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

Second-screen iPad app Astropad has today launched a new premium version of its drawing suite called "Astropad Studio" that's been built exclusively for the iPad Pro (via TechCrunch). The new service offers users a number of advantages over the basic app -- including 40 MB/s max speed for lower latency, deep Apple Pencil integration, and more -- for a subscription plan of $7.99/month or...

Instagram today announced that more than 150 million people now use its Snapchat-like Stories feature on a daily basis, and now the company is looking to monetize that user base with the introduction of full-screen ads. Just like Snapchat, Instagram will sometimes add a 5-second photo or 15-second video ad in between stories when a user watches more than one in a row. The video ads in...

Apple has partnered with security firm Tresorit so that developers using Apple's CareKit platform will have access to increased privacy options (via Mashable). Tresorit's security technology, ZeroKit, will bring user authentication to patients and healthcare workers, while its end-to-end encryption smarts promise "zero knowledge" sharing of health data. The ZeroKit team announced the...

U.S. airlines will no longer have to make a pre-boarding notification to passengers that the Samsung Galaxy Note7 is prohibited on aircraft, it was announced yesterday. In a statement on its website, the Federal Aviation Administration said it was dropping the requirement because public awareness that the banned Note7 was a fire risk was deemed to have reached a sufficient level, thanks in...

This week marked 10 years since Steve Jobs unveiled the original iPhone at Macworld in San Francisco. In commemoration, iFixit has published a roundup of 15 iPhone teardowns the site has completed over the past decade, offering a look at how the design's construction has evolved over time. In contrast to Apple's iMacs and MacBooks which have become progressively more difficult to repair in...

Although Apple.com has listed the BeatsX Earphones as not launching until sometime in February, a few tipsters emailing MacRumors have pointed out that Amazon updated their pre-orders to suggest that BeatsX will be arriving earlier than expected. The updated delivery windows are large, but both place the upcoming earphones with a January delivery date: one ranges from January 17 to January 27,...

After partners like CBS and NBC were confirmed to be part of Hulu's upcoming live-streaming TV service, Mashable recently got a glimpse of the early build for the service on both iOS and full-screen TV apps. Hulu has still kept details under wraps regarding specific price points and plans, although Hulu Chief Executive Mike Hopkins said last week that it will cost users "under $40" each month. ...

Fitbit has made another acquisition in the wearables market, this time buying out European luxury smartwatch maker Vector Watch for an undisclosed price. Vector Watch only launched in March of last year offering a range of 12 smartwatch models in various fashion-conscious styles. Key features in its line-up include basic activity tracking, phone notifications, and 30-day battery life, with...

Less than a year after introducing a fee for customers upgrading their smartphones, Verizon has raised the the price of said fee from $20 to $30, reports The Verge. The fee change was quietly implemented last week alongside the discontinuation of two-year contracts for existing customers. Those customers previously had to pay a $40 fee when activating a new contract and purchasing a new...

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming watchOS 3.1.3 update to developers for testing purposes, three weeks after releasing the first watchOS 3.1.3 beta and four months after the launch of watchOS 3. watchOS 3.1.3 can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update. To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent...

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming tvOS 10.1.1 update to developers for testing purposes, almost four weeks after seeding the first tvOS 10.1.1 beta and nearly a month after releasing tvOS 10.1, the first major update to the tvOS 10 operating system. Designed for the fourth-generation Apple TV, tvOS 10.1.1 beta can be obtained by connecting the Apple TV to a computer with a...

Popular Chinese mobile app company WeChat [Direct Link] congratulated Apple on ten years of the iPhone earlier this morning, with founder Allan Zhang posting photos online from the iPhone's unveiling in January 2007. Simultaneously, WeChat parent company Tencent Holdings launched a suite of cloud-based smartphone apps that analysts believe suggests WeChat intends to "play a leading role in...

Sharp is gearing up to help create OLED displays for the iPhone inside of Foxconn's "iPhone City" plant in Zhengzhou, China, according to a new report by Nikkei (via DigiTimes). Foxconn acquired Sharp in 2016, and soon after reports emerged that Foxconn would use its newly acquired investment in Sharp to become a major OLED supplier for Apple. Today's report points toward the OLED displays...

Popular cross-platform email client Airmail received an update to its iOS component today, bringing a couple of notable extra features to the app. New with version 1.5 is support for third-party automation tool Workflow, enabling users to incorporate email and inbox actions into their custom Workflow creations. The update also brings integration with cross-platform note-taking app Bear,...

Lock manufacturer Yale at CES 2017 this week announced that its lineup of Real Living Assure smart locks will be compatible with HomeKit by the end of March. By then, new Assure locks will be sold with a HomeKit module, which will also be available to purchase separately to add to existing Assure locks. HomeKit support will enable users to lock and unlock their homes by using Apple's new...

Samsung today announced the first iOS apps for its popular Gear family of smartwatches, which were previously only compatible with Android phones. The Samsung Gear S app brings iPhone connectivity to the company's Gear 2 and Gear 3 wearables, while the Gear Fit app offers similar compatibility for Gear Fit2 watches. The apps allow device owners to monitor features and manage applications...

Russian authorities have required Apple and Google to remove the LinkedIn app from the App Store and Google Play in Russia, reports The New York Times. The move comes a couple weeks after Russia blocked LinkedIn's website. The demand by Russian authorities to remove LinkedIn in Apple and Google app stores comes weeks after a court blocked the professional networking service for flouting...

In celebration of the 2017 Chinese New Year, designated Year of the Rooster, Apple has launched a new section on its website in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore highlighting five young Chinese artists that have created contemporary versions of traditional "Nianhua" folk art. The first day of the Chinese New Year is January 28, 2017. The artists include Victo Ngai, Eszter Chen, Zhou...