Apps

Snapchat rolls out Discover feature that highlights curated stories and videos

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

Tuesday, Snapchat announced a new feature called Discover which highlights curated stories from Snapchat's different editorial teams.

Snapchat is moving to become a media platform so they've partnered with some of the major names in media like the ESPN, Vice and CNN to build a storytelling format which puts the narrative first.

“This is not social media” nor is it aboutwhat’s most new and trending, remarked the firm in a blog post. No, sir — Snapchat believes in curation and high-quality content so “We count on editors and artists, not clicks and shares, to determine what’s important.”

Google Play Newsstand gets Handoff & offline support and other goodies

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 27, 2015

Google's Play Newsstand iOS app (formerly Google Currents) was updated Tuesday with a few new features and several bug fixes.

The software now implements support for Handoff, a technology Apple built into iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite to make it easy to seamlessly transition between Macs and iPhones/iPads in apps.

With Handoff support in Google Play Newsstand, it's now easy to resume reading on your Mac running OS X Yosemite or an iPhone or iPad running iOS 8. Jump past the fold for other changes in Google Play Newsstand 3.1.

Pandora’s iOS revamp launches with Thumb History, new mini player and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 26, 2015

The iPhone edition of Pandora Radio, a music streaming service with more than 75 million listeners each month, has just received a visual makeover. The company previewed it almost two months ago, though the iPad edition hasn't been refreshed today.

Version 5.7 of Pandora Radio sports a cleaned-up appearance with fancy new transitions and animations. In addition to the facelift, the iPhone app also includes enhanced station personalization capabilities, improved artist discovery, greater use of thumbing and much more.

1Password gains Login Creator, one-time Password tool with 2-step verification support and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

1Password, the popular password-manager application for iOS and OS X, has just received a nice refresh in the App Store and Mac App Store, respectively.

Available as a freemium download, 1Password 5.2 brings out a new Login Creator feature available to all users, a one-time Password tool for Pro users, a bunch of syncing improvements and several other enhancements that improve your experience.

Twitterrific gains multi-image uploading/viewing, more media previews and other goodies

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 26, 2015

The Iconfactory on Monday pushed an update to its freemium Twitter client for the iPhone and iPad.

Twitterrific 5, now bumped to version 5.9, brings out multi-image upload support, multi-image viewing support, as well as the ability to watch Twitter animated GIFs and videos from Vine, Instagram, Moby and other services in the timeline.

Moreover, there's support for rich media previews for a wide variety of additional links.

Finally, the latest edition of the app includes half a dozen improvements while squashing a few annoying bugs.

Official mobile game of The LEGO Movie hits iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

Hey kids, if you loved The LEGO Movie now is your chance to enjoy the same fun characters and environments in an interactive iPhone and iPad game.

Released today in the App Store, the LEGO Movie Video Game contains more than 90 characters from the film and over 40 missions. It's a classic LEGO fun so you'll get to build your own virtual LEGO creations using the Master Builders.

Facebook Groups adds member search and three new admin features

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

Facebook's dedicated Groups app received a major refresh Thursday, bumping the groups-management mobile software to version 5.0 while enabling several new features for members and administrators.

Both group members and administrators can now search for other members in groups. Additionally, members can now manage notifications more easily.

Admins can now take advantage of a trio of new features for better management of their own groups, including the ability to block users requesting to join.

Twitter’s ‘while you were away’ feature rolls out to all mobile users, due soon on the web

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 22, 2015

First revealed as part of Twitter's November 2014 platform update and formally announced on January 1, a new 'while you were away' feature is now officially available to all users of Twitter's mobile app for iOS and Android, appearing at the top of users’ timelines.

The micro-blogging startup explained in a blog post Wednesday that the feature surfaces a few of the best tweets “you probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise,” as determined by engagement and “other factors.”

Spotify introduces Touch Preview for songs, albums, artists and playlists

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

The leading music-streaming startup Spotify on Thursday announced a better way to preview music using new gestures in its iOS app. Dubbed Touch Preview, the feature allows music lovers to get a sneak peek of any playlist, song, album or artist by holding down their finger to start the music playing instantly.

“It means less time looking for the perfect music, and more time actually listening to it,” wrote the company.

Rdio app updated with New Music Weekly station, smarter sharing and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

Popular streaming music service Rdio posted an update for its iOS client today, bringing the app to version 3.1. The update brings about a new station for hot, just-released music, enhanced sharing capabilities and various other new features and improvements.

The New Music Weekly Station is a handpicked selection of the week’s hottest tracks from Rdio's New Releases section. And as for the enhanced sharing, users can now quickly share music with a press-and-hold while listening to any track, album, playlist or station.

Google Docs, Sheets and Slides gain Touch ID support and other new features

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 21, 2015

After adding a new Incoming section to Docs, Sheets and Slides iOS apps which lets you see all of the files that have been shared with you, Google on Wednesday issued another refresh to its trio of productivity applications for the iPhone and iPad.

Google Docs, Sheets and Slides now feature Touch ID support for passcode lock to keep your documents, app settings and more safe from prying eyes.

In addition to that, each app has gained a few noteworthy enhancements such as a brand new spell-checker in Docs, mentioned after the break.

BBC previews revamped iOS app with personalized coverage, due later this week

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 21, 2015

The British Broadcasting Corporation announced Wednesday that its revamped BBC News app will be rolling out later this week to iOS and Android platforms. The refreshed software offers a lot more video content and local news and also includes a brand new personalized coverage feature.

Users will be able to follow specific topics via an all-new tagging system that makes it easy to create custom feeds for, say, topics like Apps, Taylor Swift, Genetics and what not.