Apps

Foursquare announces new app, new logo and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Foursquare, the popular location-based social network, made a string of significant announcements today. Apparently the company has decided it's time to move all check-in activity—its trademark feature—over to its Swarm client, and create an all-new application.

The new app, Foursquare says, will be all about 'personalized local search.' No two people will have the same experience, as it will be based on a number of factors including user taste, people they follow, and places they visit. Oh yeah, and there's a whole new logo too...

Yahoo Weather now includes customizable notifications for your favorite locations

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

Yahoo's excellent Weather app for the iPhone and iPad is among the best weather apps on our 2013 list. Today, the app has received a new feature allowing you to take advantage of notifications based on your favorite locations.

You can customize the new Daily Notifications and elect to receive them for specific locations and Yahoo will deliver your weather updates in the form of notifications twice per day - once in the morning to prepare for the coming day and once in the evening with the next day's weather...

Facebook rolling out new ‘Save’ read-it-later feature

Cody Lee ∙ July 21, 2014

Facebook today announced a new feature that will allow users to save interesting items on the social network for later viewing. Users will have the ability to save things like links, places, recipes and media, and go back and view them at a later time.

Similar to apps like Pocket or Instapaper, Facebook's new Save feature allows users to consume content on their own time, making them less likely to skip over it. It also helps filter out annoying posts like quizzes, mobile game invites, and other fluff...

Starbucks preparing coffee ordering service for mobile app

Cody Lee ∙ July 21, 2014

Great news Starbucks-goers. You may soon be able to order your coffee using your iPhone. In a recent interview with Recode, the company's Chief Digital Officer Adam Brotman said that it plans to start testing a pickup service later this year via its mobile app.

The move comes as Americans are increasingly turning to smartphone-friendly services like Uber and GrubHub. And with nearly 15% of Starbucks' US purchases now coming via its mobile app, adding the ability to order from it seems like a natural evolution...

Gameloft posts new Modern Combat 5 trailer ahead of launch

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

After more than a year of waiting, Gameloft is finally ready to release Modern Combat 5: Blackout. The studio announced earlier this month that the game will launch for iOS and Android on July 24th, which is next Thursday.

To hold you over until then, Gameloft has posted an official Launch trailer for MC5. While we've seen videos before, this new clip is over a minute long and offers an entertaining look at the game's graphics and gameplay...

Square Enix announces ‘Final Fantasy Record Keeper’

Cody Lee ∙ July 18, 2014

Square Enix and developer partner DeNA have announced a new game for the mobile Final Fantasy franchise. It's called Final Fantasy Record Keeper, and you play as Deci, a bright student to Dr. Mog in the history department.

Dr. Mog serves as the record keeper for all previous Final Fantasy games, and his department is filled with paintings of famous battles and other scenes. And if you happen to see one you like, Dr. Mog can use magic to send you in...

Celebrating 40 years of synthesizers, 8 Yamaha music apps go free

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 29, 2018

Good news for all of you aspiring musicians out there. In celebration of 40 years of Yamaha synthesizers, the company is offering a number of its iOS apps for free. This includes some smaller titles, like Set List Organizer, and more prominent ones like Cloud Audio Recorder.

We've listed 8 of the apps below (there may be others), which are normally priced between $1.99 and $15.99. Admittedly, many of them were built to compliment actual instruments, but some, like Mobile Music Sequencer, are fun to tinker with on their own as standalone apps...

EU officials upset as Apple remains mum on proposed IAP policy changes

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 18, 2014

In-App Purchase, a way overused feature which provides a way for supposedly free games and apps to ask users for cash in order to enable advanced features or unlock virtual items, is increasingly drawing ire of regulators across the globe.

In-App Purchases are notorious for fooling less-informed adults and kids into downloading so-called freemium apps so it's no wonder the European Union officials have repeatedly warned that companies like Apple and Google should stop labeling free-to-download apps that contain In-App Purchases as "Free".

Companies could soon be forced to make the “true cost of apps” unambiguously clear before purchase, according to a complaint the European Commission filed today...

Gameloft releases endless jumper ‘Ninja UP!’

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Gameloft today released an interesting new game called Ninja UP! It's not a first-person-shooter, movie tie-in, or anything else the studio is typically associated with—instead it's an endless jumper, à la Line Jumper and others.

Gameplay is as addictive as you'd expect. Players are tasked with sending a ninja flying upward by drawing lines that simulate trampolines. The smaller the line, the bigger the bounce, and levels are littered with deadly obstacles...

Hours for iPhone: gorgeous time-tracking app by Apple Design Award winner Tapity

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 29, 2018

I don't use time-tracking software because it's a huge pain in the you-know-what. Part of the reason is that I don't have enough time to keep track of how I spend my day.

On the flip side, I'll be the first to admit there's something inherently fun and appealing about the concept of monitoring when I work and how I spend/waste my day.

Realizing as much that most time-tracking apps suck anyway, Tapity — an Apple Design Award-winning studio behind Languages, a beautiful offline translator, and the popular student organizer and GPA calculator Grades — has spent the past three years bringing Hours for iPhone to life.

Now available as a $4.99 download, Hours takes the pain out of time tracking by letting you visualize how you spend your precious time...

Cinamatic goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Apple has named Hipstamatic's just-released video-capturing app Cinamatic its App of the Week for this week. This means that through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the title for both your iPhone and iPad, for free—a modest savings of $1.

For those unfamiliar with the app, it essentially does for videos what Hipstamatic does for photos. Users can record short clips, between 3-15 seconds, and turn them into short films. Tools like lighting filters and social sharing are just one tap away...

Facebook releases Mentions, new iPhone app you probably can’t use

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 28, 2017

The social networking behemoth, Facebook, today launched a brand new iPhone application: Mentions.

Although you can download it - the app is currently rolling out to the U.S. App Store as we speak - chances are you probably won't be able to use it.

That is, unless you're a verified public figure such as an actor, athlete, musician or other influencer, in which case Mentions is right for you.

In a nutshell, Mentions allows celebrities to see what fans are saying, engage in conversations with people and influencers who are talking about them, tell their own story by sharing updates, photos and videos - and even host live Q&As directly from their iPhone...