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

Google has quietly removed both the iOS and Mac versions of its Sparrow email apps from Apple's App Stores, amid reports the company is shifting to focus more intently on its revamped Inbox by Gmail app (via TechCrunch). The company bought alternative email client app Sparrow back in 2012 and launched Inbox by Gmail to select users last fall, with a wider release earlier this year. At the...

While Apple Pay has yet to expand to any markets outside of the United States, rumors have suggested international expansions could begin in the relatively near future. One of those possible markets is China, with the first iOS 8.3 beta seeded to developers last week building in Apple Pay support for China UnionPay. According to a new report from Caixin [via MarketWatch], however, talks have...

A few users began reporting on Reddit yesterday the return of popular alternative media player app VLC to the iOS App Store. The app, which arrives as a 2.4.1 update including iPhone 6 and 6 Plus support, is still rolling out to all users and currently shows as unavailable in the App Store for most countries, although some users who had previously downloaded the app before its removal have been...

With the Apple Watch poised to launch in April, excitement for the wrist-worn device has been building within the forums. In particular, a few users have posted discussion threads that compare the 38mm and 42mm Apple Watch based on photographer Ryan Mack's print-to-size diagrams. Both mockups are attached to a regular watchband to provide a realistic preview of how the Apple Watch could look on ...

Just ahead of Tim Cook's speech at today's Cybersecurity Summit, The White House has announced federal-payment cards are gaining Apple Pay support, reports Bloomberg. People who receive veterans and Social Security benefits from the government via debit card will now be able to use those cards with Apple Pay.The deal includes the Direct Express payment network and government cards issued through...

Apple introduced an additional layer of security for iPhone, iPad and Mac users in 2013 by rolling out two-step verification for Apple ID accounts. Two-step verification prevents anyone but you from accessing your Apple ID account, even if they know the password, by requiring a four-digit verification code sent via SMS or Find My iPhone on trusted devices. When you enable two-step verification,...

Candy Crush Saga may have reached peak popularity, with quarterly spending declining over the past eighteen months, but that hasn't stopped the sweet-swapping puzzle game from raking in the cash. Candy Crush Saga players still spent over $1.3 billion on the game in 2014 alone, according to The Guardian, with dollars being used towards in-app purchases such as extra lives, extra moves, color...

Fleksy yesterday announced an update to its popular, and record-breaking, third-party iOS keyboard that brings along a slew of new customizable Extensions and Themes, including a few that tie in with the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday this weekend. The specific Valentine's Day theme will be free to all Fleksy users on February 14, and Fleksy is also introducing a "Heartpops" extension that...

Months after Apple pulled marijuana user social app MassRoots from the App Store on November 4, 2014, the Cupertino company has reversed course and allowed the app in the App Store as long as its geo-restricted to the 23 states where marijuana is legal, MassRoots founder Isaac Dietrich told the San Francisco Chronicle. Photo via MassRoots “A few hours ago, an Apple representative called to...

Apple on Thursday announced TestFlight Groups, a new feature that gives developers more control over organizing external beta testers into groups. TestFlight Groups enables developers to distribute specific builds of pre-release apps, deliver separate instructions for focus areas and apply an action to multiple testers at onceNow it’s easier than ever to manage external testers in TestFlight....

NBC Entertainment today launched a "Saturday Night Live" app which allows fans to browse a catalog of the show's entire forty season-run, eventually learning each user's particular tastes and favorites and subsequently curating videos and sketches for them to view (via Entertainment Weekly). The app launches a few days before the show's big 40th season premiere this Sunday, and NBC promises...

ESPN is giving its digital platforms a makeover this week by consolidating its iPhone and iPad apps into one unified experience. The new ESPN app combines what was formerly ESPN SportsCenter for iPhone and ESPN ScoreCenter for iPad into one app that offers universal support for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The app has also received a significant redesign and long-overdue support for iPhone 6 and...

Starbucks today updated its iOS app to add support for Apple Pay, making it possible for iOS users to reload their Starbucks cards using Apple's payments service. Starbucks was listed as an Apple Pay app partner when Apple Pay launched in October, but it has taken several months for the feature to be available to Apple Pay users. Apple Pay can only be used in the Starbucks app for reloading...

Authorities from two major U.S. cities and London on Tuesday reported (via Reuters) that smartphone theft has dropped drastically since the release of remote-access "kill-switches" that allow users to lock their missing smartphone before any crucial information is stolen. Specifically, the number of stolen iPhones dropped 25 percent in New York, 40 percent in San Francisco, and 50 percent in...

The latest report from network monitoring firm RootMetrics shows that both Sprint and T-Mobile made improvements in overall performance during the second half of 2014. Verizon was ranked as the top carrier in the United States for the third consecutive study, trailed by AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, based on several categories: speed, reliability, call performance, text performance and data...

Apple CEO Tim Cook will speak at a White House cybersecurity summit on Friday at Stanford University, according to The Hill. The summit is another battleground in which tech companies and the government will discuss encryption. The White House is expected to reveal its next executive action on cybersecurity at the summit, which will bring together tech executives, leading academics and...

ChowNow has updated close to 700 custom-built food and restaurant apps with Apple Pay support, nearly two months after becoming the first online ordering platform to integrate the mobile payments service. The updated apps enable iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users to pay for their food and drinks at hundreds of independent restaurants located throughout the United States."By giving independent...

The latest numbers from Canaccord Genuity reveal that Apple accounted for 93% of mobile profits during the fourth quarter, leading the financial services company to raise its price target on Apple shares from $135 to $145. The firm also predicted that iPhone adoption could grow to 650 million users through 2018 as more smartphone owners upgrade to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Barron's...