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

During today's Microsoft Build conference for developers, Microsoft announced plans to bring interactive bots to the Skype platform on Windows, Android, and iOS. Starting today, Skype iOS users will have access to Bots that offer expertise, products, services, and entertainment through messaging options in the Skype app. Today we are introducing Skype Bots--a new way to bring expertise,...

T-Mobile has announced that its "Buy One Get One Half Off" promotion returns March 31, offering qualifying Simple Choice customers half off the iPhone SE when they buy a second iPhone SE and add it to a new line of postpaid service. The deal also applies to the iPhone 6/6s, iPhone 6/6s Plus, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 5c. Certified pre-owned iPhones are not eligible for the limited-time offer....

Apple's primary manufacturer Foxconn has reached an agreement to purchase troubled Japanese electronics maker Sharp for a revised 389 billion Japanese yen, or roughly $3.5 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. The two companies had originally settled on an estimated $6.2 billion takeover last month, but Foxconn put the deal on hold after discovering that Sharp had hundreds of...

Apple today expanded its "Nearby" feature in the Maps app to Austria, Denmark, Japan, and Switzerland. Introduced in iOS 9, Nearby is a feature that allows Apple Maps users to see restaurants, coffee shops, retailers, and other local points of interest using easily accessible categories. Nearby is now available in a total of 13 countries, including Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Denmark,...

Instagram today announced plans to increase the maximum length of videos uploaded to the social network from 15 seconds to 60 seconds, giving iOS users an opportunity to upload and share much longer videos.We want to bring you fun, flexible and creative ways to create and watch video on Instagram. As part of our continued commitment, you'll soon have the flexibility to tell your story in up to 60 ...

In a recent update to its iOS app, popular streaming music platform Soundcloud added a subscription model into the service that will provide users with a few premium monthly upgrades on top of the discoverability and personalization previously offered. As discovered by The Verge, the service is called "Soundcloud Go" and will run users $12.99 on a monthly basis if purchased through the App...

While there are numerous battery cases for iPhones, the Prong PWR Case for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s differentiates itself with a built-in, collapsible wall charger. The folding prongs enable you to charge your iPhone by simply plugging it into a wall outlet, making it ideal for work, home, travel, or wherever receptacles are available. Better yet, the PWR Case eliminates the need to have a...

Although Kanye West's entire new album, "The Life of Pablo," remains exclusive to Tidal, the artist recently released a single onto rival services like Apple Music, Google Play, and Spotify (via Pitchfork). The song available is called "Famous," and is described as "a sinister reflection on fame - featuring a Rihanna hook and brilliant samples" by the Editor's Notes on Apple Music. The...

For this week's giveaway, Pad & Quill, the maker of premium MacBook, iPhone, and iPad cases and other accessories, is graciously offering its Woodline iPhone cases and Roll Top Leather Backpack as prizes to the lucky winners. The Woodline iPhone cases are made of real hardwood, which is polished and scratch-resistant, with a polymer core. The cases are thin, coming in at just .9 millimeter...

Following the announcement of the $50 price drop for the Apple Watch Sport on Monday, Apple has now lowered the cost of its out-of-warranty repair price for the aluminum-cased wearable from $229 to $199. The program serves Apple Watch wearers not supported by AppleCare+, or the limited one-year warranty of the device, which will be ending soon for early adopters of the Apple Watch. The...

Netflix has admitted to throttling the video streams of its customers on AT&T and Verizon mobile devices, a practice it confirmed has been in effect for more than five years to “protect consumers from exceeding mobile data caps.” Speaking with The Wall Street Journal, the company said it doesn't throttle video on Sprint and T-Mobile due to more lenient policies enacted by those carriers that...

Apple this week updated the Apple Watch section of its website to make it easier for customers to try out different watch styles and find the look they want. Cult of Mac notes that Apple has replaced the old basic scrolling Gallery section of the site with a more flexible one consisting of three tabs that enable users to mix and match Cases, Bands, and Faces. Visitors to the Gallery can...

The Apple Music app for Android devices was updated today, adding a new home screen widget that gives Android users the ability to control Apple Music playback without needing to open the Apple Music app. The widget lets users view what's playing, and quickly pause, skip, rewind, and favorite songs. Today's update also lets Android users add songs directly to playlists without first needing to ...

Popular music discovery app Shazam has been updated to version 9.4.1, gaining the ability to add songs to an Apple Music playlist. With the new version of the app, Shazam can connect to Apple Music and add songs that are discovered right to an Apple Music playlist without leaving the Shazam app. For those unfamiliar with Shazam, it is a popular app that is able to identify music that is...

Following the launch of iPhone SE and 9.7" iPad Pro orders, Apple has begun offering popular journal app Day One 2 for free through the Apple Store app for a limited time. To take advantage of the promotion, open the Apple Store app, scroll down, and tap on the Day One 2 banner. Read the terms and conditions, tap on the green "download now for free" banner, sign in to your Apple ID account,...

The Pokémon Company today released more information about its upcoming augmented reality mobile game Pokémon GO, which blends the series' trademarked collectible gameplay with location-based discovery thanks to the technology of modern smartphones. As in its original September announcement, the company reiterated that the app itself will be free at launch, with in-app purchases available to round ...

Sony is forming a new company, ForwardWorks, that will be focused on providing gamers with "full-fledged game titles" on their smartphone (via The Verge). ForwardWorks will begin operations on April 1, the same day that Sony has announced of all of its various PlayStation arms are set to be joined under the unified umbrella brand Sony Interactive Entertainment. The new company plans to create...

Following the unveiling of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro at Apple's media event on Monday, Apple CEO Tim Cook described the device as the "ultimate PC replacement". As if to underline that belief, the company has included a subscription option for Microsoft Office 365 in the iPad Pro ordering process on its website. It's unclear exactly when Apple added the Microsoft productivity suite to the online...