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

Pebble today announced multiple updates for its line of Pebble smart watches, introducing new messaging options and new health features for Pebble owners. Pebble owners who use iOS devices are now able to reply to incoming text messages with custom messages instead of the standard canned responses. Custom text replies are available to all iOS users who have text replies enabled from a...

Apple today launched its annual "Back to School" promotion in Australia and New Zealand, offering higher education students, faculty members, parents of students, and select other staff a free pair of Beats Solo2 on-ear headphones with the purchase of a qualifying Mac with education pricing between February 3 and March 21. Eligible models include the iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air,...

Fitbit today announced the "Fitbit Alta," a new device in its fitness-focused wearable lineup that the company aims to be the intersection between personalized style and in-depth activity tracking. As with all Fitbits, the Alta will track a user's daily activities, exercise, and sleep, but now the band includes "Reminders to Move," which will push notifications to the wrist when you've been...

T-Mobile has introduced a new Family Match promotion that offers families four lines of unlimited talk, text and LTE data for $150 per month. The carrier is also offering families four lines with unlimited talk and text, plus 10GB of LTE data per line, for $120 per month. For a limited time, we are amping up our Family Match data plans so you get more data for the same price. Now get 2 or more...

SwiftKey, the company behind the popular third-party SwiftKey Keyboard for iOS and Android devices, is being acquired by Microsoft, reports Financial Times. Microsoft is said to be purchasing SwiftKey for $250 million in a deal that will be announced imminently. The SwiftKey keyboard has been available on Android devices since 2010, expanding to iOS in January of 2014 through the SwiftKey...

Accessory maker Zagg, known for its InvisibleShield screen protectors and other Apple-related accessories, today announced an acquisition of mophie, a company that makes external battery packs and battery cases for Apple's iOS devices. According to a press release from Zagg, its acquisition of mophie will allow it to be the market share leader when it comes to battery cases, external...

The Nodus Shell case for the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus comes from UK company Nodus and is featured in our latest video review. Made from Italian leather and available in black, brown, or yellow, the Nodus Shell has a design that's similar to Apple's own leather iPhone cases with cutouts for the volume and power buttons and openings at the top and bottom to leave ports and speakers...

Nintendo today gave new hints regarding its mobile game plans, which will see the gaming giant release five games in total before March 2017 in a partnership with developer DeNA. During a quarterly profit meeting, the gaming company confirmed that its second mobile experience will be built around one of its popular and established characters, but no word was given specifically on which Nintendo...

Actionproof's Bozon Apple Watch stand is unique in a sea of Apple Watch accessories because of its unusual, quirky shape. It looks more like a toy or a modern art piece than a traditional stand, but it ended up being easier to use and more functional than some of the other Apple Watch stands I've tested. Made from a soft black silicone, the Bozon features a pliable black palm-sized...

Several Apple Music subscribers this morning are experiencing issues when searching for new music in the Music app on iOS devices. Many users are reporting that typing a search query into the Apple Music search bar fails to return results, while others are receiving results but seeing a blank screen when tapping the track or artist name for further information. Quitting the Music app...

Accessory maker Danny P. seeks to give iPhone 6 Plus and 6s Plus users some dual usability with its new Leather Wallet with iPhone 6 Plus Case, which includes seven credit/debit card slots, a rear folder for cash, and a sleeve for the larger-sized iPhone. The case, which is available through Apple's own online store, is sized at 6.81 inches tall with a width of about 4.13 inches and is aimed to...

Challenging physics-based game Piloteer has been named Apple's App of the Week, and as a result, it's available to download for free for the first time since it launched in June of 2015. In Piloteer, the goal is to navigate a jetpack-wearing inventor through three gameplay environments to complete a series of 60 missions. Piloteer's tap-based controls are easy to grasp but difficult to master, ...

Facebook today announced that the Live Video feature it introduced in December is now available to all iPhone users in the United States, with plans to roll it out to the rest of the world in the coming weeks. Facebook's built-in Live Video feature is designed to compete with live streaming services like Periscope and Meerkat, which allow people to share in-the-moment video through iOS apps....

T-Mobile today announced the support of four new partners to its free video streaming service Binge On, including Amazon Video, Fox News, Univision NOW, and WWE Network. The new streaming partners join more than 40 services already supporting Binge On, which lets customers watch video content without using data from their T-Mobile cellular plan. The company also released a few details about...

Apple today followed through with plans to expand its lower pricing tier options for the App Store to Canada and New Zealand. Introduced in 2014, alternate pricing tiers A and B allow developers to charge lower prices in countries like China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, and Australia. With the new pricing tiers, apps in Canada and New Zealand can be priced as low as ...

Ahead of new software releases for iOS devices, Apple provides early copies to both developers and public beta testers to work out bugs and refine features. Major updates often include exciting new additions that people are eager to try out right away, such as iOS 9.3's Night Shift Mode and all of its other new features. If you want to get your hands on iOS 9.3 ahead of its prospective spring...

Google today introduced a few stability and performance improvements into its Chrome for iOS app, mainly centering around the company's switch from in-process rendering with UIWebView to out-of-process rendering thanks to WKWebView. Tests by Google proved the new update reduces the app's crash rate by 70 percent, letting users pick up where they left off on a page from any device without a crash...

T-Mobile has announced a new BOGO promotion that offers qualifying Simple Choice customers half off all iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models, or any iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, with the purchase of another iPhone of equal or greater value. The savings are applied instantly at the point of sale. Eligible devices can be purchased for full retail price, or through T-Mobile’s Jump financing...