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

Facebook has updated its popular Facebook Messenger app with 15-second videos and "big likes", adding more ways for users to interact with their friends. What's New Instant Video Sending: Shoot and play 15-second video messages from the camera right in the app Big Likes: Press and hold to send an even bigger thumbs up when you really, really like something. Easy video sharing has been a...

Apple has introduced a new "Browse by Category" section in the featured section of both the desktop and iOS App Store, allowing users to easily browse the store via categories in a more visually appealing way than before. Previously, users had to click on "Categories" in the upper-left corner of the App Store and choose from a drop-down list. The new collection is yet another move by Apple...

Vessyl, a smart cup designed by Yves Behar, is designed to measure and track any drink poured into it in real-time. Using sensors, Vessyl is able to detect drinks that are poured in to it, from water and soda to homemade smoothies, alcoholic beverages, coffee, tea, and more. When a drink is poured into Vessyl, an accompanying iPhone app displays all of the relevant nutritional information...

Rovio today launched Angry Birds Epic for iOS devices worldwide, featuring a fantasy-adventure story with RPG gameplay. The player controls Angry Birds characters Red, Chuck, and Bomb as they explore Piggy Island to battle the series' classic pig villains. Battles in game feature turned-based elements, as players can upgrade their characters' abilities, armor, and weapons throughout the...

Starbucks, in collaboration with Duracell, has announced that it will begin rolling out more than 100,000 Duracell Powermat wireless smartphone table chargers throughout 7,500 of its stores in the United States over the next three years. The announcement comes after the program was initially tested in Starbucks stores across Boston, Massachusetts and San Jose, California. Notably, while...

Pebble today announced that its second-generation smart watch, the Pebble Steel, will be available in Best Buy stores beginning on June 15. First announced in January, the Pebble Steel features a stainless steel body with a leather or steel band, an upgrade from the plastic design of the first-generation Pebble. The Pebble Steel also features smaller side and top bezels than the original, for...

Earlier this year, Apple was rumored to be in negotiations with chipmaker Renesas Electronics to acquire its Renesas SP Drivers division, which produces chips for smartphone displays including the iPhone. Talks between the companies reportedly "failed to make progress," with touchpad and touchscreen maker Synaptics entering the picture as the likely acquirer. As noted by Reuters, that deal is now ...

Photos from the winners of the seventh annual iPhone Photography Awards have been posted on the IPPA website, offering a look at some of the best pictures taken with the iPhone over the course of the past year. Like last year, the photos include a range of subjects, from landscapes and animals to people and macro shots. The winning photo, featuring a hiker on a snowy mountain comes from...

Ringly, a new iPhone-connected smart ring designed for women, uses Bluetooth LE to connect to a phone, lighting up and buzzing to alert users of calls, messages, emails, and other app notifications. Billed as the first connected ring, Ringly aims to allow users to continue to receive notifications even while a phone is put away in a bag or otherwise unavailable. The ring, which lasts for up to ...

Amazon has updated its Kindle app for iOS to version 4.3, adding the ability to listen to the Audible version of Kindle books that you own. According to Amazon, there are over 45,000 Kindle/Audible titles eligible for this new in-app listening feature. The new Audible feature ties into Amazon's Whispersync technology, which automatically syncs progress between the Kindle and Audible versions ...

Apple appears to be removing many of the popular music downloading apps from the iOS App Store, including those that allowed users to obtain files from third-party file sharing sites. The move is likely in an attempt to push the iTunes Store and iTunes Radio, as well as to clean up the App Store ahead of an overhaul in iOS 8. A search for the term "music download" in the App Store displays...

Building on the success of its wireless Stratus controller, SteelSeries today introduced the Stratus XL, a full-sized gaming controller for the iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. Similar to its pocket-sized counterpart, the Stratus XL connects to your iOS device wirelessly through Bluetooth instead of the Lightning port. The Stratus XL features a larger, console controller-inspired design that...

As part of its Father's Day promotional push, Target is offering the 16 GB non-Retina Wi-Fi iPad mini for just $199 in either white or space gray, a savings of $100 over Apple's standard pricing. The offer is only valid in-store, although customers can purchase online for store pickup. Quantities do, however, appear to be very limited, as most stores are currently showing no available stock. ...

Beats has had a trademark on the term "iBeats" for several years, and has produced iBeats in-ear headphones in collaboration with Monster, but recently, the company filed a new application to expand the iBeats trademark to include new music-related uses. Initially covering only audio video equipment such as headphones, clothing, music performances, and various advertising methods, the...

Apple is planning to bolster its in-store iPhone sales in the United States by allowing customers to add pre-paid or month-to-month plans when purchasing full-priced, unlocked iPhones, according to a source that spoke to 9to5Mac. Currently, iPhone customers who pay the full price to purchase unlocked iPhones from Apple retail locations must visit a carrier store or use a pre-activated SIM card ...

A MacRumors reader has sent in a screenshot of a prompt in iOS 8 that double checks with users asking if they want to continue giving location info to apps. Since iOS 6, Apple has required apps to get explicit user permission before accessing personal data and device information, with iOS 8 now allowing users to determine whether they want apps to keep using location data. Apple's...

The Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) has resolved the dispute between Apple and Mexican telecommunications company iFone over the rights to the phonetic name "iPhone", acquitting Apple of any wrongdoing, reports El Universal [Google Translate]. The IMPI found that the "iPhone" trademark can only be infringed by iFone's fellow telecommunications companies. Because Apple is a...

Philips today tweeted an image demonstrating how the Philips Hue app for its iPhone-controlled line of lights might look when integrated into iOS 8's Notification Center. As seen in the image, adding a Hue widget to the Notification Center would potentially give users direct access to an off switch and a selection of light scenes. This is a concept prototype to show the use of extensions to ...