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

Amazon today has expanded its Music Unlimited streaming service with a new subscription tier: $14.99 per month for a "Family Plan." The option supports up to six family members (at least 13-years-old) for simultaneous listening and personal recommendations. There's also an alternative payment option to pay $149 upfront for an entire year of the Family Plan, cutting the subscription down to about...

Popular task-managing app Todoist today announced a new AI-powered feature called "Smart Schedule," which intelligently takes into account user habits and pre-existing tasks to organize and schedule tasks on its own. The company said that it created the feature because so many of its users -- 70 percent in total -- face unfinished tasks each day. With Smart Schedule, Todoist hopes that...

Reddit today updated its official iOS app to version 2.0, fixing a few bugs for Reddit Live as well as introducing full support for the iPad. The first-party app, which launched in April of this year, has been available only for the iPhone and iPod touch until today. On the iPad, Reddit keeps essentially all of the same features and tabs that users can expect: timeline, subscriptions, inbox, ...

Google today launched a new app called PhotoScan, which is designed to make it easy to scan printed photographs using your iPhone's camera. PhotoScan instructs users to take four separate quick images of a printed photo, stitching them together to create a perfect high-resolution digital copy. Google's multi-image capture method eliminates issues that normally plague digital photos of print...

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming watchOS 3.1.1 update to developers for testing purposes, just over a week after seeding the second watchOS 3.1.1 beta and three weeks after releasing watchOS 3.1, the first update to the watchOS 3 operating system. watchOS 3.1.1 can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General -> Software Update. To...

iOS 10.2, currently being beta tested, introduces new artwork for many existing emoji. Apple has made an effort to add more detail to emoji, for a more realistic, vivid look that works well with the Messages feature in iOS 10 and macOS Sierra that displays larger emoji. Almost all of the food emojis were redesigned in iOS 10.2, but one redesign received a lot more attention than others - the...

Almost three months after news first broke that Twitter was planning to launch new features in order to address a bevy of concerns leveled at the company in regards to bullying and harassment among its users, the company today announced the launch of a few anti-abuse steps it'll be taking to make its platform more inclusive. The final product is slightly different from what was detailed in...

Nintendo today confirmed that its iOS endless runner game, Super Mario Run, will launch on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch on December 15 for $9.99, a price that will allow users "full access" to the game's three modes. Players will also be able to download the game for free, gaining limited access to elements from each mode so that they can try out the game before deciding whether or not they want...

Apple today was granted a patent that essentially updates an older wearable sports and health tracking device invention with features similar to those found in the company's new AirPods wireless headphones. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published an Apple patent on Tuesday with the title "Sports monitoring system for headphones, earbuds and/or headsets", which AppleInsider notes is...

WhatsApp messenger service is today officially rolling out end-to-end encrypted video calling to over 1 billion users of the app across the globe (via TechCrunch). Video calling had recently been spotted in beta versions of the Facebook-owned chat service on Android, but the feature is now becoming available across all platforms. Tapping the call button in the top right corner of an open...

Popular shoe brand TOMS today unveiled a new line of Apple Watch bands, each of which is made of a durable grosgrain fabric with leather detailing. Apple Watch bands are divided into two collections, Utility and Artisan. Utility bands, priced at $49, come in Light Blue Stripe, Black, and Olive for 42mm Apple Watch models, and Dusty Pink, Light Blue Stripe, and Clay for 38mm Apple Watch models. ...

Apple today announced that nonprofit organizations in the United States are now able to accept accept donations using Apple Pay, allowing donors to send money to various charities more quickly. Many nonprofits like UNICEF, charity:water, American Red Cross, (RED), Save the Children, World Wildlife Fund, and more will begin accepting Apple Pay payments starting this morning, while others will...

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming tvOS 10.1 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the second tvOS 10.1 beta and more than a month after launching tvOS 10. Designed for the fourth-generation Apple TV, the third tvOS 10.1 beta can be obtained by connecting the Apple TV to a computer with a USB-C to USB-A cable, downloading and installing the software...

Samsung Electronics has announced that it will spend $8 billion to purchase Harman International Industries Inc, a company which designs and manufactures connected automobile infotainment systems. The buyout of Harman is Samsung's "largest ever overseas acquisition" and sets up the company to become the "go-to supplier" for automobile accessories and systems (via Bloomberg). Harman's...

A collection of companies based in the United States could face "impaired" blowback if President-elect Donald Trump follows through with his campaign plan of imposing a 45 percent tariff on imports from China, as well as considering China "a currency manipulator." According to Chinese newspaper Global Times, these actions will not only negatively affect China's reputation, but "the trade...

Amazon's streaming music service has gone live in the U.K. and will roll out to Germany and Austria later today, according to TechCrunch. Amazon Music Unlimited launched in the U.S. last month to compete with the likes of Apple Music, Spotify, and Google Play Music, which just got a revamp. Amazon Prime members in the U.K. will pay £7.99 per month or £79 per year, while non-Prime members can ...

Apple today opened up a new section of its iOS App Store called "For Those Who Serve" in honor of Veterans Day today, November 11. The company said that the collection of apps within the new category focus on "the latest military news, essential health and wellness info, and other valuable tools for everyday life." Each app in the section can be found listed below. News - MarinesMobile [Dire...

iPhone display supplier Japan Display is in "advanced talks" with the government-backed fund Innovation Network Corp. of Japan to receive around ¥75 billion ($703 million) in financing, according to The Wall Street Journal. The bailout deal could help Japan Display improve its LCD display technology to better compete against OLED displays, while the investment could also go towards trying to...