App Updates

WhatsApp for iPhone gains Siri voice support for reading new messages & other new features

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 21, 2017

The popular messaging app WhatsApp for iPhone was update yesterday with a few new features, bringing the ability to have Siri read new messages you have received via the service. The Facebook-owned software now supports the Persian language while the Group Info, Contact Info and Calls sections have been revamped to make them easier to use. WhatsApp's two-factor authentication interface was tweaked as well.

Chrome 58 for Mac launches, still no support for Touch Bar

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 20, 2017

A little more than a month following Chrome's version 57 release, Google today announced that it's rolling out Chrome 58 for Mac, Windows and Linux featuring a number of bug fixes and developer enhancements. Although beta versions of the browser on the Canary channel included support for Touch Bar shortcuts on the new MacBook Pro, Google pulled it from subsequent betas as well as from the stable release as it wasn't ready for prime time yet.

Snapchat’s augmented reality Lenses feature finally works with your iPhone’s rear camera

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 18, 2017

A Lens feature on Snapchat, originally introduced in September 2014, has just gotten a whole lot better because the latest update to the company's iOS app now lets you—at long last—use augmented-reality Lenses with your iPhone's rear camera. With Lenses, you can add real-time effects into your snaps, courtesy of the company's advanced face-detection technology. Before today, Lenses were only available via the front-facing camera.

You can now organize your saved Instagram posts into private collections

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 17, 2017

Instagram today unveiled a new way to organize your saved posts into private collections that only you can see, building upon the ability to save posts for later which launched on the Instagram app back in December 2016.

“Whether you want to plan your next day trip, revisit your favorite artists’ illustrations or always have some animal videos on hand, collections can help you keep track of the posts you want to remember,” said the company.

You can now watch YouTube videos while you do other things on Viber for iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 14, 2017

The mobile Viber app today received an interesting update that enables a special mode for enjoying YouTube clips without having to leave the app, which resembles iOS 9' picture in picture feature on iPad. As part of Viber versions 6.8.2 for iOS, tapping a YouTube URL sent or received in a conversation now brings up a floating overlay that can be moved around so that you can enjoy the video in minimized view while you do other things within the app.

Lara Croft GO gains new levels and iMessage sticker pack via Mirror of Spirits update

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 13, 2017

Developer Square Enix this morning issued a new content update to its turn-based isometric puzzle mobile game, Lara Croft GO. Bumping version number to 2.1.7, the game now lets you take Lara through a whole new journey in an alternate reality. Specifically, the update brings out a whole new chapter named Mirror of Spirits with 25 new puzzles and three new mechanics. As a bonus, players get a brand new Lara-themed sticker pack for iMessage. The update is available at no additional charge to those who have purchased the game.

Instagram launches new features for stickers as Stories daily active users surpass Snapchat

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 13, 2017

As part of Instagram version 10.16 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, several new features for stickers are now available to users within the photo-sharing app.

For example, you can now turn your selfie into a sticker and pin it to a specific spot in your video, access your recently-used stickers with a simple swipe, use geostickers in four new cities, enable a countdown timer when capturing a video and more.

According to the firm, Instagram's Stories has more daily active users than Snapchat as over 200 million people are now using Instagram Stories on a daily basis.

Pokémon GO gains Easter-themed Eggstravaganza event

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 13, 2017

Developer Niantic Labs announced Thursday that its popular augmented-reality game Pokémon GO is getting a new in-game event for Easter, aptly named Eggstravaganza. From 1pm PDT on Thursday, April 13, 2017 to 1pm PDT on Thursday, April 20, 2017 a greater variety of Pokémon can now be found in 2 km eggs. Players will also enjoy a few additional perks.

Facebook unveils group payments via Messenger for desktop

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 11, 2017

Facebook announced this morning that sending or receiving money between groups of people is now supported on the Messenger service. The social networking company debuted peer-to-peer payments on Messenger in March 2015. The new group payments feature, currently limited to users in the United States, is available starting today on Messenger for Android and via the company's desktop app at messenger.com. Group mobile payments will be coming to Messenger for iPhone and iPad at a later stage.

Minecraft: Pocket Edition gains Chinese Mythology mashup pack & other goodies

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 11, 2017

Microsoft announced today that Minecraft: Pocket Edition is gaining a Chinese Mythology mash-up pack along with a few other goodies and improvements, such as a free Redstone Mansion map available via a new Worlds section in the in-game store.

The new features are available at no charge to existing players and require Minecraft: Pocket Edition version 1.0.6, which is rolling today on App Store.

Instagram Direct now combines ephemeral and permanent messages in one thread

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 11, 2017

Photo-sharing service Instagram today announced an update for its direct messaging feature, called Direct, which now combines auto-dissapearing photos and videos along with your text conversations in a single thread. Previously, disappearing photos and videos were separated under their own Stories bar at the top of the Direct section. A redesigned Direct feature is rolling out today via Instagram's version 10.16 update.

Facebook launches revamped message compose interface on Messenger

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 7, 2017

As part of today's rollout of Facebook's AI-powered personal assistant to all users in the United States, the social networking company mentioned that you should now start seeing a redesigned message compose interface within the mobile Messenger app. We first caught wind of this new iOS 10 Messages-style chat experience two months ago.

At the time, Facebook was still testing the redesign with a small percentage of users. The new way to compose messages is currently rolling out to Messenger users across the globe so check back in a few days if it's currently unavailable to you.