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

Apple today settled a long-running lawsuit with Dynamic Advances and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute over accusations Apple's Siri voice-based personal assistant violated a 2007 patent owned by Rensselaer and licensed exclusively to Dallas company Dynamic Advances, reports the Albany Business Review. Apple will pay a total of $24.9 million to Dynamic Advances' parent company Marathon Patent...

A long-requested feature could be coming to the iOS and Android versions of Netflix, letting users download TV shows and movies for offline viewing instead of being stranded in areas without Wi-Fi or a cellular signal when wanting to watch the video streaming service. Netflix has been lagging behind its competitors in this regard, with companies like Amazon and YouTube allowing some form of...

Following an announcement earlier in the month, Apple today began selling the higher-end Apple Watch Hermès bands separately in its online store. Before today, the only way to get a band from the French lifestyle accessory brand was to buy an Apple Watch collection which included either the Single Tour, Double Tour, or Cuff bands, ranging between $1,100 and $1,500. Now those who already have...

Apple has been granted a patent today for an invention that enables a touchpad or touch surface to simulate textures like cool metal and hot cement. The patent, originally filed in 2013 and called "Touch Surface for Simulating Materials" (via Patently Apple), appears in a series of 62 others published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and includes details on the mechanisms that...

Apple kicked off its Earth Day celebrations last Thursday, outfitting retail employees with green shirts, decorating Apple Store logos with green leaves, and launching an "Apps for Earth" promotion that will see in-app purchases from partner apps donated to the World Wildlife Fund. Apple is also celebrating Earth Day, which takes place on Friday, April 22, with a selection of Earth-inspired...

Apple today updated its web portal designed for developers with a new section entitled "Making Great Apps for the App Store," aimed at helping developers grow their businesses and reach more users with their apps. Included are resources for planning apps, App Store guidelines, tools for submitting apps, and a section on developer insights featuring stories from developers who have created...

During a Friday call with reporters where Apple discussed the security of iOS devices, Apple shared some interesting statistic on iPhone unlocking that were highlighted this morning in a report from Ben Bajarin (via The Verge). According to Apple, the average iPhone user unlocks his or her iPhone 80 times per day, and 89 percent of iPhone users who have access to Touch ID have set it up and...

Apple today updated its Maps app to add Transit information in Seattle, allowing iOS users living in the city to incorporate public transportation options like the Link Light Rail, Monorail, buses, and more into Maps when seeking directions. Transit directions within Maps became available with the launch of iOS 9, and while Apple offered directions in a limited number of cities to begin with,...

It's been a while since Reserve Strap last updated its customers on the status of the device's shipping estimates, but a recent change to the Apple Watch's accessory port functionality in watchOS 2.0.1 has essentially left the band defunct and unable to ship to those who pre-ordered last summer. In each of the band's design mock-ups, the device would have connected to the accessory port on the ...

A few weeks after starring in her first advertisement for Apple Music, singer Taylor Swift has partnered with Apple again on a second ad for its streaming music service. In the video, which Swift tweeted earlier this morning, the singer again showcases Apple Music's "Activity Playlists" feature by focusing on the "Getting Ready to Go Out" category this time around. At the beginning of the...

Amazon has repositioned its Prime Video service as a standalone $8.99 monthly subscription deal with the option to cancel at any time. Prior to Sunday night, Amazon's video streaming service was only available to U.S. customers as part of the annual $99 Amazon Prime bundle, which qualified subscribers for free shipping from the company's online retail store, unlimited music streaming, and...

For today only, Best Buy is offering $125 off its entire selection of 12.9-inch iPad Pros, including the 256GB WiFi + Cellular version in Gold, Silver, and Space Gray. Apple's latest top tier cellular-equipped 12.9-inch iPad Pro is currently priced at $1,104.99, rather than the recommended retail price of $1,229, while the 128GB cellular version is tagged at $954.99, compared to Apple's RRP of ...

In February, Major League Baseball introduced multitasking to its At Bat iPad app, allowing users to view its video inside the app while using Slide Over and Split View as well as outside the app with picture-in-picture. MLB tells TechCrunch that the adoption of the features has had a "profound impact" on live video consumption on iPad. During the first two weeks of the current baseball...

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Astro to give MacRumors readers a chance to win a Twist smart LED lightbulb and wireless speaker. The Twist replaces a standard bulb in a lamp, and with its smart lighting features, it's able to adjust its color temperature from 2700K to 5000K based on the time of day. In the morning, the 800-lumen Twist bulb gives off a bluish-white light, and in ...

Both iTunes Movies and the iBooks Store have gone down in China, with the digital fronts of both stores replaced with an "unavailable" message. The outage was first noticed via multiple reports on popular Chinese social network Sina Weibo (via AppleInsider). While both storefronts are experiencing outages, Apple's status page in the country indicates that all services are up and running. It's ...

Instagram today updated its built-in "Explore" feature with a revamped look and new content that includes dedicated video channels. A personalized channel called "Videos You Might Like" aggregates videos from around the world, and Instagram's Explore grid, designed to let users find content built around hashtags, events, and specific locations, will also include some featured channels focused...

Although the method of the FBI's entry into the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone has been the source of many rumors, a new report from CBS News states that at this point in the process, "nothing of real significance" has been discovered within the device. After weeks of back-and-forth between Apple and the FBI, over the possible moral repercussions that a "GovtOS" would have on iPhone users'...

The unidentified group that assisted the FBI in unlocking the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone has sole legal ownership of the exploit, making it highly unlikely to be shared with Apple, U.S. administration sources have revealed. According to a report published by Reuters yesterday, the White House routinely reviews technology security flaws as part of its Vulnerabilities Equities Process to...