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

In a lengthy blog post about Facebook's ten-year plan to "accelerate innovation and power new experiences with AI," chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer mentioned that one update coming to the company's mobile apps will be a "style transfer" tool that turns normal photos and videos into works of art using "high efficiency neural networks," all running directly on iOS and Android smartphones. ...

Samsung has issued a full-page ad in three major U.S. newspapers and published an open letter on its website apologizing to its customers for the Galaxy Note 7 debacle (via The Verge). The print letter was signed by Gregory Lee, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics North America, and appeared in Monday editions of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. ...

Facebook has agreed to pause data collection from WhatsApp users in the United Kingdom following a government probe into the company's privacy policy (via Engadget). Back in August, Facebook-owned WhatsApp updated its terms of service and privacy policy to reflect that it would begin sharing select data with the social media network, including the phone number a user verifies during the...

Shares in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) have climbed to their highest level on record, bucking a global slowdown in the smartphone market. Bloomberg reports that TSMC's profits are attracting investors as demand for Apple's new iPhones fuels orders for its A10 processor on the back of a broader rally in technology companies over this year. The world’s largest...

Twitter last week announced plans to shut down Vine, but it looks like the video sharing service could potentially live on as Twitter is currently entertaining multiple purchase offers. According to TechCrunch, Twitter is vetting term sheets from several companies who are offering to buy Vine and "hopes to make a deal soon." Its not known which companies have made offers for Vine, but one...

Verizon has introduced two new prepaid data plans with 5GB for $50 per month and 10GB for $70 per month. Both plans include unlimited talk and text in the United States, Always-On Data, Carryover Data, Mobile Hotspot for 4G LTE tethering, and messaging to more than 200 countries at no additional cost. Carryover Data allows Verizon customers to keep their unused data for an additional month....

T-Mobile has launched the SyncUP DRIVE, an all-in-one solution for in-vehicle 4G LTE connectivity, driving analysis, vehicle tracking, and maintenance monitoring. The accessory plugs into the on-board diagnostic port, standard on most vehicles manufactured in 1996 or later. The OBD-II port is typically located underneath the driver's side dashboard, often within close proximity of the...

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming tvOS 10.1 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the first tvOS 10.1 beta and more than a month after launching tvOS 10. Designed for the fourth-generation Apple TV, the tvOS 10.1 beta can be obtained by connecting the Apple TV to a computer with a USB-C to USB-A cable, downloading and installing the software from a...

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming watchOS 3.1.1 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the first watchOS 3.1.1 beta and two weeks after releasing watchOS 3.1, the first update to the watchOS 3 operating system. watchOS 3.1.1 can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update. To install the...

Facebook's popular messaging app WhatsApp for iPhone was updated over the weekend with long-overdue support for animated GIFs. WhatsApp users can now send and receive their own animated GIFs, or discover and share GIFs from built-in services such as Giphy and Tenor -- which one exactly appears to be dependant on your region. Likewise, videos that are shorter than six seconds and Live...

Ahead of Election Day in the United States tomorrow, November 8, a collection of popular iOS and Android ride-hailing apps have launched promos for customers to more easily make it to their polling location before the 8PM deadline (via BuzzFeed). As the biggest ride-hailing app in the U.S., Uber [Direct Link] recently announced that starting tomorrow an action sheet will pop up when users launch...

Gmail for iOS received a major update today with a brand new look, improved search with instant results and spelling suggestions, Undo Send for retracting accidental emails, and swipe to archive functionality for easier inbox management. The app now more closely resembles Inbox by Gmail and Gmail for Android with a Material Design makeover, including an all-new pop-out side menu with a...

In a new Bloomberg interview with Steve Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO revisited his famously dismissive remarks about the iPhone when it launched back in 2007. Shortly after Steve Jobs revealed the first iPhone, then-Microsoft CEO Ballmer was asked what he thought of the device during a press conference. 500 dollars? Fully subsidized? With a plan? I said that is the most expensive...

India's Forensic Science Laboratory is in negotiations to purchase the security bypassing technology used by Israeli mobile software developer Cellebrite, the company that the FBI enlisted to help unlock the iPhone of the San Bernardino shooter earlier in the year (via The Economic Times). The FBI needed Cellebrite's "mobile forensics solutions" to bypass the lock on the iPhone 5c in question, ...

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer Neil Young's full back catalog has returned to Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, and elsewhere, less than two years after he pulled his collection from all streaming services due to his belief that streaming delivers the "worst quality in history," according to Music Ally. Young stopped streaming his songs in July 2015, and at the time said "it's not because of...

Honda has announced its 2017 Pilot will be available with CarPlay and Android Auto in models EX and above in the United States. The software platforms will be built into an improved 8-inch touchscreen with a new anti-fingerprint coating. The three-row SUV is the latest Honda vehicle to support CarPlay after the 2016 and later Accord, 2016 and later Civic, 2016 Clarity Fuel Cell Sedan, 2017...

Chase has announced its payments service Chase Pay will launch at Walmart stores in the United States in 2017. The digital wallet will be integrated into the Walmart app for in-store purchases, allowing Chase Visa credit and debit cardholders to pay at the checkout by showing a QR code to the cashier. Chase Pay will also be added to Walmart's website next year, allowing customers to make...

Canadian carrier Bell has announced that its Fibe TV app is now available on the fourth-generation Apple TV in Ontario and Québec. The app allows Fibe TV subscribers to watch up to 450 channels live or on demand, with the ability to record, pause, and rewind live TV coming later this year. The app features trending and on demand TV shows, a programming guide for live TV, and search...