We recently held a poll to discover the types of apps our readers would like to know more about. From the poll, we discovered that you guys would like us to spotlight more utility and productivity apps. So, this week’s list includes some of the usual content, plus a handful of utility apps that we think might interest you. Check out our list below, and please keep the comments coming. We read them and your suggestions are helpful. Read More
The App Recap is iDB’s daily roundup of notable news from the wonderful world of iOS software. Below you’ll find a list of discounts, updates and new releases we think are worth checking out. Today we have some great app and game discounts, as well as several high profile updates. Read More
As expected, Jay “saurik” Freeman has posted a lengthy response to Comex’s Cydia Substrate replacement strategy. In the post, which appears on his personal blog, he outlines some of the history he’s had with Comex, why open source isn’t always best, and drops hints on several new upcoming Cydia features. Read More
According to sources who spoke to MacRumors on condition of anonymity, Apple told certain developers to have their Watch apps ready by mid-February.
Ostensibly, among them is one of biggest Apple Pay partners who was reportedly asked to prepare an iOS app with WatchKit support and have it ready to launch in the App Store by February 12.
The wrist-worn gizmo is arriving in April, Apple CEO told investors on an earnings call earlier this week. Conventional wisdom says testing third-party apps ahead of the launch is necessary to ensure key Watch apps work properly and, more importantly, don’t create a major drain on the battery.
Another possibility: carefully-selected developers get a chance to show off their apps at a launch event, assuming there’s any. In addition to furthering the Watch narrative, featuring third-party apps in live demos at another event would go a great length toward explaining what the Watch is really for and maybe turn us all into believers.
Sounds plausible? Read More
Thanks to Bluetooth LE connectivity, users are able to connect their smartphones to their computers to share content between devices quickly, easily, and without being too taxing for battery life. On iOS and OS X, you can even do stuff like lock or unlock your Mac. Mac ID for iOS is one such app. Not only can you set it up to unlock your computer, but you can also lock it and wake the screen remotely. We’ve got a hands-on review of MacID for iOS for you today. Read More
Adobe has published a pair of new applications on the App Store, Adobe Digital Editions and PaintCan. The former allows you to access and manage e-reading material in Adobe’s DRM-protected format on your iPad, with editions for Windows and Mac PCs also available for achieving cross-platform nirvana.
The latter, as the name suggest, is an easy-to-use painting software for creating nice-looking artworks from your favorite photos using either one of the preset brushes with different textures or your own brushes customized to your liking. Read More
It’s been a long time since we’ve heard Comex’s name be associated with jailbreaking, but he’s back, and in a fairly large and controversial way. The creator of JailbreakMe is working with the team behind iMods—a Cydia alternative—to develop a Mobile (Cydia) Substrate replacement called Substitute. On the surface, it may not sound like much, but this could have far-reaching consequences on jailbreaking as we currently know it. Read More
Vine, a short video-sharing service Twitter acquired in 2011, today announced a brand new iPhone app aimed at children. Dubbed Vine Kids, it utilizes animated characters, to let kids watch videos that the company deems appropriate for a young audience.
The idea for an app apparently came after one of Vine team members realized how much his two-year-old daughter enjoyed watching funny Vines.
The team then set out to create an iOS app that would act as a safe place for children to enjoy funny Vines without being exposed to, you know, adult or otherwise questionable content that people share on the service. Read More
If Twitter and Tinder could mate, they’d probably give birth to something close to Twindr, a new app that aims to clean up your Twitter feed by allowing you to quickly unfollow accounts. The concept is pretty simple. After authorizing the app to get access to your Twitter account, you will be presented with cards of accounts you follow. Swipe right to keep following. Swipe left to unfollow. Read More
When I was a kid, I loved playing Frogger. Jumping between lanes, trying to avoid cars and hopping on logs, trying to avoid crocodiles was intense and exciting. Psych uses a similar mechanic of hopping from one moving platform to another, but uses minimalist graphics to create a 21st century gaming experience. Read More
Apple is scheduled to open a new flagship retail store in Jiefangbei Square in Chongqing, China, its second store in the city.
The beautiful structure borrows Apple’s Pudong store design in Shanghai: an above-ground all-glass cylinder with an Apple logo and a hand-painted mural conceals the actual store located under street level.
Apple invited select members of the press on a tour of the Chongqing store ahead of the grand opening tomorrow at 10am local time and Chinese blog MacX posted a series of images showing the store’s deceptively large underground interior. Read More
Sad news in the Apple publishing community today. Word on the street is that AOL, amid a new round of lay-offs, is going to shut down TUAW, one of the longest-standing publications and among the most successful blogs in the Weblogs, Inc. portfolio.
TUAW, which derived its name from the acronym for The Unofficial Apple Weblog, was founded in 2004 to cover tips, reviews, news, analysis and opinion on everything Apple.
According to TechCrunch, AOL will be folding both TUAW and Jostiq, a video gaming blog founded in 2004, into Engadget, another high-profile publication it acquired as part of the 2005 purchase of Weblogs, Inc. and its network of about 90 blogs. Read More
Yesterday, Facebook announced a new feature in the hope of fending off threat posed by Foursquare and Yelp, both of which rule the crowd-sourced location discovery market.
Place Tips, as it’s called, injects useful information about the place you’re right at, including your friends’ recommendations and “fun, useful and relevant info,” right inside your News Feed.
But don’t your worry, you can turn it off at anytime! Read More
There’s a lot going on at Apple right now. Record quarters aside, there is a lot to be hopeful for as 2015 gets into full swing, and not just because the fabled Apple Watch is finally on the horizon. If the rumors are to be believed we could see both the iPad Pro and 12-inch MacBook Air some time in the next eleven months, and both have plenty of people excited.
The iPad Pro story is one that has gone on for years now, and with photos of supposed parts for the new tablet starting to crop up, it’s looking more and more likely that not only is the thing real, but it’s not too far away either.
The same can be said about the 12-inch MacBook Air. Again, photographs of what it is claimed are parts for the unannounced product have started to circulate around the internet, and the noises that it might only have one USB Type-C connector rather than a MagSafe for power have meant that there have been plenty of column inches and podcast hours afforded to the subject.
But what is all the excitement really about, and more importantly, is it justified? Read More
I love role-playing games (RPGs). They are deeply involving and keep you engrossed in stories that satisfy your desire for sci-fi or fantasy fiction. However, they also take a long time to get through. As a functioning adult with a lot of responsibilities, I just don’t have time to play very many RPGs all the way to the end.
Dreeps: Alarm Playing Game is perfect for gamers that just don’t have time to do the work to get through the story in RPGs. All you do is set an alarm and your young adventurer will go on his quest to save the world whether you are there or not. We’ve got a hands-on (or is it hands-off?) game review of dreeps for you today. Read More
The App Recap is iDB’s daily roundup of notable news from the wacky world of iOS software. Below you’ll find a list of discounts, updates and new releases we think are worth checking out. Today we have more discounted apps from Apple’s Get Productive promotion, and a TON of new games. Read More
We are now just a few days away from Super Bowl XLIX, one of the most highly anticipated sporting events of the year. At 6:30 (EST) on Sunday, more than 110 million people are expected to tune in to watch the Seattle Seahawks take on the New England Patriots in a battle for the NFL Championship.
For those of you who don’t plan to spend the day huddled around a television set, we’ve put together a list of ways to follow the action on other popular devices. Live streaming will be available this year on iPad and PC/Mac, courtesy of NBC, no cable subscription required, and on iPhone via NFL Mobile. Read More
Apple this evening posted the first notable update for iTunes 12 since the music management app was refreshed for OS X Yosemite back in October of last year. The release comes labeled as iTunes 12.1, and it includes a new media control widget for Notification Center.
The widget includes back, forward and pause buttons, much like the buttons on the Lock screen and in Control Center of iOS, as well as track information. And, when playing iTunes Radio, the widget allows you to favorite songs and purchase the currently playing song.
Read More
The original iPod music player debuted on October 23, 2001, about eight and a half months after iTunes for OS X was released. The inaugural model was the size of a standard deck of cards, measuring 2.4 inches wide, four inches tall and 0.78 inches thick.
The music player had a tiny hard drive with only five gigabytes of storage, a monochromatic LCD screen, a mechanical click wheel interface for going through your music and a price tag of $399.
It took some time, but the iPod and the iTunes Music Store eventually went on to change the entire music industry and rebrand Apple as a music company. And now, after thirteen years, 400 million units sold and $65 billion in cumulative revenue, the iPod has quietly disappeared from Apple’s public reports. Read More
Apple has just named Samer Azzam’s ‘‘ProCam 2” its App of the Week for this week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to download the popular photo and video editor for iPhone and iPad for free—a solid savings of $1.99.
The app offers features such as Night mode, Burst mode, anti-shake, and a self-timer. It also has face detection, intelligent HDR, dozens of photo filters to choose from, and a variety of other tools that make taking and editing great photos and videos a breeze. Read More
