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

Apple is adding a small but significant Apple Pay feature that will be of interest to concert attendees: the ability to pre-purchase drinks. According to TechCrunch, Apple tested an "order ahead with Apple Pay" feature at a recent BottleRock music festival near San Francisco. Using the festival app, attendees were able to select a nearby concession stand, choose drinks, initiate a purchase...

Apple is aiming to expand its digital advertising network by offering ad deals to companies that include Snap and Pinterest, reports The Wall Street Journal. Apple is hoping to build an Apple ad network that would distribute ads across apps, providing a share of revenue to the apps that display the ads. With these Apple ads, searching for something like "Drapes" in Pinterest could show up an...

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with RAVPower to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a HyperAir 7.5W Qi Wireless Charging Stand from RAVPower. Designed for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, and future iPhones with Qi wireless charging capabilities, the HyperAir Wireless Charging Stand, priced at $46, is an upright charger that's able to charge the iPhone while it's standing...

Facebook today announced that it will remove its "Trending" section from the web and all mobile devices starting next week, in an effort to "make way for future news experiences." Facebook says that its users have found Trending "less and less useful," leading to the closure of the section, which stacks the latest news articles from the day into various categories. On the web, Trending is...

Ahead of the impending arrival of Unicode 11 on June 5, Emojipedia today published an article about all of the emoji characters that will be launching on Apple devices later this year. While these characters were known, the site also looked forward a bit and briefly detailed what users can expect from Unicode 12 coming in March 2019. On the short list for impending release in 2019 are the...

There are several reasons why you should consider using a passcode on your Apple Watch. Without one, you won't be able to use Apple Pay to make contactless transactions using the device, nor will you be able to use it to automatically unlock your Mac. But apart from losing out on functionality, not using a passcode on your watch means that anyone who got hold of it could potentially gain...

Belkin at CES debuted new wireless charging accessories, including the Belkin Boost Up Bold Wireless Charging Pad and the Belkin Boost Up Wireless Charging Stand, both of which are now available for purchase. The Belkin Boost Up Bold Wireless Charging Pad is similar to the existing Belkin Boost Up Charging Pad, but it comes in a variety of colors that include pink, navy, black, and white. ...

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.4.1 update to its public beta testing group, one day after seeding iOS 11.4.1 to developers and a few days after releasing tvOS 11.4. The tvOS 11.4.1 public beta can be obtained by going to the Settings app on the Apple TV and navigating to the Software Updates section under "System." "Get Public Beta Updates" will need to be toggled on, ...

Apple has voiced support for a new Human Interface Device standard that will bring versatile support and overall improve the technology of future USB-connected Braille displays [PDF]. Set forth by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), a non-profit organization for the advancement and adoption of USB technology, the new standard will help make it easier for blind and low-vision users to use...

In April, the Russian government banned secure messaging app Telegram and this month asked Apple to remove it from the iOS App Store completely in the country, citing the potential for terrorist communication via the app since Telegram refused to allow Russia to read user messages. As this unfolds, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov posted an update for users early this morning in an effort to explain why...

Netflix appears to be testing -- or slowly rolling out -- a new user interface control scheme for its iOS app, which enables an unobtrusive volume indicator and lets users jump forwards or backwards in a video with a quick double-tap gesture. As spotted by Redditor mm2nam, the update brings Netflix's video controls closer to those of YouTube on iOS, which lets users double tap on the right...

Back in 2016, Nokia acquired health startup Withings in a deal estimated at $192 million, hoping to re-establish its presence in the consumer electronics market. Nokia did this by rebranding Withings' iOS compatible products under its own name, with devices like the Withings Steel Watch and Withings Go fitness trackers becoming the Nokia Steel and Nokia Go. Unfortunately for the company, the...

A few days after updating its iOS app to version 3.0, Philips Hue today is launching the "Philips Hue Sync" app for Mac and PC computers. Using the app, users can sync their Hue lights to films, music, and games that they're interacting with for an even more "immersive experience," according to the company. The app works by creating light scripts for nearby Hue lights, based on...

Earlier in May, MacRumors and Anker launched an exclusive new sale for our readers with discount codes available for a handful of useful Anker accessories. Now that June is fast approaching, the sale is set to end tomorrow, May 31. If you've been holding off on taking advantage of any of the exclusive codes, consider this a friendly reminder to get your orders in today. All of Anker's products ...

While CarPlay has become very common in cars over the past several years, most manufacturers are still relying on a wired implementation that requires the user to plug his or her iPhone in using a Lightning cable connected to one of the vehicle's USB ports. The first and only car manufacturer to adopt wireless CarPlay so far is BMW (including its MINI brand), although Mercedes recently...

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.4.1 update to developers for testing purposes, one day 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 that's installed using Xcode. We're not yet sure what...

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 4.3.2 update to developers, one day after releasing watchOS 4.3.1, a minor bug fix update that addressed a startup issue. Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software...

Apple has launched an internal music publishing division, headed by industry executive Elena Segal, according to Music Business Worldwide. Segal had served as Director of iTunes International since 2006, covering a wide range of legal and licensing matters for iTunes around the world. She began her new role as Apple's Global Director of Music Publishing earlier this month, based out of...