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

Twitter announced today that a feature it has tested with a few users on a small scale -- the ability to add customized polls to a tweet -- will officially be coming to everyone over the next few days. The company hopes that the new add-on will further expand its users' interaction with their followers, by streamlining a function that would have previously taken extensive measures of reading...

Misfit today debuted its second-generation Shine activity tracker, which has been redesigned to incorporate new technology. The Shine 2 is thinner than the original Shine and it includes more accurate activity and sleep tracking capabilities along with improved LEDs, longer Bluetooth range, and better touch responsiveness. There are now several multicolor LEDs built into the face of the Shine, ...

Earlier this month, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced Apple would sponsor its annual 2016 Gala and Costume Institute exhibition, with Apple Design Chief Jony Ive serving as co-chair of the event. The Gala, which takes place next year, is themed "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology," and while few details are available this early on, The Wall Street Journal has now shared a...

Several months ago, Facebook announced "Instant Articles," a new platform for publishers that aimed to speed up the loading times of articles when browsing on the Facebook iOS app, but it was limited to a small number of iPhone users. As of today, Facebook's Instant Articles are rolling out to all iOS users and should be showing up in Facebook timelines starting now. With Instant Articles,...

Sphero's been making iPhone-connected ball-shaped robotic toys since 2011, and while the company has been successful with the original Sphero and the Ollie, it stumbled on a major hit this year with the launch of the BB-8, a Star Wars branded iPhone-controlled droid. BB-8 is based on the droid from the upcoming movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It combines Sphero's existing robotic ball...

Apple updated its Apple Pay participating issuers list today with 75 additional banks, credit unions and financial institutions supporting the contactless payment service in the United States. Apple Pay now has over 600 participating issuers nationwide, and several more plan to support the NFC-based mobile payment service in the future. HSBC Atrium in Buffalo, New York HSBC, one of the ten...

Activision today released Guitar Hero Live for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch in the U.S., following a five-year hiatus in the iconic video game franchise. The app is accompanied by an optional $99.99 bundle including a Bluetooth LE six-button guitar controller, guitar strap, redeem code and 2 AA batteries, available through major U.S. retailers. A two-guitar bundle is also offered for $149.99.Guitar...

Sprint today announced that they would begin throttling customers who used more than 23 GB of data during their billing cycle, regardless of whether they had unlimited data plans or not. The move, according to Sprint Chief Technology Officer Dr. John Saw, is to provide a better customer experience for the majority of their users. The 23GB threshold is typical in the industry and other carriers...

After a large second launch wave earlier in October, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus today have expanded to seven new countries: India, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Montenegro, and South Africa. The launch follows the announcement of Apple's partnership with India-based retail chain Croma, which will see the tech company test out a few store-within-a-store locations in the country...

Native Union's Apple Watch charging solution, dubbed the "Anchor," is definitely winning in one category: its simplicity. The new accessory is neither a stand nor a dock, but more of a pad designed to nestle an Apple Watch charger and act as a dedicated area for users to rest their Apple Watches on to give them power. It's a stripped-down approach that makes the Anchor endearing, but ultimately...

Earlier this year, Apple introduced two alternate pricing tiers, Tier A and Tier B, to the App Store in order to allow developers to charge lower prices in countries like China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and Turkey. As of today, Apple has informed developers that it is making its lower-priced Tier A and Tier B pricing options available in Australia. Tier A and Tier B...

With the 18th anniversary of Yahoo Mail hitting this month, the company today launched an all-new mail client for its popular service, debuting on both iOS and Android platforms. Most notably, the new Yahoo Mail app will let users combine accounts from services like Outlook, AOL Mail, and Hotmail all under the same roof, which even extends to the Yahoo Mail experience on the desktop. "Email is ...

One of the less talked about new features introduced in iOS 9 last month is called "Wi-Fi Assist," which automatically switches a user's iPhone to a cellular data connection when the local Wi-Fi isn't reliable. Many iPhone users have taken to Reddit and the MacRumors Forums to warn others about the possibility of an increased monthly data plan due to the new feature, but now Apple is getting...

The new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus allow users to create Live Photos, which capture an additional 3 seconds of video around a still image and play it back when a user 3D Touches the photo. Priime today launched a new app called Live GIF, letting users easily turn their Live Photos into GIFs that are viewable on all devices and the web. When launched, the app automatically detects whether your phone ...

Apple introduced a trio of new keyboard and mouse accessories in the Magic Mouse 2, Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad 2 this week, and the first hands-on unboxing videos of the new products are now available. YouTube reviewer Michael Kukielka has uploaded an unboxing and video review of the Magic Mouse 2, $79, providing a closer look at the mouse's new bottom-facing Lightning port for...

Popular third-party Twitter client Tweetbot is the latest app to be updated with support for the 3D Touch feature on the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, and it now supports both Quick Actions on the Home screen and Peek and Pop gestures within the app itself. A hard press on the Tweetbot icon on the Home screen brings up options to create a new tweet, tweet a photo, and view the Activity Tab that...

As carriers move away from two-year contracts, and towards financing programs that break down the full price of an iPhone into equal monthly payments, it is worth a reminder that Apple offers partial refunds for unused AppleCare+ coverage, minus the value of any service already provided. Since many carrier financing programs enable customers to upgrade to a new iPhone after a minimum of 12...

August, the company behind the popular August Smart Lock, today announced a second-generation product that includes support for Apple's HomeKit home automation platform. The new HomeKit-enabled August Smart Lock lets customers use voice commands to lock, unlock, and check the status of their door. The August Smart Lock can be used with other HomeKit products to create scenes that might unlock...