App Updates

Yahoo Weather now includes customizable notifications for your favorite locations

Yahoo's excellent Weather app for the iPhone and iPad is among the best weather apps on our 2013 list. Today, the app has received a new feature allowing you to take advantage of notifications based on your favorite locations.

You can customize the new Daily Notifications and elect to receive them for specific locations and Yahoo will deliver your weather updates in the form of notifications twice per day - once in the morning to prepare for the coming day and once in the evening with the next day's weather...

Fantastical 2 gets a major update, goes on sale for up to 50% off

One of our favorite (and my personal favorite) calendar application, Fantastical 2, just received a pretty big update for both its iPhone and iPad versions. The new features added have long been some of the most requested ones, so they'll definitely be crowd pleasers.

On top of that, all versions of Fantastical have temporarily been discounted by up to 50%. If you haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet, now is your time.

Hearthstone ‘Curse of Naxxramas’ expansion now available

Just a heads up for all of you gamers out there, the highly anticipated 'Curse of Naxxramas' expansion for Blizzard's Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is now available. It's available on both Mac and iPad, and the first quarter is free.

Blizzard intends to release the Naxxramas expansion in five quarters over the next five weeks, beginning with the Arachnid Quarter. Additional quarters will cost money, but Arachnid is free to anyone who participates in the launch event...

Hearthstone ‘Curse of Naxxramas’ expansion hitting iOS, Mac July 22

Back in March, Blizzard launched its popular free-to-play collectible card game ‘Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft’ on the Mac. A month later, it brought the game to the iPad, and promised an expansion pack for both platforms.

Today, the studio made good on its promise, announcing that Hearthstone's first expansion 'Curse of Naxxramas' will be landing on PCs, Macs and iPads on Tuesday, July 22nd. You'll find all the details on the add-on pack below...

Bungie launches companion app for upcoming console game ‘Destiny’

We are rapidly approaching the launch of hit-game-maker Bungie's first major release since leaving the Halo franchise. The game is called Destiny, and it's a combination action role-player and first-person shooter that's landing on consoles in September.

Starting tomorrow, folks with a late-gen Sony or Microsoft console will be able to play a public beta of Destiny. And if you plan on checking it out, you'll want to download the second screen app Bungie just released for iPhone called 'Destiny Companion.'

Airbnb for iPhone receives thorough makeover, part of a controversial rebranding

Airbnb, an online service for people to rent out lodging, has rolled out a major update to its iPhone application earlier today.

The software has been redesigned from the ground up for a much cleaner appearance so you'll immediately notice richer colors and more vibrant photography "inspired by Airbnb experiences all around the world.

The app now uses Airbnb's controversial new logo (more on that later) and the web interface has been overhauled, too, as part of the company's larger rebranding effort. The refreshed Airbnb 4.0 is now live in the App Store...

Google Wallet updated with support for gift cards, free debit card transfers and more

Google today announced a significant update for its Google Wallet service. The new version brings about support for gift cards, money requests, and the ability to send money with your debit card for free, and it should be rolling out to iOS and Android apps shortly.

With the new gift card support, users will be able to save their electronic cards to Google Wallet, redeem them in-store, and even check their balances [only at participating merchants]. The Wallet app can even remind you to use your card when you are near stores...

Jawbone’s Up fitness band app gains weight management features

Jawbone, the maker of the Up fitness band, wireless Bluetooth headsets and a host of other mobile accessories, today pushed a major update to its iPhone and iPad app.

The refreshed software brings new calorie and nutrition tracking tools, food and restaurant logging, as well as comprehensive weight management features to the popular fitness tracker.

Other enhancements include a new food score and a redesigned food experience with brand new tools such as a dedicated water logger, restaurant menus, common pairings and frequent meals...

Google updates Chrome for iOS with Cast support

Following a relatively quiet period when it comes to Chrome for iOS, Google is again demonstrating willingness to continue advancing its popular iPhone and iPad browser with useful new capabilities.

The new Google Chrome version 36.0.1985.49 is now available to download in the App Store, bringing out Cast support for websites that have implemented integration with Cast-enabled devices.

Furthermore, this edition also includes stability improvements and bug fixes and a slightly tweaked app icon for your Home screen...

PayPal updated with loyalty card support, faster logins and more

PayPal pushed out an update to its iOS client last night, bringing the app to version 5.5. The update brings about the usual bug fixes and performance improvements, but it also adds a big new feature: support for loyalty cards.

This means PayPal users will be able to carry virtual versions of their favorite loyalty cards—such as Starbucks, CVS, and several other retailers—within the app, essentially making it a one-stop shop for payments and checkins...

Shazam for iOS updated with in-app track playback via Rdio

Shazam has updated its free and Encore iOS apps, bringing them both to version 7.7.0. The update brings about a new feature to both clients that allows users to play back recognized songs in-app, courtesy of Rdio.

While users have long been able to do this—play recognized tracks through Rdio—past functionality required them to switch out of Shazam and into Rdio. They can now playback [full] songs without switching apps...

Google Maps gains Gmail appointments and search results on map and more

As Apple continues to decrease its dependency on Google for maps in products such as the Find My iPhone service, the Internet giant keeps on adding new features to the native Google Maps iOS app in an effort to widen the gap between its own service and Apple Maps.

Today's version 3.2 update adds a couple new features to Google Maps, starting with a new Explore section acting as your local guide that highlights different places and activities, depending on your location and time of day...