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

Kano today announced the launch of the new Harry Potter Kano Coding Kit, which was developed in partnership with Warner Bros. Using the coding kit, Harry Potter fans will be able to follow step-by-step instructions to build a wand, learning about sensors, data, and coding along the way. The wand includes a gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer, which lets it track location, speed, and the ...

Startup "Miles" today launched a new iOS app [Direct Link] that grants its users exclusive rewards to use at places like Starbucks and Whole Foods every time they travel in a car, bus, on a bike, or on foot. The company aims for its app to be a ground transportation alternative to frequent flier miles, allowing users to earn discounts over time for travel that they likely perform more frequently...

Nomad today announced the launch of a new wireless charging accessory that's been designed specifically with new Tesla Model 3 vehicles in mind. The Tesla Wireless Charger is a wireless charging dock developed for the iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and future iPhones, which fits perfectly into the Tesla Model 3 dash and connects to the two USB-A ports in the car. With the dual USB-A...

eBay, the popular online marketplace, today announced it will begin accepting Apple Pay as a payment method later this year. iPhone and iPad users will be able to use Apple Pay to purchase items from sellers participating in the initial phase of the rollout in the United States beginning in the fall, through both eBay's app and mobile website. Earlier this year, eBay announced it will...

Apple retail stores and the online Apple Store are now offering an iPhone case from Lander that's designed to be used in extreme weather conditions, protecting the iPhone from both hot and cold with an insulated lining. The new Torrey Case , available for all of Apple's recent iPhones, is equipped with a layer of ThermoLine, which regulates and insulates against harsh temperatures....

WhatsApp received an update overnight that suggests media previews will soon be coming to the app's iOS message notifications for the first time. Currently in WhatsApp iOS notifications, images included in messages are replaced by a camera emoji, requiring the user to open WhatsApp to see the media. Likewise, GIF messages are represented in notifications by the space invader emoji. However, ...

YouTube today announced on its Creator Insider channel that it is experimenting with a new Explore Tab on mobile devices, which is designed to expose YouTube viewers to content they might not otherwise experience. The Explore Tab will recommend different topics, channels, or videos that wouldn't typically come up in a user's traditional feed. Explore Tab recommendations are still personalized...

Consumer Intelligence Research Partners this afternoon shared analysis comparing data collected from Spotify subscribers in the United States and Spotify subscribers globally, finding some notable differences in habits between the two. Spotify has a lower percentage of Spotify Premium subscribers in the United States compared to the global share, according to CIRP, which CIRP attributes to the ...

Netgear's Arlo brand today announced the launch of the new Arlo Audio Doorbell and Arlo Chime, a new smart doorbell solution that's designed to pair with wire-free cameras in the Arlo lineup. The Arlo Audio Doorbell doesn't include its own camera, as it's meant to be used with existing Arlo home security camera options. It pairs up with an Arlo camera installed in a home's entryway and adds...

Philips Hue first announced a range of outdoor lights at CES in January, and then a few months later confirmed the fixtures and bulbs would launch in July. Now that the Philips Hue outdoor collection is out in the U.S., a new accessory has been discovered on the company's Netherlands website called the Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance LightStrip Outdoor (via HomeKit News). Similar to the ...

China-based BOE Technology Group is stepping up its bid to become an OLED panel supplier for Apple's future smartphones, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. BOE is the world's top producer of large liquid crystal screens and already makes displays for Apple's iPads and MacBooks, but the firm now has its sights set on the lucrative OLED panel market. The earliest BOE...

Apple is investigating dozens of cases of fraudulent iTunes account charges in Singapore, according to local news reports over the weekend. Channel News Asia spoke to two people in the Southeast Asian country who said they had both lost several thousand dollars through fraudulent transactions processed through their iTunes accounts. Apple Orchard Road in Singapore (Image via Strait Times) Tw...

When Apple launched iPhones without Home buttons, a whole new set of gestures were introduced, changing the way that we were used to interacting with our iPhones. One of these changes involved the App Switcher and the way open apps are found, with Apple introducing a gesture to reach the App Switcher on devices with a Home button. How to close an app on iPhone X, XS, XS Max, XR, iPhone...

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Choetech to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win an 18W USB-C Power Delivery Wall Charger. This giveaway product is a little simpler than many of our other giveaway options, but we have quite a few to provide to MacRumors readers and these power adapters are an essential component for fast charging with the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8...

Uber this week announced a partnership with startup "Cargo," which aims to increase the wages of rideshare drivers by providing them with small containers filled with goods that riders can buy during their trips (via TechCrunch). Despite the new partnership with Uber, Cargo will still support drivers of other ridesharing apps. Cargo works by providing drivers with a free Cargo box filled...

The latest proposed U.S. tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods name Apple Watch and other activity trackers assembled in China, according to government rulings. Reuters reports the latest rulings list names the original Apple Watch, Fitbit Charge, Charge HR and Surge models, and Sonos Play:3, Play:5 and SUB speakers. If the list goes into effect this fall following its public comment...

WhatsApp says it is limiting the ability to forward messages to multiple chats at once in an attempt to reduce the spread of spam and misinformation. The news follows WhatsApp's recent decision to add labels that indicate to users that a message has been forwarded. The change was announced by the company in a blog post that specifically mentions India, where the spreading of fake messages...

Popular third-party password manager 1Password received an update today that takes the iOS app to version 7.1 and introduces Markdown support in secure notes, stickers for Messages, and a couple of notable fixes. Following on from the Mac version updated in May, 1Password for iOS now lets you create rich secure notes that can include headers, bold and italic text, lists, tappable links, and...