Apps

Facebook Messenger launches video calling

Merely a week after flipping the switch on audio calling in the popular WhatsApp service, Facebook today started rolling out video calling to its Messenger app on iOS and across other mobile platforms.

As you know, Messenger already offers people the ability to make voice calls to friends around the world. By enabling cross-platform video calling across the ubiquitous messaging service, which commands 600 million users, the firm has enabled users to engage in face-to-face conversations with their friends and the people they care about, regardless of the platform of their choice.

Real-time rain and lightning alerts launch in Weather Channel for Apple Watch, iPhone and iPad

The Weather Channel today announced bringing new real-time rain and lightning alerts to the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Apple Watch via an updated iOS app. The refreshed mobile software lets you receive the exact alerts for rain, snow and lighting strikes that are relevant to you and based on your location.

In addition, you can now set up fully customizable notifications based on personal preferences so you can receive timely alerts tailored to your preference.

Instagram updated with new filters and emoji hashtags

Facebook's Instagram posted an update today for its iOS client, bringing the app to version 6.11.0. The update brings about a handful of improvements, including new filters and the ability to use emoji in hashtags.

The new filters include Lark, Reyes and Juno, and Instagram describes the creative tool additions "as a family of modern, subtle filters that brighten and enhance your photos in refined, beautiful ways."

Unread gains iOS 8 Share sheet, 1Password integration, landscape on iPhone and more

Unread, an RSS client for the iPhone and iPad originally created by Jared Sinclair and later acquired by Supertop, is getting a nice update this morning with several new features and a handful of bug fixes.

Unread, which supports a number of popular feed services, now features a useful Share extension so you can now send links and text from any app easily rather than fiddle with a proprietary sharing menu.

On the iPhone, the app will now reorient its user interface when you turn your device upside down. More importantly, Unread 1.5 for the iPhone and iPad at last supports Readability in the article view, letting you enjoy the full articles without ads, custom layouts, website navigation and other distractions.

Twitter’s iOS app now showing apps on profile pages, new Highlights feature hits Android

The official Twitter application for the iPhone and iPad is now showing certain apps on profile pages, as noted by Twitter user 'ryan'. It's a silent refresh on Twitter's backend, meaning no update is necessary to your existing copy of Twitter for iOS. The web interface is unaffected by this nifty little change.

For the time being, it seems that mostly applications from major publications and brands are being highlighted, including ones by The New York Times and BuzzFeed, among others. In addition to branded news apps, other notable brands include Spotify and Twitter's own Periscope.

Hours Time Tracking for Apple Watch launches, iPhone app goes free for a limited time

Hours Time Tracking, a beautifully designed time-tracking app by Apple Design Award winner Tapity that debuted on the App Store in the summer of 2014, has gone temporarily free in the App Store to celebrate the launch of Hours Time Tracking for Apple Watch.

A bona fide Apple Watch extension provided inside the refreshed iPhone app will be unlocked as soon as you get your hands on the Apple Watch, giving you access to oft-used features like starting, stopping and switching your timers, adjusting start and end times, a Glance overview of your current running timer and more.

You can now control Keynote presentations with Apple Watch

Not to be outdone by rival Microsoft which earlier this morning updated its PowerPoint for iOS presentation software with the ability to start and navigate the slideshow on your iPhone from you wrist, Apple has quickly followed with a similar update of its own which brings the same functionality to Keynote for iOS, its PowerPoint alternative. Eagle-eyed readers would be right to note that controlling Keynote presentations from your wrist was first mentioned during Apple’s October 2014 media event.

EA Sports UFC now available in the App Store

Following a soft-launch earlier this year, EA on Tuesday released EA Sports UFC for both iOS and Android. The game promises to bring the intensity of MMA (mixed martial arts) to your fingertips like nothing you've ever seen before.

UFC offers everything you've come to expect from major EA franchise mobile releases. It has HD-quality visuals, intuitive touch controls for action-packed gameplay, and a laundry list of content and features to keep you playing for hours.

WhatsApp for iPhone rolling out VoIP calling, gains iOS 8 share extension and more

Following months of promises and multiple delays, Facebook-owned WhatsApp, which commands more than 800 million active users worldwide, on Tuesday started rolling a voice calling feature in its iPhone application.

WhatsApp Calling is a staggered release and will be rolling out “slowly over the next several weeks,” the company said, meaning it may not be available for you immediately.

In addition to calling other people for free over Wi-Fi networks, regardless of where they may live, the app has gained other enhancements, too, starting with a much welcomed app extension on iPhones running iOS 8. Sadly enough, this update hasn't brought out support for iOS 8's Interactive Notifications.

Microsoft updates PowerPoint with remote Apple Watch functionality

Microsoft on Tuesday issued a refresh to its PowerPoint presentation software on the App Store, adding remote functionality for Apple Watch users.

The newly added PowerPoint Remote feature allows you to control slides running on your iPhone, such as starting the slideshow and easily navigating to the next and previous slides.

In addition, the Watch app provides you with an at-a-glance overview of the elapsed presentation time while putting the current slide number and total number of slides on your wrist.

NimbleBit releases new word game ‘Letterpad’ with Apple Watch support

Long-time developer NimbleBit, responsible for several hit titles such as Tiny Tower and Pocket Planes, released a new game on Monday called 'Letterpad.' It's a word puzzler, and it's available for free for both the iPhone and iPad, as well as the Apple Watch.

The game tasks players with finding words related to the given topic, hidden within a group of 9 letters. So if the topic is 'Music,' you'll want to uncover words related to that such as radio or jam. Find all the words, and work your way through over 200 puzzles.