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

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming watchOS 4.2.2 update to developers, 10 days after seeding the fourth beta and more than a month after releasing watchOS 4.2, an update that introduced support for Apple Pay Cash. Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app...

Rock band Def Leppard has added its back catalog of music onto Apple Music and other streaming services today, following a years-long "power struggle" with Universal Records over the band's digital song rights. Now, as Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliott explained to TeamRock.com, new executives at Universal Records have thought differently about the band's streaming catalog, leading to the ...

Facebook is testing a feature that will let users post stories on Mac and PC, in an effort to further make the ephemeral sharing feature stick on the platform. Once the test rolls out wide, Facebook users will be able to click an "Upload Photo" button to share pictures and videos to their story, or "Open Camera" to record a story with a webcam. Images via TechCrunch The test also includes...

Italy and South Korea on Thursday joined a growing list of countries in which class-action lawsuits and government investigations into Apple's iPhone battery slowdowns are underway. Italy's antitrust body revealed it had opened a probe into allegations that Apple used iOS updates to slow older smartphones and push clients into buying new models (via Reuters). The Italian watchdog said Apple...

LivingSocial has brought back a deal centering on Apple Music, which last appeared in November. With the offer, you can get a four month subscription to Apple's streaming music service for free, adding one extra month onto the existing three month free trial and saving you $9.99. Like the previous offer, LivingSocial's deal is only available for new subscribers who sign up for individual...

In iOS 11, Apple introduced a new feature that lets you add a quick drawing or sketch to an email message right within the Mail app. It's a simple, easy-to-access feature, but it's a little bit hidden, so you might not know that it exists. Here's how you can get to the built-in drawing tools in the Mail app on an iPhone or iPad: Open up the Mail app. Compose a new email or reply to...

Instagram was today updated with a new feature that displays when you were last active, with the new activity indicator accessible via the direct messages section of the app. In Direct, under a person's name, you'll now see when they last opened up the Instagram app with a message like "Active Now" or "Active 2h ago." This is similar to how other apps like Facebook Messenger work, letting...

In November, AT&T shared its plans to launch its "5G Evolution" network -- which isn't true 5G -- in select areas of Minneapolis as part of its overall plan to boost cellular coverage in the city during Super Bowl LII. This week, three of the major United States cellular carriers -- AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile -- each outlined their own plans to ensure that customers retain quality coverage in...

Many Facebook Messenger users have taken to social media today to point out a frustrating keyboard bug occurring within the iPhone app (via TechCrunch). According to the affected users, Messenger is "totally broken" and freezes after they type a few words in a chat window. Users have tried force closing the app, as well as deleting and reinstalling it, but nothing has yet fixed it. Facebook...

Mobile game developer Jam City this week launched the first trailer, as well as revealed a few new details, for its upcoming iOS and Android role-playing game set in the Harry Potter universe, called "Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery." The game shouldn't be confused with the other upcoming Harry Potter iOS game, "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite," which is the augmented reality title being created by...

Twitterrific issued a couple of notable updates for its macOS and iOS apps today that include new haptic feedback, chronological threads, and more. First up, version 5.18.3 of the third-party iOS Twitter interface introduces haptic responses whenever a user likes or retweets content, or pulls down to refresh a thread. On that note, and in a move that should please users keen to switch away...

Apple is planning to lease a four-story 128,000 square-foot office building in Culver City, reports Los Angeles real estate news site The Real Deal. The building, located at 8777 Washington Boulevard, was originally going to be leased by HBO, but HBO backed out. The location includes office space and 4,500 square feet of ground-level retail. Rendering of the building Apple will lease, via ...

Apple is paying Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston "upward of $1.25 million" a piece for each episode of their upcoming morning talk show drama series, reports The Hollywood Reporter. The show, which is based on Brian Stelter's non-fiction book "Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV" explores the drama-filled lives of the men and women who star on morning talk shows. ...

Apple today seeded the sixth beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.2.5 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the fifth beta and more than a month after the release of tvOS 11.2.1, an update that introduced a fix for a HomeKit vulnerability. Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the new tvOS 11.2.5 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via...

iPhone suppliers are said to be preparing for low orders from Apple in the first quarter of 2018 because of a combination of seasonal factors and anxiety over reports of slower-than-expected sales of Apple's latest smartphone line-up. According to DigiTimes' sources in the supply chain, several component suppliers are bracing themselves for low order visibility for the full range of iPhone 8, ...

Nomad today announced the launch of its new Wireless Charging Hub, which is designed to be the ultimate desktop hub for iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus users. The top of the Hub is a wireless charging pad that offers up to 7.5W of wireless charging power for Apple's glass-backed iPhones, and underneath, there are four additional ports. Three are USB-A ports meant for charging all...

Google's Arts & Culture app rocketed to the top of the free app charts over the weekend after one of its experimental interactive features went viral. Better known for its relatively staid virtual history exhibitions and digitized artworks, the app's sudden popularity is down to the addition of an option near the bottom of its scrolling interface which asks users, "Is your portrait in a...

Apple's iPhone 7 Plus was the second best-selling smartphone in China last year and outperformed iPhone 7 sales by some margin, according to new market research, suggesting price is not the only concern amongst Chinese consumers. Low-cost smartphones have dominated the Chinese market in recent years, while high-end devices from companies like Apple typically see low sales numbers in the...