App Updates

Kickstarter revamps iOS app, adds iPad UI, iPhone 6 support and more

The official Kickstarter app is now available on the iPad, nearly two years following its iPhone debut in February of 2013. Not only does the software sport native tablet interface, it's been thoroughly redesigned as well and now looks way more in line with iOS 8's design aesthetics.

Those who have purchased an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus will be happy to know that Kickstarter will now take full advantage of the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screen resolutions rather than look like a ridiculously blown up version of its former self.

Microsoft’s OneNote for iPhone picks up Today widget and Recent Notes feature

Slowly but surely, Microsoft's Evernote killer, OneNote, has been picking up major iOS 8-specific features.

The app already boasts Touch ID verification and native Share sheet functionality, has its own Document Storage extension, syncs data in the background and has native display support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus resolutions.

Friday, the software giant pushed a new update giving the iPhone edition of OneNote a much-needed Today widget and another new feature listing your recently accessed notes, no matter which device they're on.

Book accommodations in just two taps with Booking.com’s redesigned, rebranded app

Booking.com, a Priceline-owned hotel reservation service which Planet Earth named its #1 Accommodation Site, has had a pair of nice apps in the App Store for quite some time now.

The first, Booking.com Hotel Reservations Worldwide & Hotel Deals, lets you browse over 550,000 properties and find your ideal accommodation.

The other, Booking.com Tonight, has just been rebranded as Booking Now. Featuring a fresh new coat of paint giving it a modern appearance, the app also introduces new features such as personalized search results, quicker bookings of accommodations within 48 hours and more.

Amazon rebrands Cloud Drive Photos app, adds iPhone 6 support and other new features

Amazon is out today with a major refresh to its Cloud Drive Photos app for iOS, which now has a new name, a freshly revamped icon and half a dozen new features.

Known henceforth as just Amazon Photo, the updated software includes full support for the new 4.7" and 5.5" screen resolutions of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, respectively.

It also does duplicate photo detection, lets you upload your images to the company's cloud storage service in full resolution, allows you to report issues directly through the app and more.

Parallels Access gains iPhone 6 support and much more, web version debuts

Parallels Access, a native iOS and Android app for remotely accessing your applications and files residing on Windows or Mac PCs, is now available as a web-based software that anyone can use on any computing device with a standard web browser.

In addition, the iOS edition of Parallels Access has received a fairly significant version 2.5 update today that brings out many enhancements such as full support for the native display sizes on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, a full-blown file manager, improved audio control settings and much more.

Microsoft now gives you first month free when you sign up for an Office 365 subscription

Microsoft's Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps for the iPhone and iPad allow anyone to edit, create and view Office files on the go at no cost, but advanced features such as a more powerful editing capability, Dropbox integration and more is locked behind a paid for Office 365 subscription.

In the hope of encouraging as many Office for iOS users as possible to move up to the subscription model, the software maker on Thursday said it's now treating you to the first month free if you sign up for an Office 365 subscription.

Google Maps gains better restaurant search, enhanced weather info and more

Google has bumped its Maps for iOS app to version 4.2, bringing out a few new features and improvements that enhance your experience concerning searching for restaurants, retrieving weather information and more.

You can now find restaurants by cuisine type in Google Maps 4.2 for the iPhone and iPad and (at last) access weather information for other cities around the world, not just for your current location.

European iOS users may need to re-enable auto-renewing in-app purchases

Following Apple's price increases on the European iTunes App Store last week, auto-renewing subscriptions for in-app content in Europe have been turned off if any of the pricing tiers were changed.

It's a move by Apple to stop charging users more than they agreed to, however Apple has not notified users or developers of the change, which could leave havoc to developers' revenues for a few weeks until users figure it out themselves.

Facebook launching Work iOS app for FB@Work

Facebook announced on Wednesday that it's launching FB@Work, a new product that will allow businesses to create their own social networks for their employees that are built to look and act like Facebook itself, to collaborate on work projects.

Facebook is finally bringing itself to the enterprise after ten years.

As part of the new service, Facebook plans to launch a new app titled "Work" for iOS. The FB@Work product will also be accessible through the web and looks exactly like the consumer facing version of Facebook.

CBS News overhauls iOS app, adds 24/7 live streaming video, breaking news alerts and more

CBS News issued a major refresh to its iOS application sporting an overhauled appearance and offering a plethora of new features. CBS News 3.0 brings out, among other enhancements, 24/7 live streaming video, push notifications for breaking news, in-depth coverage for constantly evolving stories, nicely designed photo galleries, a new ‘Quick Read’ feature and much more. The free of charge software is at last being provided as a single universal binary for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Spotify now has 15 million subscribers, 60 million active users

Spotify now has 15 million subscribers paying for its premium features and 60 million active users total, the music streaming giant announced on its blog on Monday.

The new numbers on Monday compare to number two months ago when the company said it had 12.5 million paying users out of 50 million subscribers, showing impressive growth for the latter number.