Apps

Link your Spotify account with Shazam to enable full song previews & more

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated May 29, 2019

The Shazam app for iOS comes with the ability to link your Spotify account so you can stream the music you tag via Spotify directly from the Shazam app itself. A recent update to the app included a complete rewrite for this feature, so it's now more stable than ever before.

All you have to do is connect your Spotify account to the Shazam app, and the app will take care of the rest for you, allowing you to listen to full tracks in Shazam instead of just 30-second song previews.

In this tutorial, we'll be showing you how to link your Spotify account to the Shazam app in iOS.

Get where you’re going with fewer steps using these 3D Touch shortcuts in Apple Maps

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 29, 2019

Getting where you’re going with fewer steps is a lot easier with time-saving 3D Touch shortcuts in Apple Maps. For example, pressing the Maps icon on the Home screen lets you instantly get directions home, send your location to a friend, search what’s nearby or drop a pin on your current location so you can remember where you parked your car.

And within the Maps app, 3D-touching a point of interest lets you preview it quickly, navigate there, call the place and more.

In this tutorial, you're going to learn about all the ways you can take advantage of 3D Touch shortcuts that are currently supported in Apple Maps.

1 Meter, Day One 2, OmniPlan 3, and more apps to check out this weekend

Lory Gil ∙ Updated May 1, 2018

Hello friendly readers. This weekend's app list spotlight is the last article I'll be writing for iDB. I've had a wonderful time as a part of the team and will miss every one of the editors (I've already cried with them privately). I'll also miss the iDB readers' funny, snarky, and sometimes ornery comments (you know who you are). Thanks for listening to me express my love of all things app-related.

Now, on with the show. Check out this week's (and my final week's) list of apps and games.

AppRecs: a search engine that filters out apps with fake or questionable reviews

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 5, 2016

One of the things that can be annoying when using the App Store is when you are trying to find a good app and dozens of fake reviews push junk apps to the top of the search results when all you want is to find the best of the best. Since not all reviews are honest, it can be difficult to filter the good from the bad on your own.

To help combat this problem, a new web app called AppRecs has been created that claims to be able to filter good reviews from the bad. This way, you can skip everyone's junk reviews and junk apps and just see the best apps in the App Store that are truly worth checking out based off of honest reviews.

Browserism review: quickly switch between browsers on Mac

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Some people have different needs from different web browsers. One may have a specific function that another does not. But, you may like them both for different purposes.

Browserism is a shortcut app for OS X that makes it possible for you to quickly switch between web browsers with just a click or the stroke of a key. We've got a full app review of Browserism for you below. Find out if it is right for you.

Design app Over goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ February 4, 2016

Apple on Thursday updated its App of the Week promotion with a new app called Over. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the popular typography and design app for free for both iPhone and iPad—saving you a solid $4.

For those who haven't used the app before, Over allows you to spruce up your photos with a wide variety of tools including text, with more than 300 fonts, 800+ illustrations and more. Plus, the interface is so well done that accessing all these features is a breeze.

Instagram rolls out support for multiple accounts to some iOS users

Cody Lee ∙ February 4, 2016

It appears Instagram has begun testing support for multiple accounts on iOS. As noted by the folks at Latergramme, a number of iPhone users began noticing the new option on Thursday, which allows you to add and sign out of more than one account.

To see if you have access to the feature, make sure you have the latest version of the Instagram app, and click the Options icon in the top right-hand corner of your Profile page. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and you'll see the new 'Add Account' option.

How to measure Mac frame rates and enable HiDPI display modes on older models with Quartz Debug

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 2, 2019

Have you ever wanted to benchmark the graphics performance of your favorite Mac apps and games, or measure the refresh rates of macOS's user interface?

If so, you'll be delighted to learn that Apple provides a free application, called Quartz Debug, which has a built-in live frame rate monitoring tool that can measure the refresh rate of the graphics subsystem in frames per second (FPS).

Here's how you can download Quartz Debug to your Mac and use it to display the number of screen updates per second, see the FPS and CPU gauges changing as you perform different actions on your Mac, enable HiDPI display modes on non-Retina Macs and adjust other settings related to the computer's GPU.

How to turn any photo scene into a snowy one with Snow Daze

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated April 3, 2024

Winter may be coming to an end next month, making room for the Spring season, but that doesn't mean you can't keep enjoying the snow!

Snow Daze is a wonderful app that can be had from the App Store for $1.99. The app can turn any photograph scene into a snowy wonderland. With all of the different filters, configurable snow settings, and color options, you can make even the least suspecting photograph look like it was taken in the middle of a blizzard storm.

In this tutorial, we'll be showing you how the app works.

Rototo: a challenging space survival game, now free in the App Store

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 3, 2016

Are you looking for a fun new App Store game to install on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad to entertain your inner gamer? Look no further than Rototo: Space Survival, which is survival game where you actively defend yourself from incoming threats using a rotating shield.

Rototo is normally $1.99, but it's currently free in the App Store for an unknown period of time, and we'd recommend taking advantage of that awesome deal!

Review: this exquisitely done astronomical clock for iPhone might cure your Apple Watch envy

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 2, 2016

It's funny how the Apple Watch's debut prompted Apple bloggers to become self-proclaimed horology experts. I never pretended to be one, but as an amateur astronomer think Apple should be credited for going to great lengths in paying homage to the traditional environment in which horology was developed by putting strong emphasis on the device's advanced timekeeping features and features like the cool Astronomy and Solar watch faces.

You don't need to own an Apple Watch if you're eager to discover the fascinating relation between time and the cosmos, all you need is a superb iPhone app by Swiss developer (how appropriate!) Celestial Dynamics, called Cosmic Watch.