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

Spotify today launched its holiday discounts, giving new users three months of Spotify Premium for $0.99, after which they'll need to pay the traditional $9.99/month subscription cost or cancel their account beforehand. The sale is similar to discounts launched in years past, with Spotify encouraging new users to sign up to the music streaming service over the holidays. This year, there's an...

Nintendo on Twitter today confirmed that the company's upcoming iOS game, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, will launch worldwide on November 22. The confirmation of a release date comes nearly one month after the game was first unveiled in late October, after which it soft launched on the Australian iOS App Store and climbed to the top of the charts there faster than either Super Mario Run or Fire...

The fifth review of my iPhone X Roundup series focuses on Spigen, OtterBox, LifeProof, Totallee, and Sena. If you've missed my previous posts, I'm taking a close look at iPhone X cases from a range of manufacturers. We don't often feature case reviews on MacRumors, but with the launch of the iPhone X and its new design, we felt it was worth exploring some of the available case options. My...

Apologies for missing last week's iOS gaming roundup, but I've got a good reason: I was in Jordan judging Middle Eastern and North African mobile games for the International Mobile Gaming Awards (IMGA). It's an organization that for fourteen years now has been hosting international competitions looking for the best mobile games. I've been involved for several years now, and it's awesome...

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Mophie to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a powerstation USB-C XXL that's equipped with both USB-C and USB-A, so it can be used with a wide range of devices. The powerstation USB-C XXL, priced at $149.95, features a 19,500 mAh battery, which Mophie says is enough juice to provide USB-C laptops (the MacBook specifically) with up to 14 hours ...

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming watchOS 4.2 update to developers for testing purposes, four days after seeding the third watchOS 4.2 beta and over two weeks after releasing the watchOS 4.1 update. Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS 4.2 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the...

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.2 update to developers for testing purposes, four days after seeding the third tvOS 11.2 update and over two weeks after the launch of tvOS 11.1. Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the tvOS 11.2 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that's installed using Xcode. According to...

Apple has discounted its BeatsX, Solo3 Wireless, and Powerbeats3 Wireless headphones by $40 to $60 for a limited time in the United States. BeatsX — $149.95, now $99.95 Beats Solo3 Wireless — $299.95, now $239.95 Beats Powerbeats3 Wireless — $199.95, now $159.95Apple's discount on Beats Solo3 Wireless headphones also applies to the newer "Neighborhood Collection" colors. Apple's BeatsX...

With DirecTV Now's latest offer, if you sign up for four months of the streaming TV service at an upfront cost of around $140, you'll get the 32GB Apple TV 4K at no cost. DirecTV Now starts at $35/month for the "Live a Little" package, which adds up to $140 for four months of service (without any additions like HBO or Showtime). Higher tiers increase to $50/month, $60/month, and $70/month with...

Spotify updated its iOS app today with support for iPhone X, exactly two weeks since Apple's latest smartphone launched. The update removes the letterboxing of Spotify's interface on the iPhone X's 5.8-inch OLED display, which should come as welcome news to heavy users of the app, allowing them to see more of track lists and search results on the screen, and more artwork when browsing albums and...

Apple today reminded developers to update their Apple Watch apps to take advantage of features introduced in watchOS 4 and Apple Watch Series 3, like increased performance, new background modes for navigation and audio recording, direct connections to Core Bluetooth, and more. Apple also announced that starting on April 1, 2018, updates to watchOS 1 apps will no longer be accepted. All updates ...

Apple Maps vehicles will begin surveying Croatia and Portugal for the first time in a few weeks from now, according to Apple's updated list of locations. In Croatia, the Apple Maps vehicles will be in Split-Dalmatia County and Šibenik-Knin County beginning November 20. The vehicles will begin surveying the Alentejo region of Portugal starting December 4. Since 2015, Apple has been...

Facebook today announced the launch of a new "Facebook Creator" app and accompanying website, both of which are designed for people who want to create videos. Facebook Creator sounds similar to the tools available on YouTube. It is described as a "one stop shop for creators of all kinds," allowing users to create original video, stream live video, and connect with their community on Facebook. ...

Dick's Sporting Goods has discounted the aluminum Apple Watch Nike+ Series 2 by about 33 percent today, marking a notably low price point for the second-generation device ahead of Black Friday. The deal is part of the retailer's holiday flash sale, with 38mm aluminum cases priced at $243.98 while 42mm aluminum cases are at $273.98. There were non-Nike+ models on sale, but most have now gone out...

Apple today sent out an Apple Pay email to customers, highlighting a Postmates deal. If you use Apple Pay to sign up for the Postmates Unlimited service, you can get free delivery through the end of the year on all orders over $20 without paying the $9.99 per month fee. Postmates Unlimited is a subscription service that allows customers to get free delivery from any merchant in their city on...

Apple today published a new entry in its online Machine Learning Journal, this time covering an on-device deep neural network for face detection, aka the technology that's used to power the facial recognition feature used in Photos and other apps. Facial detection features were first introduced as part of iOS 10 in the Core Image framework, and it was used on-device to detect faces in photos...

Vimeo today announced that support for high dynamic range (HDR) videos has officially arrived across the company's entire suite of apps for the iPhone X, 2017 iPad Pro models, and Apple TV 4K. Vimeo said this means it's "the only video-hosting platform available in HDR" on Apple's platforms right now. This might be a reference to YouTube, which has been notably absent from including 4K video on...

iHome today launched the iSP100, a smart plug for controlling outdoor lights, decorations, and small appliances with up to 1,800 watts of power. The three-pin Type B smart plug works with a GFI-enabled outdoor 120V power supply and has a rugged design that is able to withstand the elements of weather. Like iHome's indoor smart plugs, the iSP100 is compatible with Apple's HomeKit platform,...