Apps

Microsoft’s Word Flow keyboard launches with one-handed mode, gestures, themes and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 7, 2018

After releasing an iOS edition of its Hub Keyboard last month, Windows giant Microsoft on Monday launched an iOS port of its predictive text Windows Phone keyboard, called Word Flow. The free of charge iPhone app brings many advanced features that speed up typing, like a cool one-handed mode, gesture based typing, predictive text input, custom themes and more. The Word Flow keyboard is available at no charge in the App Store.

Ulysses brings its elegant writing environment to iPhone

Timothy Reavis ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

As a writer, I'm always on the lookout for new apps that will help with the creative process and enable me to get work done more quickly and efficiently. I've gone through a variety of different apps on both Mac and iOS that provide their unique and not-so-unique feature sets in search of the ultimate writing tool.

With the power of iOS 9 on iPad, my goal has been to find a solid app that would give me the freedom of mobility while still syncing my thoughts and work to my Mac for those articles that only a physical keyboard could conquer. Today, I have found a solution that meets these goals in the form of Ulysses.

Tasks Time Tracking, Visual Beat, Jottit and other apps to check out this weekend

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Looking for new apps or games to play around with this weekend? As usual, iDB has you covered. In this week's App of the Week roundup, we have some great titles that are perfect for killing a lazy Saturday or Sunday afternoon. There's a unique, visual music-making app, two great-looking productivity apps, and two new games.

Snapchat’s Face Swap now works with your own photos, paid Replays no longer available

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 6, 2016

A small but important update has appeared for Snapchat's free of charge mobile application in the App Store. Bumped to version 9.29, the app's expanded the utility of its popular Face Swap feature which now works with images from your Camera roll.

Face Swap is apparently a new craze. With this feature available in Snapchat in the form of a Lens, users can easily face swap with their friends. And with today's update, they can swap their face with someone else's photo stored in their Camera roll.

Apple Store app gains 3D Touch support, now available in more countries

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple on Thursday pushed out an update for its Apple Store iOS client, bringing the app to version 3.7. The update brings about new 3D Touch features on compatible devices, and makes the app available in new countries.

As for 3D Touch support, iPhone 6s users have long been able to utilize Quick Actions on the app icon, but now the Apple Store app supports Peek and Pop. So force-pressing on a link within the app now opens up previews.

Put Product Hunt right in your Mac’s menu bar

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 21, 2016

Product Hunt, the popular Y Combinator-backed service that lets users share and discover new products, earlier this month unveiled a thoroughly revamped iPhone and iPad application that puts fun back into product discovery.

It's a gorgeously done app that I use every day and it's made me want that experience on my Mac. Lo and behold, Product Hunt for Mac. A tiny, official client for OS X, this app puts Product Hunt's familiar round “P” icon right into your Mac's menu bar, where it sits and dutifully awaits a click of the mouse to present you with the latest popular products, games, books and podcasts on Product Hunt.

Facebook launching group audio calling on Messenger with support for up to 50 participants

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 21, 2016

A year after it rolled out the ability to place and receive VoIP audio calls on Messenger, Facebook is now introducing a new VoIP calling feature with support for up to fifty people on a single group call. Group calling currently supports standard VoIP audio calls, but Facebook did tell TechCrunch that “group video calling is definitely a use case that a lot of our people might be interested in at some point”.

Revisit the places you’ve been with Foursquare’s new history feature (bonus: Photos extension)

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 21, 2016

Since launching in 2009, there have been over nine billion check-ins on Foursquare across the globe. Celebrating its seventh anniversary, the startup pushed an update to its mobile application on the App Store which includes a handy new history features.

Similar to location history on Google, the updated Foursquare app makes it simple for users to browse any place they've been and checked into via a new History tab.

In addition, Foursquare now has its own Photos extension which makes it super easy to share a photo as a tip, right within the context of the Photos app.

Readdle’s Calendars 5 slashed to $0 as Apple’s new Free App of the Week

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 21, 2016

Calendars 5, one of the best iOS calendar applications out there with a built-in event and task manager and native Google Calendar sync, has been slashed to zero bucks as Apple's new Free App of the Week. The $6.99 universal productivity app is now available at no charge on the App Store until next Thursday. This marks the first time Calendars 5 has gone free in years following Readdle's two-day promotion back in May 2014.

How to allow only age-appropriate apps and media on child’s device

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 24, 2025

Are you worried that your child may download an app, watch a movie/TV show, play a song, see a news story, or read a book that is not suitable for them? Learn how to block your kid’s access to explicit, vulgar, gambling, violent, or inappropriate apps and media on their iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV.

Use Apple Maps and plan trips on the big screen with TV Maps for Apple TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 20, 2016

Since learning that Apple's software development kit now includes a new MapKit framework for tvOS, I've been eagerly awaiting to see what Apple TV developers are going to do with it. I salivated at the prospect of Apple Maps on a big screen telly because it sounded too good to be true.

Even better, Apple's SDK supports advanced features like map annotations, adding overlays and performing reverse-geocoding lookups to determine placemark information for map coordinates, among other features.

With TV Maps by Arno Appenzeller—to my knowledge, this is one of the first of MapsKit-enabled apps for the new Apple TV—you can browse Apple Maps from the comfort of your couch. At long last, planning trips on the big screen has become a reality for those of us who're invested into the Apple ecosystem. The experience of using maps on a television is much cooler than you could imagine: this is the first tvOS app that has made me wish that the Apple TV supported hand gestures so that I could explore maps Minority Report-style.

Apple begins enabling web previews for Apple TV apps

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple has begun rolling out iTunes web previews for fourth generation Apple TV apps. The move, which was first spotted by Jeff Scott (via MacStories), will allow both users and developers to easily share links to Apple TV apps on the web.

It doesn't appear that web previews are available for all apps yet, and it's unclear which apps it's working for—Apple isn't advertising them anywhere. If you want to see what they look like, here's a link to Scott's app for Beergeek.com TV.