Just like rival WhatsApp, the popular Rakuten-owned Viber messaging application pushed an update to its App Store app this morning, bumping version number to 6.2 whilst adding a few new features related to handling sticker packages within the app. You can now share sticker packages with others and preview stickers before sending one in a chat. And to preserve storage space on the device, there's now the option to delete sticker packages you no longer use. Grab Viber for free on the App Store.
Apps
WhatsApp for iPhone gains 3x bigger emoji, zooming during video capture and more
After launching a desktop Mac app in May, Facebook-owned WhatsApp today gave its iPhone application a little love with a new version now available on the App Store. WhatsApp 2.16.7 for iPhone includes three times bigger emoji when sent alone, a feature also found in iOS 10's Messages app. In this release, you can now zoom when recording videos within the app and select multiple chats to quickly archive, delete or mark as read.
Plus, thanks to under-the-hood tweaks chats now open a lot faster than before.
Google Maps for iOS refreshed with cleaner look, now highlights local areas of interest
Google today updated its mobile mapping application for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch with some rather useful visual tweaks. Google Maps 4.21 for iOS now highlights local areas that might interest you, adding multiple destinations to a route is supported in the new version and the typography of street names, points of interest, transit stations and other places has been improved to make them easier to read on smaller screens, among other changes.
How to remove the third-party PP app store from your jailbroken iOS 9.3.3 device
When you jailbreak your iOS 9.3.3 device with the latest Pangu jailbreak tool, you may end up with a third-party application store that you don't really want on your device.
In this tutorial, we'll show you how to remove the unwanted third-party application store without getting rid of Cydia or the Pangu app that you need to boot semi-untethered.
Understanding the various items you’ll come across in Pokémon GO
As you play Pokémon GO, you're going to find yourself collecting a ton of items from PokéStops and from simply leveling up your character as you progress through the game.
In this piece, we'll talk about all the items you can obtain in Pokémon GO, and what they're used for.
Highly, Bangers, Tinycards, and other apps to check out this weekend
We're back with another edition of our Apps of the Week post. This is a weekly roundup of a handful of new and unique apps and games we think are worth checking out this weekend. Today's selections include new apps for highlighting and sharing interesting quotes from around the web, making music, and learning more about new topics, and of course we have two new games for you to try.
Pokémon GO set App Store record for most first week downloads
Pokémon GO set an App Store record for most downloads during its first week of availability, reports The Loop's Jim Dalrymple. This should come as no surprise to folks who have been following the craze surrounding the hit game, which has sat atop the App Store's Top Free and Top Grossing lists since it launched earlier this month.
iOS 9 adoption jumps to 86 percent mark ahead of iOS 10 release
Earlier in the week, Apple updated iOS adoption numbers via its App Store dashboard for developers. According to the refreshed stats, the various iOS 9 editions now power 86 percent of iPhones, iPads and iPod touches, a two-point gain versus the 84 percent adoption rate that iOS 9 hit on April 20.
Apple’s free app of the week: Super Arc Light
Apple on Thursday updated its App of the Week promotion with the game Super Arc Light. This means that for the next 7 days you’ll be able to pick up the popular arcade shooter for free on both iPhone and iPad—a solid savings of $2.
For those who haven't played Super Arc Light, it's a minimalistic radial shooter, in which you must defend your base to the death against waves of challenging enemies. The developer describes it as Super Hexagon meets Geometry Wars.
Periscope introduces Replay Highlights, Live Autoplay and Tweet Embeds
Periscope, Twitter's live-broadcasting app, was updated in the App Store with a few new features, among them Replay Highlights, Live Autoplay and Tweet Embeds. Highlights automatically generates a short trailer for every Periscope broadcast of your home feed, making it easier to catch up on broadcasts you missed from the last day.
Periscope is a free download from the App Store.
BBC’s iPlayer Radio hits US App Store as new BBC+ app goes live in UK
The British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) iPlayer Radio mobile app, which used to be limited to customers in the United Kingdom, has expanded stateside today, TechCrunch just announced. Now customers in the United States can download iPlayer Radio from the US App Store and tune in to BBC's high-quality radio stations and content.
Earlier in the week, BBC announced launch of a brand new personalized content portal with a new BBC+ app on the UK App Store.
Facebook Messenger hits a major milestone—one billion monthly users
Facebook yesterday announced that its Messenger service has hit a major milestone: the software is now being used by more than one billion people every month to message their friends and family. Messenger saw a major surge in popularity after it was decoupled from the main Facebook mobile client, and especially since becoming a software platform in its own right with chat bots, apps, money payments, expanded emojis and other features.
Facebook Messenger is a free download from the App Store.