Apps

Best apps of the week: Lean, Lumino City, Stash Invest, and more

Apple TV fans are finally about to get their mitts on the much-anticipated new Apple TVs. We've been waiting years for this one, and can't wait to see what kinds of apps and games are coming to our big screen, no AirPlay required, even if Siri isn't going to be of much help.

If you can't wait to see what is coming to the big screen, and need some small-screen time to tide you over, we've got a list of apps and games we think you should check out. And, don't worry, Siri is going to help you out on Apple TV someday.

New Google app finds people to hang out with

A brand new Google app for your iPhone, currently available on an invite-only basis in the App Store, wants to take the pain out of finding people who are free to hang out.

Aptly named Who’s Down, the 16.2-megabyte download comes with an easy to use user interface featuring a slider that, when toggled, tells the app to let others know you're down to meet up, allowing you to see which of your friends are free to hang out.

EDGE Extended is free for a limited time

Remember Edge, a puzzle game developed by Mobigame? Originally released in the App Store in December 2008, it was one of the best looking, most addictive and innovative games available on the iPhone at the time.

The highly popular title was followed by the official sequel, called Edge Extended, which made its App Store debut in August 2011. Edge Extended has gone free briefly just once since its inception and now Mobigame has discounted the game to zero bucks for a limited time to celebrate the launch of the new Apple TV.

The best Apple TV apps and games for your big screen TV

The Apple TV launch will be accompanied by a surprisingly comprehensive list of third-party apps and games, some of  which were shown off on stage during Apple's media presentation last month. Ahead of tomorrow's launch, a much larger selection of premium triple-A games and apps is available for the device.

We've compiled a list of the games and apps that we think are going to make a difference on the big screen. If you have pre-ordered your Apple TV, bookmark this article as you'll want to download these apps as soon as your shiny new box drops on your doorstep.

Apple launches new app on iOS and Android for controlling its Beats Pill+ speaker

Apple on Thursday released a new application for Android and iOS called Beats Pill+. As the name suggests, the app allows device users to manage and control their Beats Pill+ Bluetooth speaker, which was announced earlier this month.

In the description, Apple says the Beats Pill+ app "puts you and your friends at the center of your music like never before." You can use it to easily pair your device with your Pill+ speaker, rename it for fast identification and much more.

Minimal puzzler ‘rop’ goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Heads up gamers, Apple has just named MildMania's 'rop' its App of the Week for this week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you can pick up the popular puzzler for free for both iPhone and iPad, a $1 savings over its usual price.

For those who haven't played it, rop is described as a mind-bending, minimal puzzler with nearly 200 beautiful levels. In each of those levels, you must rearrange the different pieces of rope on a hexagonal grid to match the shape that you are given.

Microsoft folds Sunrise functionality into much-improved Outlook for iOS app

Developers of Microsoft-owned calendar app, called Sunrise, announced in a blog post that the app won't be receiving updates going forward as the team has worked hard on integrating Sunrise functionality into the Windows maker's much-improved mobile Outlook client for iPhone and iPad.

Sunrise Calendar was last updated in the App Store more than four months ago, adding integration with Office 365 events. Just yesterday, Outlook for iOS received a fresh new look alongside a brand native Apple Watch app built on watchOS 2.

At the same time, Microsoft announced that the mobile Outlook app has gone from a couple hundred downloads to more than thirty million installs on smartphones and tablets.

New Apple TV lacking Siri search for Apple Music and App Store apps

As the new Apple TV is scheduled to hit Apple's retail stores tomorrow, first reviews are now in. Journalists who were given a chance to spend some quality time with review units are praising evolutionary improvements to the living room experience while highlighting untapped potential for the refreshed $149 device.

One of the common complaints focuses on Siri and its inability to search apps for the Apple TV in a dedicated App Store. In addition, reports are noting that users won't be able to search Apple Music with their voice at launch, the omission Apple claims will be addressed with a software update due at the beginning of next year.

This app lets you create custom Apple Watch faces

So, you want a little more variety than what Apple has to offer for watch faces. And, you want them to be more personal than the specially designed images that Apple Faces provides. But you don't like using any old picture from your Photo library without being able to give it a little more Apple Watch-i-ness.

Watch Faces is a customizable photo app that specializes in making images for Apple Watch. You can use whatever photo you want, and with customizable layers, you can turn a random photo into an Apple Watch face.

Snapchat update brings 3D Touch support and new video filters: slow-mo, fast forward & rewind

Following Skype's update this morning which added 3D Touch Home screen shortcuts and Peek and Pop gestures, Snapchat too issued an update to its App Store application which enables 3D Touch support for quick actions from the Home screen icon on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

In addition to 3D Touch support, this edition of Snapchat brings out some new filters for your snaps, including slow-motion, fast-forward and rewind effects.

Skype for iOS adds 3D Touch actions, spooky Halloween emoticons, video filters and more

Microsoft today issued a pair of updates to Skype's messaging, VoIP and video calling apps in the App Store.

While the apps continue to be separate downloads on iOS rather than a universal binary (come on, Microsoft!), Skype for iPhone has gained useful 3D Touch actions available both from the Home screen and within the app itself.

In addition, both editions of Skype have picked up improved conversation and contact management, as well as ghostly Halloween video message filters and emoticons.