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

Ultimate Ears today added to its speaker lineup with the launch of the UE Roll 2, a successor to the original UE Roll. The UE Roll 2 looks like the current version of the UE Roll, but it has been upgraded with a longer Bluetooth range and louder sound. I own an original UE Roll, so Ultimate Ears sent me a UE Roll 2 for a comparison review ahead of the new speaker's rollout. When it comes to...

i.am+, the company founded by musician will.i.am, recently announced the launch of its new i.am+ EPs, a set of premium Bluetooth earphones that are available exclusively from Apple retail stores and Apple.com. Featuring a design inspired by the "iconic shape of vinyl records" and targeted at those interested in fashion, the EPs include circular ear pieces made of spun metal and are connected...

Philips today announced a new HomeKit-compatible Hue-branded lighting product, the Philips Hue White Ambiance. Like the standard Philips Hue lighting set, the White Ambiance ships with a HomeKit hub and bulbs, but it's aimed at people who want adjustable white light without a multitude of color options. The Wi-Fi-connected White Ambiance bulbs feature "every shade of white light," from 6500k...

Apple today provided developers with the first beta of an upcoming 9.2.2 update to tvOS, the operating system designed to run on the fourth-generation Apple TV. tvOS 9.2.2 comes one week after the public launch of tvOS 9.2.1, a minor update focusing on bug fixes. tvOS betas are more difficult to install than beta updates for iOS and OS X. Installing the tvOS beta requires the Apple TV to be...

Spotify has upgraded its family plan to directly match Apple Music's offering, with up to six Premium accounts per family now available for $14.99 a month (via The Verge). Spotify says users under the family plan will receive their own separate premium accounts and have full access to Spotify's library of songs and videos. Existing subscribers meanwhile will automatically be upgraded to the...

Another photo has emerged this morning on Weibo allegedly showing a genuine iPhone 7 rear case (via 9to5Mac). The latest claim shows a bevelled, protruding camera hole, which contradicts rumors that the next-gen iPhone due in September will have a camera flush with the case. The camera is also positioned closer to the upper left corner of the chassis than in previous iPhones, while the...

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with well-known storage and memory company Lexar to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a 64GB C20i JumpDrive, which is designed to increase the storage capacity of an iPhone or iPad and enable file transfers between Macs/PCs and iOS devices. The C20i JumpDrive is a tiny, pocket-sized dongle that's just a couple inches in length when folded shut, ...

Apple's global smartphone market share fell to 14.8 percent in the first quarter of 2016, down from 17.9 percent in the same period the previous year, despite a 3.9 percent growth in overall smartphone sales compared to Q1 2015, according to Gartner (via DigiTimes). The number of smartphones delivered to end users in Q1 totalled 349 million globally, compared to 336 in the same period in 2015. ...

Chime Banking, a smartphone-based banking company, announced today that it now supports Apple Pay in the U.S. for both in-store and in-app payments. Chime Visa debit cards can be added to Apple Pay by tapping the "Add Credit or Debit Card" option in the Wallet app on iOS 8.1 or later on compatible iPhones. Chime Banking is an app that provides over 120,000 customers with FDIC-insured...

Yahoo has introduced a new version of its Mail app for iOS with a handful of features migrated from its desktop interface, including support for inline URL previews. The new Link Preview feature works by converting a web address typed into a message into a visual snapshot of the linked content, so recipients can see what's on the other side of the link before choosing to click it. The 'preview ...

Apple recently added a new passcode requirement rule for iPhones with Touch ID enabled, according to MacWorld. The new rule requires a user to enter a passcode when an iPhone or iPad has met two conditions: the device has not been unlocked via a passcode for six days and has not been unlocked with Touch ID for the past eight hours. Users (including this reporter) began noticing this change...

Twelve South today debuted a new version of its popular BookBook case, this time designed to fit Apple's 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Made from high-quality leather, the BookBook, for those unfamiliar, is designed to look like a classic book, offering protection for the iPad while also concealing it. It's handcrafted and carefully distressed so each BookBook has a unique look. The BookBook for iPad...

Apple will rely on multiple manufacturing partners to assemble the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, including Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron, according to Taiwanese website DigiTimes. The new 4.7-inch model will reportedly be assembled by Foxconn and Pegatron, while the 5.5-inch model will be made by Foxconn and Wistron. Apple typically diversifies suppliers to aim for a smooth iPhone launch....

A new iOS app launching today, called WhoApp, plans to provide its users with detailed information about unknown callers soliciting their smartphones. Created by developer TelTech, WhoApp promises to recognize calls from telemarketers, wrong numbers, and potential scammers by returning information about the unknown dialer's name, picture, address, and even a Google Street View image of their...

A couple weeks ago Vellum's James Pinkstone wrote on his blog that Apple Music and iTunes Match deleted 122 GB of his personal music collection. The post kicked off a wave of speculation about whether Apple Music intentionally deletes users' music. Apple eventually confirmed that the deletion was a glitch and that a fix was incoming. Today, Pinkstone wrote a blog post detailing how two Apple...

Speck today announced the official launch of its Pocket-VR accessory, a collapsible, portable virtual reality headset designed to be compatible with its line of Candyshell Grip cases. The Pocket-VR was created using Google's Cardboard VR specs, so it is able to display content created for Cardboard. The Pocket-VR, made of black plastic, comes with a black and gray CandyShell Grip smartphone...

T-Mobile announced today that its free unlimited video streaming program Binge On now supports an additional 13 services, headlined by NBC and video content from existing Music Freedom partners Google Play Music, Radio Disney, Spotify, and TIDAL. The other additions include Great Big Story, Kiswe, Ligonier Ministries, NOGGIN, Qello Concerts, Univision, Univision Noticias, and Toon Goggles....

Recruitment at two of Apple's supplier factories has kicked off earlier than expected this year, with a report from Economic Daily News stating that both suppliers are getting a head start on the iPhone 7's assembly. The new smartphone is referred to as "more complex than previous models," leading to Foxconn and Pegatron's preemptive hiring and manufacturing schedule this year (via CNBC)....