Apps

5 new features coming to Photos 1.1 for Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 2, 2017

When OS X El Capitan releases for public consumption in the fall, it will deliver, among other features, an update to the built-in Photos for Mac application.

As a matter of fact, El Capitan marks the first major feature-packed update to Apple's photo-management solution since Photos for Mac debuted as part of April's OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 software update.

As mentioned in the official El Capitan release notes distilled into human-readable form by Jason Snell of Six Colors, Photos 1.1 brings out about half a dozen new features that didn't make it into the initial release, on top of a bunch of bug fixes, security improvements and optimized performance.

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Google releases Ivy, an experimental big number calculator for iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 10, 2015

Google on Friday released a brand new iOS application in the App Store. Called Ivy and available free of charge, the app is being described as an experimental big number calculator for the iPhone and iPad.

Dedicated calculator apps are a dime a dozen these days so what's so special about Ivy, you might ask?

According to Google, Ivy takes advantage of what's referred to as exact rational arithmetic, basically a precision math technique which lets the app handle arbitrary precision with ease.

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SoundCloud update adds more functionality to playlists and new ‘related tracks’ feature

Cody Lee ∙ July 10, 2015

SoundCloud updated its iOS client this morning, bringing the app to version 3.10.1. The company says the update "significantly upgrades the listening experience," bringing about more functionality for playlists, the ability to shuffle your Likes, and a new 'related tracks' feature.

With the new playlist capabilities, you can now shuffle and edit your playlist within the mobile app. When SoundCloud redesigned its iPhone app last summer, it removed these and several other features, and it has since been re-adding them through a series of iterative updates.

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Vine updated with new HD upload setting and improved discovery

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

Twitter updated its 6-second video sharing app Vine today, bringing the iOS client to version 3.4.2. The update brings about two major improvements: suggestions for popular Viners to follow, and a new quality setting that lets you post your Vines in HD.

The former should help Vine with its discovery problem, something its parent company Twitter particularly struggles with. It's nearly impossible to convince new users to stick around when it's difficult to quickly find interesting and entertaining content.

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‘Card Wars – Adventure Time Card Game’ goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ July 9, 2015

Apple has just named Cartoon Network's "Card Wars - Adventure Time Card Game" its App of the Week for this week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to download the card combat game for free—a solid savings of $4.

In Card Wars, players are tasked with commanding an army of awesome warriors to destroy their opponent's forces. You can collect new cards to level up your creatures, spells and towers, or choose to fuse them together to make them more powerful.

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Microsoft releases Office 2016 for Mac to Office 365 subscribers

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 7, 2018

Microsoft on Thursday announced the release of Office 2016 for Mac. This marks the first major Mac release of the popular software suite since Office 2011, and it's now available for download in 140 countries, for Office 365 subscribers.

"Unmistakably Office, designed for Mac," said Kirk Koenigsbauer, corporate VP of Office Client Applications and Services. It includes new versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote, as well as a number of improvements.

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Readdle’s excellent Spark email client gains bulk actions, setting for remote images and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 9, 2015

Readdle's Spark, my new favorite go-to mobile email client, received a big update in the App Store today. Although you couldn't tell it from a minor version number change (1.0.1), the new version does make the app much better while fixing a plethora of user-reported issues.

For starters, you can now delete and archive emails in bulk, a tremendous productivity boost. Next, Spark now consumes less energy, which is always a good thing.

You can now empty your Trash with a single tap, as opposed to selecting multiple messages before hitting the Delete button, like before.

Security advocates will definitely appreciate a new setting to disable loading of remote images, which protects you from spammers while keeping data usage under control.

On the downside, today's update has removed a pair of useful features due to mixed reviews, though Readdle assures us it may bring them back “someday.”

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Facebook rolls out richer News Feed controls with a new ‘See First’ option and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

Facebook on Thursday introduced and updated set of controls letting you finally tell the service precisely what you want to see in your News Feed, as opposed to relying to Facebook's mysterious algorithm which surfaces posts its servers think you want to see while demoting others it flagged as uninteresting.

The reworked controls now permit you to actively shape and improve your personalized News Feed experience.

You also get more control over what you see in your News Feed via a brand new 'See First' option designed to help you prioritize whose posts you don't want to miss to ensure you'll always find them at the top of your News Feed.

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Endless snowboarding odyssey Alto’s Adventure receives its first major content update

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 9, 2015

Alto's Adventure, an endless snowboarding odyssey for iOS unlike any other, has received its first major content update after making its App Store debut in February of this year.

Available free to existing users, the 'Workshop' update includes support for Apple's 64-bit processors, iOS's low-level graphics frameworks called Metal, along with a bunch of other new things.

Alto's Adventure 1.1 also packs in six new languages and a bunch of fun new items available via the in-game workshop, such as helmets, llama horn, wingsuit timer and more.

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Streaming music service Tidal launches pricey new family plans

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

In response to Apple Music and other competitors, Tidal on Wednesday announced new family plans for its streaming music service. The new plans will allow up to 5 users to enjoy Tidal's Premium and HiFi service tiers at a significant discount from standalone rates.

It works like this: a standalone account for Tidal Premium costs $9.99 per month, and a HiFi account costs $19.99 per month. With family plans, users can add up to 4 additional users to their account at 50% off—$4.99/month for Premium, and $9.99/month for HiFi.

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Magic Duels, a new Magic the Gathering game, hits App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 8, 2015

Wizards of the Coast, a U.S.-based publisher of games primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, today released a brand new iOS game set in the Magic the Gathering universe.

Magic Duels, a free-to-play download for the iPhone and iPad, is now available worldwide following a recent soft-launch on the New Zealand App Store.

This strategy card game challenge you to arm yourself with a deck of dazzling spells and fearsome creatures in order to win battles and unlock more powerful cards to add to your ever-growing collection.

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