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

Apple is launching the Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE in at least four more countries next month. The company plans to launch the cellular version of the smartwatch in Denmark, Sweden, India, and Taiwan on May 11, with pre-orders starting on May 4. Network operator "3" is currently the sole cellular provider option at the point of sale on Apple's Danish and Swedish websites, while regional...

Apple today won an auction for world screen rights to "Songwriter," a documentary about popular singer Ed Sheeran, reports Deadline. Apple paid "low to mid-seven figures" for the rights to the documentary, and the company plans to make it an event release that will include a theatrical component along with a debut on Apple platforms. "Songwriter" was directed by Murray Cummings, Sheeran's ...

Apple this afternoon shared several new iPad ads on its YouTube channel in the United Kingdom, all of which are designed to highlight the addition of Apple Pencil support to the low-cost tablet. Each short video ranges in length from 12 seconds to 17 seconds and focuses on a different iPad and Apple Pencil feature or supported app. The Notes app is demonstrated in the first video, for example, ...

Amazon's Kindle app for iOS was today updated to version 6.6, introducing a handful of useful new features to those who read Amazon books on their iPhones and iPads. The updated version of the app features a new mobile-friendly format that's designed for magazines, and this new option comes shortly after rumors suggesting Apple is going to debut a subscription news service that would include...

Best Buy is back today with a refresh of deals on Apple and Apple-related products and accessories, this time including a deal on the iPhone X. With the sale, you can save up to $200 on Apple's iPhone X, when purchasing and activating the smartphone on Sprint's 24-month installment agreement. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a...

GE has a new HomeKit-enabled single-room air conditioner available for purchase, which is the first HomeKit-compatible GE product that's launched so far. The GE Energy Star 115 Volt Electronic Room Air Conditioner (model number AHP08LX) can be purchased exclusively from Lowe's for $319. Though Lowe's is charging $319, the GE site says the MSRP for the device is $269, so it may be prudent to...

Apple Music has been the focus of numerous record-breaking reports in recent weeks, and the latest comes from rapper J. Cole after he broke the service's record for most album streams in the first 24 hours in the United States. In total, subscribers streamed J. Cole's fifth album "KOD" 64.5 million times on Friday, April 20, surpassing Drake's "Views" -- the previous record holder -- by almost 1...

In a new survey conducted by SurveyMonkey and shared by Recode, 11 percent of respondents said that they believe Apple has the most positive impact on society today. Apple came in third place, however, falling in line behind Google at 15 percent and Amazon in the top spot at 20 percent. Survey respondents were given the option of choosing between a number of technology companies between...

Last week, Apple supplier TSMC saw its shares decline around nine percent after it cut its full-year revenue growth target to 10 percent, compared to its previous 10-15 percent estimate. The manufacturer blamed the cut on lower-than-expected smartphone demand and growing uncertainty in the cryptocurrency mining market. Apple's stock also declined around four percent on Friday, as many...

Back in January, Toyota finally announced support for CarPlay, becoming one of the last major car manufacturers to support Apple's system for accessing iPhone apps through a vehicle's infotainment system. Mazda, one of the other major holdouts, announced similar support last month. 2019 Toyota Avalon and Corolla Hatchback At its January announcement, Toyota revealed that the redesigned 2019...

Each year, Apple offers free WWDC scholarships to students and STEM organization members who don't have the $1,599 necessary to purchase a ticket to the company's annual developer conference. For the upcoming 2018 event, Apple accepted scholarship applications from March 26 to April 1, and since then, Apple has been going through the submissions and choosing winners. As of today, all...

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with ColorWare to give MacRumors readers a chance to win a set of custom-painted AirPods, which are available in dozens of different colors. ColorWare is a company that's been around for quite some time, offering custom paint jobs and unique skins for a range of electronic devices. AirPods can be ordered from ColorWare in custom colors for a fee of...

Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover are planning to combine their online payment options into "a single button," hoping to make customers' shopping easier and reduce friction in the checkout process. The button will be a major competitor to PayPal, and combat what's called "the NASCAR effect," where multiple payment logos and options dot the purchasing interface on online...

AT&T is planning to add a new streaming service to its lineup called "AT&T Watch," priced at a low cost of $15 per month with the removal of all sports channels. The service will be one of the cheapest streaming bundles available on the market, and will even be free for AT&T wireless subscribers on unlimited plans (via The Wall Street Journal and Variety). As of now not much else is known...

LG Display is widely considered to be ramping up its OLED display production capabilities in hopes of securing orders for Apple's next-generation iPhone lineup, expected to be released later this year, but mass production challenges have caused the company to fall behind schedule, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report, citing people familiar with the matter, claims that Apple...

eBay today announced a new update for its iOS and Android apps, aimed at further simplifying the item listing process. The headlining feature of the update is a new barcode scanner, allowing sellers to quickly scan the box of an item (if they still have it), select a condition, and click "list your item." The barcode scanner will automatically populate the listing with all of the requisite...

Verizon today announced the evolution of its existing "FamilyBase" parental controls product into "Smart Family," a redesigned app that lets parents track screen time, set content filters, monitor whereabouts, and more. With the Verizon Smart Family app, parents can instantly pause the internet to manage their kids' screen time, check the battery status of their phone, and look at a summary...

Sleep Cycle, a popular and highly downloaded alarm clock and sleep tracking app available for the iPhone, today announced a new Apple Watch app that introduces more features for an even better waking up experience. With the Sleep Cycle for Apple Watch, Sleep Cycle users can enable "snore stopper" and silent wake up options. Sleep Cycle uses "sound analysis technology" to detect when someone is ...