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

Along with several Mac deals and an array of iPhone discounts from Best Buy, multiple companies are offering discounts on various iOS accessories, including the Mini Jambox, Griffin Survivor cases, the Sony QX10 iPhone camera accessory, and Apple Smart Covers and cables. Jawbone's newest Mini Jambox can be purchased for $99 via Groupon, which is $30 off the standard price from Jawbone. It's...

Best Buy is offering several deals on the iPhone throughout the end of July, beginning with a $100 discount on the 16GB Verizon iPhone 5s, which is available now through Saturday, July 26. Verizon's iPhone 5s is typically priced at $199 at Best Buy. Beginning on Sunday, July 20, Best Buy will be offering a free iHome portable speaker (a $299 value) for any customer who purchases an iPhone...

Curse of Naxxramas, the first expansion for Blizzard's popular Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft free-to-play collectible card game, is set to launch on Tuesday, July 22. It will be released simultaneously on Macs, PCs, and iPads. Much like Naxxramas in World of Warcraft, Curse of Naxxramas in Hearthstone is a floating necropolis organized into different wings -- Arachnid Quarter, Plague...

Apple today expanded its two-step verification feature for Apple IDs to 48 additional countries, bringing the total number of countries able to access two-step authentication to 59. Initially noticed by 9to5Mac new countries receiving the feature include China, France, India, Japan, Korea, South Africa, Thailand, Switzerland, and many more across Asia, South America, and Europe. First...

Facebook today launched a new Mentions app, designed for "actors, athletes, musicians, and other influencers," allowing them to "discover and join conversations" on Facebook. Limited to Facebook users who are "verified public figures," Mentions aims to let celebrities interact with fans. The app displays mentions to let users know what the public is saying about them, and it has tools for...

The United States Patent and Trademark Office today published an Apple patent application (via AppleInsider) describing methods for detecting the behavior of the person who is currently using the device and comparing them to past patterns. While the January 2013 patent application, "Generating Notifications Based on User Behavior", speaks relatively generically about such notifications, the...

Apple may shift production of its 14-nanometer next-generation chips for iPhone from TSMC to Samsung, according to information compiled by Reuters. TSMC will be supplanted by Samsung in the production of 14-nanometre smartphone chips for Apple and Qualcomm beginning in the second half of 2015, KGI Securities analyst Michael Liu said in a note to clients issued late on Wednesday after a TSMC...

Yesterday, Apple debuted its new iTunes Pass service in Japanese Apple Stores, allowing users to buy iTunes Store credit directly without the need for physical gift cards. Today, Apple has begun to roll out the service in the United States (via iPhoneHacks). To use the service, customers must add a new iTunes Pass inside of the existing Passbook app in iOS, and then locate a Specialist at an ...

Google today updated its Google Wallet app, adding several new features including gift card support and a new request money option. New gift card management options join loyalty cards within the Google Wallet app, allowing users to store gift card information directly in the app. Gift cards can be redeemed in stores with the app, making it unnecessary to hold onto physical cards. Gift...

T-Mobile today announced plans to begin offering accessories under its equipment installment plan, allowing users to purchase various iPhone and iPad accessories and pay for them over 24 months. The equipment installment plan is available for accessories priced between $69 and $250 and does not require a downpayment for qualified customers. Customers must have a T-Mobile Simple Choice plan and ...

Paul McCartney today announced the addition of five of his classic albums to the iOS App store as iPad apps, reports The Guardian. McCartney is following in the footsteps of other musicians such as Lady Gaga and Björk, who also used the tablet device to further the reach of their music. McCartney's iPad apps feature some of the musician's most popular albums -- Band on the Run, McCartney, Mc...

Back in May, Logitech announced its new Case+ product for the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5, which contained a metal case and multiple magnetic attachments for different uses. Today, the company unveiled two new products inspired by the line: the new Protection+ case for iPhone 5s/5 and the +Trip accessory for mounting an iPhone to a car's air vents for easy viewing. Logitech's Protection+ case ...

Google recently implemented a feature that warns iPhone users when search results include websites that use Adobe Flash, as Flash is not supported by the iPhone. When searching for a site, pages that primarily use Flash are clearly marked by Google with a warning that the site may not work on a particular device. A common annoyance for web users is when websites require browser technologies ...

Following reports earlier this year that suppliers' struggles to produce an adequate volume of wafer-thin batteries for the rumored 5.5-inch iPhone 6 may contribute to an early 2015 launch for the device rather than a late 2014 launch alongside the smaller 4.7-inch model, a new report from Chinese media sources (via GforGames) suggests the problem may have been solved as Apple has found a new...

Slated to arrive sometime next month, Kickstarter-funded iStick will allow iPhone and iPad owners to easily transfer files between their computers and iOS devices that are equipped with a Lightning connector. The thumb drive, which raised $1.1 million on Kickstarter, features a slider that allows users to switch between a standard USB connector and a Lightning connector that plugs into an...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has denied Apple's trademark application for the "Touch ID" name used for its fingerprint recognition technology, citing a similar trademark owned by Kronos Technology. The USPTO rejection letter was sent to Apple in May 2014, according to Patently Apple, which recently uncovered the communication. In its letter to Apple, the USPTO said Apple's trademark ...

Apple's iOS 7 adoption rate continues to grow, even as the release of iOS 8 approaches. As of yesterday, 90 percent of devices connected to the App Store are running iOS 7, according to new numbers posted on Apple's App Store developer support page. The new milestone, which comes 10 months after the operating system's original release, is a three percent increase from installation numbers of 87...

Apple today expanded its iPhone and iPad trade-in program to Australia, giving customers who trade in an older device credit towards the purchase of a new device. Users who trade in an iPhone can earn up to A$250, while users who trade in an iPad can get up to A$215. According to Apple, its latest models, including the iPhone 5s, 5c, and iPad Air are not eligible for the credit, nor are...