chance to try out the new software ahead of its fall public release. Today's second beta comes one week after Apple released the first public beta, and it corresponds to the third developer beta released earlier this week. The tvOS 12 public beta can be obtained by going...