App Updates

Day One journaling app becomes a publishing platform: you can now post diary entries online

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 27, 2018

Two days ago, Day One journaling app for iOS and OS X by Bloom Built has celebrated its third anniversary.

Having been a user since Day One's inception, I couldn't be happier with its clean and elegant design, rich Markdwon support and carefully balanced set of features letting me keep my personal memories, photos and life's best moments neatly organized in one place.

To this date, virtually not a day has gone by without me firing up Day One on my iPhone to capture my thoughts and feelings or simply snap up a memorable moment in time and spice it up with a punchy caption.

I also love Day One's inline photos, how it integrates location data from Foursquare, pulls weather information for entries and keeps my diary synchronized between iOS and Mac devices through iCloud. These are just some of the factors that prompted Apple to name Day One its 2012 Mac App of the Year and 2011 #1 Best App in the Mac App Store.

And now, Bloom Built has updated the iOS edition with Publish, a major new capability that turns your private entries into attractive web pages, available to anyone or just the people with whom you've shared the URL of the entry - the choice is yours.

Jump past the fold for the full breakdown...

Instagram for iPhone introduces Lux filter slider

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 11, 2014

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

Cody Lee ∙ March 11, 2014

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...

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

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 10, 2014

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...

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

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

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...

Google+ gains pinned posts, new location reporting and history settings, more

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 7, 2014

It's been a while since the Internet giant Google updated the Google+ client for the iPhone and iPad, available free of charge in the App Store. Last we heard, Google+ was refreshed more than three months ago with such new features as full-resolution photo and video backup, inline translations and the ability to share your location, to mention but a few.

In today's Google+ update, the app has gained the ability to pin posts to the top of a community stream while allowing you to adjust your history settings and location reporting...

Yahoo Mail now lets you block images, web UI gains improved Folders, compose and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Yahoo keeps on meticulously improving both its Mail service on the web and companion mobile apps. Today, the firm has bumped Yahoo Mail for iPhone to version 2.0.6 which comes with your usual dose of bug fixes and performance improvements, in addition to one new feature: the ability to block images.

Now available in the App Store, a new setting lets you tell the app to skip loading images in HTML-styled email.

Security-minded users will love this feature given that spammers and attackers typically use embedded images to tell whether you have opened the message, sometimes even using images to leverage security exploits.

Yahoo's web interface has also received its fair share of enhancements, including improved handling of folders, new shortcuts, an improved multitasking chat and more...

Star Wars KOTOR goes half price, now with iOS 7 controller support and iCloud saves

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 7, 2014

Mac games developer Aspyr released Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) for iPad last May and today the app has received its second major update while slashing the retail price in half. Previously costing ten bucks a pop, the game is now available 50 percent off celebrating this update, or just $4.99 a pop in the App Store. The price drop is valid for a limited time only so bargain hunters should grab the game now before the price goes back up.

As for the new features, the freshly updated versions has an improved support for iOS 7 'Made for iPhone' controllers, such as Steel's Series Stratus, Moga's Ace Power Controller and Logitech's PowerShell. Both extended and standard controllers are fully supported. There are also new languages in this KOTOR update as well as iCloud saves for keeping your progress synchronized across all devices...

Xbox One SmartGlass app updated with new UI, dedicated game clip hub

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Good news Xbox One owners, Microsoft has posted an update to its iOS SmartGlass client for the console this morning, bringing the app to version 2.3. The update includes a number of improvements, as well as a dedicated hub for clips you make with Game DVR.

The dedicated hub for Game DVR clips is a nice addition, as it allows you to view all of your gameplay clips in one spot. Want to show a friend that sweet kill you had in Call of Duty last night, or show them that awesome volley you had in FIFA? It's all right there...

Apple updates iTunes Festival app with SXSW content and new iOS 7 design

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 1, 2018

Apple has released version 5.0 of its iTunes Festival app this afternoon, updating the app with information pertaining to next week's Festival at SXSW and an all new iOS 7 design. The Festival takes place March 11-15 at ACL Live at the Moody Theater in Austin, TX.

This will be the first time Apple has hosted one of its iTunes Festivals within the United States, and the lineup we've seen so far has been star-studded with musical acts like Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, Pitbull, ZEDD, Kendrick Lamar, Soundgarden and several others...

Sunrise Calendar now supports Exchange accounts

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

Sunrise Calendar [review], a free iOS calendar alternative, has finally introduced long-expected support for Microsoft Exchange accounts for corporate calendars, making it on par with the stock iOS Calendar app.

Now available free in the App Store, this much-expected feature in the new Sunrise Calendar version 2.2 makes it easy to connect your Exchange account directly in the app to access your work-related tasks and events on the iPhone and iPad.

Support for Exchange accounts is in addition to the existing iCloud and Google calendar integration. Before linking your Exchange calendars with Sunrise, you must first add an Exchange account to your device in iOS Settings under Mail, Contacts, Calendars...

Paypal updated with new security features, Smart Connect support and more

Cody Lee ∙ March 6, 2014

Folks who use eBay's PayPal payment service will be happy to hear that the company updated its iOS client this morning, bringing the app to version 5.4. The update brings about an important new security feature as well as various other improvements.

The new security feature allows you to attach your mobile phone to your PayPal account so that they can be sure it's you authorizing activity. It does this by linking the phone number(s) of the device(s) you use PayPal on to your 4-digit security PIN code...