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

Misfit and Speedo have teamed up for a second-generation Speedo Shine, which is launching today. Like the first Speedo Shine, the Speedo Shine 2 is an activity, swim, and sleep tracker, but the updated version includes many features adopted from Misfit's Shine 2 activity tracker. The Speedo Shine 2 includes a new vibration motor along with multicolor lights for better user feedback. Lap...

Google is making the two-factor authentication process to log into a user account a simpler affair by integrating it into the company's iOS search app. Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to users' Google Apps accounts by requiring them to enter a verification code in addition to their username and password when signing into their account. The two-step verification...

Microsoft yesterday launched a management app for its online workflow service and IFTTT competitor, called Flow. For those unfamiliar with the idea, services like IFTTT let you connect different digital platforms and automate actions between them, like having all Gmail attachments save to a Dropbox account, or making every new entry added to a contact list sync to a Google spreadsheet....

Ultimate Ears today announced a firmware update that brings Siri and Google Now integration to its UE Boom 2 and UE Megaboom speakers, making it easier for iPhone and Android users to play and control music on the devices without needing to access their phones. With Siri integration, pushing the Bluetooth button on the UE Boom 2 or the UE Megaboom activates Apple's virtual assistant, allowing...

Starting on Tuesday, June 21, U.S. customers who purchased e-books from Apple and other retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble will begin receiving payouts from the $450 million settlement Apple agreed to pay after being found guilty of conspiring to fix the prices of e-books. Customers will be receiving a $6.93 credit for each book that was a New York Times bestseller, and a $1.57 credit...

Fitbit today announced a new featured called "Sleep Schedule" as an update to its existing iOS and Android apps, aimed at guiding users into an overall more healthy lifestyle through the introduction of consistent sleep patterns. Users who wear their Fitbit devices to bed will gain increased insight into their sleeping schedules, as well as personalized sleep goals and reminders that are all...

Bank of America has begun rolling out support for withdrawing cash from its ATMs using Apple Pay. Approximately 650 card-less ATMs were deployed in the San Francisco area in May, and the technology expanded to 2,400 ATMs, including eleven in the Raleigh-Durham region, in early June. The new ability was also spotted by a Reddit user located in Redondo Beach, California, who took a picture of ...

Apple Maps has been updated with comprehensive Transit information for the city of Denver, Colorado, enabling iPhone users in the area to navigate using public transportation, including buses, subways, and commuter rails. Transit routing was introduced in iOS 9 with support for a limited number of cities, but Apple has since expanded its public transportation coverage for over 20 cities...

Last month, B&O PLAY announced the Beoplay A1, the latest portable Bluetooth speaker in its family of luxury home audio products. B&O PLAY is a brand subsidiary of Danish high-end audio and video manufacturer Bang & Olufsen, known for its principled attention to design (which some say inspired Apple). We decided to take a look at the A1 ultraportable speaker to see if the device justifies its ...

Microsoft has announced it is acquiring natural language and AI messaging startup Wand Labs as part of a larger strategy to build out "conversation as a platform" (via TechCrunch). Founded in 2013 by former Google staffer Vishal Sharma, Wand Labs' stated aim is "to tear down app walls, integrate your services in chat, and make them work together so you can do more with less taps"....

During Apple's opening keynote address at this week's Worldwide Developer's Conference in San Francisco, CEO Tim Cook gave a shout-out to Anvitha Vijay, the youngest ever developer to attend WWDC. Aged just nine, Vijay applied for and won one of 350 coveted Apple scholarships to attend the conference's coding and programming sessions, which are typically dominated by high school and college...

Apple Wallet was designed to allow users to easily place payment options like credit cards, debit cards, and gift cards alongside tickets and passes from companies like Fandango and EventBrite. However, Politico Europe has decided to try to use the app to deliver news to its readers, reports NiemanLab (via AppleInsider). As a part of its coverage of the EU Referendum [next week's nationwide...

Apple today announced the debut of a selection of new features and resources available to developers to help them test, optimize, and analyze their iOS, watchOS, and tvOS apps. Apple’s TestFlight beta testing platform has been updated with support for iOS 10, watchOS 3 and tvOS 10, so developers can begin testing apps incorporating new features like SiriKit immediately and providing betas to...

Apple previewed iOS 10 earlier this week with new rich notifications that enable iPhone users to view photos and videos, listen to audio, or respond to messages directly within notification bubbles. If you receive an iMessage, for example, you will be able to reply to the conversation without leaving the Lock screen. Apple has also provided developers with the ability to update existing...

Despite announcing a handful of new additions to iOS 10 earlier in the week at WWDC, Apple kept silent on whether or not a much-requested "Dark Mode" would be coming to its mobile operating system this year, although it did announce a similar feature would be hitting Apple TV. Yesterday, developer Andrew Wiik shared a few screenshots of what appears to be an early form of Dark Mode running...

Case designs, drawings, and renders for the "iPhone 7" and "iPhone 7 Plus" have been propagating online for several months now, with most agreeing that the 2016 smartphone will adopt the same design language of the iPhone 6s. Apple is still expected to introduce a few new exclusive features on this year's iPhone, possibly including a Smart Connector, dual-lens camera, redesigned antennae bands,...

Facebook has included a secret soccer game in the latest update to its Messenger app to celebrate Euro 2016 and Copa America. To play the game, called "Keepy Up", update the iOS Messenger app and send a friend a soccer ball emoji, then tap the emoji in the chat thread to launch the game, the aim of which is to keep the ball in the air. The game can be started again using the same emoji in ...

An interesting leak has emerged online this morning that suggests Samsung is about to bring a new type of light notification technology to the rear case of its smartphones. Android phones often come with a separate notification LED on the front of the handset that alerts users to missed messages and calls. Otherwise, notifications are usually assumed to relate to the display of a mobile...