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

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has denied Apple's trademark application for the "Touch ID" name used for its fingerprint recognition technology, citing a similar trademark owned by Kronos Technology. The USPTO rejection letter was sent to Apple in May 2014, according to Patently Apple, which recently uncovered the communication. In its letter to Apple, the USPTO said Apple's trademark ...

Apple's iOS 7 adoption rate continues to grow, even as the release of iOS 8 approaches. As of yesterday, 90 percent of devices connected to the App Store are running iOS 7, according to new numbers posted on Apple's App Store developer support page. The new milestone, which comes 10 months after the operating system's original release, is a three percent increase from installation numbers of 87...

Apple today expanded its iPhone and iPad trade-in program to Australia, giving customers who trade in an older device credit towards the purchase of a new device. Users who trade in an iPhone can earn up to A$250, while users who trade in an iPad can get up to A$215. According to Apple, its latest models, including the iPhone 5s, 5c, and iPad Air are not eligible for the credit, nor are...

Shazam today updated both its free and paid iOS apps to version 7.7.0, adding Rdio integration. When a Shazam user identifies a song with the app, the recognized song can then be played directly within the Shazam app via Rdio. While it was previously possible to listen to songs identified within Shazam in the Rdio app, users are now able to listen to songs from Rdio without having to switch...

Google's mobile-augmented reality game Ingress today launched for iOS devices, coming seven months after the game's general release on Android. The title's product manager confirmed last October that an iOS version of the game was in the works after a closed beta saw over ten thousand active players a month and one million total activations. The title's story centers around The Enlightened...

Earlier this week, China's state-run media broadcast labeled the iPhone a "national security concern" over Apple's Location Services feature found in iOS 7, with the country's researchers stating that the data could lead to accessing highly-sensitive data in China. Today, Apple officially responded to the controversy on its Chinese website. The statement, which was posted in both Chinese and ...

Currently, the FCC requires any device that wants its certification to have a nameplate or etched label that displays an ID and approval from the agency. Today, the FCC has loosened its rules (via MultiChannel) regarding labeling, allowing manufacturers to bypass etching FCC labels on its devices, like Apple's iPhone. Verizon iPhone 4 without FCC label on left, iPhone 4 with FCC label on right. ...

Key display supplier Sharp is reportedly seeking to reduce its reliance on Apple, with sources telling Nikkei the company has offered Apple 30 billion yen ($293 million) to purchase the equipment located in Sharp's Kameyama Plant No. 1 that currently churns out displays for the iPhone. Apple contributed roughly half of the 100 billion yen (~$1 billion) cost to convert the plant from large TV...

Google today updated its Google Maps app to version 3.2.0, adding several new functions to improve the utility of the app. Search results now appear with descriptions on the map to make choosing an option easier, and search results can be viewed on the map or on a list. The locations of reservations and appointments drawn in from Gmail are also displayed directly on the map. While Google...

China's state-run media broadcast today labeled Apple's location tracking services found iOS 7 and the iPhone a "national security concern", reports The Wall Street Journal. The broadcast cited researchers who said that those with access to the country's location data could gain "knowledge of the broader situation in China" and perhaps even state secrets. The Chinese government said that it...

Minecraft - Pocket Edition, a game that has managed to stay on the App Store's top charts for several years running, has received a major update that Mojang calls "the biggest update to Minecraft - Pocket Edition so far." Today's update introduces infinite worlds and caves for the first time, plus it includes new blocks and items like Monster Eggs and mushroom blocks. It's now possible to tame ...

Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Pirates has been named Apple's app of the week, and as a result, it's available for free for the first time since it debuted on the App Store back in December of 2013. While Assassin's Creed Pirates is not a full-fledged Assassin's Creed game, it lets players take on the role of Alonzo Batilla, a young pirate captain on a quest to complete missions, attack ships,...

A new version of the Apple Design Award-winning Capo, a Mac app praised by professional musicians that automatically generates guitar tablature from music in iTunes, has landed on iOS.Developer SuperMegaUltraGroovy today released new iPhone and iPad versions of Capo, allowing users to learn how to play songs on the go with chord and beat detection as well as a number of other features to help...

Misfit, the company behind the sleek Shine activity monitor, today unveiled its newest product, the Misfit Beddit Sleep System. Using a built-in sleep sensor that is described as "the world's thinnest," the Beddit monitors sleep cycles and sleep quality through heart rate, respiration, movement, snoring, and sound. The "paper thin" Beddit sensor is designed to be placed under on a user's...

Apple today faced a setback in it efforts to overturn a speech recognition patent held by Shanghai-based Zhizhen Internet Technology. According to Reuters, the Beijing First Intermediate Court ruled in favor of Zhizhen, upholding the validity of the patent and paving the way for Zhizhen's existing infringement case against Apple to continue. Apple said in a statement that it would appeal...

Apple today launched a new version of its iTunes U app, adding several new iPad-related features designed to make it easier for both students and teachers to use the iPad for online courses. Apple first announced plans to update iTunes U in late June. Today's version 2.0 update allows teachers to create full courses entirely on the iPad, importing content from other Apple software like iWork,...

Earlier today, we shared a video of what appeared to be the front panel of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 subjected to a limited bending stress test, but YouTube user Marques Brownlee has now acquired the same front panel and subjected it to additional stress tests, including more significant bending and scratching. In the video, Brownlee scratches and stabs at the panel with a set of keys and a knife, ...

As part of a new July promotion, Target is offering Target gift cards with the purchase of any iOS device, including the iPad Air, the Retina iPad mini, the 32 GB iPod touch, and the iPhone 5s/5c. Customers who purchase a $499 iPad Air or a $399 Retina iPad mini in any storage capacity (WiFi and WiFi + Cellular) will receive a $100 gift card, while those who buy a $249 32 GB iPod touch will...