Amazon has quietly launched a new web app called "Kindle Cloud Reader" that allows Chrome and Safari users to access their Kindle eBooks through their browsers. The Cloud Reader also supports the iPad version of Safari, giving Amazon a workaround to Apple's new subscription rules requiring any in-app sales to go through Apple's purchasing system.
The iPad version is especially good because the store is fully optimized for the device. And you can easily switch back and forth between the store and your own library. It feels like a native app, but it’s not.
The web app even supports local storage so that you can read your Kindle books even without a web connection.
Apple has been at odds with many content providers after implementing their new subscription rules preventing native iOS app publishers from selling content outside of Apple's own in-app system. Amazon complied with the rules by removing the Kindle Store button from their native application, but for the iPad now has this web-based option that does directly integrate with their sales system.
Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself.
Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update.
Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September.
Below, we recap the key...
Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed.
Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles."
If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup.
If you skipped the iPhone...
Apple may have updated several iPads and Macs late last year and early this year, but there are still multiple new devices that we're looking forward to seeing in 2025. Most will come in September or October, but there could be a few surprises before then.
We've rounded up a list of everything that we're still waiting to see from Apple in 2025.
iPhone 17, 17 Air, and 17 Pro - We get...
Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:11 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today released iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1 come two weeks after the launch of iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
There have been complaints about ...
Apple today updated its vintage products list to add the 2018 Mac mini and the iPhone 6s, devices that will get more limited service and repairs now that they are considered vintage.
The iPhone 6s initially launched in 2015, but Apple kept it around as a low-cost device until 2018, which is why it is only now being added to the vintage list. The iPhone 6s had Apple's A9 chip, and it was...
Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:04 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today released tvOS 18.4.1, a minor update to the tvOS 18 operating system that came out last September. tvOS 18.4.1 comes two weeks after Apple released tvOS 18.4, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models.
tvOS 18.4.1 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the Apple TV. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software....
Stuff like this shows how useful HTML5 can be. I'm pleased to see things like this myself, great work from Amazon.
Looking forward to see more things like this powered by HTML5.
Since it's HTML5, it's a bit like Amazon beat Apple at their own game with this. :D
And it really does serve Apple right for the terms they enacted. It's also a good move should Apple decide to become even more anti-competitive with their App Store terms.
Seems like a pretty brilliant use of the latest HTML5 technologies (especially with the off-line functionality). The obvious benefit, as mentioned, would be getting around Apple's "give us 30% of the price for in-app purchases" rule; but it would seem to have other advantages as well. If Apple chose to dramatically change the API in a future release of iOS - or if Google did the same with Android, for that matter - Amazon wouldn't have to break a sweat. Kindle users would continue to have full access to their books on the iPad with no extra effort or feverish overtime work by their programers to update. It's not as if Apple or Google can remove HTML5 functionality without repercussions...
A lot of the scrap on the iOS app store would be much better done as web apps. Much more universal, much less of a pain to develop for the developers and also would help with the crowding in the app store.
Let's face it, many of the apps are just document viewers or smallish databases. The problem is with the "gold rush", everyone went native, destroying basically 10 years of moving stuff to the Web where it fit gracefully. The 80s and 90s was where boxed software was the rage, where you had to install it locally. The late 90s brought us rich web applications where server-side dynamically generated HTML technologies the likes of J2EE and other, simpler stacks.
HTML5 solves a lot of the issues we had client side (offline storage, richer UIs) and moving forward, a lot of apps just make sense as webapps.
