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

Following a soft update that added a recap feature for top tweets last week, Twitter today announced a substantial feature update to its iOS and Android mobile apps that includes two new additions to the service: group messaging and "a new mobile video experience." Similar to the Direct Message feature, Group Messages will allow multiple users to converse privately amongst one another in a...

American payment services company Western Union announced on Tuesday that it now accepts Apple Pay as a way for customers to make money transfers and bill payments in the United States. iPhone users will be able to make NFC-based payments using their smartphones at Western Union's flagship locations and at kiosks in over 7,600 Walgreens and Duane Reade locations nationwide. Apple Pay support...

Foxconn Technology Group, Apple's main assembly partner for iPhones, today announced (via Reuters) major plans to reduce its workforce due to "declining revenue growth and rising wages in China." The announcement comes mere hours before Apple's financial earnings announcement for the first fiscal quarter of 2015, in which the company is expected to announce record iPhone sales. The company...

Back in 2013, Rolocule debuted Motion Tennis, an iPhone game that brought Wii-style gaming to the Apple TV via AirPlay. Using AirPlay Mirroring, users could display the game on an Apple TV while using an iPhone as a tennis racket. The setup drew natural comparisons to Nintendo's Wii Sports, with the iPhone playing the role of the Wii Remote. Motion Tennis wasn't perfect, as it did suffer from...

Apple today began notifying developers about the upcoming closure of the old TestFlight beta testing service accessible through TestFlightApp.com, reports The Next Web. The impending February 26 shutdown of the standalone website arrives nearly one year after Apple's acquisition of TestFlight through its purchase of Burstly and subsequent integration of the service into iTunes Connect....

A new report by The Wall Street Journal looks at the early performance of Apple's new electronic payments service, Apple Pay, finding strong signs of momentum behind the service. One of the key signs of interest in mobile payments comes from point-of-sales system suppliers seeing drastic increases in retailer interest following the launch of Apple Pay last October. Harbortouch has offered...

A day before the company is set to announce earnings for its first fiscal quarter of 2015, Financial Times highlights a recent report suggesting Apple may report it sold more iPhones in China than in the U.S. for the first time ever. According to analysts from financial firm UBS, China accounted for 36 percent of iPhone shipments in the most recent quarter, compared to 24 percent for the U.S....

Deals have been scarce in recent weeks following all of the holiday discounts, but it appears things are beginning to pick up again. Best Buy is offering discounts on its stock of iPad Air 2 models, and there are also some deals to be had on iMacs, Retina MacBook Pros, and Macbook Airs. We've also got a selection of Apple-related accessories that are on sale, including quite a few speakers....

Keyboards have become an increasingly important way for iPad users to boost the productivity of their tablets, and there are dozens of keyboards and keyboard cases on the market designed for the iPad. Apple itself has begun highlighting keyboard cases in recent weeks, showcasing a range of products in its brick and mortar stores, and with Apple beginning to put an emphasis on iPad accessories,...

A growing number of users on Apple's support forums are reporting an issue with iOS 8 and the time zones of synced calendar events, reports Forbes. Known by users as the "GMT bug," the issue is causing confusion as calendar events sometimes see a secondary time zone (frequently GMT) added on. The issue is documented in a lengthy thread on Apple's support forums that was started shortly after ...

The "super simple, surprisingly challenging" puzzle game Shades, by developer UOVO, has been named by Apple as this week's App of the Week. Launched last year, and also featured in the App Store's "Best New Games" section, the game usually costs $1.99 to download. The game takes inspiration from Tetris, with falling blocks of varying color hues - instead of shapes - needing to be slotted into...

A new study that measures iPhone usage rates by state suggests that Apple's iPhone is most popular in states like Alaska, Montana, Vermont, New York, Kansas, and Mississippi. The study, conducted by Chitika Insights on December 25 through December 31, sampled "hundreds of millions" of U.S.-based iPhone ad impressions to determine the percentage of iPhone users in each state. Each of the above...

Popular children's film The LEGO Movie has been translated into an iOS app, which was released in the App Store today. The LEGO Movie Video Game, like other LEGO games, is a premium title that's based on the movie, offering the same fun characters and plot line in a playable format. In the game, players will take on the role of Emmet, an ordinary rule-abiding lego guy who has to take on the...

Developer Matt Wiechec today released a major update to his Marco Polo iOS app that helps users recover misplaced iPhones and iPads with the sound of their voice. The new update brings custom responses and a new Notification Center widget that allows users to find other iOS devices also running the app. Addressing a different use case than Apple's Find My iPhone service, Marco Polo is intended ...

Spotify today announced an update to its iOS app that will bring more streamlined controls into its music browsing software, most notably allowing users to get a sneak preview of a song, album, or artist with a simple tap and hold on the screen. The new feature, dubbed "Touch Preview", is aiming to get Spotify users to find their preferred music faster and with less hassle. The update also...

Twitter today announced plans to add new top tweet recaps to timelines within its iOS app, which display important tweets that were sent while a user was away from the app. According to Twitter, these tweet recaps will include a "few of the best tweets" that users might not have seen otherwise, which are selected by engagement and other unspecified factors. Users who check in on only every so...

Amazon today ended the beta for its Amazon Wallet app, approximately six months after the company launched it last summer. The company began sending emails last night to those signed up for the beta, announcing the company would be shutting it down and removing the Wallet app from Google Play and Amazon's own Appstore (via CNET). Unlike Apple's new Apple Pay payments service that ties directly ...

Accessory maker FiftyThree today announced the availability of the company’s popular Pencil stylus in Apple retail stores. Though the stylus has been spotted in select Apple stores in recent weeks, this announcement marks the first time the iPad stylus officially has been available in the Cupertino company's brick and mortar stores. Apple also recently began selling Pencil through its online store...