A new iOS 16 app lets users open any app of their choice directly from their Lock Screen without ever needing to navigate their iPhone.
The app called "Launchify" lets users configure one or more iOS 16 Lock Screen widgets that directly open any app of their choosing. Users can create a widget to quickly open Messages, Twitter, the Phone app, or Apple or Google Maps, for example.
While iOS 16 includes a redesigned Lock Screen with new customization features, Apple does not allow users to replace the flashlight and Camera app shortcuts with custom apps. Users can, however, customize a wide range of visual elements on the Lock Screen, including the font and color of the time, custom wallpapers with a depth effect, and more.
Launchify is available for free on the App Store but features an in-app subscription that enables more advanced features, such as adding more than one app shortcut on the Lock Screen.
Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below.
Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone.
In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that prevents OpenAI and Jony Ive's new hardware venture from using the name "io" for products similar to those planned by AI audio startup iyO, Bloomberg Law reports.
iyO sued OpenAI earlier this year after the latter announced its partnership with Ive's new firm, arguing that OpenAI's planned "io" branding was too close to its...
Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST 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 at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker.
According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
Thursday December 4, 2025 9:30 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple confirmed that its software design chief Alan Dye will be leaving. Apple said Dye will be succeeded by Stephen Lemay, who has been a software designer at the company since 1999.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dye will lead a new creative studio within the company's AR/VR division Reality Labs.
On his blog Daring Fireball,...
Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device.
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Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
There is uncertainty about Apple's head of hardware engineering John Ternus succeeding Tim Cook as CEO, The Information reports. Some former Apple executives apparently hope that a new "dark-horse" candidate will emerge.
Ternus is considered to be the most likely candidate to succeed Cook as CEO. The report notes that he is more likely to become CEO than software head chief Craig Federighi, ...
Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent.
Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...
This is a perfect example of a piece of software offering a subscription where it's entirely not necessary. If you want to use this app and are perfectly happy with the functionality it offers today, there should be an option to purchase it outright.
I understand that developers want to be paid for the ongoing development of their software and that makes sense if there are new features to be added in future. But when you're buying a set of features that are already there and you're happy to live with them perpetually, let's see a standard purchase option.
Yet another app where the AppStore description fails to mention anywhere what the limits of the 'free' downloaded version are and what you get with the in-app subscription.
Surely it should be an AppStore requirement that developers are up-front about what the app offers, its (free) limitations and what in-app subscriptions actually give you? Having to download an app just to find out this basic information is very annoying.
