Apps

Infuse for Apple TV gets its first update

Infuse 4 for tvOS, the Apple TV edition of the powerful media player for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, was updated last evening in the App Store following its debut on the fourth-generation Apple TV earlier this month.

For starters, the app now claims up to ten times faster metadata fetching (depending on the video type), which should drastically reduce the waiting time when Infuse initially scans a newly added network disk.

Google Maps for iOS updated with business hours and gas prices

Google today updated its native Maps application for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, adding two nice-to-have features: gas prices in the United States and Canada and business hours for millions of points of interest around the world. Now when searching for gas stations in the US and Canada, the application will display up-to-date gas prices so you can better decide between the nearest gas stations and those that potentially offer the lowest prices of gas.

TextFaces review: add Unicode faces to your keyboard

In early November, we told you about a fun little jailbreak tweak that makes it possible for you to add Unicode faces to your keyboard so you don't have to be like everyone else with those silly yellow smiley faces.

The tweak's developer, Neo Ighodaro told us that, thanks to our coverage of Unicode Faces, he figured that it would be a good idea to turn it into an official App Store app rebranded as TextFaces. We took it for a test spin on a non-jailbroken device and have a review of TextFaces for you today.

Remote, Pixbrite, Call Recorder, and more apps to check out this weekend

Since the release of Apple TV 4, I've struggled with some important features that were glaringly absent from the set-top box. This week, however, Apple made it easier to control ATV4 with support for the Remote app for iPhone and Apple Watch. Plus, now that the App Store is noting when an app is available on Apple TV, it is even easier to find new content.

If you are looking for new content, whether for Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, we've got a list of apps and games we think are worth spotlighting.

Google’s search app gains 3D Touch support, Split View multitasking on iPad & more

The search monster Google on Friday issued an update to its mobile search application in the App Store, adding support for 3D Touch gestures on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus and iOS 9's new multitasking modes on select iPads, while improving search results for places and local businesses.

With 3D Touch, hard-pressing on the Google app's icon on the Home screen brings up quick shortcuts for Search, Voice Search and Image Search features.

Six 3D Touch shortcuts in iBooks for iPhone

Owners of the iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus can now use Peek and Pop gestures in iBooks to speed up common tasks such as checking out their notes and bookmarks, previewing pages in search results and more.

This tutorial takes you on a quick tour of 3D Touch gestures in iBooks, including six ways applying pressure helps you interact with your fav reads.

iTunes 12.3.2 with Apple Music browsing improvements now available

A few days following the release of the iOS 9.2 software update for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad with Apple Music improvements and other changes, Apple today posted a matching iTunes update for Macs running OS X El Capitan.

iTunes 12.3.2 makes it easier to browse classical songs on Apple Music with support for works, composers and performers.

Poison Maps makes great use of 3D Touch gestures

Poison Maps, a cool map app in the App Store based on the OpenStreetMap database, takes a novel approach to 3D Touch gestures versus most other 3D Touch-enabled apps, which makes it uniquely useful for navigating.

On non-iPhone 6s devices, the app takes advantage of the patent-pending Context Pan gesture letting you pan large distances by using a single touch of a finger instead of the usual two-fingered pinch-zoom gesture.

On devices without 3D Touch, however, context zooming and context panning is implemented using a long touch to control how far the map zooms out, rather then using the force of the press, as shown in a video demonstration further below.

Google Play Movies & TV gains HD and cellular streaming, AirPlay support, revamped UI & more

Just in time for the holiday season, Google has issued a major update to its official video streaming application in the App Store, Google Play Movies & TV, with several much-needed features and a fresh new design. For starters, you can now stream movies and TV shows rented or purchased on the Play store over your carrier's cellular data network. Moreover, the app has gained the ability to stream video in high-definition.

And if you own a third-generation Apple TV or higher, you can stream your Google Play entertainment right to the big screen with official support for Apple's AirPlay wireless media streaming technology.

Slash Keyboard review: /find things to share right on your keyboard

Sometimes, there is a song or a cat video, or an iDB article that you just have to share with someone. Oh, but you forgot to grab the link before you got into a chat with your buddy in Hangouts.

That's OK. Slash Keyboard makes it possible for you to find and share all manner of content right from your iOS keyboard without having to leave your chat. We took it for a spin and have a review of Slash Keyboard for you right now.

Cut the Rope 2 goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Apple on Thursday named ZeptoLab's Cut the Rope 2 its App of the Week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you'll be able to pick up the popular physics-based puzzler for free for both iPhone and iPad—a small but notable savings of a buck.

For those who aren't familiar with Cut the Rope, it's a cross-platform gaming franchise that revolves around feeding candy to a little green creature named Om Nom. Version 2 features new locations to explore, new characters, and fresh gameplay elements.

Tumblr app updated with support for Live Photos

Yahoo-owned Tumblr today rolled out a major update to its iPhone, iPod touch and iPad application in the App Store, bringing out official support for Live Photos, introducing 3D Touch Home screen shortcuts and a few other enhancements. Tumblr 5.0 for iOS also makes its messaging feature available to everyone today, lets you send a post to any Tumblr and toss it with the tap of a button.