App Store Apps

Speed up or slow down iTunes playback for podcasts, audiobooks, and music with Speed-Up

Still enjoying iTunes despite the beautiful mess it has become on macOS? If the answer is yes, perhaps listen up for this one. Every once in a while, seemingly low-key and low-price apps pop up in the market, claiming to have identified an imperfection or gap in Apple’s software, and in the next breath promising the fix for it. Some of these apps are superfluous to the user for the simple reason that the touted feature is already in place in Apple’s mothership software (in some shape or form), other apps are gimmicky or overly flawed.

Speed-Up for Mac firmly sits in the opposite camp, the one where ostensibly small apps are extremely wholesome and deliver on the promised goods. So what does it promise you ask? Put simply, to speed up or slow down your iTunes playback, an option otherwise notably absent on macOS. If this sounds surprisingly succinct or sober to you, that’s because it is.

Speed-Up treasures simplicity over bells & whistles, and is probably worth a look if you have ever caught yourself wishing for a speed lever in the thick of an Audiobook or Podcast session on your MacBook.

Instagram unveils blurred posts, Two-Factor Authentication now available to everyone

Facebook-owned Instagram is continuing to build a safer, kinder community for all its customers by introducing helpful features aimed at increasing user security and privacy on the service. Thursday, the company announced a pair of important updates in the form of a Two-Factor Authentication security feature, now available to everyone, and blurred posts aimed at reducing “unwanted experiences” in the app, a free download from App Store.

Apple acquires powerful automation app Workflow

Apple has acquired the powerful automation app Workflow, reports TechCrunch. The outlet received a statement from the developers, as well as Apple, confirming the deal, but the financial details are not yet known.

For those who aren't familiar with the app, Workflow is similar to the popular IFTTT service in that it allows you to create custom recipes to perform complex tasks. The app was designed by former jailbreak developers.

Google Photos gains faster backup and sharing on low or spotty connections

Google's mobile Photos app recently gained the ability to automatically adjust the white tone of your images to given them a more natural look. During an event in São Paulo, Brazil today, the search company announced that Google Photos for iOS and Android now includes faster backup and sharing on low connectivity. They're rolling out these improvements in Google Photos for iOS and Android starting today, ahead of a wider rollout in the coming days.

File sharing hits Google’s Allo app

Google held a media event today in São Paulo, Brazil, revealing that its messaging app Allo, which debuted last September, has gained a pair of new features: file sharing in group chats and support for the app's Smart Smiley feature in Portuguese. Noting a lot of users have requested the ability to share documents in group chats, Google said that Android users everywhere can now share documents with friends on Allo, including files like PDF documents, ZIP archives, MP3 tracks and more.

Google didn't say when file sharing might hit Allo for iOS, but it shouldn't be too long.

Audio calling coming soon to Google’s Duo app

At an event in São Paulo, Brazil today, Google announced that its one-on-one video calling app, Duo, will be soon gaining audio-only calling on iOS and Android. The feature is already available starting today to customers in Brazil and will be rolling out to users around the world in the coming days. With the update, Duo for iPhone now supports both video and audio calling and effectively becomes a viable alternative to Apple's FaceTime.

Google’s Snapseed app picks up new Double Exposure filter + Pose & Expand tools

Google just pushed a new version of Snapseed for iPhone and iPad to App Store. Snapseed version 2.17 includes a new Face Pose tool, the app's second tool that focuses on working with portraits and selfies. There's also a new Double Exposure filter for blending two photos using analog film techniques and digital image processing. You can grab the latest version of Snapseed for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch at no charge from App Store.

Camera+ updated with RAW saving improvements, 3D Touch Peek and Pop & more

Camera+, my favorite iPhone photography app, was updated this morning on App Store with new features putting more RAW power at your fingertips while adding support for Peek and Pop gestures in the app on 3D Touch-enabled devices like the iPhone 6s/7 series. Building on the previous update which enabled RAW shooting and editing, the new Camera+ version 9.1 includes new RAW options for saving and exporting images at the best possible quality.

Starbucks will soon let you gift coffee via iMessage

During a shareholder meeting held this morning, Starbucks revealed its mobile app will soon gain the ability to send gifts in Apple's Messages app with Apple Pay. According to the official press release, a forthcoming update will also bring an Outlook add-in integration that will permit users who'd like to gift beverages through Microsoft Outlook to do just that. Additionally, the coffeehouse chain recently started rolling out its AI-powered digital barista.

WhatsApp brings back text-only status, adds new features in latest update

A few weeks ago, WhatsApp rolled out auto-vanishing slideshows with photos, videos, emoji characters, drawings and more. Called Status, it supplanted WhatsApp's text-only feature that's been part of the app since its inception. Turns out many users are hating the change, turning to social media to express their disdain with WhatsApp's relentless cloning of Snapchat. WhatsApp developers responded by promising to bring back text-only statuses.

Today, WhatsApp for iPhone was updated with the addition of text-only statuses, called About, whilst gaining a few new features.

Google Maps gains real time location and trip sharing features

Google today announced that you can now let your friends and family know where you are and when you'll get there, right from Google Maps for iOS and Android. The answer to “where are you?” is only a tap away—with this useful new feature, people you share with can track your real-time location on iPhone, iPad, mobile web and desktop. Additionally, you can share your trip progress from navigation with others.

Swift Playgrounds gains editing tweaks, 5 new languages, MapKit support & more

Apple announced today that Swift Playgrounds, its free iPad app aimed at teaching kids and students the basics of coding in Swift, has gained some new features. Aside from being available in five additional languages—Simplified Chinese, Japanese, French, German and Latin American Spanish—the new version sports editing improvements and supports the MapKit and Swift 3.1 code in your playgrounds.