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

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...

Google has added support for Morse code typing to its Gboard app for iOS, providing an accessible method of digital communication for people with disabilities. The customizable feature replaces the letters of the keyboard with large dot and dash keys to enter text, and offers text-to-Morse sequences to the auto-suggestion strip above the keyboard. Google has also launched a Morse Typing...

Apple's upcoming morning show drama, which is set to star Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, will be directed by Mimi Leder, reports Variety. Mimi Leder has directed TV shows that include "The Leftovers," "Shameless," and "ER," along with movies that include "Pay It Forward," "The Peacemaker," and "Deep Impact." Image via Matt Baron/REX/Shutterstock The morning show drama doesn't have ...

The Procreate app for iOS was today updated to version 4.1, introducing several major new features that will enhance the drawing and art creation experience on the iPad. A new Metal 2-powered Liquify feature lets artists push, pull, expand, pinch, and twirl their art using either touch-based gestures or Apple Pencil pressure for more control. The Symmetry Drawing Guide in Procreate 4.1...

Pinterest today announced the launch of a new social collaboration tool, called the "activity feed" for group boards. This section of the app will let members weigh in with a quick like or comment, @ mention another user, or start a new thread, and includes updates when members add new pins, create new sections, new members join, someone likes or comments, and more. The app had comment...

Astropad today introduced new updates for both its Astropad Studio and Astropad Standard apps, bringing support for the Luna Display adapter, which is also now available for pre-order. Introduced as a Kickstarter project last year, the Luna Display is designed to turn any iPad into a wireless second display for the Mac. Astropad alone mirrors the Mac display, but Luna Display is designed...

App developer Serif today launched Affinity Designer for iPad [Direct Link], a precise vector graphic design tool that aims to help users create marketing materials, websites, icons, user interface designs, concept art, and more, all without needing to be tied to a desktop computer. The new app is based off the similarly titled Affinity Designer software available for Mac, and now optimized...

Apple Pay will launch in Austria in the "coming months," according to well-known Austrian newspaper Der Standard. The report cites two unnamed sources and says Bank Austria could be one of the participating issuers. Apple Pay first debuted in the United States in October 2014, and its availability has since expanded to over 20 countries and territories around the world, most recently...

Apple quietly fixed a bug in iOS 11 that caused some devices to crash when the word "Taiwan" was entered in a text field or the Taiwan emoji was used, according to a security researcher (via Axios). Digita Security's Patrick Wardle outlined in a blog post how the glitch in iOS 11.3 caused instant crashes on a variety of native and third-party iPhone and iPad apps, including iMessages,...

Japan's antitrust watchdog on Wednesday said Apple may have breached antitrust regulations by forcing three major domestic network carriers to sell its iPhones cheaply and charge higher monthly fees (via Reuters). The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said that Apple had forced NTT Docomo, KDDI, and SoftBank to offer subsidies and sell iPhones at a discount. In the eyes of the FTC, this made it...

eBay today launched its latest sitewide coupon code, this one focusing on items in the tech category, which is a good chance for those looking to save a little money on Apple products and accessories. The code is lower than previous sales at 10 percent off, but works the same way: find a tech item anywhere on eBay, add it to your cart until the total reaches or exceeds $50, then enter coupon code ...

Apple's watchOS 5 update includes a new automatic workout detection feature, which is designed to make sure you never miss out on getting credit for one of your workouts. Automatic workout detection is a setting that's enabled by default once you upgrade to watchOS 5, but if you don't want the feature, it can be turned off using the Apple Watch app on the iPhone or on the Apple Watch itself. ...

Trism, developed by Steve Demeter, was one of the first games in the App Store when it launched 10 years ago. In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the App Store, a new version of Trism, Trism 2, is available for download today. The original version of Trism came out on July 11, 2008, one day after the iOS App Store went live. Trism was a gravity-based puzzler where the goal was to match...

Following a demo at CES in January, the VELUX ACTIVE with NETATMO smart skylight system has now launched on the iOS App Store [Direct Link] with HomeKit support. The app pairs with the new VELUX ACTIVE with NETATMO climate control and monitoring system to enable smartphone control and automation of the skylights, costing $295. The company says that this marks the first time that skylights...

Snapchat today announced that all users can now discover and unlock thousands of user-generated Lenses built by the app's global creator community with "Lens Explorer." This marks the first time that Community Lenses will be discoverable alongside the main, Snapchat-created Lenses in the Lens Carousel. To find the new section, navigate to the Lens Carousel, tap the new smiley face icon in...