In this handy tutorial, we’ll show you how to have the songs you identify using Shazam get automatically added to an Apple Music or Spotify playlist.
How to auto-add Shazam songs to Apple Music or Spotify playlist
Apps
Facebook adds Snapchat-style effects and auto vanishing Stories to its mainland app
As expected, Facebook on Tuesday announced that the camera feature in its mobile app for iPhone and iPad has been totally revamped with Snapchat-style filters and effects. Yes, they also added auto-vanishing Stories. Facebook's already cloned these Snapchat-esque features on the Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger apps, all of which include similar creative tools for your photos and videos.
A closer look at iOS 10.3’s streamlined App Store ratings and reviews capabilities
Following yesterday's OS update bonanza, Apple shared some additional details pertaining to iOS 10.3's new ratings and reviews capabilities that are available to developers.
As previously noted, iOS 10.3 is changing how reviews and feedback are handled within apps.
Rather than inundate users with endless prompts seeking feedback, like before, developers now have a new StoreKit API on iOS 10.3 at their disposal.
First and foremost, the StoreKit APIs allow users to provide ratings and reviews without leaving the app they're in. Developers simply choose when they’d like to prompt the user and identify places in their app where it makes sense to ask for feedback, and the system takes care of the rest.
Pages, Numbers and Keynote pick up new editing features, Touch ID support & more
Apple's productivity-focused iWork apps—Pages, Numbers and Keynote for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and iCloud.com— were updated this morning with a bunch of new features, including new editing capabilities across iOS, macOS and the web and the ability to quickly open password-protected documents using Touch ID. Pages, Numbers and Keynote for iOS are available free from App Store.
Pages, Numbers and Keynote for Mac are available via Mac App Store. Web-based versions of these apps are accessible via a desktop web browser at iCloud.com.
Apple TV Remote app gains support for iPad, lyrics, playlists, chapters & more
Apple's free app for controlling Apple TVs from anywhere in your home via your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch was just updated on App Store following a barrage of software updates that the company released for iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS earlier this morning. Bumped to version 1.1, the official Apple TV Remote app finally supports iPad natively and now lets you see music lyrics, browse playlists, navigate chapters and more.
Scheduled, Splish, Yaknak, and other apps to check out this weekend
Looking to pass the time this weekend with some new apps and games? iDB has you covered. The latest edition of our Apps of the Week roundup includes a message scheduler, a dating app with a twist, an app for discovering fun stuff to do around you, and of course some new games for you to check out.
Revised version of iTunes 12.6 removes non-functional “Show on Profile Page” toggle
iTunes 12.6 was released alongside a slew of Apple product refreshes three days ago, bringing the ability to watch iTunes movies rented in the app on your other devices, and vice versa. Interestingly, the app shipped with a new Show on Profile Page toggle that a Reddit user discovered on the Playlist Edit page. Late yesterday, Apple issued a revised build of iTunes which, as first spotted by MacRumors, removes that option.
How to use Wish List to track iOS apps and games
Wish List is one of the lesser-known features of App Store. Your Wish List is accessible in App Store on mobile and iTunes on desktop. As the feature's title suggests, you can add iPhone, iPad and iPod touch apps and games to your Wish List that you might want to explore or purchase later.
With this tutorial, you'll learn how to add, remove and downloads items on your Wish List on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC devices.
Speed up or slow down iTunes playback for podcasts, audiobooks, and music with Speed-Up
Still enjoying iTunes despite the beautiful mess it has become on macOS? If the answer is yes, perhaps listen up for this one. Every once in a while, seemingly low-key and low-price apps pop up in the market, claiming to have identified an imperfection or gap in Apple’s software, and in the next breath promising the fix for it. Some of these apps are superfluous to the user for the simple reason that the touted feature is already in place in Apple’s mothership software (in some shape or form), other apps are gimmicky or overly flawed.
Speed-Up for Mac firmly sits in the opposite camp, the one where ostensibly small apps are extremely wholesome and deliver on the promised goods. So what does it promise you ask? Put simply, to speed up or slow down your iTunes playback, an option otherwise notably absent on macOS. If this sounds surprisingly succinct or sober to you, that’s because it is.
Speed-Up treasures simplicity over bells & whistles, and is probably worth a look if you have ever caught yourself wishing for a speed lever in the thick of an Audiobook or Podcast session on your MacBook.
Instagram unveils blurred posts, Two-Factor Authentication now available to everyone
Facebook-owned Instagram is continuing to build a safer, kinder community for all its customers by introducing helpful features aimed at increasing user security and privacy on the service. Thursday, the company announced a pair of important updates in the form of a Two-Factor Authentication security feature, now available to everyone, and blurred posts aimed at reducing “unwanted experiences” in the app, a free download from App Store.
Apple acquires powerful automation app Workflow
Apple has acquired the powerful automation app Workflow, reports TechCrunch. The outlet received a statement from the developers, as well as Apple, confirming the deal, but the financial details are not yet known.
For those who aren't familiar with the app, Workflow is similar to the popular IFTTT service in that it allows you to create custom recipes to perform complex tasks. The app was designed by former jailbreak developers.
Google Photos gains faster backup and sharing on low or spotty connections
Google's mobile Photos app recently gained the ability to automatically adjust the white tone of your images to given them a more natural look. During an event in São Paulo, Brazil today, the search company announced that Google Photos for iOS and Android now includes faster backup and sharing on low connectivity. They're rolling out these improvements in Google Photos for iOS and Android starting today, ahead of a wider rollout in the coming days.