Apps

Apple updates GarageBand and Logic Pro X with pro-level features, including Touch Bar support

Apple today updated its GarageBand and Logic Pro X apps with new features designed to support music makers “from enthusiasts to pros.” GarageBand for iOS 2.2 now provides the creative synthesizer Alchemy and has a new browser for easier searching through instruments and patches.

Logic Pro X 10.3 has been refreshed with a modern interface and now includes features for pro audio production and support for Touch Bar shortcuts on the new MacBook Pro.

Apple’s new TV app doesn’t like ripped DVDs, here are some workarounds

Apple's new TV app on iOS 10.2 struggles to play videos that have been ripped from DVDs and other sources and loaded into iTunes for Mac. It’s unclear whether this is a simple bug, but that didn't stop people from flocking to Apple’s Support Communities forum to express their disdain for the app.

The TV app has replaced the old and mostly useless Videos app.

Thankfully, dedicated apps let you easily play non-iOS-friendly media on iPhone, like FireCore's versatile Infuse video player. Handbrake for Mac, which recently exited beta after 13 years, packs in a comprehensive set of tools for easy video conversion with handy presets for turning ripped DVDs into an iPhone-compatible format.

Vine app officially becomes Vine Camera

Vine for iPhone was updated today with a cool dark icon, a new name and same old features, making good on Twitter's promise to sunset the service and morph it into a dedicated mobile camera software.

Rechristened as Vine Camera and bearing version number 6.0, the app is focused on the tools that let you shoot and edit six-second videos shareable on Twitter, where they now loop. You can also add captions, save videos to your iPhone's Camera roll and more.

Vine Camera is available free of charge from App Store and requires iOS 9.0 or later.

Store and watch the latest news stories offline with Hyper News

If you have ever travelled on a metro line you know what it’s like to whiz from one station to the next, always holding out for the next patch of reception somewhere between the constant outages afflicting your iPhone. Most times, the internet will cut out in the least opportune moments, like on your commute home when you slump in your seat and want to mindlessly gaze at moving images on your phone.

To weather the crisis of poor connection, Hyper News functions as a pocket of pre-downloaded news clips to fall back on whenever your data leaves you hanging.

In a spell of news apps being tested at iDB, Hyper News stands out for its utter simplicity and the concerted effort to occupy a unique space in the news realm. Here are the ins and outs to know about Hyper News.

Snapchat launches universal search for improved navigation

Snapchat on Thursday updated its mobile app with a new universal search bar. Speaking with TechCrunch, the company says the feature was designed for speed, so you can quickly locate what you're looking for and get back to snapping.

The new search bar is always accessible at the top of the app, and it allows you to find friends and groups and discover publishers and trending Stories. "Quick Chat" suggestions will allow you to jump straight to a specific message thread.

US appeals court rules Apple can be sued for monopolizing app market

iPhone app purchasers may sue Apple over allegations that it has monopolized the mobile app market by not allowing users to purchase them outside the App Store, reports Reuters. The decision comes from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and it revives a long-standing lawsuit regarding Apple's iPhone app practices.

In 2012, a group of iPhone users filed to sue Apple, saying its App Store exclusivity was anticompetitive. Apple responded to the suit, saying that  users purchase apps from developers, and it merely rents out the space. A lower court sided with the Cupertino company, and threw the case out, but today's decision reverses the order.

Google launches Toontastic 3D, a playful storytelling app for kids

Google today launched a new education-focused apps aimed at kids aged 6-8 years old, called Toontastic 3D. With this app, your youngsters can draw, animate and narrate their own cartoons. The concept and game mechanics are easy to grasp so your kids should feel right at home. They simply move their characters around onscreen to tell their story. The app records their voice and animations and stores content on their device as a video.

Pokémon Go is dead, long live Pokémon Go!

There is no debate that a large contingent on the internet has been holding out for less Pokémon Go news in 2017, but it is equally clear that this sentiment will not be echoed by the people at Niantic. No matter the side of the fence you are on, the fact that Pokemon Go is hands down one of the most successful apps in the history of the App Store (breaking first-week download and revenue records) is a big deal, and the augmented reality laced game will continue to rake in millions of users and dollars in the year ahead. It’s not all rosy though, as the daily player count is continuously pointing south and engagement data crumbling.

As much as this is Niantic’s battle to fight, Apple too has a vested interest in the preservation of Pokemon Go’s winning streak and will want to benefit financially from the game throughout the current fiscal year. The question both business entities therefore are going to have to find answers to is what’s next for Pokémon Go strategically, and what is Apple’s role in facilitating Niantic’s continued success with the app? Not so much content wise but rather in terms of product strategy, I have sized up a few moves that Niantic, The Pokémon Company and Apple could have up their sleeves over the next 12 months.

Airmail 1.5 for iOS gains Workflow integration, custom actions & more

Airmail, the cross-platform email client by developer Bloop, has received a refresh on the App Store sporting a few noteworthy enhancements. Airmail 1.5 for iOS, a $4.99 download from the App Store, features integrations with the Bear Notes app and the popular iOS automation app Workflow. Other changes in Airmail 1.5 include new custom actions and Gmail authentication, the ability to select your default inbox, a new OpenURL action and minor fixes.

AutoLaunch can re-launch apps after they crash unexpectedly [jailbreak]

Apps, whether they're downloaded from the App Store or Cydia, can crash from time to time because of underlying bugs, and re-launching it will sometimes let you go about using the app without any issues.

If you use a particular app that seems to crash here and there, then a new free jailbreak tweak called AutoLaunch could be your next best friend. It can automatically re-launch any app that crashes on your device so you don't have to re-launch it yourself.