Apps

Rdio ushers in iPhone 6 and CarPlay support, interactive alerts and more in major iOS 8 update

Following a recent overhaul with new features, free streaming in more than two dozen countries and other perks, Rdio, the popular Internet service, on Thursday pushed a major iOS 8 focused update.

Following in the footsteps of rival Spotify which two weeks ago added support for CarPlay, Apple's in-car iPhone entertainment system, Rdio has now jumped on the automotive bandwagon, too.

In addition to music playback and navigating your favorites and playlists from the built-in display in CarPlay-enabled cars, Rdio 3.0.4 has a handy new control to adjust streaming quality (should prove indispensable to those concerned about cellular data usage).

Moreover, this update adds support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screen sizes, iOS 8's Interactive Notifications (you can play music and follow other users directly from an alert) plus other nice-to-haves mentioned after the jump.

1Password for Mac is 30% off for a limited time

In conjunction with today's release of OS X Yosemite, AgileBits is running a 30% 0ff sale on the Mac version of its popular password manager, 1Password. The company also recently reduced its iOS app to free with in-app purchases alongside the release of iOS 8.

Although we've seen this deal on previous occasions, now is still an excellent opportunity to download 1Password, as it features a lot more than simple password saving. Not only does it store everything from passports to software licenses, but it securely syncs this information among all the devices on which you have 1Password installed.

Facebook Messenger updated with doodles and captions for your photos

Facebook Messenger has received its iPhone 6 compatibility fix nearly a month ago, unlike their main iOS client which only got refreshed with half-baked support for the new iPhone screen sizes yesterday.

Be that as it may, Facebook today issued a small Messenger update adding the ability to adorn your photos with captions and casual scribbles and sketches.

Messenger 14.0 (what's up with version numbers, Facebook?) is free in the App Store.

Instagram’s iPhone 6 refresh is out

One of the most popular mobile applications and the de facto leading platform for mobile photography, Facebook-owned Instagram, has at last been optimized with native display support for Apple's latest iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones.Instagram 6.1.3 is now available in the App Store and lists no other changes in iTunes release notes accompanying the 15.9-megabyte download.

Pixelmator is coming to iPad soon, app teased in new video

Soon after its appearance on stage at Apple's iPad event today, Pixelmator has published a blog post featuring a sneak peak at Pixelmator for iPad, a full-featured version of its popular photo editing app for Mac.

Although several of its features are still under wraps, Pixelmator did announce that its iPad app will include a layer-based image editor with a true-to-life painting engine, color adjustments, retouching tools, effects, shapes, typography, selection tools, non-destructive layer styles, and even support for Photoshop documents.

Red Riding Hood and the Restless Wolves presents a test of logic and understanding

Even though my favorite platform game of all time is Super Mario Bros., I love it when developers shake things up a little and twist a traditional genre into something familiar, but different. Atmospheric platform games are incredibly fun, offer great challenges, and look beautiful.

Red Riding Hood and the Restless Wolves is one such atmospheric platform game that is slow paced, easy on the eyes, and full of great puzzle challenges. Take a walk with Dr. RRH as she tries to get back to her current place and time.

Addicts rejoice: Reddit has acquired iOS app Alien Blue

Reddit has acquired Alien Blue, the once unofficial Reddit app for iOS that is well, now official. If you're a Reddit user, you've more than likely used Alien Blue on your iPhone or iPad to navigate the community website. It's fantastic and this acquisition totally makes sense. 

Facebook app updated with support for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus

Facebook pushed out an update for its iOS client this afternoon, bringing the app to version 16.0. The social network doesn't say what changes were made, but it does now say "optimized for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus" in the description.

This is great news for folks with one of Apple's newer handsets, as their larger displays really highlight non-updated apps with stretched UI and fuzzy graphics. Facebook was one of the few remaining high profile apps without iPhone 6 support.

YouTube app updated for larger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screens

Google's YouTube app for iOS has just been updated to support the larger screen sizes of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. This update, which brings the app to version 2.13, also brings along a few bug fixes and stability improvements.

YouTube's app is one of Google most popular iOS apps to have been recently updated. Gmail and Chrome were also updated in the past couple of weeks to support iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Microsoft optimizes Skype for iPhone 6 screens

As promised, software maker Microsoft has just issued an update to Skype for the iPhone and iPod touch adding native display support for the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screen sizes, the team announced in a blog post Wednesday morning.

As a result, you'll see more of your recent chats and messages in conversation view on Apple's new smartphones because iOS 8 doesn't have to compensate for the lack of iPhone 6 support by blowing up the interface to fill up the whole screen.

Skype for iPhone 5.6, available free in the App Store, also adds presence indicators to your Recent list and number of contacts and time zones information on contact profiles.

Jump past the fold for other features in this maintenance Skype update.

Rovio releases Angry Birds Transformers globally

Following its soft-launch in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Finland on September 25, Rovio's Angry Birds Transformers is now available globally as a free-to-play download for the iPhone and iPad, the Finnish mobile games maker announced Wednesday morning.

Featuring cars, trucks, tanks and planes and a plethora of heroes and villains with unique attacks and abilities, the movie tie-in challenges your Autobirds (I chuckled) to save Piggy Island from the crazed robots on a mission to nuke it out of orbit.

Design concept reimagines popular iOS apps for Apple Watch

When Apple launches the Apple Watch early next year, it will mark the beginning of a new platform for developers. Thanks to WatchKit, the device will support third party applications, including extensions for current iOS apps and new standalone software.

With this in mind, a couple of graphic artists have created a design concept that reimagines what popular iOS apps would look like with an Apple Watch-style interface. Posted to Behance, the images include concepts for Skype, Instagram, Twitter and more.