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

Macy's today announced plans to expand its partnership with Shopkick, which will see more than 4000 shopBeacon devices installed in Macy's stores across the United States by the end of September. Macy's and Shopkick originally teamed up in November of 2013 to roll out the first retail based iBeacons, allowing customers to access location-specific deals, discounts, and recommendations in the Sho...

Taking advantage of the high storage capacities available on its 64 GB and 128 GB iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models, Apple will be including the free iLife and iWork apps on those models preinstalled. The 16 GB models will still be eligible for the free apps, but users will have to download them manually, based on early word from a MacRumors source and now seconded by a separate source who...

Microsoft today announced the acquisition of Mojang, the company behind the popular crafting game Minecraft. Both Microsoft and Mojang confirmed the Redmond company paid $2.5 billion for the gaming franchise in a deal expected to close in late 2014. Microsoft bought Minecraft following the game's success on the Xbox platform and PC, where it has logged over 100 million downloads since its...

UK retailer Phones4U confirmed today in a public statement that it is canceling all iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus pre-orders as the company enters administration, reports Huffington Post UK via Engadget. Administration allows a company to address its creditors as it attempts to rescue its business operations. Phones4U was forced to make this decision after UK mobile phone operators Vodafone and EE...

Earlier this week at its media event, Apple announced that it would be partnering with rock group U2 to offer its new "Songs of Innocence" album to 500 million iTunes customers for free. However, the deal upset some users who did not want the album added to their accounts or automatically downloaded in some instances. Now, Re/code reports that the album has been downloaded over 2 million times by ...

Panic, the company behind the popular file management app Transmit for Mac, has plans to bring Transmit to iOS in the near future, taking advantage of several new features introduced with iOS 8. Currently in beta, the Transmit iOS app offers a look at some of the impressive things both developers and end users will be able to do with Apple's new operating system. Aside from offering access...

EA has announced SimCity BuildIt for iOS, bringing another iteration of the ultra-popular PC game franchise to Apple's mobile devices. Like the other titles in the series, SimCity BuildIt allows players to build and maintain a city through the construction of businesses, houses, government buildings, roads, and more. The choices you make evolve your city in a variety of ways. Meet your...

Apple is continuing to make hires from the retail/fashion industry, most recently taking on Marcela Aguilar, former senior global director of marketing and communications at Gap. According to Ad Age Aguilar will be taking on the role of director of global marketing communications at Apple. Apple has been snapping up several employees with both retail and fashion experience as it prepares to...

Apple will launch its new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in India on October 17, according to the company's official website for the region. Apple has not revealed pricing details for the two devices in the region, although it is likely that prices will be close to the $649 (Rs 39,500) and $749 (Rs 45,600) U.S. prices for the 16GB iPhone 6 and 16GB iPhone 6 Plus, respectively. It is also...

Following yesterday's special media event, Apple has announced that its Swift programming language has hit GM status for iOS. With this latest milestone, Apple is now inviting developers to submit Swift apps to the App Store for review. You can now submit your apps that use Swift to the App Store. Whether your app uses Swift for a small feature or a complete application, now is the time to...

Apple is said to be close to acquiring social network Path in an attempt to boost the company's social media efforts, reports PandoDaily. Citing a "well-placed" source inside Apple's engineering team, the site notes that the deal is "essentially a done deal" and would see Apple integrating Path's current services into its Messages app. Additionally, Path founder Dave Morin was seen sitting...

Today at its special event, Apple debuted two brand new ads for the newly announced iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The ads, titled "Health" and "Duo", featuring Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon alongside musician Justin Timberlake as they show off the new phones. The first ad, "Duo", features the two of them humming the opening of Richard Strauss' "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" as they swipe and tap...

During today's unveiling of the iPhone 6, the iPhone 6 Plus and the Apple Watch, Apple also announced plans to introduce new cases for both of the new iPhones. First of all, the company will be continuing the leather line of cases that it first introduced for the iPhone 5s, offering cases that will fit both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus. The cases are crafted from hand-selected leather...

Following today's announcements of the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and Apple Watch, Apple has launched a redesigned website with a brand-new interface for mobile devices. The new interface emphasizes a flat design aesthetic, which includes a drop-down menu bar that allows users to scroll through Apple's product line. Individual product pages have also been formatted to fit mobile devices, as...

Following today's announcements of the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch, Apple has removed the iPod classic from its online store. The last iPod classic was introduced in September 2009, and while a number of rumors have pointed to a discontinuation of the product, Apple still chose to sell it in silver and black color options at $249 for a number of years. Earlier this year, CEO Tim...

Today at its special event, Apple has announced that iOS 8 would be released on September 17 as a free download, just two days before the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus release. The new version on iOS will be available for iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, the 5th generation iPod touch, iPad 2, iPad with Retina Display, iPad Air, iPad mini and iPad mini with Retina...

Samsung's Belgian division is having some fun with the hype surrounding Apple's press event and using this occasion to support a worthy cause. According to the division's website, the company will buy a pear for each tweet about an apple. Samsung will distribute the pears free of charge tomorrow at the Brussels-North railway station. This #aPearForAnApple promotion is one of several...

On the eve of Apple's September 9 special event, the Financial Times has released a new look at how Apple is impacting the wearable market despite not having officially announced its first wearable product. Specifically, the paper cites Forrester Research, who notes Apple could sell 10 million iWatches in its first year, which would make it the best-selling wrist-based wearable ever. Forrester ...