Apps

Gameloft delivers truly massive Christmas update to Modern Combat 5: Blackout, here’s what’s new

Gameloft, the prolific maker of mobile games hailing from France, on Wednesday launched the first content update to its award-winning Modern Combat 5: Blackout shooter for the iPhone and iPad and boy is it massive. Saying the update brings a whole bunch of rich content and goodies to the already well-rounded experience would be a gross understatement.

Now available on both iOS and Android, the feature-packed update brings two of the most beloved multiplayer maps from Modern Combat 3 and 4, several new multiplayer leagues for solo and squad battles, a new Rematch button for squad battles, the ability to vote for the next map in multiplayer, new area of effect skill for each soldier class, additional battle packs, amusing seasonal goodies for Christmas and much more.

And if that wasn't enough, in celebrating the update Gameloft has temporarily slashed MC5 to four bucks, with the discount reflected in the App Store later today.

Asphalt 8: Airborne ‘Winter’ update races into App Store, brings with it tons of goodies

Gameloft on Wednesday pushed a holiday-themed update to its freemium racing game for the iPhone and iPad, the insanely crazy, action-driven Asphalt 8: Airborne.

The Winter update brings eleven new cars, including the Tramontana XTR and Arrinera Hussarya, a brand new challenging location to put your driving skills to the ultimate test, pro kits and a brand new token system.

PowerPoint for iOS now works in portrait

Software maker Microsoft this morning issued a minor update to its mobile Office apps available in the App Store. Word, Excel and PowerPoint for the iPhone and iPad have received a few bug fixes and one new feature.

Specifically, PowerPoint for iOS has finally introduced support for portrait orientation so you can now view and edit your presentation no matter which way you hold your device.

Snowboard Party brings extreme winter sports to iOS

I remember when snowboarding first became popular. It mainly represented alternative or underground culture. I guess that’s because the sport was inspired by surfing and skateboarding, which used to be part of underground culture, as well. Today, snowboarding is more popular than skiing. Video games based on snowboarding are definitely more popular than those based on skiing.

Snowboard Party is a half-pipe style trick game where players rack up points for grinding, nose grabs, and performing tricks in mid-air. Would I be going too far if I called it extreme mobile gameplay?

Waze updated with Notification Center widget and more

The Google-owned Waze updated its iOS app today, bringing the crowdsourced mapping software to version 3.9.2. Don't let that build number fool you, however, as the update brings about some significant changes.

Perhaps the most notable addition is the new Waze Today Widget for iOS 8 devices. The widget allows you to quickly view your ETA for Home or Work, navigate with one tap, and easily send your current drive & ETA.

The best News apps of 2014

It’s hard to believe that a whole year has come and gone since we gave you our best-of lists in 2013. While last year was hard to beat with the advancement in iOS software and updated version of our most favorite apps and games, this year has provided us with a number of fantastic titles to choose from.

Today, we have a list of news apps that the iDownloadBlog writing team has nominated the best releases in 2014. Below is our vote for the best news app of 2014, as well as the runner ups and the app we think is the best all-time news app. 

Facebook will begin auto-enhancing photos for iPhone users

Even with its Instagram product, Facebook is still one of the premier places to share memories with family and friends. That's why Facebook says it will start auto-enhancing your photos for you on iOS. I guess Facebook thinks you're a sucky photographer.

The social network told TechCrunch on Tuesday you’ll still have complete control of your photos, but a slider will now appear on your photos as you post them that will show how enhanced you want the light, shadow, and clarity. You can even revert back to your original shot.

Google Drive for iOS now lets you upload files from other apps and cloud services

Following up on a recent Google Drive update which brought out support for Touch ID fingerprint verification and iPhone 6 resolutions along with a brand new Share extension to access cloud files in almost any iOS 8 app, today the search giant Google announced that it's now possible to send files to your Drive from other iPhone and iPad applications that have advertised their storage extension system-wide.

And in addition to the usual slew of bug fixes and performance improvements, the refreshed Drive client for iOS now makes it possible to view and share custom maps through the company's My Maps feature.

DeviantArt app puts the world’s largest art gallery in your pocket

Even if you don’t visit the website or have your own account, you’ve probably heard of DeviantArt. Practically any pop culture image search will result in at least a few links to the website, which gets about 65 million unique hits per month. Imagine if 65 million people visited the Museum of Modern Art every month?

The DeviantArt app is the website’s official mobile app. Now, you can browse through the hundreds of millions of original works of art right on your iPhone screen using a specially designed interface to enhance your viewing experience.

Opera Coast 4.0 is now live with Discover, Turbo Compression, Coast Cards and Handoff

Opera Coast, a minimalist browser that Opera Software launched for the iPhone back in April (and released on the iPad in September 2013) has received a substantial update on Tuesday bringing out four new features.

For starters, the app now supports Apple's Handoff technology (requires iCloud, iOS 8, Yosemite and Bluetooth 4.0) so you can start browsing on your iPhone or iPad and continue right where you left off in your OS X browser, be it Safari, Opera or whatever app happens to be set as your default Mac browser.

And if you own an iPhone 6 Plus, the elegant Coast app will delight you with its all-new two-pane landscape mode support. Jump past the fold for other enhancements in Coast 4.0.

Google refreshes Photo Sphere Camera with better image quality, new library organization and more

Following its App Store debut four months ago, Google's Photo Sphere Camera has been bumped to version 1.1.

The useful photography software which allows anyone with an iPhone 4s or higher to create panoramic images now features enhanced image quality when creating 360-degree images on an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus.

Additionally, the library view now separates private from public panoramas and the built-in map has been upgraded so that you can expand or contract it as needed.