App Updates

CNN gives its iPhone and iPad app iOS 7 makeover

One of the first premium news apps for the iPhone worth checking out came from CNN, "the biggest name in news". The 24/7 news organization released the CNN for iPhone app on the App Store in September 2009.

I immediately fell in love with its sleekness, responsiveness and overall branding. In fact, it was Godsent because CNN's mobile website was very pedestrian at the time (and still is!)

But that was before Flipboard and a host of other fine apps came along vastly improving on the rather clunky news-reading iOS experience.

The iPad edition followed in October 2010. Soon after, both versions went permanently free as CNN had realized that folks were reluctant to shell 99 cents for the privilege of following the Time Warner-owned network's software on their iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.

And how does CNN's latest iPhone and iPad update feel like on iOS 7? How about giving the screenies below a quick look?

Shazam gains auto-listening feature, WhatsApp and Pinterest integration and more

The increasingly popular music discovery and fingerprinting service Shazam has just refreshed its free iPhone and iPad application with a new Auto Shazam feature that basically listens for songs and television shows in the background and tags them automatically, even if the device is locked, courtesy of new iOS 7 technologies. You can now share your Shazam Tags with people on WhatsApp, pin them to your Pinterest boards and send them to others via the iOS Messages platform.

Jump past the fold for more on Auto Shazam...

Google Search app gets iOS 7 styling, true full-screen browsing and more

Google's standalone Search application has been updated with barely visible iOS 7 styling and a pair of under-the-hood improvements allowing for the native fluid Image Search experience on the iPad as well as smarter integration with the Google Maps app.

Other than that, release notes mention no new features for Google Search version 3.2, which is now available as a free download from the App Store. I've included additional tidbits right below, if you're interested...

‘Ausar Rising’ update now available as Infinity Blade III goes half price

Chair Entertainment's Infinity Blade franchise has received a massive content update this morning. Hot on the heels of releasing the first major Soul Hunter content pack, Infinity Blade III Ausar Rising is now available as a free download for those who've purchased the game.

Featuring a new Arena mode that will test your skills and give you a chance to earn new skills by challenging you to fight a series of progressively harder tests against a horde of Titans, a second dragon named Pisci, three new quests, nine new enemies, over 60 new items and holiday helmets for both Isa and Siris, eight new skills and a host of new goals, potions and gems, it's the most comprehensive Infinity Blade update yet...

Google-owned Zagat is now available on iPad

Six months after releasing its native Zagat for iPhone app, Google on Wednesday finally updated the restaurant guide application with a nicely done native interface on iPad devices.

Zagat's 1.0 release brought restaurant recommendations for nine major U.S. cities - Austin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington DC - with subsequent updates expanding Zagat to more than a two dozen new cities.

In today's free Zagat update, Google has added Charleston, South Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee, bringing the total markets covered to 42. Another major new feature: ratings and reviews for hotels and shopping establishments in each city...

iMDb refreshed with iOS 7 look, Road to the Oscars section and more

iMDB, the Internet's vast database of information related to films, television programs and video games, has a nice free app for the iPhone and iPad which has been updated today with the iOS 7-friendly look, a new section providing the Oscars coverage, reworked navigation and homepages on the iPhone and iPod touch, the voting feature, the ability to name lists, new sorting and filtering options and more. Go past the fold for the full reveal...

Apple optimized Final Cut Pro, Compressor, Motion and Logic Pro apps for Mac Pro and 4K

When Apple teased its new Mac Pro at WWDC a few months ago, the company's marketing honcho Phil Schiller put up a slide showing a guy in an editing room in front of three huge 4K monitors, all hooked up to the machine. "You could be that guy," he quipped, provoking a laughter from the audience.

Schiller also said Apple was working on a Final Cut Pro update optimized for the Mac Pro's powerful dual AMD FirePro graphics and he wasn't lying: just as the new Mac Pro launched on the online Apple Store this morning, Apple followed up by pushing updates to Final Cut Pro, Compressor, Motion and its other pro apps, all optimized for the Mac Pro's hardware and with 4K content, 4K monitoring support via Thunderbolt 2 and HDMI on select Mac computers and a whole bunch of additions and performance enhancements...

MyGlass app for iOS is available again on App Store, texting isn’t supported

Google's official Glass app for iOS, MyGlass, launched in the App Store on Tuesday only to be pulled a few hours later as it "spilled the beans" too soon. The search giant promised to bring back the app later this week and it's now available for download.

Labeled with version 0.3, the 15.2MB download requires iOS 7 and allows you to configure and manage your pricey $1,500 Glass eyewear from the palm of your hand.

The companion application can be used to set up Glass, get directions on the go, screencast anything you see on Glass to your iPhone, add third-party Glassware applications, contacts and more...

Rdio revamps profile views and adds Sleep Timer

After countering Spotify's recent service expansion and its brand new (and somewhat limited) free streaming feature by expanding into twenty new countries, the popular music subscription service Rdio today refreshed its free iPhone and iPad application with a handy sleep timer function to stop playback after a period of time.

The new Rdio 2.5.4 also includes redesigned profile views with your photo right at the center, various subtle interface improvements and minor bug fixes...

Infuse gains more video formats for free users, variable speed scrubbing and more

FireCore's versatile iPhone and iPad media player, Infuse, recently received a massive version 2.0 update sporting iOS 7-friendly interface while going free for everyone, with a couple advanced features locked behind a Pro in-app purchase. In today's free update, Infuse 2.1 unlocks more video formats for free users while adding variable speed scrubbing option, support for an additional subtitle format, better translations and the usual assortment of bug fixes and performance improvements...

500px app updated with full iOS 7 support, new login screen and more

Good news for 500px users this afternoon. The popular photo sharing site has updated its iOS client with a handful of design and performance improvements, including some new iOS 7 UI tweaks and a new animated login screen.

The 500px app has been iOS 7-friendly since October, but today's update brings about full support for the new OS with things like beautiful blurred backgrounds, flattened icons, and more. The full 2.4 change log is up after the fold...

Camera+ 5.0 is out with iOS 7-style redesign, wallpaper composer, new tools and filters

If you're an iPhone photography fan and follow me here on iDownloadBlog, chances are you've by now figured out that Taptaptap's Camera+ is my go-to photography application for the iPhone and iPad.

After failing to jump on the initial iOS 7 app update bus, the team has finally pushed a major update for the iPhone and iPod touch edition that includes substantial iOS 7-makeover along with the flattened app icon and a bunch - and I really mean a bunch - of new tools and filters.

Jump past the fold for the full reveal...