App Recap: 5 awesome new iOS apps and more

Today marks three weeks since we began App Recap, a daily column that recaps the best new, updated and discounted apps for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. We hope you have been enjoying the variety of apps that we find worth sharing each day, and encourage you to add your own in the comments. App Recap rounds up the most important App Store developments each day, ranging from popular app updates to hidden gem releases. We've got 11 apps to check out ahead…

Gameloft posts new screenshots of Modern Combat 5: Blackout

It’s been nearly a year since we first saw a preview of Gameloft’s Modern Combat 5, and the game has yet to see a release date. In fact, we’ve heard almost nothing about the title in the past 11 months, leading some folks to believe that the project had either been shelved or canceled.

But that has certainly changed in the last few weeks. In late April, Gameloft offered up new details about the game, and a week later it broke down its new unified progression system. And today, it posted a pair of beautiful new screenshots showing Modern Combat 5 in action...

TouchPass allows you to unlock your iOS device with a tap

I'm not sure what's all the rage about tap-to-unlock tweaks these days, but there must be something in the air. After the recent release of TapToUnlock7 and SmartTap, a new tweak called TouchPass promises to let you unlock your iOS device with just one tap. Well, to be fair here, you'll still have to wake the device in order to tap to unlock so it's not just a one-tap unlock solution, but close enough...

Apple posts Safari 7.0.4/6.1.4 with fixes for WebKit vulnerabilities

Following the release of OS X 10.9.3, iTunes 11.2 and the subsequent iTunes 11.2.1 update (which fixed the disappearing Users folder in OS X 10.9.3), Apple on Wednesday issued a pair of Safari updates for OS X Lion, Mountain Lion and Mavericks systems.

Both Safari 7.0.4 for OS X Mavericks 10.9.3 and Safari 6.1.4 for OS X Lion 10.7.5, OS X Lion Server 10.7.5 and OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.5 are now available with fixes for vulnerabilities found in WebKit, the browser's open-sourced rendering engine...

Apple can now market, sell and develop products in Saudi Arabia

Although the Saudi Arabia Online Apple Store has been up and running for years now, you can't really add products to the shopping basket because Apple isn't licensed to sell its products directly to consumers in the 28.3 million people market.

Instead, the iPhone maker relies on a network of third-party resellers to market and sell products in the country, a common practice in all regions where Apple hasn't yet established its direct presence.

This is about to change as the firm has apparently been cleared to market, sell and develop products directly to Saudi Arabian customers through its subsidiary name of 'Apple, Saudi Arabia'...

Apple pulls popular ‘Weed Firm’ game from the App Store

Apple has pulled the popular, and somewhat controversial, game 'Weed Firm' from the App Store this week. The game landed on iOS just a few weeks ago, and had climbed its way to the top of the App Store's 'Top Free' list in several countries.

For those unfamiliar with the game, the game centers around a marijuana business, started by an expelled botany student who inherits a growing operation and expands it. Players control all aspects of the business, including selling cannabis...

TypeRead only sends iMessage read receipts when you start typing your reply

One great feature of iMessage is the ability to send read receipts to people who send you a text from an iOS device, basically letting them now that not only you have received their text, but you've actually read it too.

But what if, from time to time, you do not want the other person to know that you have read their message right away? Of course, you could turn off reader receipts altogether, but if you're looking for a little more flexibility, have a look at TypeRead...

Fantastical 2 for iPhone and iPad gains improved week view layout and bug fixes

Flexibits's Fantastical 2 for iOS has received a maintenance update this morning bringing several bug fixes, alongside a useful improvement to how the overlapping calendar events are handled.

Bringing the app up to version 2.0.7, the team has made changes to how it handles many overlapping events by improving your week view layout to fit more content while making the individual entries legible.

Today's update is available for both the iPhone and iPad edition of Fantastical and is now live in the App Store, free for existing users...

Bricks – Arcade Game review: a brick breaking game with a twist

The brick-breaking genre is decades old. Breakout was one of Atari’s early runaway hits in the mid 1970s. It spawned generations of clones and homages (Did you know that, if you type “Atari Breakout” into a Google image search, you can play the game with the image results?).

Bricks is a version of the brick-breaking genre that bucks tradition and leaves you with a completely new love of the arcade classic. Your iPhone is the paddle and the wall surrounds you in this new take on an old favorite. We’ve got a review of Bricks – Arcade Game for you below…

i0n1c shows off video of Cyberelevat0r, his iOS 7.1.1 jailbreak

I'm not sure what i0n1c is better at: security research, or trolling?

In typical i0n1c manner, talented German researcher Stefan Esser has published a video demonstrating a jailbroken iPhone 5c running iOS 7.1.1. This is the same iPhone 5c that he showed off a few days ago in a photo shared online, but this time, we obviously get to see much more about what i0n1c calls the Cyberelevat0r jailbreak...

Start your morning off right with WhatAlarm [sponsored]

The folks at B&G present WhatAlarm, the alarm clock app that helps you get going in the morning by reading you the news, your reminders, appointments, weather conditions, as well as your horoscope.

WhatAlarm not only aims at waking you up but also telling you what your day looks like so you know ahead of getting out of bed. After opening the app to stop the alarm, WhatAlarm will kindly greet you and inform you about the weather for the day. Then it will read your reminders, the main news headlines, your horoscope, and finally will play your favorite radio station until you stop the app...