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

Belkin announced today that it has introduced a new lineup of Lightning to USB clip-on fashion accessories in time for the back to school season. The new MIXIT charging cables for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch are available now in three designs: a leather tassel, a braided USB clip and a metallic keychain. The MIXIT Lightning to USB Tassel has a chic design made from natural leather and clips...

Instagram today announced that the popular app would begin letting users post photos and videos in both portrait and landscape modes, expanding upon the all-inclusive square format for which the service is well-known. The company notes it discovered that nearly one in five posts aren't in the square format, so today's decision comes from its mission statement of putting each user's "visual story" ...

Apple today announced the company is partnering with PayAnywhere for a new mobile NFC card reader that will be able to attach to iOS devices and support Apple Pay transactions in any retail location, in addition to traditional credit card support (via CNBC). The reader will be available exclusively in Apple Stores beginning in September, with the chance for merchants signing up with a new...

Popular automation app Workflow is being updated today with two highly useful, much-desired features: a Notification Center widget and a new syncing feature that lets workflows be synced across several devices. For those of you who are not familiar with Workflow, it's an automation tool that lets users create a variety of workflows to accomplish tasks like creating GIFs from a series of...

Earlier this year, a team of ex-Apple engineers released Astropad, an app designed to turn the iPad into a graphics tablet for the Mac. Following rave reviews, the team behind Astropad decided to expand to the iPhone, and is today debuting a new Astropad Mini app. Like the iPad version of the app, Astropad Mini transforms the iPhone into a miniaturized professional graphics tablet that can be...

The anticipated mobile game "Lara Croft GO" launches today on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices. Announced by Square Enix during the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June, the game takes the themes and characters of the Tomb Raider games and merges them with a more stylized look and turn-based controls of the "GO" series, which the company is calling a "celebration of our iconic...

Facebook today rolled out a new virtual assistant called "M" inside its Messenger app for a limited number of users in the Bay Area, reports Wired. "M" is powered by both artificial intelligence and Facebook employees, enabling Messenger users to ask questions and complete tasks such as making restaurant reservations, ordering birthday flowers or discovering the best places to go hiking in...

Those looking for a classic leather look on their Apple Watch can find a few options ranging in price from $149 to $249 in the Apple store. With a handful of third-party manufacturers getting into the Apple Watch band game, quality accessory designer Pad & Quill has introduced its own line of Classic Apple Watch Bands for a cheaper entry cost of $89.95 that hews most closely to Apple's Classic...

While the stainless steel Link Bracelet is one of the nicest looking Apple Watch bands available, it is also the most expensive with a $449 price tag for the 38mm or 42mm version. For comparison, you could purchase an entire Apple Watch Sport for $100 less than the Link Bracelet. But for those looking to give their Apple Watch more of a premium Rolex-like appearance without breaking the bank,...

Phillips today announced an expansion of its Hue line of lights, adding the new Philips Hue Wireless Dimming Kit and Philips Hue white bulb. The dimming kit requires no installation and it integrates seamlessly with existing Hue products, letting customers change the brightness of up to 10 Philips Hue white bulbs at the same time. Each dimming kit includes one Philips Hue white light bulb and...

With just over two weeks to go until September 9, the expected date for Apple's next iPhone event, there's been some speculation that Apple might be planning to hold the event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. As outlined by San Francisco news site Hoodline, the auditorium is booked for a private event through September 13, with SFPD officers and private security guards...

Apple has stopped signing iOS 8.4 for compatible iPhone, iPad and iPod touch models, meaning that users can no longer upgrade or downgrade to that version using iTunes. Apple is now signing iOS 8.4.1 and later only. iPhone, iPad or iPod touch users that have jailbroken their device on iOS 8.4 should refrain from updating to iOS 8.4.1, as the latest software update breaks the iOS 8.4 untethered ...

At VidCon this year, Apple was reportedly in talks with a few popular YouTube channels, suggesting the possibility of an advertising campaign collaboration between the Cupertino-based company and YouTubers like Louis Cole and Wong Fu Productions. Similar to Apple's experimentation with advertising the iPhone 5c on Tumblr, a move to partner with well-known YouTubers with subscribers numbering in...

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Imvio to offer five MacRumors readers a chance to win a Imvio Camera Lens Kit for the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus. The Camera Lens Kit includes a shock absorbent case for the iPhone, a 170 degree fisheye lens, a 90 degree wide-angle lens, and a storage case to hold the lenses when they're not in use. With the Imvio case on an iPhone, lenses are...

Apple is working on next-generation Apple Watch bands that will be equipped with new health sensors, according to a questionable report from Czech site Letem Svetem Applem [Google Translate]. Citing an unnamed source, the site says Apple is planning on creating smart bands that include sensors for detecting blood oxygen levels, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. The bands...

Samsung may be working on an "iPad Pro" style tablet of its own, with a new report from SamMobile suggesting the company is currently in development for the tablet, codenamed "Tahoe," on an Android 5.1 Lollipop-based operating system and with an 18.4-inch screen. Samsung would target the tablet to enterprise and educational environments, with a lesser focus on day-to-day personal usage than the...

Apple today continued the expansion of retail locations that offer the Apple Watch to customers, this time expanding the wearable device's availability in France (via iPhone Addict) [Google Translate]. The company confirmed customers in Paris will be able to purchase the Watch at Fnac locations within the city, starting with just one store alongside the Fnac official website. The Fnac retail ...

WhatsApp has updated its website with instructions on how to access WhatsApp Web on iPhone, and the new settings appear to be rolling out for some users now. To access WhatsApp Web from iPhone, open the app, tap on Settings and a WhatsApp Web menu option should appear once live. WhatsApp Web settings on iPhone (Image: Reddit) WhatsApp Web connects to your iPhone to sync messages with your...