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

Netflix announced yesterday that it will replace star-based user reviews in its content library with binary thumbs up and thumbs down ratings over the coming weeks. Previous star ratings given by users will be used to personalize their Netflix profiles, but the ability to rate a TV series or movie by awarding stars is set to disappear altogether, according to Variety. Image via Variety Netfli...

ColorWare today introduced a customized iPhone 7 Plus Retro Edition that resembles the appearance of a vintage 1980s-era Macintosh for $1,899. It is a SIM-Free model with 256GB of storage, which normally retails for $969 in the United States. Orders are currently estimated to ship in 2-3 weeks. The design includes a multicolored Apple rainbow logo and dark beige edge stripes painted over...

Amazon today announced that it will introduce its Siri competitor, Amazon Alexa, directly into the company's iOS app over the course of the next week (via VentureBeat). With the addition of Alexa, users will now be able to ask questions about the status of their orders, use their voice to initiate searches, play music, and start audio books from Audible. Alexa's powers go beyond Amazon's...

Headphone jack controversies aside, Apple's cord-free AirPods have contributed to a recent surge of interest in "truly wireless" earphones, with several companies vying for a piece of the market. Denmark-based audio outfit Jabra has embraced the freedom-of-movement appeal of wireless buds more than most with its Elite Sport headphones ($250), which it calls "the most technically advanced true ...

The iMessage App Store turned six months old this week, and the app analysts at Sensor Tower have decided to see where Apple's miniature app store stands among users and developers following an initial launch rush last year. According to Sensor Tower, more than 5,000 apps have either added iMessage features, or launched exclusively on the text message-based App Store. Unfortunately, while the...

iLuv today announced its first Apple HomeKit certified device called the "Rainbow8," an IoT connected smart lightbulb system that includes Siri compatibility and Wi-Fi connectivity so users can interact with their lights from an iPhone or iPad. One of the distinctions between Rainbow8 and Philips Hue is that iLuv's product doesn't require a central, router-connected hub. To get started the...

Netflix is planning to offer HDR quality mobile content for viewing on supporting devices because of an increasing mobile subscriber base and the company's belief that the format will eventually be universally adopted on mobile platforms. The comments were made yesterday by Netflix executive Neil Hunt during a briefing with journalists, as part of a two-day event at Dolby Laboratories and...

Google has updated its Play Music app with new options to control the quality of music playback over wireless networks and choose the compression level of downloaded tracks. Previously, users of the streaming service could only adjust the quality of music when listening over their mobile connection, but the additional options offer the same control over WiFi and when listening offline....

Apple's partnership with The Conservation Fund to protect working forests has begun to show returns for both Apple and the state of North Carolina, according to information the organization shared with the Triangle Business Journal. Apple vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives Lisa Jackson shared the article covering Apple's conservation efforts on Twitter this afternoon. ...

Although it's late to the mobile ordering trend, McDonald's today has begun testing an update to its smartphone app that will allow customers to create an order anywhere and pay for it through the app when they arrive at their local McDonald's. In a bid to avoid customer congestion, long wait lines, and cold food, the app will use geo-fencing to detect when each customer is getting closer to the...

The deluge of stories revolving around Facebook copying Snapchat might hit a zenith today as the social media company begins to launch "Facebook Stories" worldwide, this time in the main Facebook app for iOS devices (via TechCrunch). Previously, Facebook created a facsimile of Snapchat's day-long, vanishing post idea in Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram, which gained 100 million users...

After months of reports surrounding iPhone manufacturers like Pegatron and Foxconn potentially moving Apple device construction to the United States, Pegatron CEO Syh-Jang Liao this week commented that the company could build iPhones and iPads in the U.S. on the condition that its client, Apple, is ready to pay for the costs of moving manufacturing stateside (via Focus Taiwan). Liao was...

With Apple known to be partnering with various building companies to integrate its HomeKit platform into new houses, one journalist yesterday was invited by KB Home to check out the company's latest HomeKit-enabled development in San Jose, California. KRON4 tech reporter Gabe Slate's peek inside one of the smart houses demonstrates the extent of the HomeKit integration, which costs $2500 per...

The Snapchat app for iOS devices has been updated with a new widget feature, which is designed to make it easier and quicker for Snapchat users to send snaps and messages to friends. Available in the Today view of the Notification Center, the Snapchat widget adds a Bitmoji for friends that are marked as "Best Friends" within the Snapchat app. Tapping on the friend Bitmoji automatically...

Google today updated its Chrome browser for iOS devices to version 57, adding a new "Read Later" function for saving articles to a Reading List so they can be viewed at a later time even when an internet connection is unavailable. The Chrome Read Later function is similar to the "Reading List" feature that's available in the Safari web browser for Macs and iOS devices. Yes, you can take it...

The Eye Smart iPhone Case, an ambitious new project on Kickstarter, aims to expand the iPhone's functionality by adding what amounts to a full Android device to the back of the iPhone. An always-on 5-inch AMOLED display is built into the case, which runs the Android 7.1 Nougat operating system. The case connects to the iPhone using its Lightning port to enable file transfers, power delivery,...

Apple today seeded the sixth beta of an upcoming tvOS 10.2 update to developers for testing purposes, just under one week after seeding the fifth tvOS 10.2 update and more than a month after releasing tvOS 10.1.1, the current release version of tvOS. Designed for the fourth-generation Apple TV, the sixth tvOS 10.2 beta can be obtained by connecting the Apple TV to a computer with a USB-C to...

Apple today seeded the sixth beta of an upcoming watchOS 3.2 update to developers for testing purposes, just under one week after seeding the fifth watchOS 3.2 beta and nearly two months after the release of watchOS 3.1.3, the current public version of the operating system. The watchOS 3.2 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General -->...