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

Anki has been making toys that use artificial intelligence for years now, starting with the Anki Overdrive set of racing cars and the interactive Cozmo toy robot, but this year the company launched its most ambitious product: Vector. Unlike Cozmo, Vector is no toy, and is instead positioned as a home robotic device. Vector adopts capabilities from Cozmo, but his functionality goes above and...

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming tvOS 12.1.1 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after releasing the second tvOS 12.1.1 beta and two weeks after releasing tvOS 12.1. The new tvOS 12.1.1 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that's installed using Xcode. Subsequent betas can be downloaded over-the-air. We're not yet sure what...

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming watchOS 5.1.2 update to developers, one week after seeding the first beta and a little over a week after releasing watchOS 5.1.1, an updated version of watchOS 5.1 that addressed a bug causing some Apple Watch Series 4 models to be bricked after installing the software. Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple...

Twelve South today announced updated versions of its BookBook, Journal, and SurfacePad case accessories, which were built to fit the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR. BookBook combines an iPhone shell case with a wallet case that can hold five cards, and includes a pocket for cash. The case also folds into a display stand for hands-free usage, and if you ever want to remove the iPhone from the...

Best Buy today opened up another pre-Black Friday sale, calling this one its "Beat the Rush" sale and offering customers savings on iPhone XS and XS Max, 4K TVs, Beats headphones, Philips Hue lights, certified refurbished AirPods, and more. This sale will last through Saturday, November 17 at 11:59 p.m. CT, so if you see anything you're interested in be sure to make your purchase before the...

Apple's latest Apple Pay promotion is offering $45 off your next purchase from Ray-Ban, as long as you spend $180 or more on your current order. The offer is available on Ray-Ban.com through November 20, and customers who participate will receive the $45 as a gift voucher via email within two weeks of their order, which can be put towards their next order of $100 or more. To receive your...

Twitter has changed the way the Explore tab works in its official iOS app, with entries now organized based on topic and divided up into separate navigable sections. Twitter says the update should make exploring the platform easier than ever, with users able to find trending tweets on specific topics by tapping the designated tabs for news, sports, fun, and entertainment. Starting today in ...

A new feature rolling out for Google Maps will allow iOS and Android users to message local businesses with their queries without having to leave the GPS-based navigation app. The feature is an extension of Google's real-time business-to-customer messaging service that the company introduced in select countries last year. Businesses that signed up to the service include a Message button on ...

At the annual Never is Now Summit on Anti-Semitism and Hate, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) will present Apple CEO Tim Cook with its inaugural Courage Against Hate Award. Cook, says the ADL, has been "led by a strong moral compass" and has demonstrated that the business community has a responsibility to make the world better for all people.He recently said, "We advocate for human rights...

Microsoft today released an updated Cortana app for iOS, which features an overhauled interface and new features like music and podcasts support. For those unfamiliar with Cortana, it is Microsoft's version of Siri or Alexa, an AI-based personal assistant that can answer questions and complete small tasks. Microsoft has been testing the revamped version of Cortana since October. The new...

Instagram parent company Facebook said in August said that it would introduce tools to let users know how much time they're spending in the Instagram app, and as of today, that feature is rolling out to Instagram users. As noted by The Verge, Instagram has a new "Your Activity" section accessible by tapping the hamburger button on your profile page. "Your Activity" displays the time that...

Richard Zhu and Amat Cama, two white hat hackers, recently teamed up at the Mobile Pwn2Own contest in Tokyo and ended up earning a $60,000 prize after finding an iPhone exploit, according to a blog post on the Zero Day Initiative website. The duo used a Safari weakness on an iPhone X running iOS 12.1 to retrieve a photo that had recently been deleted from the device. The hackers used a...

Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts today accepted the Thomson Reuters Foundation's Stop Slavery Award on behalf of Apple at the Trust Conference, an annual human rights gathering. Apple received the award for its efforts to stop forced labor in its supply chain. Apple has long banned suppliers from requiring workers to pay off debt or withholding passports. "Just like we have an ...

Niantic, the company behind Pokémon Go, has been developing a new Harry Potter augmented reality game in partnership with Warner Bros, which is called Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. Today, Niantic shared some new details on the upcoming game in the form of a teaser trailer that gives a first look at gameplay. Niantic first announced Wizards Unite in November 2017, but we've heard little...

Nomad, a company that makes various cables, chargers, cases, and other accessories for Apple devices, recently came out with an updated version of its Base Station charger. While the original Base Station is designed to wirelessly charge two iPhones at once, the updated Apple Watch version is able to charge an iPhone and an Apple Watch. The Base Station Apple Watch Edition features a...

After debuting a few new Apple Watch band colors following the September keynote event, Apple today updated its website with a new (PRODUCT)RED Sport Loop. The $49.00 accessory is available in both 40mm and 44mm, and it will also fit previous Apple Watch generations with 38mm and 42mm measurements. This marks the first time that a Sport Loop band has gained the (PRODUCT)RED color option....

As Netflix tries to grow subscriber numbers outside of the United States, TechCrunch reports today that the streaming video company is testing out a subscription model where users are only able to watch on a phone or a tablet. With this stipulation, the cost of Netflix is cut by as much as 50 percent from the "Basic" tier, down to around $4/month from $8/month. Right now, the test appears to ...

Since the iPhone X, 8, and 8 Plus introduced Qi wireless charging into Apple products for the first time last year, more and more users have begun hunting for the best wireless charging pad out there. We've detailed this topic in numerous posts over the past year, and in the end, many buying recommendations for Qi mats come down to support for Apple's 7.5W fast wireless charging and overall...