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

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 3.1.1 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after releasing watchOS 3.1, the first watchOS 3 update, and more than a month after releasing watchOS 3 to the public. 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 update, the Apple...

Apple is continuing to expand the availability of transit directions in the Maps app, today adding transit support in several cities in Ohio, including Cincinnati, Akron, Dayton, Canton, Athens, and some areas of Cleveland. Transit directions in these cities come following the introduction of transit information in Columbus, Ohio, which was added in September. Public transit options in...

One week ago, Apple released watchOS 3.1 to the public, bringing various bug fixes and performances improvements to the first version update of watchOS 3. Over the past few days a hidden advantage of 3.1 has been discovered, with users on the MacRumors forums and Reddit mentioning that they have vastly improved battery life on their Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2 following the new update....

Multiple rumors have pointed towards Apple releasing at least one new iPhone with an OLED display next year, and now the best confirmation yet has surfaced. The move was spoiled by Sharp President and CEO Tai Jeng-wu, who told students at Tatung University in Taiwan that Apple is switching from LCD to OLED panels, according to Japan's Nikkei Asian Review."The iPhone has been evolving and now ...

Apple today announced that it is now letting developers create promo codes for in-app purchases, giving developers a way to allow early testers, reviewers, and press to unlock content that would normally only be available through a purchase. Developers have long been able to offer promo codes to download a paid app, but until today, there was no simple way to offer access to in-app purchases. ...

The Naked Case, a new Kickstarter project, aims to protect the new scratch-prone Jet Black iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus with car-grade materials. Naked Case creator JP Richards plans to use XPEL Ultimate Paint Protection films, known in the car world as offering excellent protection from rock chips and other road abrasions, to create skins designed for Apple's newest devices. The Naked Case...

As the Apple Watch Nike+ begins making its way to pre-order customers today, a few users have taken to Reddit and Twitter to share some unboxing pictures and videos of the new device. Continuing in the vein of the Apple Watch Sport aluminum models, the Nike+ comes in a long, rectangular package, but inside of a black box instead of a white one. Underneath the cover of the box, the typical...

Apple announced a new universal Apple TV app called 'TV' at its "Hello again" event today. The TV app is a "unified TV experience" works in sync across Apple TV and iOS devices, and provides an easy-to-use hub for accessing and discovering TV shows and movies in a way that "will change how we watch television", says Apple. "Using apps on Apple TV, iPhone and iPad has become the primary...

During its "Hello Again" event today Apple revealed that the popular crafting video game Minecraft is heading to the fourth-generation Apple TV sometime by the end of 2016. During the presentation, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that users will even be able to play with friends who are on an iPhone or iPad. "You can build new worlds on your Apple TV, and play with your friends using iPhones and...

Twitter today announced plans to shut down Vine, the video sharing service it acquired in 2012. Twitter plans to discontinue the mobile app "in the coming months," but did not give a specific timeline. Introduced in early 2013, Vine allows users to capture and share looping video clips that are six seconds in length, sharing them on various social networks like Facebook and Twitter.Thank you....

A few users who pre-ordered the Apple Watch Nike+ have begun sharing that their devices are shipping, although with the Apple storefront now offline customers can't check the specific status of their orders. Shipping mentions began earlier in the week, with more email updates being reported this morning, one day ahead of tomorrow's official launch of the Apple Watch Nike+. Orders appear to be...

Continuing in the tradition of changing Reactions to suit a theme or holiday, Facebook today has begun rolling out a Halloween version of the six Reaction buttons. Replacing Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Angry are a skeleton's hand, candy heart, witch, ghost, Frankenstein's monster, and a pumpkin. Some Reactions, including Like, change into their festive versions after being tapped Using...

Google has officially rebranded its "Google Cast" iOS and Android apps to "Google Home," getting the mobile apps ready for the launch of its hands-free smart home speaker, similarly named Google Home. The new name also comes with a new app icon, new features, and some slight UI tweaks that make "the app easier to use." The old Google Cast icon (left) compared with the new Google Home version ...

Amazon began rolling out Alexa voice assistant to its Amazon Fire tablets yesterday, extending the feature beyond its original smart devices, such as the Echo speaker. The rollout means owners of 7-inch, 8-inch, and 10-inch Fire tablets will be able to issue voice commands for specific requests, like playing music or having the news read to them, but unlike the always-listening smart...

Elgato today launched the Eve Light Switch, the first available light switch to support Apple's HomeKit platform. Eve Light Switch replaces a standard light switch to transform any single or multi-bulb setup into an intelligent lighting system controllable via Siri voice commands or the Elgato Eve app. The switch connects directly to an iPhone or iPad using Bluetooth LE, without the need for ...

Delta Airlines recently announced an update to its Fly Delta app that will allow customers to track their luggage by following its journey on a map of the United States. Using RFID tags on a user's bag, which the airline introduced earlier in the year, the app shows the luggage's "last known location," determined by the airport at which it was most recently scanned (via CNN). When the app is...

Recode has announced Apple Pay vice president Jennifer Bailey will speak at its latest Code Commerce event at Westfield's Bespoke in San Francisco on December 6.Apple executive Jennifer Bailey has been with the company for 13 years, first running all of Apple’s e-commerce sites and now heading up the digital payments service Apple Pay. While there’s still industry debate about whether Apple...

During the Money 20/20 conference taking place in Las Vegas this week, MasterCard announced that it's creating a chatbot for Facebook Messenger that will allow customers to "transact, manage finances, and shop via messaging platforms." Like many other companies, MasterCard is getting in on the chatbot craze to boost customer loyalty and profits; according to Gartner "nearly $2 billion in online...