Camera+ 8: slow shutter, ultra-low ISO, new import options, action extension & more

Camera+ by oddly named developer taptaptap, one of the longest-standing camera applications (and one of the best out there, in my personal opinion), has received a major refresh on the App Store.

Camera+ 8.0 packs in a slew of improvements such as an innovative slow shutter feature, an extended range of effective ISO values, a handy extension for easier sending of photos from the share sheet of other apps and more.

Opinion: I’d rather pay upfront for my apps than rent them

Apple has argued that its new App Store rules, which extend subscriptions to literally every app category, would help create a new business model in which people would warm up to the idea of subscribing to apps rather than paying for them upfront.

I'm not so sure that subscriptions are the right answer to what the market is calling “app fatigue”, but I can tell you right now that I'd rather continue paying upfront for fine, quality apps than use them on a subscription basis, here's why.

App fatigue is real

I'm positive that this stat does not apply to me, but most smartphone users in the United States downloaded zero apps in a typical month, as per comScore's August 2014 mobile app report.

This is something that indie devs have had to live with for more than two years now and it remains to be seen if Apple's new App Store subscription terms will help solve this worrying problem.

Last month's research from Nomura, which relies on data from app tracker SensorTower, painted a gloomy picture for big name developers, too, as the top 15 app publishers saw downloads drop an average of 20 percent in the United States.

So, is the app boom really over or is this just a temporary blip?

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is concerned about Apple’s prospects in China

Activist investor Carl Icahn earlier this year sold his position in Apple, but that doesn't mean he no longer thinks Apple is a lucrative stock to invest in. Quite the contrary, he's made several billion dollars on Apple!

That being said, he would invest back in the Cupertino firm were it not for Apple's prospects in China, which he doesn't feel secure about although he's adamant that CEO Tim Cook is “doing a good job”.

Google copies Apple’s 85/15 revenue split for subscriptions, without 1-year requirement

Google surely didn't waste any time yesterday. Just a few hours into Apple's App Store announcements which revealed a new 85/15 revenue split for In-App Subscriptions, the Internet giant told Re/code that it, too, will be making a similar change concerning Android app subscriptions on the Play store.

But unlike Apple, which stipulates that devs will see the 70/30 revenue split turn into a 85/15 deal one after one full year of subscription, Google's Play Store 85/15 split would take effect immediately, without the one-year requirement.

How to fix boot loop on a jailbroken iPhone or iPad with ‘No Substrate Mode’

What happens when a jailbreak tweak bugs out on your device and ends up in a boot loop? Do you try to reboot the device to no avail? Do you take to the internet to ask how to fix it?

How about this: try booting into a form of booting up that Saurik calls 'No Substrate Mode,' then uninstall the faulty tweak.

In this piece, we'll talk about how you can use No Substrate Mode, an under-used feature of jailbroken iPhone or iPad that can truly save you from losing your precious jailbreak when you're unable to turn on your device.

How to create PDF files from your Mac’s printer menu

Lots of times you may want to print something, only to find that you have no printer ink or that you aren't near a printer. Your Mac comes with a useful function in the macOS printing menu that lets you save anything you want to print as a PDF file to print or share later. We'll show you how you can make a PDF out of anything you intend to print in this tutorial.

More ‘macOS’ rebranding evidence discovered on Apple’s developer website

More evidence has surfaced that Apple is planning to rebrand OS X to macOS in the near future. As noted by MacRumors, a reference to the name-change has been spotted on a developer FAQ page outlining the new App Store revenue sharing policies.

The news follows a March sighting of a macOS reference hidden inside OS X code, and a similar slip-up in April on Apple's website. The change has long been speculated about, as it would bring the desktop OS in line with its younger platform siblings.

Former Embark CEO leaves Apple nearly three years after acquisition

David Hodge, former Founder and CEO of a company that Apple acquired in 2013 called Embark, announced today on Twitter that he has departed the company. At the time of the acquisition, Embark had transit data on large cities such as Chicago, New York, and San Francisco and had apps considered to be some of the best in their class. This data and the technology used in Embark apps have since helped improve the transit feature of Apple's Maps app.

App Store to gain Categories tab and easier app sharing with 3D Touch

Aside from a pair of major developer-facing enhancements that are coming to the App Store this fall—Search Ads and Subscription improvements—Apple appears adamant to fix some of the longstanding pain points with store navigation and app discovery.

For instance, the Featured tab will no longer show apps a user has installed on their device.

Apple also said that it'll be bringing back the Categories tab for the store and let you share apps on social media right from the Home screen with 3D Touch.

App Store’s Featured section will soon stop showing apps you already have installed

Beyond Search Ads and a bunch of new options for In-App Subscriptions, Apple is making  a few subtler changes to how the App Store's storefront apps function in the hope of improving app discovery.

As per SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller, who also manages App Stores and Apple's relations with developers, the store's Featured tab will soon filter any apps you already have installed on your device, so that you're only looking at new apps.