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

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has stoked speculation this week that Redmond is prepping a new line of smartphones under the Surface brand for launch in early 2017. In an interview with the Australian Financial Review published on Monday, Nadella said the company was conducting innovative research that would ensure it continued to have a presence in the smartphone market. However, rather than...

Amazon today began offering devices in its Echo smart speaker range at discounted prices for the first time in the products' short history, as part of its Black Friday Deals Week. For those unfamiliar with the devices, the connected speakers' array of microphones lets users query voice-based assistant Alexa, who can be asked to do things like play music, read the news, use apps, check the...

A web developer and graphic designer has created a fully functioning touchscreen "Apple Mirror", offering a reflective look into an imagined future where Cupertino builds smart screens for the home. New York-based Rafael Dymek created the mirror as a personal project, aping elements of iOS 10 to augment the interface, which appears to run off the back of a modified desktop touchscreen OS. ...

Verizon today announced its Black Friday deals, introducing a discount that will give customers a chance to purchase an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus for as little as $0 when trading in an eligible smartphone and selecting a device payment plan. Verizon customers will be able to get an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus at a reduced cost and with no money down when trading in one of thirteen eligible...

Starting on November 24, Hermès boutiques will begin selling an exclusive "Equateur Tattoo" Apple Watch band designed using a jungle print from naturalist artist Robert Dallet, reports Vogue's French site. Priced at 419 euros, the band is similar to the Single Tour that Hermés has offered for several months and features the same design that's been previously used by Hermès on other products. ...

Microsoft today launched the "Microsoft Solitaire Collection" on iOS and Android, a package of classic Solitaire games that include Klondike, Spider, FreeCell, Pyramid, and Tripeaks. As noted by The Verge, Microsoft's version of Solitaire has been available on Windows for more than 25 years, but this marks the first time that the game has been extended to other platforms. The app will offer...

Target has announced it will be offering 15% off all Apple products, including the iPhone and Apple Watch, online and in stores on Sunday, November 27 and Monday, November 28. The two-day Cyber Monday event will begin on early Sunday morning. The 15% discount will be automatically applied at checkout both online and in stores during the sale. No promo code or in-store coupon will be...

Google has announced a new feature in its Search and Maps services that enables Black Friday shoppers to know how busy a store is in real time. Dubbed "crowd control", the live feature comes on the back of the company's Popular Times feature, introduced last year, that lets users check how busy a place typically is at different times of the week. Just in time for the Black Friday swarms, ...

Pebble has released a new firmware for its Pebble 2 and Time-Series smartwatches that brings a faster interface, improved heart-rate tracking features and Reminders support for iOS. First off, the new 4.3 firmware update introduces a new watchface to 2-Series and Time-Series watches that includes at-a-glance readouts for time, step count, step progress for the day, and heart rate (2-Series...

T-Mobile today announced its Black Friday deals, bringing back a popular trade-in offer that will allow customers to get a free or discounted iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus when trading in an older device. When trading in an iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, or iPhone 7 Plus, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, or Note 5, customers can get a 32GB iPhone 7 for free. With the...

Developer Riley Testut has begun teasing the launch of a new emulator, called "Delta," coming this December in beta form, presumably for iOS devices. On Delta's teaser site, hazy images of controllers for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Nintendo 64 are shown alongside the Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Color. Testut tweeted out the information for Delta yesterday, while also saying...

iFixit today announced the release of its redesigned Essential Electronics Toolkit, a magnetized case equipped with a variety of tools and screwdriver bits for repairing iPhones and other electronics at home. Many of the tools are featured in iFixit's iPhone repair guides, including the iFixit Opening Tool, iFixit Opening Picks, and Suction Handle, providing the essentials for do-it-yourself ...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published an Apple patent on Tuesday that shows the company has been researching a foldable iPhone design that uses a flexible OLED display. First spotted by AppleInsider, a patent titled "Flexible display devices" describes an iPhone design that folds in two when not in use, reminiscent of the old clamshell cellphones Motorola used to make in the 1990s. ...

A malicious video link that when played in Safari causes iOS devices to crash has been discovered this morning. Playing the MP4 video in question through Safari appears to have no effect at first, but gradually the operating system slows down before it freezes completely, after which only a hard reset will bring the device back to life. YouTube channel EverythingApplePro has posted a demonstrat...

Digital image and video stabilization features have been included in modern smartphones for a while now, with each new generation offering improved correction for jumps and jitters that typically occur during handheld shooting. Still, even the latest handsets can't quite match the benefits that can be gained from using a motorized mount specifically designed to reduce vibration and unwanted...

Twelve South today introduced a new product in its HiRise line, called the HiRise Duet, which provides charging stations for an iPhone or iPad, as well as an Apple Watch. The stand supports the Apple Watch's Night Stand Mode, which displays an alarm clock and turns the device's Digital Crown into a snooze button. The stand has a 3.75” square footprint and includes an integrated Lightning...

Instagram today revealed two major new updates coming to its platform, including transient live videos and direct messages, akin to Snapchat. The company has added live video as a new UI option in the story camera -- Boomerang was added there recently as well -- and the feature lets users go live for up to an hour. As with Facebook's own live video, friends get notifications when the stream...

In a new article posted by The New York Times over the weekend, Apple's contributions to the United States workforce and economy are highlighted with a focus on the company's campus in Austin, Texas. Some of its 6,000 employees there (grown from 2,100 seven years ago) were interviewed, providing a glimpse into the employment lifestyle Apple offers its staff members. The central occupation of...