Apple

New Watch apps previewed: MoneyWiz and MileWiz

Ahead of its wearable release in April, Apple invited select developers to submit their Watch apps for the inclusion in the App Store. We've already seen previews of Todoist, we know eBay is working on a bidding Watch app and Nimblebit even created a puzzle game for it.

And now, developer SilverWiz has posted a pair of previews of its two productivity apps for the device: the personal finance app MoneyWiz 2 and the automatic mileage tracking software MileWiz.

VLC media player is back in the App Store

VLC, the popular cross-platform media player which lets you watch AVI videos on your iPhone and iPad without conversion (as well as other non-iOS-friendly media types), is back in the App Store following a long-standing licensing dispute.

In addition to resolving licensing issues, this edition of VLC brings a few noteworthy enhancements to the table which I'll lay out for you after the jump.

UPDATE: following a soft-launch in New Zealand, the app on February 27, 2015, finally went live in the US App Store.

Reuters: Apple’s Project Titan involves a self-driving electric car

A rumor involving an Apple-branded electric vehicle that The Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal threw their weight behind just took an interesting turn with a Reuters report Saturday offering additional tidbits.

The news gathering organization learned from sources that Apple's electric vehicle is actually an autonomous self-driving car. Apple is reportedly actually “exploring how to make an entire vehicle” rather than just designing automotive software as previously suspected.

Project Titan: Apple’s secret electric car

Apple has several hundred employees secretly working on creating an electric vehicle, reported the Wall Street Journal on Friday, citing people familiar with the company's plans. Code-named Titan, the project currently sports the design of a minivan.

According to the Journal, Apple CEO Tim Cook approved the project about a year ago, putting product design Vice President Steve Zadesky in charge. A former Ford engineer, Zadesky has been a long time Apple employee who helped create the iPod and later the iPhone.

Zadesky is said to have created a team strong of 1,000 people, which tends to prove that Apple is serious about the project, rather than considering this electric car a hobby.

Apple hiring automotive experts for secret project

Apple is recruiting experts in automotive technology and vehicle design to work at a new top-secret research lab, Financial Times reported on Friday. Among the new-hires is former president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Research & Development Johann Jungwirth.

Citing several insider sources, the outlet says Apple set up the new research lab late last year at a confidential Silicon Valley location. And it's believed that the facility is being used by a team, led by experienced iPhone managers, to research new automotive products.

New report sheds light on Apple’s ambitious music plans

Apple doesn't just want to compete in the music business, it wants to be the music business, according to a new report from Billboard. Citing sources with knowledge of the matter, the outlet has shed some light on the company's ambitious plans for the record industry.

Beats co-founder and Apple executive Jimmy Iovine has apparently been holding secret meetings with senior executives from many record labels in recent weeks. The discussions are of course protected by non-disclosure agreements, but details are beginning to trickle out.

Foursquare gains iOS 8 widget, can now serve recommendations without logging in

After adding a widget to its check-in app called Swarm back in December, Foursquare's main iPhone application today finally received a brand new Today widget for iOS 8's Notification Center of its own.

Moreover, the latest 8.7 update added personalized recommendations while logged out, so you don't need to even have an account with Foursquare to receive tips and recommendations about nearby places.

Just open the app to get started.

Nike+ FuelBand app integrated with Apple’s Health, now uses your iPhone to track movement

It only took, what, five months, but Nike's FuelBand application for the iPhone was finally refreshed Friday, adding much-needed integration with Apple's HealthKit platform. As a result, a dedicated FuelBand accessory is no longer required to track your activity or earn Fuel points, your iPhone now does this.

To reflect this change in direction, the app has been rebranded and is now being marketed as just Nike+ Fuel.

In addition to getting more insight into your activity in iOS 8's Health app, HealthKit integration makes your Fuel points visible in and accessible by other apps.

Apple asks devs to blur out guns and nudity on App Store screenshots and promotional footage

Apple is determined to make the App Store a safe playground for children and has begun enforcing its own long-standing which requires that app icons, screenshots and video previews adhere to the 4+ age rating, PocketGamer reports.

Developers who do not censor the App Store marketing material will see their apps rejected from the store. A few devs corroborated Apple's intent to make the App Store family-friendly and inoffensive.

Some of the developers who voiced their concern include Tempo developer Splash Damage, creators of Gang Nations and Bullet Rush and many others.

Fleksy’s Valentine’s Day update brings Hotkey extensions, animated themes and more

Yesterday, Fleksy announced a major Valentine's Day themed update to its record-smashing software keyboard for the iPhone and iPad.

Fleksy Keboard 5.2, a free update for existing users, brings out a myriad of new features, including animated themes through an Energy Theme Pack, a slew of customizable Extensions, Valentine hearts animations upon each key press, custom phrases or email addresses and much more.

Everyone can now use Pages, Numbers and Keynote for iCloud Beta

Apple wants Windows and Android customers to use its iWork productivity suite as well so they announced that now everyone can use Pages, Numbers and Keynote web applications through the iCloud Beta web interface, even if they don't own Apple devices.

An Apple ID account is still required to access Pages, Numbers and Keynote for iCloud, but the big news is that people can now create an Apple ID on the fly.

As noted by MacRumors, the announcement was made yesterday on the beta.iCloud.com website, indicating that these web apps may soon be accessible through the regular iCloud.com website, too.