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

A new "leaked" commercial ad for the so-called "iPhone 6s" has been shared today on YouTube, showing off a 30-second spot for the next-generation iPhone in an array of color options that more closely hues to an iPhone 5c-inspired look than the main line-up of colors available today with Space Gray, Gold, and Silver. The ad is obviously fake, with no mention of the "iPhone 6s Plus" -- as a...

iCandi Apps makes a series of popular star gazing apps designed to let iPhone owners discover constellations, stars, planets, satellites, and more just by pointing an iPhone at the sky. For kids and people interested in learning more about the night sky, these kind of apps are invaluable, and now iCandi Apps has released a new device for home astronomers -- the Night Sky MiniScope. Night Sky...

The popular SwiftKey keyboard for iPhone was today updated to add a fun new tracking feature, Emoji Insights. Emoji Insights gives users a look into their personal emoji usage habits, offering up data on top emoji used, signature emoji, and emoji state, as detailed below.My Signature Emoji - The emoji you use more than other people. This emoji is generated by the emoji you overuse compared to the ...

Apple updated its Apple Pay participating issuers list today with 18 additional banks, credit unions and financial institutions supporting the contactless payment service in the United States. Apple Pay now has over 400 participating issuers nationwide, and several more plan to support the NFC-based mobile payment service in the future. The newly added Apple Pay participating issuers are...

Square today announced that its money transferring app "Square Cash" is making the leap to Apple Watch, allowing users to make and receive money transfers on Apple's new wearable device (via TechCrunch). The original iOS and Android app allows users to send money to family and friends for free (business transactions are charged a 1.9% fee) by linking a Visa, MasterCard, or Discover debit card...

Misfit today announced the launch of the "Speedo Shine," a new activity tracker that's been designed in partnership with Speedo, a company known for its swimwear and swimming accessories. Like Misfit's other products, the device tracks steps taken, various exercises, and sleep, but it also is able to track swimming activity. The Speedo Shine is waterproof and features proprietary lap counting...

Nearly ten months after Apple Pay launched in the United States, an increasing number of retailers including Rite Aid and Best Buy have reversed course and announced support for the mobile payments service. Nevertheless, the United Kingdom is the only country that Apple Pay has expanded to since last October due to roadblocks from major banks and financial institutions in other countries....

Sprint today introduced a new plan called "iPhone Forever," which grants upgrade eligibility for the newest iPhone to any customer who doesn't have the most current version of Apple's flagship smartphone on their contract. The plan goes into effect today, and the company is opening the data plan to both new and old Sprint users, although the latter must have an upgrade eligible device to start...

Just over six weeks after the launch of Apple Music, Billboard has published a wide-ranging interview with lead radio DJ Zane Lowe, in which he talks about Beats 1, collaborating with Dr. Dre and Trent Reznor, familiarizing himself with American radio stations, moving to Los Angeles from London and a number of other topics. Zane Lowe hosts a flagship radio show on Beats 1 every Monday-Thursday ...

AT&T today announced that the carrier plans to introduce a couple of new Mobile Share Value Plans beginning tomorrow, further expanding data bucket options for its customers while simultaneously cutting the prices of a few existing data storage options. Customers will have new options like 2GB ($30) and 5GB ($50), but those who opt-in for a plan with 15GB or higher will get unlimited talk and...

Lloyds Bank has sent an email to customers to notify them that it will begin supporting Apple Pay "very soon" for contactless payments with debit and credit cards and in-app purchases. Most transactions will initially be limited to £20 at retailers in the United Kingdom, but some retailers may allow larger purchases. Lloyds Bank has been listed under the "Coming Soon" section on the Apple...

Apple Watch is now available at select Best Buy stores in Canada and through the electronics retailer's online store in the country, less than two weeks after Best Buy began selling the Apple Watch in the United States. Best Buy Canada offers 16 Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch models alongside select Apple Watch accessories in stores and online. Apple Watch is now available at select Best ...

Popular iPhone case maker Speck today debuted a new set of cases in its CandyShell lineup, the Inked Luxury Edition. Like other CandyShell cases, Speck's Inked Luxury Edition cases offer a dual-layer design that combines a rigid plastic outer shell with a rubber interior to offer protection from drops without a huge amount of additional bulk. We were able to check out the Inked Luxury...

Following an initial publicity push in early June for the first batch of devices working in tandem with Apple's HomeKit home automation service, iHome today announced that its iSP5 SmartPlug is now ready for a wider launch. The SmartPlug is one of the first official HomeKit-compatible products, allowing its users to interact with the power settings of any device -- from a lamp to a fan -- that is ...

Twitter today announced a major change to the way Direct Messages work on the Twitter platform, removing the 140-character limit that restricted the length of private messages. With the change, Twitter's Direct Message feature is on par with other chat and messaging apps, allowing for unrestricted conversation. Twitter first announced its plan to remove the 140-character limit from Direct...

Apple this week joined the NFC Forum as a sponsor member, earning itself a place on the NFC Forum board of directors, reports NFC World. The Near Field Communication (NFC) Forum is the group that works to develop NFC specifications to ensure interoperability between different devices and services. The team also encourages companies to develop products using the NFC Forum specifications and...

Quartz yesterday published an article which analyzed data from Apple Music's Beats 1 radio station, in an attempt to get a feel for the station's most played songs and artists throughout the month of July. The company took data collected from 12,445 songs specifically from "early July to early August," and discovered that artists The Weeknd, Drake, and Disclosure were the top three most-played...

Apple today updated its Apple Store app for iOS with a minor but important change, adding the ability to make purchases using an Apple Store Gift Card. Prior to today's update, customers who wanted to purchase an iOS device or an accessory using an Apple Store gift card had to use the Apple website. The app previously had no way to enter a gift card at checkout, so the only available option...