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

An announced update to Google Maps on Thursday brought a partial redesign that aims to make it quicker and easier for users to find places depending on their usage. As part of the change, Google Maps will now only highlight points of interest that might be relevant depending on what kind of map is selected (driving, navigation, transit, and so on). For example, gas stations will now show up ...

Lifx today introduced a new HomeKit-enabled Lifx Z Starter Kit that includes two 3.3-foot light strips and a power pack for $89.99. The new Lifx Z setup is similar to the previous version, but it adds HomeKit support. The light strips offer 1400 lumens per two meters and can be set to 16 million colors. Multiple shades of white are also available, as is dimming functionality. Lifx light...

AT&T appears to be experiencing some kind of outage, and many AT&T customers across the United States are unable to make and answer phone calls. There are numerous reports of issues on Twitter, and MacRumors has also been unable to place calls on an iPhone associated with AT&T. The problem appears to have begun at least 30 minutes ago. Customers affected by the problem who attempt to make a ...

Belkin today announced the launch of a new 36W USB-C car charger, which is able to provide fast charging capabilities for the iPhone X, the iPhone 8, and the iPhone 8 Plus. All three of those devices support a fast charging feature that allows them to be charged to 50 percent battery life in 30 minutes. Priced at $29.99, Belkin's new car charger accessory does not include a USB-C to...

Sprint and Hulu today announced a partnership that will bundle the Limited Commercials tier of the streaming TV service into Sprint's Unlimited Freedom cellular plan. This means that new and existing Sprint customers who sign up for Unlimited Freedom beginning Friday, November 17 will be able to watch Hulu with Limited Commercials at no extra cost. In addition, the companies said that sometime ...

DJI today announced that its popular Mavic Pro drone is now available in a limited edition "Alpine White" combo exclusively through Apple. The combo includes the drone, a remote controller, two extra batteries, two additional pairs of propellers, and an aircraft sleeve—all in a matching "Alpine White" color—for $1,049.95 in the United States. DJI's Mavic Pro, which launched last year in a ...

Steven Soderbergh, the director currently experimenting with smartphone technology in the television show "Mosaic," has now unveiled his next feature film "Unsane," which was shot entirely on an iPhone. Soderbergh kept the project secret during filming so it's unclear which iPhone he used, but the film began making waves over the summer as news of its existence surfaced, suggesting it was filmed...

Encrypted messenger app Telegram received an update today that brings additional features and enhancements to the platform, including media albums, saved messages, and an improved search function. Starting with Telegram 4.5, whenever users send multiple photos or videos they will be grouped into albums. Each album can include up to 10 photos or videos, which are displayed in chat threads as...

AT&T this week announced that it plans to launch its "5G Evolution" network in parts of Minneapolis over the next few months, intending to provide next-generation cellular coverage to customers at Super Bowl LII. AT&T didn't mention which specific areas of Minneapolis would be covered by February 4, 2018, but confirmed "areas near the host stadium" will have 5G at the time. Minneapolis is the...

Nokia has announced that its Steel HR hybrid smartwatch will ship in time for the holiday season, almost a year after it was supposed to launch under the Withings moniker. The watch was first announced in September 2016, but its scheduled launch the following month never happened as Nokia began negotiating its takeover of Withings, which was eventually finalized in June. Shortly...

Apple has agreed to help the Indian government develop an anti-spam app for iOS devices, after initially refusing to do so because of privacy concerns, according to Reuters. In early September we reported that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) attempted to get its Do Not Disturb (DND) software on the App Store. The app lets users share spam call and text message logs with the...

Augmented reality gaming company Reach Robotics today announced that its MekaMon gaming robot is coming to Apple Stores throughout the US and UK starting on November 16. Priced at $299.99, MekaMon is a real-life robot that melds real-world gameplay with augmented reality. MekaMon, a four-legged spider-shaped robot that measures in at 11.8in x 11.8in x 5.9in, is designed to let players battle ...

With a little over one week until Black Friday -- the popular shopping holiday in the United States -- most of the major retailers have shared the deals you can expect to see when you're out shopping or online next Friday, November 24. Because we're so close to some of the best deals of the year on multiple Apple products and accessories, as usual it's worth being aware that you may want to hold...

The Bento Stack, a new project being funded on Indiegogo, takes the concept of a Bento lunch box and applies it to iPhone and iPad accessories. Available in three colors (silver, space gray, and rose gold) for $38, the Bento Stack is a container that offers up several sections that can hold a variety of accessories like cables, Apple Watch bands, an Apple Pencil, and more. I was able to go...

The latest TV streaming service, Philo, will provide subscribers with a cost that undercuts the price of competing "over the top" services by excluding sports-related content (via Business Insider). This means Philo starts at $16/month for access to 37 entertainment networks, which you can watch on your iPhone, MacBook, connected TV, Roku, and soon the Apple TV. Philo started by providing...

During Disney's latest quarterly earnings call, company chairman and CEO Bob Iger mentioned that its upcoming, exclusive streaming service will have a monthly subscription cost at an amount that's "substantially below" the price of rival Netflix (via Seeking Alpha). Disney has been dropping tidbits about its upcoming 2019 streaming service over the past few weeks, but had not yet hinted at how...

Ten One Design is today introducing the Mountie+, a new version of its popular Mountie device that allows an iPad or iPhone to be attached to the display of a Mac laptop for use as a second screen. The Mountie+ mount for the iPad has been designed with larger devices in mind. Mountie+ uses a two-clip system to attach an iPhone or iPad to a MacBook, and it works with all iPad Pro, iPad Air,...

Adobe Scan, Adobe's document scanning app, was today updated with new features that are designed to make it easier to locate and access scans of receipts, documents, and more. With Adobe Sensei machine learning integration, Adobe Scan is now able to scan the photos in your camera roll to locate all images that appear to be documents, so they can be automatically imported into the Adobe Scan...