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

In its ongoing efforts to recover from the Cambridge Analytica scandal this spring, Facebook has detailed its collaboration with a design lab focused entirely on privacy and located in Dublin, Ireland. News of the lab comes from Facebook's responses to questions from the United States Senate that were released this week by the Senate commerce committee, and follow CEO Mark Zuckerberg's...

Nomad today announced the launch of an updated Battery Cable, which comes equipped with a slim 2,800 mAh battery to add a bit of extra juice to Apple's iPhones and iPads. The Battery Cable looks like a standard braided Nomad Lightning cable for the iPhone, but with the addition of a battery pack at one end that can be used for extra charging power when necessary. Nomad's 1.5M Battery...

Facebook today announced the launch of a dedicated "Memories" section on its social network, which the company says is designed to be a single place on Facebook to reflect on "the moments you've shared with family and friends." Memories, which is an expanded version of the current "On This Day" feature, provides a look back at posts and photos, friends you've made, and major life events....

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.4.1 update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the first tvOS 11.4.1 beta and two weeks after releasing tvOS 11.4, an update that introduced support for AirPlay 2. Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the new tvOS 11.4.1 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile...

Best Buy today has Apple's HomePod on sale for $299.99 in both White and Space Gray, representing $50 in savings for the smart home speaker. While it's been possible to get HomePod for even cheaper thanks to offers like eBay's occasional 20 percent off coupons, straight discounts on brand new models have been a bit more rare, making this a good opportunity to add HomePod to your home if you've...

Snapchat today announced a new feature called "Clear Chats," which lets you delete any message you've sent to another person on Snapchat, whether in individual or group chat. This encompasses text chats, stickers, audio and voice notes, and any photo and video snaps sent from Memories. To delete a chat message you can press and hold on the message or media in question and select the new...

During its E3 conference last night, Bethesda Game Studios revealed that a new game in the Elder Scrolls series is coming to iOS and Android devices this fall, called The Elder Scrolls: Blades [Direct Link] (via TouchArcade). Bethesda describes Blades as a free-to-play title, but the developer didn't give any further details about potential in-app purchases. In terms of story, players will...

PayPal on eBay this weekend is offering $100 App Store and iTunes gift cards for $85, marking the latest 15 percent discount on the cards and a good chance for those who have been waiting on a deal to get free iTunes credit. While the sale lasts, anyone with a PayPal account can take advantage of the deal, and you'll receive the code for the iTunes credit via email within a few hours after the...

As we've followed DirecTV Now's ongoing offer to get an Apple TV 4K at no extra cost when paying for three months of the live streaming TV service for $105, it's been somewhat unclear how long the deal would last. According to our affiliate, today's the last day to take advantage of the deal, as the three-month offer will expire later tonight. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with...

For this week's Friday giveaway, we've teamed up with Speck for something special. We're giving away a brand new 32GB sixth-generation iPad paired with one of Speck's iPad cases, the Balance Folio Clear. Priced at $44.95, Speck's Balance Folio Clear is made from a clear, durable polycarbonate that keeps your iPad protected but visible, leaving the design and look of the iPad unobscured. The...

Senior vice president of Apple Retail, Angela Ahrendts, today tweeted out an announcement for a new "Today at Apple" session focused on app prototyping for aspiring developers. News of the session arrives as Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference comes to an end today, after first kicking off with a keynote in San Jose, California on Monday. Ahrendts describes the new program as a way...

Snapchat is expanding the use of its Bitmoji characters -- specifically "Friendmojis" -- for iOS users in the coming days. With the update, iPhone and iPad users will be able to send personalized Friendmojis, or Bitmoji stickers that include both you and your friend, directly in Apple's Messages app. Currently, Bitmoji is available as a keyboard extension and a Messages app so users can send...

Yahoo today announced that its Yahoo Messenger service will no longer be supported after July 17, 2018, encompassing the closure of apps for iOS and Android and any web browser clients (via TechCrunch). The service will function normally until then, and after that date users will no longer be able to access their chats and the Messenger service as a whole will be shut down. The company...

Apple Maps has gained indoor maps for an additional four international airports and one shopping mall around the world. The recently enabled airports include Charlotte Douglas International in North Carolina, Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International and Québec City Jean Lesage International in Canada, and Taoyuan International in Taiwan. When searching for those airports, Apple...

A new Father's Day-themed Apple Pay Promo is providing customers who spend at least $100 in the Nike app with a $20 gift code, according to emails Apple sent out to Apple Pay customers this afternoon. The offer is valid from June 7 to June 11 and requires customers to make a $100 purchase using Apple Pay in Nike's app. The $20 code is not provided at the time of purchase, but will be delivered ...

Following the release of iOS 11.4 on May 29, Apple has stopped signing iOS 11.3.1, the previous version of iOS that was available to consumers. iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners who have upgraded to iOS 11.4 will no longer be able to downgrade to earlier versions of iOS. Apple routinely stops signing older versions of software updates after new releases come out in order to encourage...

We've teamed up with Pad & Quill for a special series of WWDC-themed giveaways this week to celebrate Apple's big June event, and our third and final giveaway takes place today. Pad & Quill, for those unfamiliar with it, is a company that's well-known for making high-quality hand-crafted leather accessories for iPhones, Macs, iPads, Apple Watches, and more. For our last WWDC giveaway,...

As part of its antitrust examination into the T-Mobile/Sprint merger, the US Department of Justice is looking at how the two firms combining would affect smaller wireless carriers that frequently buy network access on larger networks to resell to "pre-paid or price-conscious consumers" according to a report from Reuters. There are concerns, the report claims, that because Sprint and T-Mobile ...