Apple has begun rolling out iTunes web previews for fourth generation Apple TV apps. The move, which was first spotted by Jeff Scott (via MacStories), will allow both users and developers to easily share links to Apple TV apps on the web.
It doesn't appear that web previews are available for all apps yet, and it's unclear which apps it's working for—Apple isn't advertising them anywhere. If you want to see what they look like, here's a link to Scott's app for Beergeek.com TV.
Two weeks after rival WhatsApp announced that chats on its platform are protected from eavesdropping with end-to-end encryption, the popular messaging app Viber on Tuesday released a privacy-enhanced edition of its iPhone and iPad app.
Bumped to version 6.0, messages you send and receive through Viber are now protected with end-to-end encryption, as indicated by the new padlock icon, and you can also hide away specific chats.
Pinterest today announced a completely overhauled iPhone and iPad application—“our fastest, cleanest app yet”—that lets you focus on more Pins than ever before. The app, used by more than a hundred million people around the world, is a lot faster than the previous version it replaced, with your Home feed now loading up to three times faster.
The refreshed application is now rolling in the App Store so check back later if the new version isn't immediately available where you live. The Android edition of Pinterest and its web-based counterpart are next on Pinterest's list to tackle, though they wouldn't commit to a firm release dates for these.
Knowing that Apple has been restrictive in the past on what is and what isn't allowed to pass in the App Store for a Notification Center widget, it can be fun when little gems find their way into the top charts section and you stumble upon them.
While looking through them, I discovered a free endless runner game called Steve - The Jumping Dinosaur, but unlike other endless runners you've played before, this game is played inside of a Notification Center widget rather than from the app itself.
It's the weekend, and you know what that means: it's time for another round of iDB's Apps of the Week post. Every week we put together a list of apps and games we think are worth checking out, and this time around we've got some great selections. This week's picks include a navigation app for walking, an annotation app, and more!
Apple has enhanced the tvOS operating system via a silent backend update that now permits users to ask Siri to tune in to live broadcasts in supported apps such as Disney XD, ESPN and CBS, the latter having gained integration with the Apple TV's universal search feature yesterday.
MacRumors has caught wind of this useful new feature addition on a splash screen that customers see after upgrading their 4th-generation Apple TV to the new tvOS software.
Apple has a "secret team" exploring various changes to the App Store, reports Bloomberg. Citing people familiar with the company's plans, the outlet says among the ideas being pursued is paid search results, where developers pay to have their apps more prominently displayed.
Such a move would drastically impact search results, as a developer with a word puzzle game in the App Store could essentially pay to have their game listed among the top search results—similar to Google.com. It would also give Apple a new way to make money from the App Store.
Like on any given Thursday, Apple today refreshed the App Store to reflect new software arrivals and promotions.
In addition to highlighting apps whose proceeds will go to the World Wildlife Fund until April 24 through the new 'Apps for Earth' section, Apple's editors have slashed Pixelbite's award-winning sci-fi action adventure, Space Marshals, as the App Store's new Free App of the Week.
This universal iPhone, iPod touch and iPad game normally retails for $4.99, so do yourself a favor and save a few bucks by grabbing this great freebie right now.
Apple has partnered with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on a brand new App Store initiative that will have the world's leading organization in wildlife conservation and endangered species receive 100 percent of the proceeds from select App Store purchases until April 24, just in time for Earth Day.
Descriptions of participating apps were updated this morning to reflect that “Apple and WWF are working together to protect life on our planet”.
A new Watch button was rolled out yesterday to Vine's iPhone application in the App Store, allowing you to enjoy videos in channels and on profile pages without having to manually scroll through individual posts. It's basically a whole new way to watch Vine as you can now kick back and view the entire story of any channel or watch an account from start to finish.
The failing Internet pioneer Yahoo today announced a major update for its mobile email application.
Bumped to version 4.3, Yahoo Mail for iOS introduces new third-party integrations allowing you to add cloud files directly from your Google Drive or Dropbox to your messages as attachments, or add animated GIFs to your emails from Tumblr, which is another Yahoo-owned property.
The compose interface makes it easy to choose among Tumblr's most popular GIFs of the moment, search for that perfect GIF or browse GIF categories including Love, LOL, Cute, Cheers, Fail, Happy and more. GIFs are added to your emails as attachments.
Snapchat today announced a very cool object-tracking feature that works with live video, in real time.
Now available in Snapchat for Android and coming soon to the company's iPhone application, users can optionally attach a sticker to an object or a person in the frame and Snapchat's algorithm will handle the rest and do all the heavy lifting for you, Engadget reports.
You could add colorful scribbles to your photos and videos before but these were static. By pairing stickers with specific parts of your recording, the Snapchat algorithm can make them move, rotate and change their size to follow the object it's attached to as it moves around the frame.