Apps

A closer look at Apple Watch’s Activity companion app for iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2016

After sitting through Apple's “Spring Forward” media presentation from start to finish, I couldn't help but notice a slide tim Cook briefly put up, depicting an iOS version of the Apple Watch's Activity app. I immediately took to Twitter, wondering when users could expect to see the software on their iPhones.

Last evening, developer Hamza Sood tweeted out a series of screenshots of the Activity app from iOS 8.2, released for public consumption on Monday.

The app is hidden and would only appear on a user's Home screen once an Apple Watch has been connected and paired with an iPhone using the Apple Watch iOS app (which by the way cannot be deleted from the device).

Tether automatically locks your Mac when you walk away, unlocks it when you return

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

If you use a Mac in a public place, or around particularly snoopy family members or roommates, you probably worry about leaving your computer unattended and unlocked for prying eyes to see. Locking up before leaving your desk becomes a habit. But sometimes you forget, and it is always a bit of a hassle.

Tether connects your Mac to your iPhone so that it locks up when you walk away and unlocks when you come back. After set-up, you don’t have to do anything else.

Ulysses, popular Mac text editor, comes to iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 9, 2018

Ulysses, a popular and versatile Mac app for focused writing, is now available on Apple's iPad. If your job involves writing, or you just love to write and write a lot, you're going to love this nifty app by German developer The Soulmen GbR.

Ulysses for iPad brings the same cohesive, distraction-free writing environment from the Mac to the Apple tablet.

With its powerful, yet simple editor and a comprehensive multi-format export supporting HTML, Markdown, PDF and other popular document formats, Ulysses puts the focus on writing and gives you a good excuse to buy a wireless keyboard for your iPad.

Wunderlist gets smarter with folders, Quick Add for iPhone, overhauled design and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 12, 2015

German developer 6Wunderkinder just pushed a major new update to its excellent list-making app, Wunderlist.

Billed as one of the biggest updates to Wunderlist ever, both the iOS and OS X edition of the software have received a brand new look stemming from a refreshing pop color and twelve hand-crafted pictograms. The facelift simplifies the Home view and makes it a lot easier on the eyes.

Wunderlist users on the web, Windows and Chrome can expect to see the new look interface over the course of the next few weeks.

OneNote for iPhone gains note previews, Mac edition improves collaboration

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

Thursday, Microsoft made the iPhone and Mac edition of OneNote even better by adding previews to help quickly find notes on the Apple smartphone while bringing out more notebook sharing enhancements on the Mac.

Note previews are comprised of a headline and an excerpt of the text and include a small thumbnail to help visualize its contents.

These snapshots are readily glanceable from your page list and your Recent Notes list and even incorporate handwriting so it's really easy to quickly locate the note you want to read or edit on the go.

8bit Doves is Apple’s new Free App of the Week

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 12, 2015

Today is the day Apple's editorial team gets to cherry-pick a new iOS app to feature as the App Store's Free App of the Week. Are you ready for something completely different this time around? Good, because this week's gem of a game is 8bit Doves (regularly $2.99).

The charming retro title incorporates a Gameboy like color scheme and pixelated graphics which evokes pleasant memories of the golden age of 8-bit gaming.

Spread across three worlds (Sweet Dreams, Deep Sleep and Nightmare), 8bit Doves employs simple mechanics in the form of an intuitive two button gameplay. Your goal is simple: you must fly through each stage and reach the exit. Those who manage to get doves to follow them along the way will earn some extra bonus bragging rights on Game Center.

Fleksy Keyboard gains Tips and Color Pops extensions, three new themes and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 22, 2017

Fleksy, a popular 99-cent keyboard for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices running iOS 8 or later, has received another newsworthy update following its equally massive Valentine's Day release.

A dedicated Tips Extension shows you helpful tips throughout the app while a new Color Pops Extension lets you customize the colors of your key pops (disable them completely via a transparancy slider).

Sid Meier’s Starships launches for iPad and Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 12, 2015

Announced back in January, Sid Meier's Starships, an interstellar companion to Civilization: Beyond Earth, launched Thursday for the iPad and Mac.

Available in the App Store and Steam for fifteen bucks each, the premium strategy game published by Firaxis and 2K Games has you assuming command of a starship fleet.

You'll be discovering beautiful new worlds and completing various missions to preserve intergalactic peace while building a planetary federation and strengthening your fleet to secure your homeworld.

Crescent Moon Games launches Paper Monsters Recut on iOS

Lory Gil ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Nearly everyone with an iPhone has heard of Paper Monsters. The adorable 2-D platformer won our hearts three years ago for being one of the best in the genre at the time.

Crescent Moon Games pulled their beloved title from the App Store earlier this week and has replaced it with the PC and Wii U version, Paper Monsters Recut. One of the best aspects of this new title is that it does not feature in-app purchases. We’ve got a game review of Paper Monsters Recut for you today.

BBM for iPhone updated with Touch ID and landscape support, ad removal and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 12, 2015

The latest BBM for iPhone update is now available for iOS users in the App Store, featuring support for Touch ID-based fingerprint verification, a custom PIN feature, the ability to remove in-app advertising through an In-App Purchase and more.

The free messaging software can now at last be locked with a passcode and Touch ID to keep your messages hidden from prying eyes. You can set how long you would like BBM to remain unlocked before a password is required again.

Full-width timeline photos launching today on Twitter for iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

Twitter, a 140-character messaging service and a social platform, today said that it's supersizing photos in mobile apps for the iPhone and Android.

Bigger photos should make browsing profiles on Twitter for iPhone “even more fun” while allowing for more visual impact, according to a tweet issued Wednesday.

The visual types are going to have a field day seeing full-bleed images in their timeline. Suffice it to say, this is a cool improvement compared to small thumbnails that needed to be tapped on to enlarge.

Twitter for iPhone and iPad is available free in the App Store.

Review: Nokia’s new HERE for iPhone mapping app gives Apple and Google a run for their money

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 17, 2015

After launching its HERE mapping service on iOS only to pull it in December 2013 over unfavorable reception (it was based on HTML5, had limited features and wasn't optimized for iOS), Nokia last September and again in December promised to deliver a mapping experience the iPhone deserves.

Today, the company has made good on that promise and released a sleek new navigation and mapping software for the iPhone with the features and the polished feel that you'd rightly expect from a mapping app.

Nokia HERE features a nicely done user interface that honors iOS aesthetics while delivering a set of advanced features like turn-by-turn directions, rich database of points of interest and perks which cannot be found in Apple Maps, Google Maps and many other competing products, such as offline navigation and maps.

I've had a few days to play with the app ahead of its launch, this is what I was able to glean from my hands-on time with HERE.