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

Netflix today announced the release of Max, a personal content assistant and guide that the company calls the "child of Siri and HAL 9000." Max is designed to help users choose movies and television shows to view, and he does so using personal tastes. Max asks a user questions about mood and movie viewing preferences in order to come up with a suggestion. He also uses Netflix's algorithms to...

Microsoft today released a new SkyDrive Pro app for iOS, aimed at SharePoint Online users in Office 365.You can use the SkyDrive Pro apps to view documents in your SkyDrive Pro folder, select specific content to take offline when you are traveling or have low bandwidth, organize your content by creating new folders, and upload new content and share with others.Microsoft has a detailed tutorial...

Foxconn has announced a new smart wristband that can measure vital signs like respiration and heartbeat, and also check phone calls and Facebook posts, according to a report from the Want China Times.Terry Gou, the head of Hon Hai Precision Industry -- the name of Foxconn's parent company -- said the company's research groups are looking to add fingerprint identification to the product as well. ...

As announced earlier this month, Sprint subsidiary Virgin Mobile is set to begin offering the iPhone 5 later this week. While the no-contract carrier will offer the phone via its own website, select retailers, such as Best Buy and RadioShack, will also be carrying the Virgin Mobile iPhone 5. According to a tipster, RadioShack will begin selling the contract-free Virgin Mobile iPhone 5...

Back in April, Twitter launched its new #music app, using Twitter trends to select songs from popular and emerging artists on the social networking service. Twitter #music has received its first major update that adds several new features, including genres. Previously, #music was organized into lists that included popular hits and emerging music, but now, #music users can select from several...

Rolocule, which debuted its Rolomotion concept back in April, has launched its first game that uses the technology. The Rolomotion software is designed to convert an iPhone or an iPod touch into a motion controller, similar to a Nintendo Wii Remote. The first game to use the technology, Motion Tennis, hit the App Store this morning. Motion Tennis is meant to be played on the Apple TV using...

EA has announced that Plants vs. Zombies 2 will be delayed until "later in the summer". The game was planned for a release on July 18th.From the @PlantsvsZombies Twitter account:Plants vs. Zombies 2, originally slated for a July 18th release, will now be released later in the summer. Stay tuned for more details.The account later said the release was delayed because EA wanted to "make sure the...

Poppy is an iPhone accessory that looks like a cross between a set of binoculars and the View-Master toys designed for children. Poppy morphs the iPhone into a 3D image viewer and camera, which can be used to capture 3D videos and photos. The device itself functions similarly to a View-Master, with two eyepieces to look through and a top slot where the iPhone is inserted. When the iPhone is...

Dropbox today updated its universal iOS app with the ability to use swipe gestures to perform tasks more quickly, as well as the ability to share multiple photos at a time.What's New in Version 2.3 - Easily share a link to a folder - Swipe on any file to quickly share, move, delete, or favorite - Select and share multiple photos with your family, friends, and other humans - Bug fixes and...

G4Games points to a photo posted to Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo that allegedly shows display assemblies from the iPhone 5S. While better photos of the part surfaced last week and we've received a number of other photos of the assemblies, the new photo is notable because the parts appear to have been photographed on a production line. The photo is relatively small, but the...

Shortly before today's iOS 7 Beta 2 was released, one of 9to5Mac's readers found that iOS 7's Siri has the ability to correct pronunciations for names. Image via 9to5MacPreviously, getting Siri to properly pronounce names required a user to edit the "phonetic name" for a contact and manually adjust the spelling until Siri pronounced the name the correct way. Now, as 9to5Mac notes, a user can...

On Saturday, Walmart will begin offering the iPhone 5 at a $60 discount (from $189 to $129) and the iPhone 4S at a $50 discount (from $89 to $39), reports Mashable. The prices are permanent, available only in-store and require signing a new 2-year contract with Verizon, Sprint, or AT&T.We asked Walmart if the new pricing is temporary and were told that no, this is in fact the permanent price of...

Reuters reports on a decision from a Tokyo court ruling that Samsung has infringed Apple's "bounce back" patent. The report notes that the decision comes months after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ruled that the patent was invalid, but the agency reversed that decision just last week, reconfirming the validity of the key claim of Apple's patent.Apple claimed that Samsung had...

Last month, Angry Birds-maker Rovio announced that it would soon be releasing "the best new games" on its own publishing label called Rovio Stars. Its first game, Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage was released today. Our sister-site TouchArcade has posted a brief item about it, saying their "initial impressions couldn't be more positive". In brief, the game revolves around you saving frozen viking...

The Nomad Lightning Cable is an Apple certified 3-inch Lightning to USB cable that originated on Kickstarter last November. After accepting preorders in April, the team behind the Nomad has caught up on backorders and is now able to fill and ship orders on a daily basis. As the Nomad is just three inches in length and comes equipped with a keyring adapter, it is one of the most portable...

Algoriddim has made its realtime video mixing app Vjay free for both the iPhone and iPad, presumably for a limited time. The apps are normally $9.99 and $2.99 for the iPad and iPhone respectively.The app launched last June on the iPad and for the iPhone in November.Mix and scratch your favorite music videos from iTunes or combine songs from your music library with personal video footage into...

Back in June, Best Buy ran a single day promotion that allowed iPhone 4 and 4S owners to upgrade their phones to the iPhone 5. The company told USA Today that it was the most successful day ever for its trade-in program and as a result, Best Buy plans to launch the campaign again on Friday, June 21. Customers will be able to trade in a working iPhone 4 or 4S, earning a credit of up to $150,...

Firaxis and 2K Games’ XCOM: Enemy Unknown is already available in several App Stores around the world and will hit the U.S. App Store later tonight. The game, which was first released for the Mac in April, is a re-imagined version of the classic 1994 title X-Com: UFO Defense. The iOS version of XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a port of the full game that was originally designed for consoles and...