Qik, an ephemeral video messaging app for the iPhone by Microsoft-owned Skype, has received a refresh Wednesday. For starters, it takes full advantage of 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus screens while adding a new video menu.
It also improves how invitations by SMS are handled and includes a special holiday surprise in the form of a cool Easter egg which lets you shake your iPhone to enable snowflakes that fall down the screen.
Gameloft, the prolific maker of mobile games hailing from France, on Wednesday launched the first content update to its award-winning Modern Combat 5: Blackout shooter for the iPhone and iPad and boy is it massive. Saying the update brings a whole bunch of rich content and goodies to the already well-rounded experience would be a gross understatement.
Now available on both iOS and Android, the feature-packed update brings two of the most beloved multiplayer maps from Modern Combat 3 and 4, several new multiplayer leagues for solo and squad battles, a new Rematch button for squad battles, the ability to vote for the next map in multiplayer, new area of effect skill for each soldier class, additional battle packs, amusing seasonal goodies for Christmas and much more.
And if that wasn't enough, in celebrating the update Gameloft has temporarily slashed MC5 to four bucks, with the discount reflected in the App Store later today.
Gameloft on Wednesday pushed a holiday-themed update to its freemium racing game for the iPhone and iPad, the insanely crazy, action-driven Asphalt 8: Airborne.
The Winter update brings eleven new cars, including the Tramontana XTR and Arrinera Hussarya, a brand new challenging location to put your driving skills to the ultimate test, pro kits and a brand new token system.
Software maker Microsoft this morning issued a minor update to its mobile Office apps available in the App Store. Word, Excel and PowerPoint for the iPhone and iPad have received a few bug fixes and one new feature.
Specifically, PowerPoint for iOS has finally introduced support for portrait orientation so you can now view and edit your presentation no matter which way you hold your device.
The Google-owned Waze updated its iOS app today, bringing the crowdsourced mapping software to version 3.9.2. Don't let that build number fool you, however, as the update brings about some significant changes.
Perhaps the most notable addition is the new Waze Today Widget for iOS 8 devices. The widget allows you to quickly view your ETA for Home or Work, navigate with one tap, and easily send your current drive & ETA.
Following up on a recent Google Drive update which brought out support for Touch ID fingerprint verification and iPhone 6 resolutions along with a brand new Share extension to access cloud files in almost any iOS 8 app, today the search giant Google announced that it's now possible to send files to your Drive from other iPhone and iPad applications that have advertised their storage extension system-wide.
And in addition to the usual slew of bug fixes and performance improvements, the refreshed Drive client for iOS now makes it possible to view and share custom maps through the company's My Maps feature.
Opera Coast, a minimalist browser that Opera Software launched for the iPhone back in April (and released on the iPad in September 2013) has received a substantial update on Tuesday bringing out four new features.
For starters, the app now supports Apple's Handoff technology (requires iCloud, iOS 8, Yosemite and Bluetooth 4.0) so you can start browsing on your iPhone or iPad and continue right where you left off in your OS X browser, be it Safari, Opera or whatever app happens to be set as your default Mac browser.
And if you own an iPhone 6 Plus, the elegant Coast app will delight you with its all-new two-pane landscape mode support. Jump past the fold for other enhancements in Coast 4.0.
Following its App Store debut four months ago, Google's Photo Sphere Camera has been bumped to version 1.1.
The useful photography software which allows anyone with an iPhone 4s or higher to create panoramic images now features enhanced image quality when creating 360-degree images on an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus.
Additionally, the library view now separates private from public panoramas and the built-in map has been upgraded so that you can expand or contract it as needed.
Instagram, a Facebook-owned mobile photography service, today issued an update adding five new filters to its iOS and Android app.
In addition, the popular software has gained a couple handy enhancements such as the ability to upload Slo-Mo video content as well as real-time comments, photo perspective adjustments, a customizable filter tray with live previews and more.
Inspired by the photography, art, fashion and design, the five new subtle filters available in Instagram 6.4 are being marketed as the company's best yet and include: Slumber, Crema, Ludwig, Aden and Perpetua.
The Internet giant Google has upped the ante in the mobile payment arena with Tuesday's refresh to its Wallet iOS app. The new version brings out support for Touch ID allowing owners of the iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3 and the iPhone 5s and onward to unlock the app with their finger.
And with native display support for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus display resolutions, the app now takes full advantage of the screen real estate available to owners of Apple's latest handsets.
Following a recent refresh with Material Design, iPhone 6 support and Maps in search results, Google's main search client for iOS and Android today gained the ability to interact with your Nest smart thermostat, along with other Nest-branded devices for the connected home, using Google Now voice commands.
Replicating some of the functionality provided by Nest's own iPhone application, Google's native search app for the iPhone and iPad takes advantage of voice input and Now cards to help control your Nest hardware.
Just fire up the app and either tap the mic or say "Ok Google" to get started. This is a silent feature upgrade on the backend so no download is required.
Just in time for the holidays, Amazon on Monday issued a massive update to its Kindle mobile client for the iOS platform, bringing out integration with the Goodreads recommendation engine, an all new Book Browser allowing iPad users to retrieve additional information about the books with personalized book sample suggestions to download and read.
Other highlights of this update include the ability to start playing Audible audiobooks as they're downloading with progressive playback, book details in the Library, the Next In Series information and so forth.