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

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...

Mozilla's Firefox Text Pilot program allows users to test out experimental features and provide feedback that goes toward improving the service, and today the company is expanding the program to include two mobile apps. The first is an iOS app called Firefox Lockbox and it enables you to access your saved passwords within the app so that you can easily sign into various other apps on your iPhone. ...

Netflix has announced a new feature launching for Android smartphones and tablets today, and coming to iOS devices later this year, called "Smart Downloads." With this turned on, the Netflix app will automatically delete the downloaded episode of a show that you've finished watching offline, and replace it by automatically downloading the next episode in line (via BuzzFeed News). The company ...

Live streaming television service Philo today launched on the fourth- and fifth-generation Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV, after first launching on iPhone, Roku, smart TVs, desktop and web browsers, and more last November. With the Apple TV app, subscribers can sign into their Philo accounts and watch 40 channels at the cost of $16 per month. The service mainly attracts customers who aren't...

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Apple's iOS App Store, Sensor Tower has shared a list of the apps and games that have spent the most time in the #1 spot of the store's various charts. Looking at the period of time from July 1, 2010 to July 5, 2018, Sensor Tower's researchers found that a total of 30,000 unique apps have achieved #1 status on the free, paid, or top grossing charts in at...

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...