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

Apple introduced App Store Short Links a few days ago, giving developers a way to promote their apps with easy to remember App Store URLs. Provide a simple way for users to find your apps with easy-to-remember App Store Short Links. Using an AppStore.com URL that includes your app or company name, you can create links to a single app or all of your apps. These links are accessible worldwide and...

Shipping times for the iPad mini have been slowly improving over the last few weeks, and customers ordering from the U.S. online Apple Store can now expect to have their tablets shipped within 1–3 business days. European stores are also experiencing improved shipping dates, with a new lead time of 3–5 business days. Last week, European Apple Stores were listing a two week wait for an...

According to a report from The NPD Group, Apple's iPhone 5 was the top selling phone during the final quarter of 2012, comprising 43 percent of all iPhone sales and accounting for nearly two thirds of all post-paid smartphone sales above $199. Samsung's Galaxy S III was the second most popular smartphone in Q4 2012, while Apple's iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 also sold well, taking the third and...

Earlier this week, TechCrunch shared data from touch-based website developer Onswipe showing that, based on its user base of over 13 million monthly active users, over 21% of iPhone and iPad users had updated to iOS 6.1 in the first two days of availability. We've since followed up with Onswipe to see how the share of users on iOS 6.1 has moved over the past several days, and the firm tells...

As reported [Google translation] by Turkish blog Elma Dergisi, Apple executives including vice president for education John Couch met with Turkish president Abdullah Gül today to discuss several issues. The office of the Turkish president has also posted a photo and a brief video from the meeting. Turkish president Abdullah Gül at far left, Apple VP John Couch at far right Among the...

Apple is better placed than Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo to take a lead in the games console market, said Gabe Newell, founder of the games-distribution hub Steam in a speech at the University of Texas. As noted by Polygon, Newell argued that games served from a PC in the home direct to a TV, rather than from a games console, are the future of the market. But if the PC industry does not move ...

While a prediction that the next-generation iPad will be thinner and lighter than the current one may not seem an overly ambitious one, Digitimes claims to have details, suggesting that the iPad 5 will borrow the G/F2 (DITO) thin-film type touch screen technology used on the iPad mini. Digitimes cited an un-named industry source as reporting that the screens would use a similar mix of...

At Macworld/iWorld this afternoon, one company was demonstrating an archery-based iPhone accessory, the BowBlade, which was inspired by movies like The Hunger Games. The BowBlade is designed to look and feel like a traditional bow and arrow with one caveat - there's an iPhone attached. The iPhone goes at the front of the device, the bow is extended, and a trigger at the back fires a shot. When ...

Mauz is a Kickstarter project that is designed to attach to the iPhone's dock, turning it into a device that is able to control computers using gestures and visual cues. In other words, the Mauz morphs an iPhone into a computer mouse. The main product consists of a small dongle that plugs into the phone to function as a laser sensor. The dongle links to the Mauz app, which turns on the...

In the two weeks since Temple Run 2 launched on the App Store, Google Play, and the Amazon Marketplace, the app has been downloaded more than fifty million times, the fastest downloaded mobile game in history.The previous fastest downloaded game was Angry Birds Space, selling 50 million copies in under six weeks -- though Angry Birds Space was a pay app, not a free download like Temple Run 2. T...

The excellent iPad notebook app Penultimate has received its first major update since it was purchased by Evernote in May of last year.The update adds Evernote integration, as well as a new feature to make handwritten notes in the app searchable. The app uploads notes to Evernote, which does all the handwriting recognition server side.One of Evernote’s magic features is its ability to make...

When iOS 6 was announced last June, Apple said it was working with car manufacturers on a new "Eyes Free" mode for Siri that would integrate with voice command buttons found in an increasing number of car models to allow users to interact with Siri without needing to look at their devices' screens. At the time, Scott Forstall displayed a slide showing that Apple was working with BMW, GM,...

While iOS 6.1 brought several widely publicized new features such as support for several dozen new LTE carriers and new support for ordering Fandango movie tickets through Siri in the United States, a number of other minor changes were also included in the update. Given the frequency with which our readers have been pointing some of them out, we thought it would be appropriate to make note of...

Apple's decision to launch the 128 GB iPad in February seems to make rumors of a new model in March or April appear unlikely, suggesting the fall as a more likely time for a refresh. iLounge was among the sites to suggest a Spring 2013 date for the launch of the iPad 5, although the site has since backtracked from that claim to suggest that the device will be arriving in or around October....

Judge Lucy Koh ruled in a court filing (via The Verge) tonight that Samsung did not willfully infringe Apple patents. This decision denies any additional damages to the $1.05 billion awarded to Apple last August. As this is the sum total of Apple's arguments and evidence that Samsung's infringement was willful, the Court cannot conclude that Apple has met its burden to show willfulness by clear...

THX, the company behind Lucasfilm's audio/visual reproduction standard for movie theaters, A/V equipment, and more, has released a new iPhone app to assist consumers with calibrating their HDTV's and home theater setups. The app is currently free for one week, but will rise to $1.99 after.THX prefers that users connect the app to their television via Apple's official HDMI adapter, but AirPlay...

Last week, Apple pulled the 500px photo sharing app from the App Store over concerns about "artistic" nude photographs on the service.Today, according to reports from both TechCrunch and 500px's Twitter feed, the app has returned to the store.The app returns with an age-gate warning, advising that the content in the app is for 17+ audiences, and also adds a new “Report Photo” button to...

Twitter's six-second video sharing app Vine made headlines early this morning after The Verge discovered that an 'Editor’s Pick' clip within the app linked to pornographic content. Vine's Editor's Picks are curated content and are therefore displayed at the top of the app, which means a large portion of Vine's users saw the feed containing the inappropriate clip. Apple originally...