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

Spotify has announced its acquisition of blockchain technology company Mediachain Labs to help it reward online content owners with royalty payments. The news, first reported by VentureBeat on Wednesday, was relayed via a Spotify press release which has since been removed from its website, explaining that the purchase of the New York-based startup was aimed at facilitating Spotify's "journey...

Danish high-end audio outfit B&O Play unveiled its latest Bluetooth speaker today. The Beoplay P2 features a grilled aluminum and leather design similar to the company's impressive $250 Beoplay A1 speaker, which we reviewed last year, but otherwise there are some notable differences. First of all, the P2 is cheaper at $169, and it comes in a smaller housing than the A1, which the company...

Amazon today announced the expansion of its popular Echo line with the $200 Amazon Echo Look, a device that packs in all of the typical Echo functionalities and adds on a hands-free camera with built-in LED lighting that can give users an edge on their wardrobe choices. With Echo Look, users can take full-body photos and videos using their voice, and view the content on the connected Amazon iOS...

Uber today announced that passenger ratings will be displayed more prominently within its iPhone and iPad app. Now, a rider's rating will be displayed right under their name in the app's menu that slides out from the left. Previously, riders had to visit an unadvertised Uber support document and sign into their account to view their score, likely resulting in some riders not even knowing the...

Twitter is gearing up to launch an always-on, live-streaming video section of its apps and desktop site, which would run 24/7 and is ostensibly referred to as "Twitter TV" (via BuzzFeed News). The news comes from Twitter COO and CFO Anthony Noto, who said the 24/7 video update would be an expansion of Twitter's current live video efforts, which in the past have covered big events like the...

Netflix has signed a licensing deal with a Beijing-based video platform in order to avoid regulatory restrictions and get its content into China's huge entertainment market (via The Hollywood Reporter). The streaming giant announced the news of its content agreement with iQiyi on Tuesday at the APOS industry conference in Bali, Indonesia. "China is an important market for obvious reasons; ...

The company behind Mac and iOS journaling app Day One this week began offering U.S. users the chance to create printed, bound books using the content of their digital journals. Day One Books can be designed from within the Day One iPad and iPhone app, with options to customize the cover, and include maps, stats, and full-color photos in the content. The journals can have a flexible amount ...

Google yesterday announced a feature to help Google Maps users remember where they're leaving their car once they've arrived at their destination. The feature is simple enough to activate once you've parked up, and like Apple Maps, if you have your iPhone connected to your car via USB audio or Bluetooth, Google Maps will automatically tag your vehicle's location on the map when you disconnect...

Verizon today announced the launch of a new unlimited data plan for its prepaid customers, which offers unlimited data, talk, and text across the United States for $80. The plan includes unlimited text messages to more than 200 countries, along with unlimited talk in Mexico and Canada. Video streaming, is, however, limited to 480p, and no tethering is included. Verizon also says it "may...

Facebook product manager Sara Su today shared a blog post that highlights a test launching on the company's iOS and Android apps, consisting of an update to the "Related Articles" feature found beneath posts shared by your friends and family. For users included in the update, Related Articles will now highlight differing perspectives from separate publications on the same subject mentioned in ...

A new ruling by a judge in the Subdistrict Court of Amsterdam has mandated that Apple can not replace a broken iPad unit with a "remanufactured" device, and must supply the plaintiff with an entirely new iPad instead. The case stems from a woman who purchased an iPad Air 2 with AppleCare back in 2015, and subsequently faced problems with the device's Wi-Fi around four months later. Apple then...

For the last month, Waymo has been testing out a small fleet of self-driving vehicles with a handful of participating residents in Phoenix, Arizona, and this week the company has noted the success of that test by opening up applications to join its autonomous car program to all Phoenix citizens. Dubbed the "early rider program" and stocked by 600 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans, Waymo said it...

Google continued its steady improvement of the Google Photos app this week by adding the ability to wirelessly transmit photos and videos to an Apple TV on the same network. Coming almost two years since the app's debut on iOS, the feature addition in the version 2.14 update has been a long time coming, but it does mean users can now stream their Google Photo libraries to big-screen...

Super Mario Run received a point one update late on Monday, bringing some additional enticements for newcomers and offering long-time fans new reasons to continue playing the game. Probably the biggest upgrade to the runner is the addition of several new buildings up for collection. These include the 8-bit Bowser Statue, Bullet Bill Statue, Bob-omb, and many more. Elsewhere, players can...

Apple has updated its Maps app with traffic data for major metropolitan areas in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. So far, the new coverage extends to the capitals of the two countries and other heavily populated areas, with more limited traffic information on major highways and thoroughfares also available. Examples in UAE include Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, and Al Ain, with locations ...

Starting today, Sling TV is expanding its Cloud DVR service to Apple TV users. Sling TV subscribers with an Apple TV can purchase 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage for $5 per month, which is a fee in addition to the standard Sling TV subscription cost. Content stored in Sling TV's Cloud DVR remains indefinitely, and the service supports pausing, rewinding, and fast-forwarding through saved shows...

Spotify appears to be working on its first wearable device, developing a "category defining product akin to Pebble Watch, Amazon Echo, and Snap Spectacles," based on a job listing discovered by Zatz Not Funny. The text from the job description, which has since been removed from Spotify's website, is below:We are looking for a passionate and seasoned Senior Product Manager that will join the...

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming watchOS 3.2.2 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the third watchOS 3.2.2 beta and one month after the release of watchOS 3.2, which introduced Theater Mode. The fourth beta of watchOS 3.2.2 can be downloaded through the Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update. To install the update,...