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

It's been well over two years since monthly drone updates have been shared online covering the construction progress of Apple's second campus in California, called Apple Park. Over the weekend, drone videographer Matthew Roberts posted his latest video on YouTube, but instead of covering the newest updates to the campus, the video captured a drone that malfunctioned and crashed over Apple Park. ...

Apple's native Camera app has plenty of tools for helping you get the right shot, but some are more hidden than others. The camera level is the perfect example of a really handy tool that many users don't even know exists, mainly because it's part of a feature that's turned off by default. If you tend to take pictures of things when standing directly over your subject, like a meal on a table...

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Popcord to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a Popcord Lightning cable, which is a portable cable that's designed to fit right on your keyring so it's always with you for charging emergencies. The Popcord, which started out as a Kickstarter project, features a Lightning connector attached to a thick silicone body that loops over to fit...

Apple has added a new "Close Your Rings" page to its website that highlights how the Activity app works on Apple Watch. The page details how Apple Watch users can close the Move ring by hitting their personal goal of active calories burned, close the Exercise ring by completing at least 30 minutes of activity, and close the Stand ring by getting up and moving around for at least one minute...

Apple this week has begun selling an updated version of Belkin's InvisiGlass Ultra screen protector for iPhone X on its website and at its retail stores, nearly two months after the original was recalled due to quality issues. Belkin's product page states that the screen protector is now 0.29mm thick, compared to 0.21mm for the original InvisiGlass Ultra. As such, the new version will...

iDevices today announced the launch of the latest product in its smart home lineup, the iDevices Instant Switch. The Instant Switch is a simple wireless wall switch that's designed to attach to a surface using adhesive, so there's no tricky installation required. The Instant Switch, which was first announced at CES 2017, is designed to work with existing iDevices HomeKit products using a...

Google has updated its iOS Maps app with three new quick-access options that Android users have had access to for over a year now. The new tabs sit across the bottom of the home screen and are called Explore, Driving, and Transit. Swiping up on the shortcuts reveals further details. For example, in Explore users can find a description of the local area, dining choices, and options to...

Danish acquirer Clearhaus today announced support for Apple Pay, bringing Apple's mobile payment platform to over 5,000 Nordic online merchants who use the e-commerce payment institution. In October 2017, Apple Pay was introduced to Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, where top Nordic banks like Nordea, Jyske Bank, Edenred, N26, and ST1 quickly adopted the digital wallet system, allowing physical...

Shazam, which Apple is in the process of acquiring, was today updated to version 11.7.0, introducing several major new features. When a song is Shazamed, the result is now displayed with the song's name and an image of the performing artist, rather than the previous cluttered interface with large links to YouTube, Apple Music, and more. You can access additional information on a Shazamed...

Apple today sent out a notice to developers letting them know that starting in April of 2018, all new apps submitted to the App Store must be built using the iOS 11 SDK, which is included in Xcode 9 or later. Furthermore, Apple says that all new apps designed for the iPhone, including universal apps, must support the iPhone X's Super Retina display. Update your version of Xcode to the...

Following news that the HomePod leaves white rings on some wood surfaces treated with oil or wax, Pad & Quill has designed and debuted new Leather Coasters that are meant to be used with the HomePod. Available in two colors, Whiskey and Chestnut, the 4-inch HomePod Coasters are made with full-grain leather and offer a soft leather backing. Pad & Quill's new coasters will prevent the rings ...

Gamevice today announced the launch of a new Minecraft-themed controller bundle, which comes with a standard Gamevice controller, a Gamevice carrying case, and a code to download Minecraft on iOS. For those unfamiliar with Gamevice, the company makes gaming controllers designed for the iPhone and the iPad. Gamevice controllers wrap around an iOS device, offering access to a d-pad, two...

Microsoft today released Photos Companion, an iOS app specially made for Windows 10 users to let them transfer photos from their Apple devices to PCs more easily. First circulated among beta testers in November, Photos Companion links with Windows 10's built-in photos app by way of a QR code, after which multiple photos can be sent over the same Wi-Fi network. Microsoft hopes the app – the...

iOS 11 introduced handy new drag and drop features on the iPad, that let you drag photos, files, links, and more between apps. What you might not know, though, is that drag and drop also works for blocks of text. Instead of copying and pasting text on the iPad, you can select a block of text and then drag it right into another app using the drag and drop features. Here's how: Select a...

Twelve South today announced the launch of a new SurfacePad case for the iPhone X, expanding its popular SurfacePad design to Apple's latest flagship iPhone. The SurfacePad is a folio-style case, but rather than being bulky like most cases with this design, it's ultra thin because it attaches to the back of an iPhone using Twelve South's "SurfaceGrip" technology. Basically, SurfaceGrip is ...

In celebration of Valentine's Day today, February 14, numerous companies have launched sales for a variety of products, ranging from iPhone and MacBook accessories to Bluetooth speakers and more. Below we've rounded up a few of the sales going on today, most of which will be ending by midnight tonight or early tomorrow. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...

HomePod acoustic tests performed by Fast Company and published Tuesday appear to support Apple's claim that algorithms built into the smart speaker make it capable of distributing sound evenly throughout a room. According to Apple's marketing material, music played on HomePod is evenly distributed so that it sounds similar regardless of where the listener is standing or sitting in the room....

Apple's mobile news platform has been accused of "living in the past" by the co-founder and head of rival news curation service Flipboard. The comments were made at Tuesday's Code Media event in California, where Flipboard CEO Mike McCue participated in an onstage Q&A regarding the future of content curation in the digital mobile space. Now in its eighth year, the Flipboard iOS app organizes...