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

Apple recently removed its first-generation iPod nano replacement program from its support website, over five years after it started. MacRumors contacted a few Apple Authorized Service Providers that confirmed the program has indeed ended, and we were advised to contact Apple directly. Apple's support team initially informed us the program is no longer in place, but a senior AppleCare...

Apple and Amazon have agreed to cease all exclusivity obligations previously put in place between the two companies regarding the supply and distribution of audiobooks through iTunes and Audible (via Reuters). The partnership between the two companies previously incited a complaint from the German Publishers and Booksellers Association in 2015 centering around the potential for a monopoly in the...

Encrypted email provider ProtonMail has launched its own onion address, allowing users to access the service over the Tor anonymizing network (via TechCrunch). The Swiss-based email account provider, which has more than 2 million users, said the measure was aimed at defending against state-sponsored censorship, and pointed to recent moves around the world to block encrypted communications and...

Netflix added over a third more subscribers than expected in the last quarter of 2016, the streaming video service revealed yesterday. According to its latest Q4 letter to shareholders, Netflix signed up 7.1 million new subscribers worldwide, almost two million more than analysts expected, despite price raises during the quarter. The company put the boost down to the success of original shows ...

Lite-On Semiconductor is to provide integrated chip components for the next-generation "iPhone 8" that will support fast wireless charging, according to a new report out today. According to Chinese-language paper Commercial Times, the Taiwan-based maker of discrete and analog IC components will supply the bridge rectifiers necessary to maintain efficiency in wireless power transmission and...

Nintendo today officially announced Fire Emblem Heroes, its next planned mobile game launching on iOS and Android devices in the near future. Positioned as a tactical roleplaying game in the Fire Emblem universe, Fire Emblem Heroes will allow players to level up popular characters from the series and engage in strategic battles. According to Nintendo, the game features a new, original...

In December, Hulu announced a new feature for the streaming service that brought unique user profiles to families who share one account, with personalized profiles offering each user their own Watchlist, viewing history, and recommendations based on their favorite shows. Available at first only on Hulu.com, profiles are now available to all users who have Hulu on their iOS device, through the new ...

CBS this morning announced that its 24/7 sports radio channel, CBS Sports Radio, has now become a dedicated radio channel within Apple Music. Previously, users could listen to CBS Sports Radio on a variety of local radio channels, online, and on the Radio.com mobile app [Direct Link]. With its launch on Apple Music, users can now tune into the channel on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV,...

Popular delivery apps Postmates and DoorDash have announced a partnership with automated robot startup Starship Technologies, which will see a fleet of self-driving robots make courier deliveries for Postmates in Washington D.C., and food deliveries for DoorDash in Redwood City, California (via TechCrunch). The robots built by Starship are designed to travel among people walking on the...

Following in the footsteps of its parent company Chamberlain, LiftMaster today announced that all of its residential garage door openers can be upgraded to work with HomeKit using the new MyQ Home Bridge starting in April. HomeKit compatibility will enable users to open, close, or check the status of their garage door, and turn MyQ-connected lights on or off, using the MyQ Connected Home app ...

Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn is planning to build a new facility next to the iPhone maker's upcoming research and development center in Shenzhen, China, according to Nikkei Asian Review. The report cites an unnamed source who claims the facility will enable Foxconn to "better help Apple create prototypes of new products in this new campus," set to open in 2017. Apple's own facility in ...

Stanford University has opened up submissions to faculty members for an Apple Watch Seed Grant, an inaugural program "focused on innovative uses of the Apple Watch in healthcare" (via Cult of Mac). The program is designed to "stimulate and support" the creation of new uses for the Apple Watch in the healthcare field, an area that Apple has long been a proponent of since the wearable launched in...

In iOS 10.2, released on December 12, Apple introduced the new "TV" app, which serves as an Apple-designed TV guide that aims to simplify the television watching experience and help users discover new TV and movie content. In the United States, the TV app replaces the standard "Videos" app and serves as a television hub on iOS devices, but it appears the new app doesn't work well with content...

As promised, Twitter today discontinued the original Vine app and service, transitioning it into a new "Vine Camera" app designed to allow users to make six-second looping videos that can be saved to the iPhone's camera roll or shared directly on Twitter. Videos posted to Twitter from the Vine Camera app will loop like they did in the standard Vine app, but aside from allowing users to capture ...

A report last week by Slice Intelligence suggested that Apple's AirPods captured an estimated 26 percent share of online revenue in the wireless headphone market since launching on December 13. Ben Arnold, an executive director and industry analyst at NPD Group, has today submitted a report that claims Slice Intelligence's data "paints an incomplete picture of the wireless headphone market" (via C...

ING Direct appears to be sending a survey about Apple Pay to its customers in Australia, according to a tipster who sent us the photo below. While the bank has yet to officially implement Apple Pay, the survey suggests support could be imminent for its "Orange Everyday" debit and credit cards. ING Direct Australia had nearly 420,000 customers with Orange Everyday accounts open as of...

Announced last September two days before the Apple iPhone 7 event, and originally planned to launch in November, Bragi's $149.00 wireless Bluetooth hearable, called "The Headphone," is now available for all users to purchase online. The Headphone includes a number of changes from Bragi's The Dash ($299) in order to make it cheaper, ranging from having physical inputs instead of touch inputs and...

Smart home brand Nest has announced it is making its products available in four more countries across Europe, with Spain, Italy, Germany, and Austria being added to its official retail roster. From February 15, customers in the above regions will now be able to buy the Nest 3.0 learning thermostat (249 euros), the Protect smoke alarm (119 euros), and the company's indoor and outdoor cameras...