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

Apple today seeded the sixth beta of an upcoming watchOS 4 update to developers, one week after seeding the fifth beta and more than two months after introducing the watchOS 4 update at its 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference. Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS 4 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app ...

Security camera company Canary recently announced a trio of new features coming to its smart home security system and mobile apps, including two-way audio calls between a Canary camera and smartphone, a live security feed with reduced latency, and an all-new web app with live streaming. Rolling out over the course of this week is a refreshed version of Canary's "Watch Live" feature, which...

A collection of Apple suppliers have shared revenue reports today, which also provide a glimpse into the upcoming "peak" iPhone and Apple Watch manufacturing season. Starting off, Foxconn looked back at its profits in July and reported consolidated revenues of NT$315.06 billion (US$10.62 billion) for the month, which marks an increase of 7.53 percent year-on-year. For the first seven months of...

U.K. smart home solutions provider LightwaveRF announced on Monday that its forthcoming product range, which includes a light dimmer and smart socket, will be fully compatible with Apple's HomeKit platform. On October 3, LightwaveRF will launch its new Generation 2 Link Plus smart hub, Smart Dimmers, Smart Sockets, and a Smart Radiator Valve. The Link Plus connects to a Wi-Fi router and...

Apple Maps has been updated with transit data in Hungary, enabling iPhone users to navigate with public transportation directions in Budapest, Debrecen, Szeged, Miskolc, Győr, Pécs, and other regions of the country. In the Budapest metropolitan area, supported vehicles include the Budapest Metro, BKV buses and trams, and BHÉV trains. MÁV-START trains are also supported throughout Hungary ...

Fast Company published a report this week exploring why third-party accessories that make use of Apple's Smart Connector remain few and far between, almost two years after the connector first debuted on the iPad Pro. The magnetic Smart Connector allows the iPad Pro to communicate with and power compatible accessories, like the company's own Smart Keyboard, without the hassle of wires. The...

Kicking off this week in iOS gaming was an appearance I made on the Australian games podcast, GameHugs. It's an industry-centric podcast that explores the backstory of web sites and studios in the world of video games (and often mobile games). On the most recent episode, I get into what goes on behind the scenes running a site like TouchArcade, as well as the odd chain of events that led me to...

For some vehicles, when an iPhone is plugged into the car's USB port music playback begins automatically, and it always starts in alphabetical order at the top of the user's iTunes library. Because of this, many users will hear the same song, usually beginning with an "A," over and over again each time they plug their iPhone into their car. This week, a potential solution to that problem has been ...

Hints about when Apple Pay is coming to Germany have been few and far between over the last year, with negotiations between Apple and German banks allegedly stalling due to conflicting views over fees and controls. The last rumor came back in May and suggested that Apple Pay would launch in the country in the fall or winter, but today one MacRumors reader provided us with another potential...

Smart thermostat company Nest this week announced a new energy saving initiative coming on the day of the total solar eclipse, August 21, 2017. During the eclipse, clean solar energy will be reduced and in some areas of the United States traditional power plants will have to fire up in order to cover the energy shortfall for a brief period of time. Nest's solution is a "Solar Eclipse Rush...

Google introduced an anti-phishing feature for Gmail on Android earlier this year after millions of users were affected by a widespread attack. On Thursday, the company announced it is now extending the functionality to the iOS version of its mail app to protect users on Apple devices. Going forward, whenever a user clicks on a suspicious link in a Gmail message on iPhone or iPad, Gmail will...

Each week, Apple chooses an "App of the Week" to highlight, which means it can be downloaded for free. This week's pick is a puzzle game named Colorcube, which is normally priced at $0.99 and has never been free before since its July 2016 release. Colorcube requires players to turn differently shaped pieces to blend colors and solve puzzles. The game is described as a "minimal yet visually...

Ulysses, the company behind the popular Ulysses writing apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, today announced that it is transitioning to a subscription model going forward. Starting today, Ulysses will be priced at $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year, with a subscription plan unlocking Ulysses for use on all devices. Ulysses is also offering a student plan with six months of access for $10.99, and...

Ride hailing app Uber today announced an in-app chat feature that lets riders and drivers communicate with one another without leaving the app. Uber said this update allows drivers to better communicate with riders when sudden road closures or other delays happen en route to the rider's location. Riders can also send chats to drivers to indicate where they're waiting for the car, or give a...

A group of 28 developers in China have enlisted a local law firm to file a complaint against Apple in a case alleging that the company engaged in "monopolistic behavior" during some of the actions it has taken to regulate the App Store in China (via The Wall Street Journal). Lin Wei, an attorney with Dare & Sure Law Firm, filed the complaint this week and targeted Apple for removing apps from ...

EENA, short for the European Emergency Number Association, has called on Apple to integrate a solution called Advanced Mobile Location into iOS to improve the safety of iPhone users in emergency situations. Advanced Mobile Location recognizes when an emergency call is made and, if not already activated, activates a smartphone's GPS or Wi-Fi to collect the caller's precise location...

IKEA's Trådfri smart lighting system is now officially compatible with HomeKit, Apple's smart home management platform. The support was confirmed in IKEA's response to a question posted on its Facebook page this morning, after a customer noticed a change in the technical specifications on the company's Trådfri product page. According to a >thread in the Philips Hue developer support...

Popular accessory company Anker launched its own low-cost smart speaker with built-in Alexa on Wednesday called the Eufy Genie. Costing $35, the Genie is a little bigger than Amazon's Echo Dot, which retails at $50, but claims to offer stronger bass and double the volume of Amazon's equivalent device thanks to a 2W speaker. The Genie's list of features pretty much tallies with Echo Dot's...