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

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.4 update to developers for testing purposes, a little under one week after releasing the tvOS 11.3 update. Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the new tvOS 11.4 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that's installed using Xcode. It's not yet clear what new features the tvOS 11.4...

Epic Games' popular multiplayer game Fortnite Battle Royale for iOS is now available to everyone, following a limited beta test that lasted for two weeks. As of this morning, beta invites are no longer needed to play Fortnite on an iPhone or iPad, so to play, all you need to do is download the game from the App Store. Fortnite on iOS, which is free to play and supported by in-app...

ESPN today announced that it will launch its new streaming service, which it's calling "ESPN+", on Thursday, April 12. The service will be integrated into a "re-imagined" version of the ESPN app, and include thousands of live sporting events, original shows and films, exclusive studio programs, and a back catalog of on-demand content. ESPN+ will cost subscribers $4.99 per month ($49.99 per...

Apple Maps now supports navigation with public transportation in most metropolitan areas of Ohio, Maryland, Arkansas, and West Virginia. By selecting the Transit tab in Apple Maps on iPhone, iPad, or Mac, users in each state can now access bus and train routes where available, complete with arrival and departure times, service advisories, and other detailed information. The statewide...

Apple chief design officer Jony Ive recently sat down with model and actress Naomi Campbell for an interview, discussing topics like his design process, Steve Jobs, Apple secrecy, and more (via Vogue). Campbell asked about Ive's personal involvement in the manufacturing process, bringing up a rumor she heard that he slept on factory floors when Apple was making the first iPhone. Ive didn't...

Best Buy has continued its spring sale initiative with the debut of a few new sales this weekend, some of which are lasting for today only. Prices have dropped on select models of the Apple Watch Series 3 and MacBook Pro, and there are also a few other offers related to the iPhone X, iMac Pro, and certain iPads. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and ...

Japan Display is planning to raise $517 million through third-party share allocations and asset sales so it will have the funds to supply LCD screens for new iPhones, reports Nikkei. Last year, Japan Display lost business because of Apple's shift to OLED, so the company sought partnerships to begin producing OLED displays, but with Apple planning to continue to use LCDs for some devices, Japan ...

Apple today told developers that it is offering a set of tools to help them fulfill data requests made by users in the European Union or other places around the world to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that goes into effect in May. Following the implementation of the GDPR developers will need to comply with customer requests for accessing, managing, restricting, and...

Griffin has a new wireless charging accessory available for purchase as of today, the Griffin PowerBlock Wireless Charging Pad. Designed for the iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and Android devices that support wireless charging, the PowerBlock Wireless Charging Pad offers up to 15W of charging power. Griffin says Qi-enabled devices will charge faster with the PowerBlock than with a standard ...

For this week's giveaway, we've once again teamed up with BlackPods to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a AirPods that have been custom-painted in black or space gray. We've partnered with BlackPods to give away several sets of AirPods, and they're always our most popular giveaways. If you haven't come across BlackPods before, the company takes a regular set of boring white AirPods and...

The Chainsmokers: Memories is a new short documentary series that's available on Apple Music starting today. There are six videos in total available to watch right now, each ranging in length from just over two minutes to five and a half minutes. The videos in the series follow The Chainsmokers' Do Not Open worldwide arena tour and the rollout of singles like "Sick Boy," "You Owe Me," and...

A group of criminals in China were caught smuggling 500 million yuan ($79.8 million) worth of refurbished iPhones from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, using drones connected via cables to transport the smartphones. Reported by the Legal Daily (via Reuters), customs officers in Shenzhen caught the group and ceased its illegal actions, arresting 26 total suspects in the process. Photo by Liu ...

Twitter this week updated its iOS and Android apps with a new feature called "Timestamps," which the company said will make it easier to share brief moments from longer live videos. Previously, Twitter users had to direct their followers to specific time codes in a live video so that people knew which moment they were referring to. The Timestamps update is a direct response to that, according...

MyFitnessPal parent company Under Armour today announced that MyFitnessPal has been the victim of a hacking incident, which has seen personal details of approximately 150 million user accounts accessed in a data breach. MyFitnessPal is a popular health and fitness iOS app and website that's used by many iPhone and iPad owners, and it is consistently among the top Health and Fitness apps in the ...

On our YouTube channel, we've got a monthly series that highlights new, interesting, fun, and useful apps that we think are worth downloading and checking out. There are so many apps on the iOS App Store, which makes it hard to find new content, and it can also be easy to overlook great apps that are a bit older. We've designed our app lists to include apps - both old and new - that we...

Zendesk is partnering with Apple to introduce support for the Business Chat beta feature that's available in the Messages app on iOS devices running the new iOS 11.3 update. With Business Chat integration, retailers who use Zendesk tools for customer support will be able to interact with customers using the Messages app, providing more prompt and responsive support."Today's customer expects...

A few weeks ago MacRumors announced a partnership with accessory maker Twelve South, offering spring break travelers the chance to get five vacation-friendly items discounted by 15 percent. That sale will end tomorrow, March 30, so be sure to head over to TwelveSouth.com and use the promo code MacRumorsSpringBreak on any of the items listed below before the code expires. CableSnap - $16.99,...

Alongside iOS 11.3, watchOS 4.3, and tvOS 11.3, Apple today released a new 11.3 software update designed for the HomePod. This marks the first software update that's been released for the HomePod since it became available for purchase in February. The new HomePod software will be installed automatically on the HomePod after you update to iOS 11.3, but you can also manually update and...