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

Oculus VR, the company behind the highly anticipated virtual reality gaming headset Oculus Rift, has announced that legendary game programmer John Carmack is joining the team as Chief Technology Officer. Carmack co-founded id Software, where he has led development of a number of popular gaming franchises, including Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake. He will remain with id Software, although Oculus...

Vodafone, the world’s second largest mobile carrier, has announced that it will begin a 4G network rollout in the United Kingdom on August 29. The company has said that service will begin in London and will expand to twelve more cities within the UK by the end of the year, and is claiming that it will have 98% indoor coverage across the UK within the next few years. Price plans will begin at...

Boston-based company Boundless Learning has launched an app for iOS devices that enables users to look for alternative electronic versions of curriculum assigned textbooks. The app includes features such as offline browsing and cross-platform integration with desktop computers, as well as other features such as in line search and in app purchases that offer interactive study material to accompany ...

Popular messaging app WhatsApp Messenger is being updated with one-tap voice messaging, allowing users who have difficult-to-type languages to communicate with each other across various platforms. WhatsApp has been working on the feature for about six months, wanting to make voice messaging simpler and easier to use than other apps with the functionality, CEO Jan Koum told AllThingsD in an...

Apple Retail Stores are offering discounts (via 9to5Mac) on select iOS compatible third-party accessories through August. Current discounts through August 31st include $50 off of the Jawbone Big Jambox Bluetooth speaker and 10% off of select Beats by Dre headphones and speakers, but do not include the recently updated Beats by Dre Studio headphones. Starting August 11th, the store will also...

Twitter today updated its iOS app to version 5.9, adding an improved login verification feature that works with Twitter’s two-factor authentication procedure (which debuted earlier this year), replacing the phone number portion with in-app alerts. With login verification enabled in the Settings menu, Twitter users will get a push notification on their phones alerting them of any login...

Twelve South today unveiled a new adjustable pedestal stand designed to work with both Apple’s iPhone 5 and the iPad mini. Made from brushed metal to match other Apple/Mac accessories, the HiRise is designed to work with a Lightning cable and nearly any iPhone or iPad mini case. Place HiRise in your workspace to charge while your hands are free during calls and FaceTime chats. Unlike most...

Startup organization Misfit, a company co-founded by former Apple CEO John Sculley, has released Shine, a physical activity monitor for use with iOS devices. Shine includes features such as the ability to wear the monitor anywhere on the body with additional accessories, as well as mobile syncing that is done by placing Shine on top of an iOS device and using an official app that can be...

The Verge reports that Philips is adding new products to Hue, its line of iOS-controlled LED light bulbs. The new products include "LightStrips", which are two-meter pieces of LED-inclusive tape that can be used to go around and highlight certain fixtures in the home, and "Bloom", a portable lamp powered by an LED bulb. As with the original Hue, both products can be controlled with a free iOS...

Square has updated its iOS app to add tracking of gift card and check purchases, in addition to the credit card and cash purchases that it tracked previously. The company is attempting to make the Square Register app an all-purpose cash register app for small businesses.The app was updated back in April with barcode scanning and order modifiers like "extra cheese" for restaurants.What's new...

Earlier this year, Feedly launched a new RSS cloud platform to replace Google Reader, garnering the service more than eight million new users. Today the company has introduced Feedly Pro, a new feature that it is beta testing. Feedly Pro, which will be priced at $5/month, comes with a number of premium features for users:- Article search: Search within your Feedly feeds - Https: Add a layer...

Google has released a new app offering access to AdSense earnings data on the go. The AdSense app does not allow any changes to be made to the account, but allows website owners to see earnings info, top custom and URL channels, and other reports.The AdSense app provides an easy way to access key data from your AdSense account. Access reporting features anywhere, directly from your iPhone. The...

The NFL has updated its iOS app for the 2013 NFL season with a visual redesign that includes easy access to news, video highlights, and scores, as well as premium upgrade features that are available to Verizon customers that allow access to live streaming to NFL games, NFL Network, and NFL RedZone. As the brand new, redesigned and rebuilt official app of the NFL, NFL Mobile is built to bring...

As noted by Engadget, music streaming service Spotify has announced "Browse", a playlist curation and recommendation feature that will begin rolling out to users of its iOS and Android today. Browse utilizes a new user interface within the existing app, with the playlists selected by Spotify staffers and set to accompany different moods and moments. The feature also allows for users to integrate ...

After a price cut to its Surface RT tablet and reports of modest sales last month, The Verge is reporting that Microsoft has cut the price of its Surface Pro tablet by $100 through August 29. The price cut applies to both the 64 GB and 128 GB versions of the tablet, bringing down the price of those models to $799 and $899 respectively. In July, Microsoft filed its annual Form 10-K with the...

Notetaking and archiving service Catch Notes has announced that it will be shutting down service on August 30. The service is providing current users instructions on how to obtain stored documents from its server in the form of ZIP or CSV downloads, and is also optimizing the files for use in other note-taking services such as Evernote and Simplenote. Catch has made the difficult decision to...

Following the cancellation of Infinity Blade Dungeons, it appears that a third game in the popular Infinity Blade series will be released in the future. Gaming site Kotaku has discovered that the LinkedIn profile of a QA Tester at Chair, the studio behind the series, has Infinity Blade III listed as one of his projects. Infinity Blade and Infinity Blade 2 have proven to be some of the most...

The upcoming cyperpunk-themed first-person shooter Neon Shadow includes a unique multiplayer mode that allows two users to play on a single iPad, according to our sister-site TouchArcade.That's not the crazy part though, as Crescent Moon and Tasty Poison have worked together previously on the truly excellent Pocket RPG [$4.99]. No, the crazy thing is that Neon Shadow will feature a same-device...