Opera has released an update for its iOS web browser, Opera Mini, bringing the app to version 9.0. There isn't much of a change log, but there is a significant new video compression feature Opera is calling Video Boost.
Built on Skyfire's video optimization tech, Video Boost aims to lessen both buffering and data usage while streaming video content. It accomplishes this by quickly shrinking down video data before it lands on your device.
In general, most of us take the moon for granted. It’s always there. All we have to do is look up at night to see it (depending on the time of the night and the moon’s phase). Some people claim that it has an effect on how we act.
Mooncast is a simple app that displays an image of the moon in its current phase with a few additional bits of information about its status in the night’s sky. The app recently received a major update that adds the moon’s phase to your Notification Center’s Today view.
Late Wednesday evening, Apple began rolling out a refreshed UI design for its Mac App Store in OS X Yosemite. Following up last month's OS X update, the new Mac App Store look features flatter graphics, thinner font styling, and tons of white space.
As you can see in the screenshot above, Apple has done away with skeumorphic elements like shadows and well-defined tables, in favor of thin gray lines. The new UI feels faster, lighter and more streamlined, and again more in line with OS X Yosemite.
Good news for Mac users who have been unable to jailbreak due to the lack of a native Mac jailbreak tool for iOS 8.x: The Pangu team has heard your cries, and is gearing up for an OS X release.
In a Twitter post just a few minutes ago, the PanguTeam Twitter account acknowledged the release of Cydia 1.1.16, and followed that acknowledgement up with some insight on the status of the Mac jailbreak. Have a look at the details inside...
Popular RSS feed reader Reeder 2 has received a significant update this evening, bringing the app to version 2.6. The update includes a handful of highly-requested new features, such as support for the larger displays of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and Landscape mode (iOS 8 only).
Additionally, 2.6 brings about support for iOS 8's share extensions, adding the now-familiar "More" option to Reeder's share sheet. This will allow users to share articles and other content they come across in Reeder to other services outside of the app's default sharing options.
Security researchers at Palo Alto Networks say they've uncovered a new malware campaign targeting Macs and iOS that is the "biggest in scale" it has ever seen. Dubbed WireLurker, the malware has infected more than 400 apps in the Maiyadi App Store, a third-party Mac app store in China.
In the last six months, researchers say 467 infected applications have been downloaded 356,104 times, and “may have impacted hundreds of thousands of users.” The scary part is, the malware can be transmitted to a connected iOS device via USB, regardless of whether or not it's jailbroken.
The next iPhone released may feature a glasses-free 3D display, according to a report from Economic Daily News. The Taiwanese publication says that Apple supply chain partner TPK is currently raising funds for an upcoming Apple project, and its sources indicate it has something to do with a "naked eye 3D screen."
As we've stated before, Economic Daily News has a spotty track record in providing Apple intel, posting dozens of both accurate and inaccurate stories. It's possible, though, that Apple is planning to make 3D displays one of the headlining features of its next iPhone, much like Touch ID and Siri were for 5s and 4s models.
Taking advantage of iOS 8's new Interactive Notifications, Foursquare, the popular local search and discovery service, on Wednesday refreshed its main iPhone client with the ability to ‘save,’ ‘like,’ and ‘follow’ from the notifications you get from the service.
As before, the new Foursquare 8.2 has native display support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus resolutions and now comes with 1Password integration.
1Password integration allows fans of the popular password-management app to use their saved credentials when logging in to Foursquare, without having to paste the password manually.
A month ago, Foursquare's check-in app called Swarm received a similar update permitting users to check in to locations from the Lock screen or within iOS 8's Notification Center via a new Today widget.
Download Foursquare free in the App Store.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (or EFF) has posted a new Secure Messaging Scorecard, which ranks popular messaging offerings based on their security measures. The Scorecard uses a variety of metrics, such as methods of encryption and user privacy, and Apple's messaging options faired rather well.
While dedicated secure messaging apps like ChatSecure and CryptoCat scored the highest, the EFF found Apple's iMessage and FaceTime systems to be "the best of the mass-market options." The two services were found more secure than several high profile apps, including BlackBerry Messenger and Skype.
As we patiently await an update to make WhatsApp support native display sizes of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the tremendously popular Facebook-owned messaging service on Wednesday enabled a new check mark in the chat UI indicating that the recipient has read your message.
Now when you're chatting with someone, pay attention to read receipts in the form of blue check marks, as discovered by designer, Dutch translator at Twitter and jailbreak developer Timon Olsthoorn (and many others on Twitter).
This is an over-the-air update so those with WhatsApp installed on their iPhone can start using this feature immediately, without the need to update the app manually.
WhatsApp, which has more than 600 million active users, is free in the App Store.
After redesigning its iPad app with combined flight and hotel search in early September, Expedia on Wednesday gave its iOS app some more love by issuing an update which makes the software compatible with iOS 8 and the latest iPhones.
Expedia now supports the new 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screen sizes of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, respectively, so you'll see more content and scroll less.
Expedia Hotels & Flights is available at no cost in the App Store.
Keen on deploying Android Lollipop’s Material Design across its mobile apps on all platforms, Google on Wednesday announced a new version of Google Maps for the iPhone and iPad featuring engaging animations, shadows and depth.
The fresh new design is all about creating surfaces and shadows that echo the real world, the search firm said.
With Google Maps’ new material feel, layers and buttons “come to life so you know just where to touch to get directions, recommendations and imagery”. The update will be rolling out over the next few days.
Google Maps is available free in the App Store.