Apps

Apple wants some Watch apps ready in two weeks

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 30, 2015

According to sources who spoke to MacRumors on condition of anonymity, Apple told certain developers to have their Watch apps ready by mid-February.

Ostensibly, among them is one of biggest Apple Pay partners who was reportedly asked to prepare an iOS app with WatchKit support and have it ready to launch in the App Store by February 12.

The wrist-worn gizmo is arriving in April, Apple CEO told investors on an earnings call earlier this week. Conventional wisdom says testing third-party apps ahead of the launch is necessary to ensure key Watch apps work properly and, more importantly, don't create a major drain on the battery.

Another possibility: carefully-selected developers get a chance to show off their apps at a launch event, assuming there's any. In addition to furthering the Watch narrative, featuring third-party apps in live demos at another event would go a great length toward explaining what the Watch is really for and maybe turn us all into believers.

Sounds plausible?

MacID review: unlock your Mac using Touch ID

Lory Gil ∙ January 30, 2015

Thanks to Bluetooth LE connectivity, users are able to connect their smartphones to their computers to share content between devices quickly, easily, and without being too taxing for battery life. On iOS and OS X, you can even do stuff like lock or unlock your Mac. Mac ID for iOS is one such app. Not only can you set it up to unlock your computer, but you can also lock it and wake the screen remotely. We’ve got a hands-on review of MacID for iOS for you today.

New Adobe apps: Digital Editions e-book reader and PaintCan for turning photos into paintings

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 30, 2015

Adobe has published a pair of new applications on the App Store, Adobe Digital Editions and PaintCan. The former allows you to access and manage e-reading material in Adobe's DRM-protected format on your iPad, with editions for Windows and Mac PCs also available for achieving cross-platform nirvana.

The latter, as the name suggest, is an easy-to-use painting software for creating nice-looking artworks from your favorite photos using either one of the preset brushes with different textures or your own brushes customized to your liking.

Twindr is like Tinder for Twitter

Sébastien Page ∙ January 30, 2015

If Twitter and Tinder could mate, they'd probably give birth to something close to Twindr, a new app that aims to clean up your Twitter feed by allowing you to quickly unfollow accounts. The concept is pretty simple. After authorizing the app to get access to your Twitter account, you will be presented with cards of accounts you follow. Swipe right to keep following. Swipe left to unfollow.

Psych is a minimalistic psychedelic game

Lory Gil ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

When I was a kid, I loved playing Frogger. Jumping between lanes, trying to avoid cars and hopping on logs, trying to avoid crocodiles was intense and exciting. Psych uses a similar mechanic of hopping from one moving platform to another, but uses minimalist graphics to create a 21st century gaming experience.

Facebook launches new Place Tips feature in your News Feed, rolls out Facebook Bluetooth Beacons

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 30, 2015

Yesterday, Facebook announced a new feature in the hope of fending off threat posed by Foursquare and Yelp, both of which rule the crowd-sourced location discovery market.

Place Tips, as it's called, injects useful information about the place you're right at, including your friends’ recommendations and “fun, useful and relevant info,” right inside your News Feed.

But don't your worry, you can turn it off at anytime!

Dreeps review: an epic RPG for those who don’t have time to play

Lory Gil ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

I love role-playing games (RPGs). They are deeply involving and keep you engrossed in stories that satisfy your desire for sci-fi or fantasy fiction. However, they also take a long time to get through. As a functioning adult with a lot of responsibilities, I just don’t have time to play very many RPGs all the way to the end.

Dreeps: Alarm Playing Game is perfect for gamers that just don’t have time to do the work to get through the story in RPGs. All you do is set an alarm and your young adventurer will go on his quest to save the world whether you are there or not. We’ve got a hands-on (or is it hands-off?) game review of dreeps for you today.

How to watch Super Bowl XLIX on iPhone, iPad and other devices

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

We are now just a few days away from Super Bowl XLIX, one of the most highly anticipated sporting events of the year. At 6:30 (EST) on Sunday, more than 110 million people are expected to tune in to watch the Seattle Seahawks take on the New England Patriots in a battle for the NFL Championship.

For those of you who don’t plan to spend the day huddled around a television set, we’ve put together a list of ways to follow the action on other popular devices. Live streaming will be available this year on iPad and PC/Mac, courtesy of NBC, no cable subscription required, and on iPhone via NFL Mobile.

‘ProCam 2’ goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple has just named Samer Azzam's ‘‘ProCam 2" its App of the Week for this week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to download the popular photo and video editor for iPhone and iPad for free—a solid savings of $1.99.

The app offers features such as Night mode, Burst mode, anti-shake, and a self-timer. It also has face detection, intelligent HDR, dozens of photo filters to choose from, and a variety of other tools that make taking and editing great photos and videos a breeze.

Video: Sid Meier’s Starships gameplay

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 29, 2015

Earlier this month, publisher 2K Games and developer Firaxis announced that Sid Meier’s Starships, a brand new tactical strategy game in the Beyond Earth universe, will be coming to the Mac, iPad and Windows platforms this Spring.

And now, the first ever gameplay footage of Starships went live on YouTube, with Sid Meier himself demoing the game as part of the Firaxis Games Megapanel at PAX South.

Revamped Yahoo for iPhone brings interactive magazines, Weather and News Digest

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 29, 2015

Ever since Marissa Mayer took the CEO job in the summer of 2012, mobile software and digital magazines have been a big part of her turnaround efforts at Yahoo.

Having released new apps like News Digest and revamped key ones such as Mail, Search and Weather, the pioneering Internet company's focus now sharpens on its namesake mobile app.

Now available in the App Store, the new Yahoo 6.0 sports a redesigned appearance with fresh new features that make it more in line with Yahoo's new digital strategy while resembling Flipboard in certain functional aspects.

TL;DR wants to keep your emails short, and your inbox shorter

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

TL;DR Email is a new app that aims to keep your emails short and your inbox shorter at the same time. By default, the app will display only the first 30 words of incoming emails in a card-lie format, giving you enough of an overview to figure out what you want to do with the message. Swipe right to archive, swipe left to postpone it to later, or you can of course see the full message, reply to it, or even put it in a folder if needed.