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

In an effort that would give future Echo speakers with Alexa a new advantage over Apple's HomePod, Reuters today reports that Amazon is working with chipmakers to build Alexa speakers that would not require a constant power source. As it stands, most smart assistant devices -- Amazon's main Echo, Apple HomePod, Google Home, etc -- require a constant draw of power due to their always-on...

This week's Apple Pay promotion is offering customers the chance to save on their Fourth of July dinners with 20 percent off from restaurant chain TGI Fridays. If you use Apple Pay to checkout in the TGI Fridays iOS app, select the order for pickup, and use the promo code APPLE20, you'll get 20 percent off your meal through Sunday, July 8. Apple's new promotion encourages users to get out...

Apple has announced that, starting June 30, customers will no longer be able to change their iTunes or App Store payment information from devices running iOS 4.3.5 or earlier, OS X 10.8.5 or earlier, or Apple TV Software 4.4.4 or earlier. In an email to customers who may be impacted, Apple said it is implementing this change to continue to ensure that their financial information is protected ...

Using the Segments feature in the Apple Watch Workout app is a great way to track changes in exercise intensity over the course of a workout. It can also help you find out which activities in a mixed session push your body the most. If your regular running route includes a hilly section, for example, using segments to indicate where it begins and/or ends lets you review how much time it takes ...

Apple may choose to use modems manufactured by MediaTek instead of modems from Intel in future iPhones, according to an investor's note from Northland analyst Gus Richard that was shared by Bloomberg. Little detail was included in the note, but Richard believes Apple could be planning to shift its modem business away from Intel. The accuracy of that prediction is questionable, however, and...

Apple's Beats Electronics division today lost a lawsuit levied against it by Steven Lamar, who had a hand in the development of the Beats brand. According to Bloomberg, a jury today decided that Lamar is entitled to $25 million due to a disputed settlement in 2007 with Beats co-founders and Apple execs Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre. Lamar signed over the rights to the Beats design in exchange...

Rumors suggest new iPad Pro models coming in 2018 will feature slimmer bezels and no Home button, which will be removed in favor of the same Face ID system that's available in the iPhone X. A new iPad Pro concept shared by Álvaro Pabesio imagines what such an iPad Pro might look like, with detailed mockups of an iPad that features an 11.9-inch display with slim wraparound bezels, no notch (as ...

After months of scrutiny in an ongoing antitrust case, the United States Department of Justice today granted The Walt Disney Company approval to acquire 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets for $71.3 billion, on one new condition: Disney must divest 22 regional sports networks owned by Fox to an "acceptable" buyer. Removing these networks from the acquisition "would resolve the competitive...

The Pokémon Company's latest mobile game, Pokémon Quest, is available starting today on iOS and Android devices after launching on the Nintendo Switch in late May. A free to play game with in-app purchases, Pokémon Quest takes place in Tumblecube Island, where everything, from the Pokémon to the environment, is cube shaped. The essentials of the game are still Pokémon-esque, and players are ...

Snapchat is looking to build its own "internal app store" of gaming titles, according to a new report out today from The Information. The platform is set for a tentative launch sometime this fall, and will allow outside developers to build games that Snapchat then distributes for users to play within the Snapchat app. People familiar with the company's plans claim that Snapchat has already ...

Elgato Systems today announced that it will shift its focus "exclusively" to its line of HomeKit-connected Eve devices, in the process rebranding itself to "Eve Systems." At the same time, it confirmed plans to sell its streaming accessory division Elgato Gaming to peripheral company Corsair to continue life as a separate brand. Under its new name, the company said that Eve Systems will...

Logitech today announced that its popular Slim Combo and Slim Folio Bluetooth keyboards have been updated with support for sixth-generation iPad, which means they're now available for Apple's most affordable tablet. The Slim Folio was previously available for the fifth-generation iPad and is also now compatible with the sixth-generation model, while the Slim Combo was previously limited to the ...

Facebook has confirmed to TechCrunch that it's testing an ability for its users to "snooze" certain keywords in their News Feed and groups for 30 days. The text-based snooze follows an update from late last year that introduced a way for users to snooze people, pages, and groups for 30 days. In order to start snoozing keywords, users will first have to come across a post that includes the...

Chinese mobile phone maker Vivo has today unveiled new 3D sensing technology which it says has 10 times the accuracy of the Face ID authentication system in Apple's iPhone X. Vivo says its Time of Flight (TOF) system uses 300,000 data points to map the user's face in three dimensions, compared to the 30,000 points of infrared light used in Apple's facial mapping technology. The TOF...

Amazon today updated its Alexa app for iOS to add a promised voice control feature that's designed to allow iOS users to tap the Alexa button and use voice commands to ask Alexa to play music, answer questions, check the weather, and more. As noted by TechCrunch, Amazon introduced voice control to its Alexa app for Android back in January, and at the time, said the feature would be expanded to ...

Available on Indiegogo, the wire-free Arbor Instant Video Doorbell from Arbor Home lets you keep an eye on your packages from shipment to delivery, and it lets you see just who's at your door when the bell rings. Prior to the Arbor, I hadn't used a video doorbell, and I wasn't sure if I needed one, but ironically, waiting for the delivery of the video doorbell itself taught me how valuable...

Instagram today implemented several new features that were first previewed and announced at Facebook's F8 developer conference in May, including a redesigned Explore tab, new camera effects, and a group video chatting feature. Instagram's new video chat option, which is a feature that's designed to rival offerings like Skype and FaceTime, can be accessed via Instagram Direct, and it allows for ...

Apple today updated its iTunes Remote app for iOS devices to version 4.4, introducing a redesigned look and support for the iPhone X, Apple's newest flagship device. The iTunes Remote app is designed to allow iPad and iPhone users to control their iTunes libraries from anywhere in the home, accessing music, TV shows, movies, Podcasts, playlists, and more. The app can be used to send music to...