Apps

Facebook shares details about its video-focused Apple TV app, which is coming soon

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 14, 2017

Facebook has officially confirmed through the mouth of its Vice President of Partnerships Dan Rose and via a press release that it's indeed planning to launch a video-focused Apple TV app soon. The forthcoming app will let users kick back and watch Facebook videos from the couch. Rose has confirmed the development at the Code Media conference in Dana Point, California. The Wall Street Journal was first to report that Facebook was working on an app for set-top boxes back in January.

Watch the first trailer for Apple’s upcoming reality show about apps and their makers

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 14, 2017

Eddy Cue, Apple's Senior Vice President in charge of Internet software, services and major content deals, was joined onstage during last night's Code Media conference by Propagate CEO Ben Silverman, who took the opportunity to play the first official trailer and share a few previously unknown tidbits regarding “Planet of the Apps”.

For those not in the know, “Planet of the Apps” is the Cupertino company's Apple Music-exclusive show about apps and their makers. The iPhone maker has finished filming the show three days ago.

The best weather apps for iPad

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated October 28, 2019

Legend has it that weather apps are about as old as the App Store itself. Their popularity has always sprung from the simple fact that some people like their weather forecast to be scientific and precise to a T. Some like it punchy and condensed, while again others might just want it to be a visual treat. On iPad, it's much more than a matter of taste though, because whatever Apple's rationale, an in-house application for weather is still notably absent.

As a result of this choice, a number of third-party apps have become household names as weather surrogates on Apple's tablet. Even in 2018, some of the old-timers remain too cogent to overlook, but newer arrivals are starting to give the traditional go-to apps a run for their money. Thusly on merits of capabilities and originality, here are some of the best weather apps for iPad you can choose from today.

ColorMeBaddge can be used to colorize your Home screen’s notification badges

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 14, 2017

On any stock installation of iOS, every one of your notification badges are going to be red and contain white-colored text that usually indicates the number of missed notifications in the app. To me, that seems a little boring, and a developer named midey seems to agree, as he’s just released a new free jailbreak tweak called ColorMeBaddge.

With this tweak, you can colorize all of your Home screen’s notification badges in pretty much any way you choose, but the best feature is being able to automatically colorize your notification badges based on the dominant color of the application icon in question.

Google Maps for iOS updated with shareable lists of your favorite places

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 13, 2017

Following its most recent update which brought out the ability to track how busy places are in real-time, Google today announced a new Lists feature on Google Maps for iOS that lets you keep track of your favorite places and easily share them with friends.

Beginning today, users are permitted to create custom lists of places, share their lists with others and follow the lists their friends and family share with them, all without leaving the Google Maps app.

AppCon lets you change your Home screen icons with images from your Photo Library

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 13, 2017

Anyone who might have a creative nature at heart will probably have a lot of fun with a new jailbreak tweak release by merdok called AppCon.

This tweak lets you customize your Home screen app icons with anything you want from your Photo Library, and more importantly, you can customize each app icon on a per-app basis, or you can make a complete picture out of the entire grid of app icons on a page.

Apple has finished filming Planet of the Apps

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 11, 2017

Apple has reportedly finished filming Planet of the Apps, an unscripted television show about apps and their talented creators, MacRumors has learned from a person familiar with the project. The Cupertino company reportedly built a real set near Hollywood in order to record the show and tore it down at the conclusion of filming.

The whole filming process was apparently “very stressful,” but “exhilarating”. It's unclear when the reality series will air, but it's believed that Apple plans on making it available to Apple Music subscribers at no charge.

Encode, ChitChat, Stabl and other apps to check out this weekend

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Ready to settle in for the weekend? iDB is here to help with a new edition of our Apps of the Week roundup. This week's selections include a new app that helps you learn how to code, a new group messaging app, and an app that helps you discover new podcasts. And as usual, we've picked two great new games for you to check out.

You can now check detailed weather forecast on Facebook

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 9, 2017

You can now safely delete those weather apps on your iPhone as Facebook just launched a brand new weather forecast section in its iPhone and iPad app and on the web, powered by Weather.com.

An updated version of its earlier weather greetings in News Feed, this latest feature addition indicates that the social networking behemoth continues to seek out new ways to increase user engagement and boost the stickiness of its platform.

Premium entertainment network Epix launches Apple TV app with free trial

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 8, 2017

Premium entertainment network Epix today announced its new app for the fourth-generation Apple TV is now available for download on App Store. Similar in terms of features and appearance to their iPhone and iPad app, the Apple TV app permits owners of Apple's media-streaming box to watch live television, browse movie trailers, add videos to a queue, watch thousands of movies on demand and more.

Flibpoard 4.0 brings personalized Smart Magazines & more streamlined experience

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 8, 2017

Remember Flipboard, an iPhone and iPad app originally conceived as a news reader before it got rebranded as your social news magazine? If you still care about the app, you'll be pleased to learn they just announced a major new version with a more streamlined experience and personalized Smart Magazines tailored to your interest. Flibpoard users have created more than 30 million magazines since the app's inception in 2010.

The mobile Flipboard app currently includes news content and articles from thousands of publishers scattered across tens of thousands of different topics.

Microsoft previews Touch Bar support in Office for Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 8, 2017

Microsoft was one of the companies mentioned during Apple's “Hello again” Mac event last October as working on implementing support for Touch Bar shortcuts in their productivity apps.

Today, the Windows maker launched a preview of Touch Bar shortcuts on the new MacBook Pro available across its suite of Office apps. Beginning this week, users on Microsoft's beta program, dubbed Office Insider, will be able to test the new Touch Bar support across Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook for Mac.