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

Facebook has officially shut down Notify, its real-time, notification-based news app for iOS. The company sent an alert to users of the app last night, explaining that it would be transitioning parts of the Notify service into its other products and that the app would no longer be supported. Notify, which went live in November, enabled users to receive news notifications and choose their...

While at Re/code's Code Conference this week, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey commented on a few aspects of the social network's failings in recent years, especially in comparison to the dramatic upswing in popularity other apps, like Snapchat, have seen. Dorsey mentioned that he believes Snapchat's method of messaging -- which incorporates transient text messages and time-locked photos and videos -- ...

Last November, Instagram announced much stricter rules for accessing its API, effectively putting an end to dozens of both legitimate and questionable third-party apps and websites that integrated with the photo sharing service on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and other devices. Instagram began reviewing new and existing apps before granting full API access starting December 3, 2015, but the changes for...

Dashlane today announced a revamped version of its iOS app that will allow for streamlined navigation to make finding passwords and other secure information "easier than ever." Notably, the overhaul encompasses all of Dashlane's current Apple apps, including the ones for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Users can expect the usual services from Dashlane's new app -- like Password Changer and...

Facebook has announced that it is adding 1,500 new emojis to its Messenger app in order to cater for the diversity of its users. The new emojis follow Apple's bulk addition of new emoji characters to iOS last year, but Facebook claims that Messenger is the first platform to feature a female police officer, runner, pedestrian, surfer, and swimmer, and notes that more are to come in the near...

Google has updated its My Account service to include a feature that helps iPad and iPhone owners locate their lost or stolen iOS device (via TechCrunch). Previously only available to Android owners, the new feature now appears when users sign into their Google "My Account" page under the section "Find your phone", where options exist to locate a device, lock it remotely, call it, secure an...

Apple yesterday released the first preview build of Swift 3.0, a major update to Apple's open source Swift programming language. Swift 3.0's official release is expected to come in late 2016 after proposed changes are finalized. The Swift 3.0 preview can be downloaded from the official Swift website. There are versions of Swift 3.0 available for Xcode 7.2, Ubuntu 14.04, and Ubuntu 15.10....

KFC has announced that it now accepts Apple Pay, Android Pay, Samsung Pay, and other mobile payment options at some of its U.S. restaurants, with nationwide adoption to be completed by the end of the summer. "Ease of use and functionality were our first priorities," said Chris Caldwell, KFC U.S. Chief Information Officer. "When we factored in consumer concerns about security and privacy, we...

Google has updated its eponymous voice-recognition search app with speed improvements the company claims will save users "a combined 6.5 million hours" this year. "Each time you open the app or do a search, everything will load just a bit quicker," said Google VP Tamar Yehoshua in a blog post. Not only should the app feel faster overall, says Yehoshua, news articles that show up in searches ...

Facebook is planning to introduce an optional end-to-end encryption mode for its Facebook Messenger chat platform, currently used by more than 900 million people, reports The Guardian. Citing sources "close to the project," The Guardian says the encryption will be an opt-in feature because turning it on will impact some of the new machine learning features being built into the Messenger app...

The Photos app for iOS allows users to zoom into images using pinch gestures, but the zooming capabilities are limited and don't let users to zoom all the way in to a photo. There is, however, a bug in iOS that allows zooming beyond the current limit, shared this morning by iDownloadBlog. In the iOS Photos app, opening a photo and then using the "Edit" feature and the "Crop" tool to rotate the ...

In an effort to further improve app discoverability, Apple recently implemented a change to the way Top Charts work on the Apple TV. When viewing the Top Paid, Free, and Grossing Charts in the tvOS App Store, Apple TV users no longer see entries for apps they've already downloaded and installed on their set-top box. Individualized, custom Top Chart rankings are now available for all Apple TV...

Mophie today introduced a new line of iPhone battery cases that support wireless charging through a bundled-in charging pad. Called the "Charge Force," Mophie's new wireless charging ecosystem begins fueling up a device the moment it's set down on a compatible charge pad, and prioritizes an iPhone's charge before moving over to the battery case. The new Charge Force-compatible cases aren't...

T-Mobile has announced a new $30 prepaid Tourist Plan for international visitors to the U.S. that offers 1,000 minutes of domestic calling, unlimited domestic and international texting to over 140 countries and regions, and unlimited 2G data with the first 2GB at 4G LTE speeds. Tourists visiting the U.S. can visit a T-Mobile store with an unlocked GSM smartphone, sign up and pay for the plan,...

Popular automation app Workflow has been updated with a number of new features and now provides added support for over 20 new actions. For anyone not familiar with the app, Workflow is an automation tool that lets users create a variety of workflows to accomplish tasks like creating GIFs from a series of photos, pulling images from a web page, translating an article, calculating a tip, and...

While interest in the possible new features of the iPhone 7 remains as high as ever, perhaps the most controversial potential change to Apple's upcoming device is the removal of one long-standing feature – the headphone jack. Rumors suggest that Apple will drop the 3.5mm audio jack to make its next-gen iPhone even thinner, and rely on an upgraded Lightning port, currently used only for...

In March, Apple submitted a formal request to the Indian government in relation to selling refurbished iPhones in the country. Today, however, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that she is "not in favor" of accepting that proposal (via The Economic Times).On Apple's proposal to import refurbished phones and sell in India, Sitharaman said, "We would not be in favour of...

The official Twitter app for iOS was today updated to version 6.54, quietly adding expanded 3D Touch support. As noticed by MacStories, the update enables Peek and Pop gestures within the Twitter app itself, allowing Twitter users with an iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus to preview content through a "Peek" and then quickly open it up with a "Pop." Peek and Pop gestures are available for previewing...