Apps

Twitter adds Quick Reply to iOS app (this time for real!) and other enhancements

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 22, 2015

A Twitter update last week was supposed to make the mobile iPhone and iPad app play nice with iOS 9's new text-based replies that are now available to third-party apps directly from notification banners, except it didn't.

Tuesday, the micro-blogging startup issued a new version of the iOS client which fixes last week's botched update.

Now iOS 9 users of Twitter's mobile app can take advantage of full support for the Quick Reply feature from push notifications, the ability to access muted and blocked accounts in Settings and more.

Apple educates developers on validating Xcode downloads following XcodeGhost malware attack

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 22, 2015

A new type of attack called XcodeGhost is wreaking something of a mini-havoc in the App Store, injecting its malware payload into popular iPhone and iPad apps and prompting Apple to pull the infected apps.

The malware itself is pretty harmful—it collects and sends information about your device—but the method of spreading is cunning. Rather than target the App Store itself, attackers have distributed hacked versions of Xcode, Apple's tool required for iOS and OS X development.

As Xcode is a multi-gigabyte download, developers in countries like China where Internet speeds are slow have downloaded these modified Xcode builds from non-Apple sources without realizing a hacked Xcode injects malware when compiling apps.

This morning, Apple issued an email to developers providing an update on the XcodeGhost situation while laying out easy-to-follow instructions for checking if their Xcode copy has been tampered with.

Shazam update brings support for iOS 9’s enhanced Spotlight Search and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 21, 2015

Shazam, the popular music and media identification software, has rolled out a brand new 9.0 update to its iPhone and iPad application in the App Store, bringing out support for Spotlight Search on iOS 9, improved Bluetooth listening and other tidbits.

Shazam songs and artists can now be searched from the Home screen on iOS 9 and tapping a Shazam result takes you directly into that content within Shazam's mobile app.

Some Skype users experiencing issues with calling and messaging, Microsoft working on a fix

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 21, 2015

Are you plagued with various Skype issues, such as the inability to place VoIP calls, update your status or send instant messages? Are all of your Skype contacts showing as offline? Don't worry, you're not alone.

According to a support document published Monday morning, many people are reporting issues with Skype status and calling and Microsoft is working on a fix.

“We're doing everything we can to fix this issue and hope to have another update for you soon,” the company wrote. “Thank you for your patience as we work to get this incident resolved.”

How to upload HD photos and videos on Facebook

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

One of the more annoying things about Facebook has got to be the diminished quality of photos and videos you upload to the service, be it via iOS's Facebook integration integration or through the official mobile app for the iPhone and iPad, a free download in the App Store.

For whatever reason, Facebook's mobile app defaults to low-resolution photo and video uploads, likely in an effort to minimize bandwidth usage in this digital age of capped cellular data.

Fortunately, there is an easy yet not immediately obvious way to configure Facebook for iPhone and iPad to record and upload videos and photos in glorious high-definition.

Popular 3D puzzler Shadowmatic goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ September 17, 2015

Apple has named Triada Studio's Shadowmatic its App of the Week for this week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you'll be able to download the popular 3D puzzler for free, for both iPhone and iPad, saving yourself a solid $3.

For those unfamiliar with it, Shadowmatic is an imagination-stirring experience in which you are tasked with solving a series of 3D silhouette puzzles. The title has received high praise for its stunning visuals and relaxing, captivating gameplay.

Hulu, Pocket, BBC iPlayer, MLB.com at Bat and more updated for iOS 9’s Picture in Picture mode

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

Picture in Picture mode is one of the several productivity-focused enhancements on iPads with iOS 9. This handy feature allows you to watch a video while doing something else. The video plays in a small window overlaid on top of your apps so you can, for instance, browse the web while watching your favorite show at the same time.

Developers can decide whether or not they wish to enable Picture in Picture mode in their apps.

Thankfully, some of the well-known developers have already implemented Picture in Picture mode in their apps, including Hulu, Pocket, MLB.com at Bat and BBC iPlayer.

Dropbox updated with support for iOS 9, 3D Touch and more

Cody Lee ∙ September 16, 2015

Dropbox joins the onslaught of app updates today, following Apple's release of iOS 9. The new version of the cloud-based storage provider's iOS client is labeled 4.0, and it brings about a number of improvements, including support for some of iOS 9's new features.

Folks with the new Dropbox app on iOS 9 will see Dropbox files in Spotlight search results. This includes recently used files, plus any marked for offline access, and a quick tap will open them in-app. Additionally, any Dropbox link you tap on will open within the app.

iMovie for iOS updated with 4K video editing on iPhone 6s and much more

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 16, 2015

At its 'Hey Siri' media event last week, Apple demonstrated how the all-new 'A9' microchip ticking inside the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus has enough oomph to edit 4K video by showing off native 4K video editing on both new iPhones and the iPad Pro with iMovie.

Today, iMovie for iOS receives a timely refresh in the App Store to bring this feature to the latest devices along with more than a dozen other enhancements for older iDevices.

1Password 6 is out with new design, support for iOS 9 features and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

AgileBits on Wednesday pushed out a significant update for their 1Password iOS app, bringing the popular password manager to version 6.0. The release includes a number of new features and improvements, including a refreshed design and broader support for iOS 9.

The new look isn't a major departure from its predecessor, but it's instantly noticeable. The developers said that they felt 1Password had become a bit "too monochrome," so they decided to brighten things up. You'll also notice new category icons and an improved browser.

Twitter: one of the first apps to embed Quick Reply within notifications on iOS 9

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 16, 2015

One of the new features of iOS 9 that Apple hasn't actively advertised has the tremendous potential to be actively used on an everyday basis by the vast majority of users: it at last permits third-party developers to implement Quick Reply functionality within banner alerts, the Notification Center and notifications shown on the Lock screen.

Twitter is one of the first applications out of the gate to have readily adopted this feature in its most recent update that just hit the App Store. And if you own an iPad with iOS 9, you can now use Twitter in iOS 9's new side-by-side multitasking mode.

People are reporting on Twitter that Quick Reply is broken in this update and a few members of our team were able to independently confirm this.

Facebook working on a ‘Dislike’ button

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Facebook is working on a 'Dislike' button, reports CNBC. CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the news himself during a public Q&A session on Tuesday. "People have asked about the 'Dislike' button for many years ... and today is a special day, because today is the day that I actually get to say we are working on it and are very close to shipping a test of it."