iPhone

Stay up-to-date on the latest iPhone news and learn new tips and tricks with our comprehensive tutorials. From software updates to new features, we’ve got you covered.

How to make and take phone calls on your Mac

Now that iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite are out, the FaceTime app in OS X Yosemite is now capable of making and taking phone calls. It does so by connecting to an iPhone running iOS 8 to transmit calls via the iPhone’s cellular connection. All calls made from your Mac will appear as if they came from your iPhone’s phone number.

Want to see how it works in action? Check out our video after the break for a demonstration and setup details.

List of places where you can use Apple Pay

Now that you've got iOS 8.1 installed, and Apple Pay set up, you're probably wondering where you can test out the new service. As we mentioned earlier, the Apple Store app (among others, at this point) has been updated with Apple Pay support, but what about physical stores?

Luckily Apple has you covered, and has posted a list of all the participating retailers that are supporting Apple Pay at launch. It's a decent-sized list, with over 30 national chains mentioned, including various clothing stores, department stores, restaurants and gas stations.

Google Play Newsstand adds iPhone 6 support

Google Play Newsstand (formerly Google Currents), the search giant's official Flipboard-inspired software for the iPhone and iPad, received a small update Monday bringing native display support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

In addition, the new version features an improved download progress interface for offline content and contains unspecified bug fixes. Google Play Newsstand is available as a free download from the App Store.

TechCrunch reports that the search giant will also update the official Google Play Music client for iOS and Android later today with Songza-style functionality.

As you know, Google purchased Songza earlier this year. Like Apple-owned Beats, the service specializes in finding the right music to fit your mood.

Apple Store app updated with Apple Pay support

Folks looking to test out the just-launched Apple Pay service, but don't have the option to try it in-store, can download the latest version of the Apple Store app. Apple just posted an update for the digital storefront that adds support for the new one-touch mobile payment service.

Folks who have a compatible Apple Pay device, who have updated to iOS 8.1, can set it up either through the Passbook app or in Settings. Once you have a card on file, apps updated with support for the service will offer Apple Pay as a payment option during the checkout process.

Apple releases iOS 8.1 with Apple Pay, Camera Roll, Text Message Forwarding and more

As promised, Apple on Monday released iOS 8.1 for public consumption. Users who have an older version installed on their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad can now update to the latest software over-the-air, by choosing Software Update under Settings > General.

iOS 8.1 flips the switch on Apple Pay in the United States on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, as well as the newly released iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3.

It also re-enables the missing Camera Roll album in Photos and beta iCloud Photo Library (in beta) while bringing additional Continuity features like Text Message Forwarding between iOS 8 devices and Yosemite Macs and more.

Flickr updated with iOS 8 Share Extension, native iPad interface with unified search and more

Yahoo's Flickr photography service this past weekend issued an update to its iOS app bringing, at last, native interface on iPads, a new Share Extension on iOS 8 so you can post photos to Flickr from any third-party application which support system-wide Share sheets, the ability to access and edit photo details in the mobile app, use unified search across your photos, albums, groups and Flickr photos and more.

Flickr 3.2 is available free in the App Store.

Dropbox for iOS updated with support for iPhone 6 and Touch ID

Great news for Dropbox users this evening, as it appears the online storage service pushed out an update for its iOS client this weekend. Dubbed version 3.5, the new build of the app brings about support for the higher resolution displays of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and other enhancements.

In the change log, Dropbox lists a fix for previewing RTF files on iOS 8 and other general stability and performance improvements. It also notes that users with an iPhone 5s or later, running iOS 8 or later, now have the option to unlock their Dropbox accounts using Touch ID fingerprints.

Wunderlist for iOS gets 1Password integration, Mac app gains Handoff, Today widget and more

Wunderlist, an increasingly popular cross-platform to-do and task manager by German developer 6Wunderkinder, got updated both for iOS and OS X with cool new features.

The iOS edition now includes support for 1Password signing and the ability to see your to-dos in iCal while fixing UI issues on iPad and more.

The Mac edition has received a substantial Yosemite-ready refresh adding a more productive Today widget in the Notification Center, interactive push alerts, a more powerful “Add to Wunderlist” feature along with the complete Handoff experience for seamless moving between devices and more.

Rdio ushers in iPhone 6 and CarPlay support, interactive alerts and more in major iOS 8 update

Following a recent overhaul with new features, free streaming in more than two dozen countries and other perks, Rdio, the popular Internet service, on Thursday pushed a major iOS 8 focused update.

Following in the footsteps of rival Spotify which two weeks ago added support for CarPlay, Apple's in-car iPhone entertainment system, Rdio has now jumped on the automotive bandwagon, too.

In addition to music playback and navigating your favorites and playlists from the built-in display in CarPlay-enabled cars, Rdio 3.0.4 has a handy new control to adjust streaming quality (should prove indispensable to those concerned about cellular data usage).

Moreover, this update adds support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screen sizes, iOS 8's Interactive Notifications (you can play music and follow other users directly from an alert) plus other nice-to-haves mentioned after the jump.

Instagram’s iPhone 6 refresh is out

One of the most popular mobile applications and the de facto leading platform for mobile photography, Facebook-owned Instagram, has at last been optimized with native display support for Apple's latest iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones.Instagram 6.1.3 is now available in the App Store and lists no other changes in iTunes release notes accompanying the 15.9-megabyte download.

Facebook app updated with support for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus

Facebook pushed out an update for its iOS client this afternoon, bringing the app to version 16.0. The social network doesn't say what changes were made, but it does now say "optimized for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus" in the description.

This is great news for folks with one of Apple's newer handsets, as their larger displays really highlight non-updated apps with stretched UI and fuzzy graphics. Facebook was one of the few remaining high profile apps without iPhone 6 support.

Microsoft optimizes Skype for iPhone 6 screens

As promised, software maker Microsoft has just issued an update to Skype for the iPhone and iPod touch adding native display support for the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screen sizes, the team announced in a blog post Wednesday morning.

As a result, you'll see more of your recent chats and messages in conversation view on Apple's new smartphones because iOS 8 doesn't have to compensate for the lack of iPhone 6 support by blowing up the interface to fill up the whole screen.

Skype for iPhone 5.6, available free in the App Store, also adds presence indicators to your Recent list and number of contacts and time zones information on contact profiles.

Jump past the fold for other features in this maintenance Skype update.