App Store Apps

Instagram for iPhone introduces Lux filter slider

Facebook-owned Instagram has introduced the popular Lux filter via a free update back in February 2012. Lux is admittedly a nice new way to enhance your photos, but there's just one slight problem: Instagram's one-touch implementation leaves a lot to be desired.

For starters, the effect has no options to fiddle with. For those unaware of Lux, it reduces overexposure and uses sharpening and fill light tweaks to make your shots warmer and people prettier.

It's quite handy in low-light and low-contrast situations, even more so if you take lots of selfies using the iPhone's sub-par front-facing camera. Realizing folks need more control over Lux, Instagram has updated its free iPhone app with a custom Lux slider...

Yahoo Search app updated with new iOS 7 design

Yahoo has updated its official Search client for iOS this morning, bringing the app to version 3.1. The update doesn't include much, but is instantly noticeable thanks to the all new design. Yahoo calls it 'minimalist,' but we often refer to this as iOS 7-style.

For those who aren't familiar with it, the app is pretty much your standard web engine with a built-in browser, but of course with Yahoo's services. So for folks invested in the ecosystem with either Mail or Tumblr, it could offer more than Google or Bing...

Rovio teases yet another new Angry Birds game

It hasn't even been a month yet since Rovio unveiled its new game 'Angry Birds Stella,' and the studio has already begun to tease a new title for its hit franchise. A 30-second clip showing a bird wearing a suit of armor popped up on Rovio's YouTube channel over the weekend.

The trailer instructs users to prepare for the most 'epic soft launch ever,' suggesting that the new game will be launching in the near future. It also tells us that the game will be arriving in Australia and Canada first, with other countries to follow shortly after. View the clip below...

Apple updates Remote app with better iTunes Radio control, purchased content support, more

You're probably aware by now that Apple today released iOS 7.1 with CarPlay support and improvements to Siri, Touch ID and more (jailbreakers should stay away from this update, for now).

Additionally, the firm's unleashed a companion Apple TV 6.1 software update with a new way to hide Home screen icons and seeded Xcode 5.1 and iAd Producer 4.1.2 (both with iOS 7.1 compatibility) to its registered iOS devs.

And now, the iPhone maker's free Remote app for the iPhone and iPad has received an update with support for accessing your past TV show and movie purchases and more. Remote 4.2 is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch free in the App Store...

Fruit Ninja developer Halfbrick Studios announces its latest puzzle game, Bears vs. Art

Halfbrick Studios may not be as prolific as big name studios when it comes to churning out new iPhone and iPad games on a monthly, sometimes even weekly basis, but their addictive games had me burn lots of midnight oil.

Today, the creator of Jetpack Joyride and Fruit Ninja has announced its latest puzzle game, Bears vs. Art. Soft-launched in Australia in Canada (global launch is due "soon"), Bears vs. Art involves Rory the bear and some stuck-up art connoisseurs.

The concept combines elements of speed and action to create "a totally new experience" in which our hero must sabotage supposed works of art in more than a hundred galleries. Finally a game that expresses bears' natural animosity toward art! I've included more tidbits and a trailer right below the fold...

Tweetbot 3.3 is out with larger images, Avenir font, mute enhancements and more

Just in time for the SXSW conference, Tweetbot developer Tapbots has just issued a new version of its popular Twitter client for the iPhone and iPod touch. Tweetbot 3.3 is now available as a free update to existing owners and includes a larger image thumbnail option, another option to hide current tweets after muting, the ability to use Avenir as a new font option in the display settings and more. I've included some additional tidbits, the screenies and your official changelog right after the break...

Medium iPhone app is coming next week

Medium, a rising blog publishing platform dedicated to high-quality writing, is launching its native iPhone application next week, The New York Times' Bits Blog reported yesterday. Filing as Medium's first mobile application since the service's inception in 2012, the app will initially be strictly focused on reading Medium posts and won't include editing functionality akin to, say, WordPress's free iOS app.

The service already has a great mobile site that looks business on small form-factor devices and releasing a native iPhone app could go a long way toward boosting its appeal among mainstream users...

Brushstroke turns your pictures into paintings you can mount on your wall

Most of the time, filter apps give you some interesting tints, atmospheric frames, or tilt-shifting blur effects. There are even a few that will turn you into a cartoon or pencil sketch. Sometimes, though a photo effects app will really do something special to your image.

Brushstroke is one of those effects apps that completely remakes your pictures into a faux painting. Even more interesting, you can buy a mounted canvas print of your image and hang it on your wall…

Apps of the Week: SXSW GO, CASHFLOW, Cryptocat, and more

This has been a great week for apps and games. New titles are coming out that are exciting, useful, and entertaining. Old titles are getting awesome updates to make them even better than before.

If you are like me, always searching for something new to try out in the App Store, we have a list of apps and games that will occupy your brain cells this weekend…

‘Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame’ named IGN’s Free Game of the Month

Good news gamers, IGN has named Ubisoft's 'Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame' its Free Game of the Month. This is one of the first times that the game, which normally retails for $2.99, has ever been made available at no cost.

For those unfamiliar with the title, Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame originally landed in the App Store in 2013. It's the follow up to Ubisoft's Prince of Persia Classic remake with new controls, a new combat system and more...

EasilyDo is a smart assistant that keeps you on top of things

If you thought your productivity app was good at keeping you connected to important information in your life, there may be more out there for you than you realize. Do you get notifications when important Facebook statuses are posted? When you receive an email from someone, can you automatically save it in your iPhone contacts? Can you send birthday wishes over Twitter?

You can do all of that, plus a whole lot more with EasilyDo. Get alerts for drive times, check flight statuses, track packages, auto-text contacts when you leave a location and much, much more, all from one useful app…

AnyFont lets you install additional fonts on your iPhone

If you do a lot of productivity work on your iPhone and iPad, you will likely have come across the issue where Pages or some other app doesn’t recognize a font and will convert it to something else. It isn’t a huge deal, but it can be a pain in the butt if you constantly have to convert and reconvert fonts between your iOS device and your desktop computer.

AnyFont eliminates the “font not recognized” issue by making it possible for you to add any TrueTypeFont (.ttf) or OpenTypeFont (.otf) to any compatible font editing apps on your iPhone or iPad…