Popular photo-sharing service Instagram yesterday catered to the 'Other' category of mobile users by releasing an app for Windows 10 tablets. So what the heck is going on here? Last time I checked, Apple was still king of the hill in terms of tablet shipments and iOS (26 percent) was second only to Android (65 percent) in terms of tablet operating system share, while Windows tablets captured the remaining nine percent share.
App Store Apps
Apple’s free app of the week: Shadow Bug
Apple on Thursday updated its App of the Week promotion with the game Shadow Bug. This means that for the next 7 days you can pick up the popular platformer for free on both iPhone and iPad—a handsome savings of $4.
In Shadow Bug, you play an underdog ninja hero that must save your home forest from the evil factory by taking out monsters. The game has been praised for its mesmerizing, parallax graphics and breathtaking soundtrack.
You can now stream Facebook videos to your TV while browsing your News Feed
Facebook today announced that users of its mobile app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch can take advantage of some newly expanded options that let them stream any native video from Facebook to their television through devices like the Apple TV or Google's Chromecast HDMI dongle.
Wait, haven't we always had the ability to stream any video from an iOS device to the Apple TV or an AirPlay-enabled device via Apple's AirPlay feature?
Yes, but this is different in that you can watch Facebook videos on the big screen while browsing the News Feed on the device you're streaming at the same time.
Periscope update brings camera and sharing improvements & more
Periscope, Twitter's live video-streaming app, has been refreshed in the App Store this morning with a few new features related to in-app camera, sharing and more. For starters, you'll notice improved tap-to-focus while broadcasting live video, plus you can now follow a broadcaster from the viewers list with one tap. There are also improvements to Persicope's VIP Program and more.
Google Photos for iOS gains new features that suggest rotations, resurface images & more
Google yesterday announced a pretty interesting update to its free of charge Photos application for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch which brings out four features driven by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm.
The new version will be rolling out today in the App Store, making it easier to fix some of the pesky sideways photos in your library by suggesting rotations, resurface your forgotten photos for you and more.
Pokémon GO updated with catch bonuses, easier gym training, improvements to gameplay
A new update for the hit multi-platform game Pokémon GO is now available for avid Pokémon trainers to download. The update is out for iOS users, as well as Android users in their respective application stores.
Snapchat launches Story Playlist, no longer automatically loads the next Story
Snapchat is removing the Auto Advance feature to give users control of their Story viewing experience once again. It was about goddam time, if I might add. Shortly after Auto Advance debuted in March of this year, folks began complaining that Auto Advance made it impossible to individually choose Stories to watch. The updated app has now replaced Auto Advance with an all-new feature they're calling Story Playlist.
Facebook targets Slack, Google Apps and others with new Workplace for iPhone app
Facebook yesterday announced a new Workplace mobile app which it has used to run its own company “for many years”. Available at no charge from the App Store, Workplace for iPhone (formerly known as Facebook at Work) is now available to any company or organization that wants to use it. In a nutshell, Workplace puts the best of Facebook at your fingertips while packing in a few notable productivity features businesses may like.
Facebook launches standalone Events for iPhone app
Events, one of the more popular features on Facebook, this past weekend received its own standalone app that aims to replace Eventbrite, Sunrise, Fantastical and other third-party calendar software on your iPhone.
Events for iPhone, a free download from the App Store, lets you RSVP to your friends’ events, find interesting things to do in your area that match your interests, manage your calendar and much more.
Skype for iOS picks up new contact notifications & iOS 10 CallKit toggle
Two weeks ago, Microsoft-owned Skype launched a major update with Siri, Phone, Contacts and Lock screen integration, courtesy of iOS 10's new CallKit framework which allows calls from VoIP apps to behave like normal phone calls.
Today, both Skype for iPhone and Skype for iPad received a minor refresh which brings out a toggle for enabling or disabling CallKit integration, the ability to get new contact requests as a notification and under-the-hood fixes and improvements to make the app run more reliably on iOS 10 devices.
8 great iPhone and iPad games to get you in the Halloween spirit
It’s October, and that means Halloween is just around the corner!
Keeping everyone in the spooky spirit of Halloween, we’ve got a list of fun and thrilling games you can download from the App Store and play on your iPhone or iPad to prepare yourself for the onslaught of zombies and monsters that are sure to be ringing your doorbell this year.