Apps

Sunrise Calendar criticized over request for iCloud credentials

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 31, 2017

We're big fans of the Sunrise Calendar app here at iDB. We named it one of our Apps of the Week in October of last year, and it has a permanent spot on our list of Best iPhone apps. It's a great-looking, full-featured alternative to Apple's stock Calendar.

But Sunrise has been taking a lot of heat lately for one of its newer features: iCloud support. You see, in order for you to add your iCloud account, the app requires you to enter your Apple ID and password. And some people see this as a huge security risk...

Readability 2.0 is out with new iOS 7 design and other improvements

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 21, 2018

Fans of the popular read-it-later service Readability will be happy to hear it has posted a huge update for its iOS client this morning. The app has been completely rewritten for version 2.0 with a new design and several other improvements.

The new design seems to follow the design language of other apps updated for Apple's iOS 7. The developers eschewed empty white space for gray matter, but text, images and various other UI elements match the redesigned OS perfectly...

Beats offers to double length of free ‘Music’ trial following launch problems

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 19, 2018

Earlier this week, Beats launched its highly anticipated streaming music service dubbed Beats Music. The service is entering into a crowded marketplace, several years late, but it hopes to differentiate itself from the Rdios and Spotifys with custom in-house curation methods.

But the launch isn't going as smoothly as the company would've liked. It's had a hard time dealing with the influx of users, and has had to shut down signups in order to work out the kinks. The good news, though, is that it's doubling the length of its free trial to make up for it...

Facebook updates Pages Manager with new post scheduling feature

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Facebook has posted an update for its Pages Manager this afternoon, bringing the app to version 2.2.1. The update includes bug fixes and performance improvements, as well as a new feature for scheduling photo posts.

For those unfamiliar with Facebook’s Pages Manager, it allows admins to interact with their audiences and keep tabs on activity for their pages by doing things like viewing Insights and replying to private messages…

OptimizeMe wants to be your only life logging app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

Readers who frequent this blog may have figured by now that I'm a big fan of health and fitness apps for my iPhone. I'm especially fond of logging programs that tap Apple's M7 motion coprocessor which lets my iPhone 5s record up to a week's worth of motion data with a minimal impact on the battery.

The problem is, the M7 folder on my Home screen is packed to the gills with apps.

I use one app to track my steps taken and calories burned, another app to take care of my gym training, yet another program to monitor my sleeping habits... Then there are apps that track my entertainment activities such as movies and TV shows watched, programs that recognize places and track my activities with GPS - you get the idea.

Wouldn't it be nice if there was one app to rule them all? Enter OptimizeMe by German-developer OptimizeMe GmbH, now available free in the App Store...

PhotoBlur lets you create great looking wallpapers for your iPhone

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Shortly after iOS 7 was released to the public, users everywhere were on the search for wallpaper apps that complimented the new design. These days, blur is the new 3-D. There is even a blurring effect jailbreak tweak that makes your camera controls transparent.

PhotoBlur is a new app that lets you flatten and distort your pictures into a beautiful mess like many other apps like it. However, this one is different because it also lets you overlay the original images and add captions so your Lock screen will look dynamite…

Pocket gains background AirPlay streaming and multitasking

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 22, 2014

Users of the popular read-later application Pocket (formerly Read It Later) are saving more than two million videos each week and now you can enjoy all those clips on your big screen TV thanks to newly-implemented support for AirPlay background video streaming in Pocket 5.0.2.

Now available free in the App Store, Pocket 5.0.2 also fixes an issue with sharing links to Facebook and another one pertaining to the Pocket bookmarklet, which should now work correctly when installed in Google's Chrome browser...

Calendars 5 by Readdle improves upon event management with notifications and ICS support

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 22, 2014

App maker Readdle launched its iOS 7-ready Calendars 5 application last September, just a few days following the public launch of iOS 7. Both the free and paid Calendars apps have now been bumped to version 5.3 in what Readdle says is "our biggest update since the launch".

Calendars 5.3 focuses on making it easier to send or accept event invitations by adding new features to manage meetings, conference calls and any activity that involves other people...

Twitterrific 5.6 launches with live streaming, list management, images in DM and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 22, 2014

Twitterrific by The Iconfactory is one of the finest Twitter clients available for iOS and OS X. I've been using both Tweetbot and Twitterrific on a daily basis and couldn't be happier with these fine pieces of software. Today a new Twitterrific build has surfaced on the App Store, bringing a few nice new features and a bunch of tweaks and fixes.

Twitterrific 5.6 for the iPhone and iPad, now available as a $0.99 universal download, can now render image attachments in direct messages, a feature that first appeared in Twitter's own iOS client in early-December (Tweetbot gained images in DMs late-December).

What else is new in Twitterrific 5.6? Read on for the full reveal..

Adobe Reader app updated with new iOS 7 design and other improvements

Cody Lee ∙ January 22, 2014

Adobe updated its Reader client for the iPhone and iPad today, bringing the popular PDF reading app to version 11.2.0. The update brings about a number of improvements, including a new iOS 7-inspired UI design and upgraded navigation.

While I'm sure some people aren't going to like the new design, I think it looks way better than the previous UI. The black elements and bold text have been replaced by white spaces and thinner fonts, making it easier to browse and find things...

Create beautiful visual stories with Storehouse

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

Everyone loves to share pictures with each other. Instagram is proof that we will take pictures of anything and make people look at them. We show off our shoes, our dinner plates, our cats, and our “relaxed” feet. We love to take pictures.

Storehouse is a photography app that lets you show off your daily snapshots, but once you see what the pros are doing, you won’t want to embarrass yourself with a retrospective of a year of selfies…

Beats launches ‘Music’ streaming service for $10 a month, iPhone app now available

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 14, 2018

As promised, Beats launched its highly anticipated 'Music' service this morning, bringing the headphone-maker into the highly competitive world of streaming audio. And with a library of around 20 million songs available for on-demand play, it's certainly built to take on the competition.

But Beats is taking a different approach to its subscription service. Unlike your Rdios and your Spotifys, it doesn't offer a free ad-supported model and the company is putting a lot of focus on its custom radio stations and playlists that it says were curated by some of the best DJs in the world...