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

Case designs, drawings, and renders for the "iPhone 7" and "iPhone 7 Plus" have been propagating online for several months now, with most agreeing that the 2016 smartphone will adopt the same design language of the iPhone 6s. Apple is still expected to introduce a few new exclusive features on this year's iPhone, possibly including a Smart Connector, dual-lens camera, redesigned antennae bands,...

Facebook has included a secret soccer game in the latest update to its Messenger app to celebrate Euro 2016 and Copa America. To play the game, called "Keepy Up", update the iOS Messenger app and send a friend a soccer ball emoji, then tap the emoji in the chat thread to launch the game, the aim of which is to keep the ball in the air. The game can be started again using the same emoji in ...

An interesting leak has emerged online this morning that suggests Samsung is about to bring a new type of light notification technology to the rear case of its smartphones. Android phones often come with a separate notification LED on the front of the handset that alerts users to missed messages and calls. Otherwise, notifications are usually assumed to relate to the display of a mobile...

During a live streaming event at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, Nintendo today hinted at an official launch timeframe for Pokémon GO, a highly anticipated augmented reality game that will allow users to catch Pokémon in the world around them. In a call between Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, and Niantic Labs, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto showed off the Pokémon GO Plus device,...

Apple on Tuesday hosted a WWDC 2016 session called What's New in Accessibility that provided an overview of new assisitive technologies and features added to iOS 10, macOS Sierra, tvOS 10, and watchOS 3. Physical and Motor Skills Switch Control can now be used to interact with the tvOS interface using a single physical button, such as a switch on a wheelchair. There is both a cursor...

Apple implemented privacy safeguards on iOS long ago so that when an app requests access to your contacts, calendars, photos, or location, a dialog box pops up asking for express user permission. On iOS 9 and previous software versions, however, that safeguard did not extend to a device's media library. Apple developer Ben Dodson addressed the privacy concern in a blog post in January:I...

In a lengthy new interview with Adweek (via CNET), Samsung's top marketing executive Younghee Lee addressed a few topics centered around how the company "embraced innovation to become a global master of brand marketing." Its accomplishments in the media space have earned it the 2016 Marketer of the Year award at the Cannes Ad Festival. One of Lee's soundbites of the interview is particularly...

Photos have emerged online purporting to show the front of an iPhone 7 with a touch-sensitive home button flush with the front of the handset. Ever since the launch of the original iPhone, Apple's handsets have featured a physical button that users press to return to the home screen, and press and hold for other functions. But photos passed to mobile tech site mobipicker.com appear to...

Apple has stepped up procurement of chips and components for the second-generation Apple Watch, according to sources from the supply chain (via DigiTimes). Shipments of chips and components for the second-gen Apple Watch are reportedly set to begin in the third quarter, indicating a launch later this year. Orders for the upcoming Apple Watch have been higher-than-expected, according to...

One of the biggest updates announced for iOS 10 centers around the new design of Apple Music, which the company hopes will simplify its music streaming service into one that better introduces its users to new favorite songs, and is less of a hassle to navigate than the current version. To discuss the nuances of the revamped service, Eddy Cue, Jimmy Iovine, Trent Reznor, and Robert Kondrk sat...

Netflix for iOS was today updated with a highly desired and long-awaited new feature, Picture in Picture support. Introduced in iOS 9, Picture in Picture is an iPad multitasking capability that allows a video that's playing to be minimized to a corner while other apps are open. With Picture in Picture support, iPad users can now watch TV shows and movies on Netflix while doing other things on...

T-Mobile has announced that its free unlimited video streaming program Binge On now supports over five additional video services, including Azubu, Dailymotion Games, Eyegroove, PBS, PBS Kids, and more. Binge On now supports nearly 90 video services in the United States. Binge On enables customers on a qualifying Simple Choice plan to stream unlimited 480p video from dozens of partnered...

Among many iOS 10 announcements made at WWDC yesterday, one notable update to Apple's mobile operating system came in the form of third party developer support in Apple's iMessage chat platform. With the new SDK, developers can create app extensions -- similar to third party keyboard apps available now on the App Store -- that let users interact with apps from directly within Messages....

Apple confirmed during its WWDC 2016 keynote that Apple Pay will be expanding to France, Hong Kong, and Switzerland over the next few months in partnership with Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. Visa and MasterCard will be supported in all three countries, while American Express will also be available in Hong Kong. The specific credit, debit, and prepaid cards that can be used in each...

Six years after making its debut in iOS 4, Game Center has now been quietly removed from Apple's mobile operating system, as a few initial iOS 10 beta testers have noted. Although the company has given users the ability to delete some of its pre-installed apps with the new OS, it appears Game Center in particular is permanently deleted. It is unclear, however, whether the app might be made...

With the announcement of iOS 10 at WWDC on Monday, Apple mentioned its adoption of "Differential Privacy" – a mathematical technique that allows the company to collect user information that helps it enhance its apps and services while keeping the data of individual users private. During the company's keynote address, Senior VP of software engineering Craig Federighi – a vocal advocate of...

Apple has been granted a patent for a possible future iPhone with a wraparound all-glass display (via Patently Apple). The application was submitted in 2011 but granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today, detailing various embodiments of a portable consumer device with a wraparound screen. In one example, the device is described as having a transparent housing and a flexible...

Apple has quietly dropped the requirement that tvOS developers make their games playable using the Siri Remote as a controller. The policy change was discovered in an update to an existing Apple TV support document covering the use of game controllers, and highlighted by MacRumors' sister site TouchArcade as a revision that will surely be welcomed by developers and gamers alike. The ...