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

Demand for the Apple TV 4K has surged in the last few weeks as consumers seek ways to stream UHD content going into the holidays, claims a new report by Joshua Fruhlinger, publisher of data-driven site Thinknum. According to Best Buy sales rank data for streaming 4K devices in the month of November, the 32GB model of Apple's streaming set-top box has surpassed cheaper alternatives including...

Next time you find yourself with your hands full and you want to make a call on your iPhone – or even if you're in bed and your phone's just out of reach – don't forget that you can get Siri to start a speakerphone call for you, handsfree. All you need to do beforehand is make sure that your iPhone is set up to listen for the "Hey Siri" voice command. You can check this by following the ...

Ahead of Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping, eBay today is offering its customers the chance to save 15 percent sitewide with the latest promo code, PICKFAST. Like previous sitewide sales, you only have one day to shop as the new code will expire later tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we...

On November 21, 2008, Apple released iPhone OS 2.2 to users in Japan, introducing an emoji keyboard and emoji characters for the first time ever on an iPhone. At the time, the latest iPhone to be released was the iPhone 3G, which launched in June 2008 with iPhone OS 2. The emoji keyboard in 2008 (left) vs 2018 (right), via Jeremy Burge/Emojipedia Emojipedia has provided an in-depth look today ...

Google has updated its Assistant app for iOS to support Siri Shortcuts, enabling users to invoke Google's virtual assistant using Apple's virtual assistant, without even having to launch the app. Once the update has been installed, Assistant users are presented with an "Add to Siri" button that lets them record a phrase of their choosing to be used after saying the "Hey, Siri" command. As...

Apple includes an accessibility feature in iOS that's useful if you have a visual impairment, but can even come in handy if your eyes are simply tired or you're struggling to read something like small print, especially in poor light. It's called the Magnifier, and has several advantages over just opening up the camera app and zooming in to get a better look at something. Enabling it is ...

The App Store, iTunes, Apple Music, and other Apple services appear to be experiencing downtime right now, with multiple MacRumors readers reporting outages across multiple systems. When attempting to access the App Store, users are receiving a message that it can't be reached, while Apple Music says "We've run into a problem" when attempting to access the For You or Browse features. As for...

WaterField Designs is a San Francisco-based company that makes a range of different cases and bags for Apple's product lineup, from the iPhone and iPad to Macs, Apple TV, and Apple Watch. For Apple Watch, WaterField Designs has the Time Travel Case, which is designed to organize your Apple Watch accessories into one easy place for commuting and traveling so nothing gets misplaced or lost. ...

With the release of AirPlay 2 earlier this year and the follow-up addition of Dolby Atmos support for Apple TV with tvOS 12, there have been significant improvements in the home entertainment experience for Apple users. While AirPlay 2 support initially launched for HomePod with other speaker and receiver brands to come, the rollout has taken a bit of a time, and in fact there are still only a ...

Apple removed Tumblr from the iOS App Store late last week because the Yahoo-owned social network failed to filter prohibited content, it emerged today. The Tumblr app for iPhone and iPad went missing from the App Store on Friday, November 16. Shortly afterwards, Tumblr announced that it was "working to resolve an issue" with the app, but stopped short of explaining the problem. It wasn't ...

In late August, a new accessory brand called Nimble emerged from a trio of former Mophie employees, offering customers various charging devices that are all built and shipped with a focus on the environment and sustainability. Led by Ross Howe (Nimble CEO), Jon Bradley (creative director), and Kevin Malinowski (brand marketing), Nimble's lineup of accessories remains modest two months in,...

Satechi today announced the launch of a new Aluminum Type-C PD & QC Wireless Charger that's designed to charge iPhone and Android devices at their maximum wireless charging speeds. For iPhones, that means the wireless charger will offer 7.5W charging speeds, while Android devices will charge at up to 10W. Satechi's new wireless charger is a flat charger that's made from silver or space...

PayPal on eBay today is offering $100 App Store and iTunes gift cards for $85, marking the latest 15 percent discount on the cards and a good chance for those who have been waiting on a deal to get free iTunes credit. While the sale lasts, anyone with a PayPal account can take advantage of the deal, and you'll receive the code for the iTunes credit via email within a few hours after the purchase. ...

Adobe today updated its Lightroom app for iOS devices with support for Apple's latest iPhones and iPads. Lightroom CC for iOS will now display properly on Apple's fall devices, including the 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models, the iPhone XR, the iPhone XS, and the iPhone XS Max. Today's update also introduces support for the second-generation Apple Pencil, allowing you to double tap on the...

Tap, the company behind the futuristic Tap wearable keyboard, today announced the launch of a new TapAcademy app for iOS that's designed to make it easier to learn to use the keyboard. Tap is a keyboard that you wear on your thumb and fingers, using a series of finger taps to type different letters, numbers, and symbols. Sensors built into the finger rings detect the movement of your...

Verizon today announced the launch of a new "My Numbers" feature designed to let you add up to four additional numbers to a smartphone with unlimited calling and texting, for a total of five phone numbers connected to one device. To add additional numbers to a Verizon account, customers will need to download the My Numbers app from the iOS App Store. From there, Verizon users can choose...

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with SANDMARC, a company that makes camera lenses for the iPhone, to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a kit that includes a set of Pro Photography lenses, a set of Cinema lenses, and a $100 SANDMARC gift card. SANDMARC makes high-quality camera lenses that are designed to fit the iPhone 7 and later, with individual kits available for each...

Popular weather app Weather Atlas, made by Contrast and Agile Tortoise, today received a major 2.0 update that adds new functionality and a new look to the app. With the 2.0 update, Weather Atlas is now known as "Weather Up," a revamped name for a revamped app. Much of the app has been rewritten with usability improvements and fixes for lingering bugs. Weather Up's main new feature is...