Apps

Twitter testing out dedicated News tab in mobile apps

Twitter is experimenting with a new "Featured News" tab in its mobile apps, reports BuzzFeed. The tab surfaces trending news items, which the social network hopes will keep users engaged.

"We're experimenting with a news experience on iOS and Android," a Twitter spokesperson told the publication. "We are continuing to explore new ways to surface the best content to users."

August Smart Lock is ready for your wrist with brand new Apple Watch app

The popular Smart Lock accessory by August now makes it easy to lock and unlock your door right from your wrist with a brand new Apple Watch app, announced Monday.

Available as a free update to the existing iPhone application, the WatchKit component provides an Apple Watch app and a glance which can be used to operate your August Smart Lock and view its logs, view your most recent activity, receive instant notifications and more.

Prune review: yard work has never been so beautiful

There truly is an art form in pruning. Trees of all shapes and sizes act differently based on the way you manipulate their growth. The art of the Bonsai is the perfect example of how a perfectly trimmed tree can become whatever you want it to be.

Prune is a game about trees. In it, players trim branches to grow their foliage until they reach the sun. We've got a hands-on game review of Prune for you today.

Apps of the week: Tap Delay, Gallery Doctor, Domino Drop, and more

On some weekends, there is nowhere I'd rather be than sitting in a chair, drinking a cold one around a campfire with my friends. On other weekends, all I want to do is drop out of reality and sink into a good game. This weekend, if you are of the latter group, we have a list of apps and games that might give you something to get into.

SwiftKey previews upcoming ‘Your Signature Emoji’ feature in iPhone app

Have you ever wondered which emoji symbols you use the most as your unique writing style? Well, the popular smartphone keyboard, SwiftKey, is previewing a new feature called 'Your Signature Emoji' which was designed to help you find out precisely which emoji characters you use more than other people.

Available as a beta for SwiftKey's iPhone users, and coming soon for everyone, this feature takes advantage of SwiftKey's knowledge base which gets continually updated as you're typing away.

Create colorful keyboards that match your mood in an instant with Photokeys

Photokeys by developer Appyfurious was released in the App Store last evening. This quite interesting application makes it easy and fun to create your own colorful keyboards in seconds, from any photo in your library.

Just take or import a picture, adjust color themes as you like and your keyboard is ready for use in any application.

If you're unhappy with the results, refine your custom designs with manual controls to mix and match your own colors and achieve the keyboard nirvana. But wait, there's much more to Photokeys, a 99-cent download from the App Store, than meets the eye.

OneDrive for iOS brings back file downloading, adds VoiceOver and Single Sign-On improvements

Microsoft's excellent mobile client for its cloud-storage service, OneDrive for iOS, was updated with three new features today, among them the ability to download photos and videos to your Camera roll after a brief hiatus following the app's recent redesign. Available free of charge in the App Store, OneDrive 5.5 for iOS also contains VoiceOver improvements for hearing-impaired users and support for Single Sign-On.

Worms3 goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Apple has just named Team17's "Worms3" its App of the Week for this week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to download the popular artillery strategy game for both iPhone and iPad for free—saving you $5.

For those who aren't familiar with the Worms franchise, players are tasked with eliminating the opposing team(s) of worms using an assortment of weapons. There are various game modes, including an asynchronous multiplayer battle.

The saga continues as Angry Birds 2 hits the App Store as a free-to-play download

As promised, Finnish mobile games maker Rovio today released Angry Birds 2, the official sequel to its original bird-flinging franchise. Available on a free-to-play basis, Angry Birds 2 for iPhone and iPad isn't a radical departure from the proven formula which made the original games such a rage.

In Angry Birds 2, your favorite feathered heroes embark on a brand new adventure as they storm Piggy Island to rescue their poor stolen eggs, all over again.

The sequel introduces some fun new elements to the gameplay experience such as all-new bird characters to choose from, spells, multi-stage levels, scheming boss piggies and much more.

Don’t Starve: Pocket Edition is so engaging you might forget to eat in real life

Sometimes, there are games that are so engrossing that you don't even realize that time has passed. They can sometimes get you into trouble, especially if you suddenly find yourself still at home in your slippers when you should have been at work 10 minutes ago.

Don't Starve is an action survival game for the iPad that might cause you to forget to eat dinner while trying to keep your character well fed and safe from things that go bump in the night. We've got a full game review of Don't Starve: Pocket Edition for you today.

Yahoo unveils LiveText, its new Snapchat-esque messaging app with text and silent video

As vaguely hinted yesterday, Yahoo held a press conference in New York City this morning to announce its brand new mobile product: a messaging app called LiveText.

The app recently soft-launched in HongKong, Taiwan and Ireland and is scheduled to roll out in more markets tomorrow, including the United States and the United Kingdom. Don't worry, we'll keep you updated as soon as it hits the US App Store.

LiveText promises to transform simple conversations into rich, fun and memorable experiences with text and live video, but without sound. It's very Snapchat-esque and you might be willing to give it a try.

Fantastical for iPhone gains drafts feature [bonus: promo codes giveaway]

Developer Flexibits has issued an update to Fantastical's iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch apps this morning. This premium calendar and reminder replacement software for iOS, watchOS and OS X now includes complete support for Japanese users across its iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch editions.

More importantly, Fantastical 2.4 for iPhone now includes drafts, a handy new feature addition that makes it possible to multitask while adding new items quickly and easily. The update is rolling out as we speak and should be available in the App Store shortly.

As a nice bonus, the fine folk at Flexibits have kindly provided more than a dozen promo codes for you, our readers, to redeem so read on to potentially grab your free copy of Fantastical.