It's been a long week here at iDB, what with Apple's big Mac event and all. So we're ready to kick back and relax this weekend with some new apps and games. The latest edition of our Apps of the Week roundup includes an app that enables Siri to read you tweets, and an image editor that adds clowns to your photos. And as always, we've selected a few new games for you to check out!
Apple on Thursday updated its App of the Week promotion with the game Sonic CD. This means that for the next 7 days, you'll be able to download the classic Sega hit for both iPhone and iPad for free—a solid savings of $3.
In this iteration of the popular franchise, Sonic travels to the distant shores of Never Lake and discovers it has been taken over by his arch-nemesis Dr. Eggman. You must help Sonic stop him and restore order to Little Planet.
Yes, for those wondering, the new MacBook Pro has a standard headphone jack. Apple was met with a lot of criticism back in September when it introduced the iPhone 7 without the 3.5mm port, but it clearly isn't ready to bring the change to its laptop lines.
The move should appease the MacBook Pro's targeted audience, who won't have to worry about fiddling with adapters or pairing Bluetooth headphones/speakers. Music producers, for example, will be able to plug the computer directly into their current setups.
Apple on Thursday kicked off its Hello Again event by announcing a new app it's simply calling 'TV.' Tim Cook claimed that his team believes it will "completely change how you watch TV on your Apple TV as well as your iPhone and iPad."
The app, as rumored, is essentially a super TV guide that surfaces shows and movies from all of your apps. "The new TV app is the first place I go when I use my Apple TV." Selecting a title within the TV app kicks you into its respective app.
During its 'hello again' event on Thursday, Apple showed off a new 27-inch 5K LG UltraFine display. SVP Phil Schiller described it as the "ultimate docking station" because it has multiple Thunderbolt 3 ports, and can even charge the new MacBook Pro.
Schiller also noted that Apple teamed up with LG to build the display specifically for the new Pro, so it's unclear what the future is of Apple-branded displays. There have been rumors it's building one, but it may have decided the numbers aren't there.
Folks who missed today’s 'hello again' event, or would just like to watch it again, will be happy to hear that Apple has posted the full video online for your streaming pleasure. It was actually a fairly short keynote, by Apple's standards, but they spent most of the 80 minutes introducing and demonstrating the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar.
Alongside the introduction of its brand new MacBook Pro laptop on Thursday, Apple announced that it has decided to discontinue the 11-inch MacBook Air (except for in schools). It will continue to sell the 13-inch model with a starting price of $999, although it didn't get an update today and likely won't ever again.
Apple has posted various videos shown during today’s 'hello again' Mac event to its YouTube channel. Included are clips highlighting Apple's commitment to Accessibility features and various MacBook Pro demos and promotional spots.
Of course you can watch a replay of the entire event, so folks that completely missed the keynote this morning may want to do that. But if you just want to get to the meat of the big announcements, these videos are a great starting point.
Apple just announced pricing and availability information for its shiny new MacBook Pro. Apparently it will come in 3 models, starting at $1,499, and you can order them all today. Shipping times are different, however, depending on which model you're after.
The entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro is essentially a MacBook Air replacement. It shares the slimmer design and various internals with the new MacBook Pro, but it comes with physical Function keys instead of the Touch Bar, and doesn't have Touch ID.
Apple plans to unveil a new TV guide app tomorrow during its Hello Again Mac event, reports Recode. Citing a source familiar with the initiative, the site says the guide will aggregate and show content that's available, and will work on Apple TV and iOS devices.
Unfortunately, not all major video providers have agreed to participate in the program. Most notably, the report claims that Netflix data will not be available in the guide, which is odd considering that the two companies have worked closely together in the past.
A new report is out late Wednesday rebuffing an earlier claim that Apple intends to release 3 iPhone models next year. Citing sources familiar with Apple's plans, AppleInsider says the company will be sticking with its 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch handset sizes in 2017.
For those that missed it, Asian news outlet Nikkei reported Wednesday morning that Apple would be adding a 5-inch option to its current two-size lineup. It didn't, however, explain why it would want to do so, given how close it would be to the 4.7-inch model.
We were really bummed when we found out that the stylish fluoroelastomer bands shown with the Apple Watch Nike+ are exclusive to the model. This means that those of us who already own an Apple Watch can't purchase these bands separately.
Luckily, we were able to track down some Apple Watch bands on Amazon that take inspiration from the Nike band design. Obviously they aren't made with the same quality or materials, but for those in search of alternatives, here are some good ones.