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

PayPal is offering 10% off iTunes e-gift cards until December 30 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. Available denominations include a $25 iTunes e-gift card for $22.50, $50 iTunes e-gift card for $45, and a $100 iTunes e-gift card for $90. The gift cards are not physical but instead delivered electronically via email. iTunes gift cards can be used to purchase apps, games, music, movies, TV shows,...

Google's Santa Tracker finally went live today, allowing anyone with Google Maps installed on an iOS device to keep up with Santa's mythical journey across the world in real time. Users can type 'track santa' into the Google Maps search field to view the area in which Santa can be currently found dispensing gifts. Tapping the blue Santa icon in the bottom right of the screen offers up more...

MacRumors is holding a series of software giveaways in celebration of the holidays, and for today's giveaway, we've partnered with AgileBits to give MacRumors readers a chance to win a three-year subscription to 1Password for Families. For those unfamiliar with 1Password, it is password management software, which is essential in an era where critical website hacks occur on a near-daily basis....

Target today is having a sale on a collection of iPad models, including the most recent Wi-Fi versions of the 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro. For the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, Target has taken off $150, marking the 32GB, 128GB, and 256GB iPad down to $449.99, $549.99, and $649.99, respectively. Not every version of the iPad is available to ship, however. At the time of writing, for the 9.7-inch iPad ...

The team over at our sister site TouchArcade plays, reviews, and highlights thousands of mobile games every year, making them experts on the best iOS titles out there. Now that the App Store freeze is in place and no additional apps will be coming out in 2016, TouchArcade has compiled its list of the top 100 mobile games of the year. TouchArcade's list, which is alphabetical, spans multiple ...

Uber responded on Friday to concerns surrounding its app's background tracking behavior by explaining that the issue is being caused by an update to iOS itself, not the company's ride-hailing app (via TechCrunch). Concerns were first raised about Uber's use of location services when the company announced it would track customers' whereabouts for a few minutes after their trip ends and the app...

Israeli mobile software developer Cellebrite gained media attention earlier this year when rumors suggested the FBI recruited the company to unlock San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook's iPhone. While the FBI did not enlist Cellebrite's help, the company does have technology licensed by governments that can extract iPhone data. ZDNet has obtained documents that reveal the scope of this technology. ...

On its YouTube channel, Apple today shared three videos promoting iBooks exclusive enhanced versions of titles from George R.R. Martin's popular "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. Each video features Martin talking about one of the books in the series, starting with "A Game of Thrones," which is the first book. In the two minute video, which is accompanied by artwork, Martin speaks about one of...

Each year, a group of developers behind some of the most popular iOS and Mac apps get together and offer significant discounts on their content as part of an "App Santa" promotion. This year's App Santa went live this morning, and includes apps like Tweetbot, Screens, Launch Center Pro, Star Walk, and more. Many apps in the promotion are available at a 50 percent discount, but for some apps, ...

Apple today got in the holiday spirit by announcing the top five best-selling holiday movies of all time on iTunes, ever since the movie rental section of the digital marketplace opened in 2008. The top five highest grossing iTunes holiday movies are: Elf [Direct Link] - $9.99 HD Purchase / $3.99 HD Rental National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation [Direct Link] - $9.99 HD Purchase / $3.99...

The launch of a new Apple product usually comes along with the debut of many third-party accessories, but the only viable option for AirPods currently being sold are cables that attach to each headphone to prevent drops. One alternative that might see fruition down the road by a few companies is a charging dock that cradles the AirPods case in one convenient place. This week, Reddit user...

Apple is looking at ways to offload the Apple Watch's haptic feedback mechanism from the device's chassis to the wrist strap, according to a new patent application. Published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and spotted by AppleInsider, the patent application for a "Band attachment mechanism with haptic response" describes a band capable of alerting the wearer to incoming alerts and...

Atari has released RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic on iPhone and iPad, combining the best features of the popular PC and Xbox titles RollerCoaster Tycoon (1999) and RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 (2002) to create "a new RCT experience" for long-time fans. Create and run amazing parks complete with the most outrageous rides imaginable. RCT Classic includes a mixture of authentic playability, depth of...

We're doing a series of special software giveaways this week in celebration of the holidays, and our first giveaway features an app that just came out today: djay Pro for iPhone. djay Pro for iPhone, from Algoriddim, brings full-fledged professional-level DJ software to a device small enough to fit in a pocket. Designed from the ground up for the iPhone, djay Pro is simple enough for a...

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming iOS 10.2.1 update to public beta testers for testing purposes, one week after releasing the first iOS 10.2.1 public beta and one day after providing the second beta to developers. Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the new iOS 10.2.1 beta update over-the-air after installing the proper certificate on...

Apple released iOS 10.2 earlier this month with an all-new "TV" app, a range of new emoji, bug fixes, and other improvements, including one that was not mentioned in the changelog — improved support for MFi hearing aids. After updating to iOS 10.2, Reddit user dshafik noted Find My iPhone pings now come through the iPhone's speakers, while FaceTime rings for outgoing calls through his...

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 3.1.3 update to developers for testing purposes, more than a week after watchOS 3.1.1 was released and three months after the launch of watchOS 3. watchOS 3.1.3 can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update. To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery,...

Uber today announced an update to its app that makes it easier to hail a ride and set a destination directly to person in your iPhone contacts list. After syncing contacts to Uber, users can type a friend's name into the "Where To" box in the app, and Uber will then send a request to that person to share their location with you, which can be set as a destination. The app can also update...