iPod Touch

Media, polls and quoted tweets no longer count against Twitter’s 140-character limit

In May of this year, Twitter promised it would be stopping counting media and other non-text content against its 140-character limit. Today, the company announced that embedded photos, videos, GIFs, polls and quoted tweets no longer count toward your 140 characters.

Twitter originally promised to also stop counting user mentions like @iDownloadBlog, but didn't specify today when it'll drop @usernames from the character count.

How to play YouTube and other web videos inline in Safari on iPhone

With iOS 10, Safari didn't receive a major facelift like some other Apple apps did. That's not saying Safari didn't have a few tricks up its sleeve that make browsing the web a more pleasing experience for everyone. One of the little things about iOS 10 that I'm sure many folks appreciated was the ability for Safari to play videos inline on the iPhone and iPod touch, too.

This feature has been present on iPads for years.

Thankfully, you can watch most web videos inline on your iPhone and iPod touch, even while multitasking in Safari. Telling Safari to play a video inside the webpage isn't as obvious as it could have been, so here's a little tutorial to get you up to speed.

Oz: Broken Kingdom, an RPG game demoed at iPhone 7 keynote, just hit the App Store

At each iPhone introduction, Apple would usually invite one or more game developers on stage to demonstrate titles which show off the power of its latest chips. This month's iPhone 7 introduction was no exception. To showcase what's possible with the new A10 Fusion chip, Apple invited This Game Studio co-founder Heather Price on stage to show off a mobile game called Oz: Broken Kingdom, which just launched in the App Store as a freemium download.

A new take on Oz, Broken Kingdom sports crisp and detailed Metal-driven graphics that take full advantage of the A10 Fusion chip, although it supports older devices as well.

YouTube for iPhone picks up 3D Touch shortcuts

To say that YouTube, one of my favorite mobile apps from Google, has poor 3D touch support would be an understatement: it's been now a full year since the iPhone 6s introduced the world to 3D Touch and yet support for the technology is literally non-existent in YouTube for iOS.

Conveniently ahead of the iPhone 7's arrival, Google yesterday moved to assuage some of the concerns of users who have been craving for 3D Touch in the app, releasing a small update which enables some interesting shortcuts on the Home screen.

WhatsApp rolls out its iOS 10 update with Phone/Siri support & more

WhatsApp is one of the showcase apps for CallKit, Apple's new framework allowing VoIP calls to integrate with iOS 10's Phone app and behave like cellular calls. Today, WhatsApp has rolled out its anticipated update which enables integration with Phone and Siri on iOS 10 while bringing out half a dozen other features and improvements like forwarding multiple chats at once, a new iOS 10 widget that lets you go to a recent WhatsApp chat or see which chats have unread messages, and more.

Twelve South launches updated HiRise 2 stand for iPhone and iPad

Twelve South designs some of the finest premium accessories built exclusively for Apple devices. The HiRise, its versatile charging stand for the iPhone and iPad, was updated today with refreshed design and some engineering changes to allow for new features.

The HiRise 2, a new version of the original charging stand, sports refined design, comes in two new colors, has reduced footprint and boasts increased stability with larger iOS devices.

100+ new iPhone and iPad features in iOS 10

iOS 10 is here and it's a massive, easily the most significant update to the mobile operating system powering the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. iOS 10 packs in important new core technologies like Differential Privacy, plus a bunch of improvements across most stock apps.

Apple has opened up additional aspects of iOS to developers, turning Siri, Phone, Messages and Maps into extensible software platforms in their own right. It also fixes a number of pain points, makes expanded use of 3D Touch and haptic feedback and completes Apple's overhaul of iOS, that began with iOS 7, with its refined look and subtle design changes.

There's a lot to look forward to in iOS 10 and this massive roundup is our attempt at giving you guys a comprehensive overview of the more than a hundred new capabilities and enhancements that you're going to fall in love with.

Instagram rolls out keyword-based comment filtering

Instagram today announced it has rolled out a new anti-harrasment comment moderation tool in its refreshed mobile app for iOS and Android. This feature requires Instagram 9.3 for iOS, available at no charge from the App Store. In addition to comment moderation, Instagram 9.3 includes an enhancement for Stories where you can add color to your text by swiping the colors above the keyboard to revel more. Or, simply tap and hold a circle to select a custom color.

Google’s new app lets you capture three-dimensional panoramas on your iPhone and iPad

Google today released a brand new camera application on the App Store, allowing iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users to take three-dimensional panoramas in 360-degree freedom. The interactive VR photography app is called Cardboard Camera and in addition to capturing 360-degree images, it also lets you share VR photos online and enjoy them in virtual reality with Google's Cardboard and similar accessories along with VR photos taken by other people.

Google Photos for iOS gains Live Photos stabilization feature

iPhone photography fans who use Google Photos for iOS as their go-to photo management and backup solution will be delighted to learn that the latest version of the iPhone and iPad application now integrates advanced stabilization and rendering features that can make Live Photos smoother. Borrowed from Google's Motion Stills app which debuted in June 2016, this feature can freeze the background in your Live Photos or create sweeping cinematic pans.

Apple releases iOS 10 Golden Master

Since launching a developer-only preview of iOS 10 at WWDC back in the summer, public beta testers and developers have been able to test-drive a plethora of cool new features coming to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch this fall. Well, Apple's now finished work on its most significant iOS software update in years as iOS 10 just reached a Golden Master status.