Apps

At last, Facebook Messenger gets native iOS 8 Share extension

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

Today, social networking behemoth Facebook issued a small yet important update to its mobile messaging software for the iPhone and iPad. Facebook Messenger version 22 is now available in the App Store and with it comes a much appreciated and long overdue iOS 8 extension.

With it, you can at last send pieces of content to Messenger without leaving other apps. Using iOS 8's standard Share sheet, it's simple to share photos, videos and links directly with Messenger contacts, without leaving context of the app you're currently using.

WordPress for iOS gains WYSIWYG visual editor, in-line image management and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 24, 2015

Blogging on the go has just become a whole lot more easier thanks to an update issued to WordPress's mobile application in the App Store.

Bumped to version 4.8, the software at last brings out an all-new visual editor with additional text styling features and the ability to add images in-line, align them, access image formatting options and more.

What's more, the WYSIWYG editor takes the guessing work out of the equation as it renders your post as closely as possible to what it will look like when published, so you'll preview less and edit more.

Ex-Apple engineers write a killer app for artists that turns iPad into a professional graphics tablet

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 23, 2015

Former Apple engineers Matt Ronge and Giovanni Donelli have created an absolutely amazing software solution called Astropad which magically turns your iPad into a professional graphics tablet for your Mac.

The iOS application talks to the Mac client via Wi-Fi or USB which then translates your stylus strokes on the tablet into corresponding actions in virtually any Mac app such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, Pixelmator and many more.

Drawing on your Mac with your iPad works with most pressure sensitive styluses on the market. Your stylus strokes are transferred to the Mac in a silky-smooth sixty frames per second, thanks to a proprietary technology called Liquid that provides nearly three times more fluid responsiveness than Apple's AirPlay.

Google launches YouTube Kids in the App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 23, 2015

The Internet giant Google on Monday announced its dedicated YouTube application for kids. Dubbed YouTube Kids, the app is now available for the iPhone and iPad as a free download from the App Store.

Billed as “the first Google product built from the ground up with little ones in mind,” it's been designed as a safe place for kids to experience YouTube content deemed “kid-appropriate” such as family focused clips.

Because it's focused on children, the software includes a set of options that help parents control the experience for their kids.

Calcbot 2 launches as a freemium app with all-new look and new features

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2015

Tweetbot developer Tapbots has released Calcbot 2 in the App Store. The intelligent calculator app is now completely free for everyone, has no ads whatsoever and, among other perks, has been revamped from the ground up for iOS 8.

The refresh software brings out a brand new favorites system which replaces the somewhat confusing memory keys, includes an iCloud-sync'd history in portrait mode alongside the calculator and other perks.

Rovio’s new ‘Jolly Jam’ puzzler now available in the App Store

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

Finnish video game developer Rovio released a new game for iOS and Android devices today entitled 'Jolly Jam.' It's a puzzler that looks nothing like the games from the firm's popular bird-flinging 'Angry Birds' franchise, and more like Candy Crush.

Unsurprisingly, Jolly Jam is a freemium title, which tasks you with strategically matching your jelly in a box to battle monsters and advance to the next level. All of this is part of an effort to help Prince Jam save Princess Honey and the Jelly Kingdom.

Twitch reflex based Duet Game is Apple’s new Free App of the Week

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 19, 2015

The full version of Duet Game by Melbourne, Australia-based Kumobius has just been slashed to zero bucks as Apple's latest free app of week. As you know, each Thursday App Store editors get to cherry-pick an app or a game that goes temporarily free for a week.

This twitch reflex title was on the App Store's Best of 2013 list and shouldn't be missed. Easy to play, hard to master, Duet elevates the act of dodging falling blocks into something “captivating, beautiful, even profound.”

10 great ways to put Workflow to work

Timothy Reavis ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

If you're a fan of automation in iOS and continuously strive to make common tasks easier, you've probably already been introduced to Workflow, an incredible app that enables users to create workflows, or recipes of tasks for the app to perform when invoked. The potential of this tool is incredibly far-reaching, and this article explores a few ways in which Workflow can be a must-have app.

Review: Alto’s Adventure, an endless snowboarding odyssey unlike any other

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 28, 2015

As promised, developer Snow's much anticipated game called Alto's Adventure has backflipped into the App Store. Two years in the making, Alto's Adventure challenges you to embark on an endless snowboarding odyssey across procedurally generated alpine hills and breathtaking scenery.

You're zipping through neighboring villages, drifting through peaks and valleys, collecting shooting stars, passing through ancient woodlands and long-abandoned ruins while enjoying with simulated night and day, weather conditions, awesome lighting effects and more, courtesy of the Unity graphics engine.

Featuring a somber soundtrack and smooth execution, the game has you rescuing runaway llamas while performing various tricks to progress and unlock new characters, each with its own distinct set of capabilities and snowboarding styles. Best of all, Alto’s Adventure is a premium game with no ads or In-App Purchases.

OneNote for iPad gains handwriting, stylus support with palm rejection and OCR for images

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

After updating the Mac edition of OneNote with enhanced optical character recognition (OCR) features and other goodies yesterday, Microsoft on Thursday announced that users of OneNote for iPad can now extract text within all images that are added to notebooks saved on OneDrive.

In addition, the iPad application now has handwriting support, a top requested feature which permits users to highlight documents, scribble notes or just draw sketches with their finger. With this update, handwriting is now available in OneNote across all platforms.

You can now open shared links in Dropbox for iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 18, 2015

Popular cloud-storage service Dropbox today announced it's refreshed its mobile app for iOS and Android with the much-appreciated ability to open shared links on the iPhone, iPad or Android tablets and smartphones.

In the past, sending someone a link to a shared Dropbox document meant firing up the web interface, but not anymore. Starting today, tapping on a shared link from your iOS device opens the file in the Dropbox app.

Not only does this give you rich previews for shared documents and photos, but also the ability to instantly save shared content to your Dropbox account.

UK banks RBS and NatWest now allow account access via Touch ID fingerprint identification

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 18, 2015

As reported Wednesday by BBC News, two banks in the United Kingdom will soon allow their customers access their bank accounts using Touch ID-based fingerprint identification technology, a UK first.

“RBS and NatWest customers must activate the feature with their security information, but would only need to use Apple's Touch ID thereafter,” reports the BBC.

To protect their customers' sensitive financial information and mitigate risk, the banks have put a number of restrictions in place to augment Apple's existing Touch ID safeguards.