Apple today released Swift Playgrounds 4, an update to the Swift Playgrounds app that's been in the works for some time. The newest version of the app allows iPhone and iPad apps to be created directly on an iPad without the need for a Mac.
Swift Playgrounds 4 includes App Store Connect integration for uploading a finished app to the App Store, plus there is an App Preview feature that shows live updates as you make changes. Apple's release notes for the update are below:
Swift Playgrounds 4.0 features: - Build iPhone and iPad apps with SwiftUI right on your iPad (requires iPadOS 15.2 or later) - App Store Connect integration lets you upload your finished app to the App Store - App Preview shows live updates as you make changes to your app - Full-screen preview lets you see your app edge-to-edge - Smart, inline code suggestions help you write code quickly and accurately - App Projects make it easy to move projects to Xcode and back - Project-wide search finds results across multiple files - Snippets Library provides hundreds of SwiftUI controls, symbols, and colors - Swift Package support lets you include publicly-available code to enhance your apps
Designing and uploading an app on the iPad requires the iPadOS 15.2 update that was released earlier this week. Swift Playgrounds can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by Juli Clover
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro.
The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
Monday November 10, 2025 1:55 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple will conceal the front-facing camera under the screen of its 2027 iPhone, a Chinese leaker said today, corroborating reports that Apple's 20th anniversary iPhone will have no visible cutouts in the display.
Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station said Apple's development of under-screen camera technology was progressing as planned for adoption in 2027, one year after it will...
Monday November 10, 2025 11:41 am PST by Juli Clover
The thin, light iPhone Air sold so poorly that Apple has decided to delay the launch of the next-generation iPhone Air that was scheduled to come out alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, reports The Information.
Apple initially planned to release a new iPhone Air in fall 2026, but now that's not going to happen.
Since the iPhone Air launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales...
Tuesday November 11, 2025 1:23 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple has teamed up with Japanese fashion house ISSEY MIYAKE to launch iPhone Pocket, a 3D-knitted limited edition accessory designed to carry an iPhone, AirPods, and other everyday items.
The accessory is like a stretchy pocket, not unlike an iPod Sock, but elongated to form a strap made of a ribbed, elastic textile that fully encloses an iPhone yet allows you to glimpse the display...
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
The future of Apple Fitness+ is "under review" amid a reorganization of the service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple Fitness+ remains one of the company's "weakest digital offerings." The service apparently suffers from high churn and little revenue.
Nevertheless, Fitness+ has a small, loyal fanbase that...
Tuesday November 11, 2025 9:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the first iOS 26.2 beta last week. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more.
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date....
Apple is expected to announce a new HomePod mini imminently, headlining with new chips. Here are all of the new features we're expecting.
The second-generation HomePod mini is highly likely to contain a more up-to-date chip for more advanced computational audio and improved responsiveness. The current HomePod mini is equipped with the Apple Watch Series 5's S5 chip from 2019. Apple is likely ...
Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store.
The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump.
...
Cellular carriers have always offered big savings on the newest iPhone models during the holidays, and Black Friday 2025 sales have kicked off at AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and more. Right now we're tracking notable offers on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air. For even more savings, keep an eye on older models during the holiday shopping season.
Note: MacRumors is...
this is amazing. also raises a good question: if something has the tools, environment,means to create apps from scratch, does it finally qualify as a computer?
Nah, expect those people to move the goalposts again.
this is amazing. also raises a good question: if something has the tools, environment,means to create apps from scratch, does it finally qualify as a computer?
this is amazing. also raises a good question: if something has the tools, environment,means to create apps from scratch, does it finally qualify as a computer?
computer: an electronic device for storing and processing data, typically in binary form, according to instructions given to it in a variable program.
this is amazing. also raises a good question: if something has the tools, environment,means to create apps from scratch, does it finally qualify as a computer?
I'd rather use Mac OS or some other desktop OS that isn't in a walled garden which will restrict the use of 3rd party development tools. The experience will be far better - having multiple applications being shown at once, more RAM, no walled garden.
If you are developing something basic, then an iPad will work for you, but much more, iPad will feel like a crippled / poor experience.
This is for XCode only. Developers use more IDEs than just XCode, outside of the Apple World, and XCode makes for a pretty poor IDE, if you need to use something other than Swift / ObjectiveC.
Exactly, also the elephant in the room: ergonomics, but I'm sure there's plenty of devs dying to develop 6hrs per day fingering a tablet with "real" multitasking.
You do know iPads support keyboard and mouse, right?
