Apple

Autodesk’s SketchBook apps go free for the first time in Apple’s Free App of the Week promo

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

For the first time ever since debuting on the App Store back in the summer of 2013, a pair of excellent drawing and painting apps for the iPhone and iPad by Autodesk have gone free.

Both SketchBook Mobile — a professional-grade painting and drawing application designed for the iPhone and iPod touch — and SketchBook Pro for iPad— an authentic, natural drawing experience based on the same paint engine as its desktop counterpart — are available free of charge, for a limited time, courtesy of Apple's weekly Free App of the Week promo on the App Store.

That's a cool $7 saving right off the bat as SketchBook Pro normally sells for $4.99 and SketchBook Mobile is regularly $1.99...

Google Shopping Express 2.0: deliveries in more cities, enhanced search, new products and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 7, 2014

Following a June update, the Internet giant today released a major new version of its Shopping Express application for the iPhone and iPad.

The official iOS client of Google’s same-day delivery service, version 2.0, now live in the App Store, brings same-day and overnight delivery to more cities while introducing several enhancements to the built-in search feature.

You can now use the app to buy wine, beer and spirits and have them delivered to your doorstep, if you live in San Francisco or the San Francisco Peninsula. And people who shop at Costco can now purchase their Costco membership and shop Costco in the same session...

FX Photo Studio 6.0 for iPhone brings iOS 7 overhaul, new filters and sharing options and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

FX Photo Studio by MacPhun used to be my go-to iPhone photography tool, but I was forced to switch to other apps because it looked like the team had ceased further development (last update was in February of last year).

I'm glad I was wrong about that. As of today, the iPhone edition has been resurrected. Basically everything has changed and MacPhun bills it as "the biggest update in its four-year history".

Now available in the App Store as a free update for existing users, the new FX Photo Studio 6.0 of course sports an iOS 7-friendly user interface along with a brand new engine and tons of other new features.

All of the hallmarks of FX Photo Studio have been preserved and enhanced in this update, including great filters, special editing tools and sharing features...

Apple awarded new patent on wireless charging

Cody Lee ∙ August 7, 2014

We don't know if the upcoming iPhone 6 is going to feature wireless charging technology or not, but we do know that Apple is working on it. The Cupertino company has been awarded multiple patents on wire-free charging tech over the years, and today we're adding a new one to the stack.

The USPTO granted Apple the rights to a new invention this week based on NFMR (or near-field magnetic resonance) technology. NFMR is different from the inductive charging tech used by most manufacturers these days, as it's capable of wirelessly charging devices up to one meter away...

Foursquare revamps mobile app around Yelp-like features and focus on location discovery

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 6, 2014

Foursquare, the popular location-based social networking service, recently announced plans to remove social features and check-ins from its original mobile client.

Thus, Swarm was born.

By striping the mobile client off unnecessary features, the logic went, Foursquare aimed to provide its users with a lightweight app that would have a strong focus on location discovery.

After announcing the redesigned new app and showing off a new logo two weeks ago, the new Forusquare 8.0 for iPhone is now available in the App Store. It "learns what you like and leads you to places you love," as per the blurb, and is a lot like Yelp now.

Jump past the break for the full info...

Now free in the Apple Store app: Rise Alarm Clock

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

As part of its ongoing push designed to increase foot traffic in its retail outlets, Apple via the free Apple Store app for the iPhone and iPad has so far given away free music, books, apps like 7 Minute Workout Challenge and the Rhonna Designs photo editor and games such as Tetris, Temple Run: Oz and more. Today, the beautifully done Rise Alarm Clock app by Kellen Styler has gone free via the Apple Store app, a $1.99 saving.

It's a great little piece of software with a gorgeous interface and a lot of smart features. Trust me, you don't want to miss out on this offer. And if you passed on Rise Alarm Clock as the App Store's Free App of the Week a year ago, here's how you can grab it free of charge for a limited time, via the Apple Store app...

July was the best-ever month for App Store revenue and downloads

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 6, 2014

As a prelude to the most recent numbers detailing the impact of so-called app economy on Europe's job market, Apple yesterday underscored that July files as the App Store's best-ever month in terms of downloads and revenue.

Although the company stopped short of backing up the claim with some cold, hard numbers, a spokesperson confirmed to CNBC on Tuesday that the App Store in July generated more revenue and had more customers make purchases than ever before...

Yahoo Mail now lets you filter search results by emails, photos or files

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 6, 2014

A little more than a month ago, Yahoo added a slew of nice-to-haves to its native Mail for iOS app, including handy mail filters on the iPad and personalized web features to easily track scores, stocks, weather and more, all without switching apps.

Today, a new update has surfaced in the App Store featuring welcomed search enhancements to the app's built-in search feature.

Now sitting at version 3.2, the refreshed software makes it easy to filter your results by emails, photos or files...

Rumor: 4.7-inch iPhone 6 has 2,100mAh battery

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

As Apple gears up to unveil the iPhone 6 on September 9, rumors of the handset's battery capacity have been picking up steam lately, especially in light of Samsung's anti-iPhone 'Wall Huggers' advertisement which slams the handset's inadequate battery module.

We've already shown you images of a purported 1,810 mAh iPhone 6 battery and now one analyst has reopened the topic, alleging that a 4.7-inch variant will have a bigger 2,100mAh module versus a 1,570mAh battery found inside the iPhone 5s/5c...

App economy at work: App Store created 500,000 jobs in Europe and other highlights

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 6, 2014

Apple today released a plethora of freshly-updated stats and pretty charts that paint a rosy picture of the company's positive contributions to the European job market and the continents's economy as a whole.

The so-called app economy is now sustaining half a million jobs across Europe, with a total of 629,000 jobs created or supported by Apple in Europe. Apple paid out $6.5 billion to European app developers so far, representing nearly out-third of the $20 billion the company paid to developers globally.

I've include additional stats and key charts right after the break...

iPads and MacBooks can’t be bought with China’s public money over espionage concerns

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 6, 2014

First Russian, and now China. Just as news hit us a week ago that the Russian government is demanding access to the source code for Apple software to ensure it isn't enabling U.S. intelligence agencies to spy on the 145 million country, Bloomberg Wednesday reported that the Chinese government has taken Apple's iPad tablets and MacBook notebooks off the procurement list.

As a result, no government agency in China is allowed to buy Apple products with public money.

While government purchases are not a major sales driver for Apple, it's worth remembering that China is home to 1.33 billion people and filing as Apple's third-biggest market by revenue...

Steve Jobs saw shared home Wi-Fi as the future of Internet access. Utopian vision?

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 6, 2014

Would you be willing to open your home Wi-Fi network to total strangers, so that passersby and folks in your near vicinity could join it and surf the web for free?

These questions kept Apple CEO Steve Jobs up at night back in 2007 as he envisioned building an open Wi-Fi Utopia. The idea was born out of his frustration with sluggish mobile data networks at the time.

Re/code's Walt Mossberg, the famous technology reviewer and columnist who used to enjoy unparalleled access to Jobs, recounts how Jobs's intense loathing of AT&T almost gave everyone free Wi-Fi...