GPS

Leaderboards and more added to Foursquare’s location check-in app Swarm

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 21, 2015

Foursquare's dedicated check-in app, Swarm, has been adding missing features ever since the startup split the main mobile app's functionality into dedicated place discovery and check-in apps.

The new Swarm 3.0 for iOS, which released earlier this morning, brings back leaderboards after gaining mayorships early in the summer. In addition, messages and notifications have been unified under a single inbox view.

Your worldwide and nearby views are now folded into a single Friends tab and a revamped Here Now section is now located under the Nearby section.

Swarm by Foursquare brings back mayorships

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 22, 2015

Foursquare unveiled Swarm in March of last year to give the location check-in ability of the main iOS app a brand new place of its own. Not all of the features of Foursquare for iOS have made it into the dedicated app, namely mayorships.

Arguably the most popular feature—especially if you're into the check-in game—mayorships are now back in the latest Swarm 2.5 for iPhone update.

You can earn them by checking in more than anyone else, which will unlock a shiny new mayor crown.

How to calibrate your Apple Watch for accurate Workout and Activity tracking

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 15, 2025

Learn how to calibrate your Apple Watch for accurate Workout and Activity tracking when you’re using it away from your paired iPhone.

You can now check in to places from your wrist with Swarm for Apple Watch

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 5, 2015

Swarm, Foursquare's dedicated location check-in application for the iPhone, received a nice little update Monday, adding the Apple Watch component which allows you to easily check in to places and see who’s nearby.

This is especially handy considering that Foursquare's main iPhone and Apple Watch app lacks this functionality as it's now focused on finding places to eat, drink and visit.

Waze now tells you how long you’ll be stuck in a traffic jam

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 2, 2015

Waze, a crowdsourced GPS, maps and traffic service owned by Google, has refreshed its iPhone and iPad application with a few new features.

Now available at no cost in the App Store, the new Waze 3.9.4 is much faster than before. More importantly, it has added a cool new feature which tells you how long you'll be stuck in a traffic jam.

Other features like navigation, route select and re-routing have been sped up significantly, an important feat given that you'll be using the app while driving.

Foursquare for iOS enables Handoff with Mac, brings Citymapper directions

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 1, 2015

Foursquare, the world's top crowd-sourced local search and discovery service and mobile app, has pushed a refresh to its iPhone and iPad places-discovery application available at no cost in the App Store.

Among other new features, Foursquar 8.1 enables Handoff support between iOS and the Mac and lets you easily access Citymapper from the app. For those wondering, Citymapper is a fast-growing, real-time transit service available on the iPhone and coming to the Apple Watch next month.

Waze is rolling out AMBER alerts in US

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 4, 2015

Waze, a popular crowdsourced GPS, maps and traffic service, announced on Wednesday that it's rolling out AMBER alerts in the United States.

Realized through a partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the move brings AMBER alerts to Waze users when a child in their area has been abducted or gone missing.

ETA Watch app will put travel times and driving directions on your wrist

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 11, 2016

Coming as a free upgrade for all existing owners of the $0.99 ETA app for the iPhone and iPad, Melbourne based developer Eastwood shared last week a preview of what ETA's Watch counterpart will look like.

For those unfamiliar with ETA, it's a GPS-based personal driving assistant which calculates travel times and driving directions to all your favorite destinations.

The ETA app for the Apple Watch will provide the same basic functionality as the iOS edition, only optimized for the smaller screen, allowing Watch owners to get travel times and driving directions just by raising their wrist.

Foursquare gains iOS 8 widget, can now serve recommendations without logging in

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 13, 2015

After adding a widget to its check-in app called Swarm back in December, Foursquare's main iPhone application today finally received a brand new Today widget for iOS 8's Notification Center of its own.

Moreover, the latest 8.7 update added personalized recommendations while logged out, so you don't need to even have an account with Foursquare to receive tips and recommendations about nearby places.

Just open the app to get started.

MapQuest gains enhanced navigation, picks up a host of other improvements

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 20, 2015

AOL today refreshed its MapQuest mapping and GPS navigation app for iOS with several new features that elevate the experience, including in-route navigation improvements, tighter integration with Yelp data, the ability to buy tickets and send feedback in the app and more.

A clearer on-map directive will give you a heads-up on your next turn while the improved list view for your route now automatically scrolls turn-by-turn statements with your progress “so the next maneuver is always easy to see.”

Foursquare finally launches iPad app

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 15, 2014

The Foursquare app is at last available on the iPad! The freshly released update takes full advantage of the iPad's bigger canvas and increased screen resolution, so you'll now see more content and scroll less when browsing Foursquare content on your Apple tablet.

It’s focused on helping you plan smarter with a personalized list of all the great places for a chosen city. Plus, it's a lot easier now to save anything to your itinerary with a tap.

The team's added another new section dedicated to all the top picks in your area. Tapping Foursquare’s vast database of crowdsourced locations and check-ins, it suggests places that are newly popular, up-and-coming and local mainstays.

The app was updated back in September with full support for iOS 8 and Interactive Notifications with the ability to save, like and follow right from the notification.

And yes, it looks great on the bigger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screens.

Swarm now lets you check in from your Lock screen with iOS 8 Notification Center widget

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 10, 2014

Swarm, a dedicated check-in app by Foursquare, has received a tremendously useful update Friday which makes it dead simple to check in to your favorite locations right from your Lock screen without even opening the app, thanks to a brand new Notification Center widget available on iOS 8 devices.

The Swarm widget in the 1.3 update also gives you an at-a-glance view of a few of your friends who are especially close, helping you get a sense of who’s around.