New Apps & Games

Apple confirms Pokémon Go set App Store record

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 25, 2016

Apple confirmed last week in a statement to media that Nintendo's augmented-reality game Pokémon Go was downloaded more times in its first week than any other iPhone app since the App Store's inception in the summer of 2008. Apple’s take from the popular mobile game could help the iPhone maker rake in an estimated $3 billion in additional revenue in the next 12 to 24 months as the game expands into more countries, according to a report from Needham analyst Laura Martin.

Highly, Bangers, Tinycards, and other apps to check out this weekend

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

We're back with another edition of our Apps of the Week post. This is a weekly roundup of a handful of new and unique apps and games we think are worth checking out this weekend. Today's selections include new apps for highlighting and sharing interesting quotes from around the web, making music, and learning more about new topics, and of course we have two new games for you to try.

The importance of PokéStops in Pokémon GO

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated May 2, 2019

Pokémon GO took the mobile device nation by storm. The game has already been downloaded so many times that it's hit the top free app charts on both the iOS and Android platform, and it seems you can't go anywhere anymore without seeing amateur Pokémon trainers wandering about.

In this piece, we'll discuss the importance of PokéStops in the game, and what you can do to utilize them to their fullest potential.

BBC’s iPlayer Radio hits US App Store as new BBC+ app goes live in UK

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 21, 2016

The British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) iPlayer Radio mobile app, which used to be limited to customers in the United Kingdom, has expanded stateside today, TechCrunch just announced. Now customers in the United States can download iPlayer Radio from the US App Store and tune in to BBC's high-quality radio stations and content.

Earlier in the week, BBC announced launch of a brand new personalized content portal with a new BBC+ app on the UK App Store.

Meet Swiftmoji, SwiftKey’s new emoji-predicting keyboard

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

A new emoji-predicting keyboard from Microsoft-owned SwiftKey, called Swiftmoji, launched on the App Store.

Available at no charge on the App Store, it boosts your emoji game by predicting a wall of suggested emojis based on crowdsourced data, the user's own preferences and the actual text written in any of the user's keyboards.

This ability to get perfect emoji predictions based on what you’ve just typed is similar to Apple's much-improved QuickType keyboard on iOS 10.

Popular writing app Scrivener is now available on iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 21, 2018

If you write books, manuals or lengthy manuscripts for a living, chances are you rely on Scrivener for Mac for your work. If so, you'll be delighted to learn that the app's creator, British developer Literature & Latte Ltd., has released Scrivener for iOS following a long period of thorough beta testing. The iPhone, iPad and iPod touch app costs $19.99 and provides the full range of features writers need to create, edit and update their work on the go with full-screen mode on the iPad and other perks.

Trouble finding good Pokémon with Pokémon GO? Try this

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated May 2, 2019

Pokémon GO took the mobile device community by storm, and already, it has launched in several countries.

The game, which allows you to capture Pokémon in what’s known as a virtual reality experience, gets players up and moving to find random spawns of Pokémon throughout their town or city.

But not everyone is having the best of luck finding the Pokémon they want, so in came a slew of apps to help out...

Notebook, Darby, Prisma and other apps to check out this weekend

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

Pokémon Go fever is still in full swing, but for those of you looking to try out different apps and games this weekend, iDB has you covered. In this edition of our Apps of the Week roundup, we have a beautiful new productivity app, a video social network for DIY'ers, a cool new photo editing app, and of course some great new games for you to check out.

Scrambled: a new fun anagram puzzle game for all ages

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 12, 2016

If you’re looking for the next fun word game that you can play to challenge your intellect and pass the time, then you should really give a new App Store game dubbed Scrambled a try.

Scrambled includes three game modes, all of which allow people of all ages to sit back and relax, all while doing their best to recognize words out of a bunch of scrambled letters; these are better known as anagrams.

The runaway success of Pokémon GO highlights safety issues of augmented-reality gaming

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 11, 2016

The runaway success of Pokémon GO is undeniable. In a few short days since its debut last week, the freemium title has become the top free app on the US App Store and the most downloaded and highest-grossing app in the countries where it is available. It sent Nintendo shares up 25 percent, adding $7.5 billion to the company's market capitalization. Furthermore, the game is about to surpass Twitter among Android users in the United States in terms of daily active users.

But there's a darker side to its success as widespread media coverage combined with pent-up interest and the power of the Nintendo and Pokémon brands in some cases seem to be resulting in a string of thefts, burglaries and even car accidents and other injuries.

Nintendo shares post massive gains following Pokémon GO launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 2, 2017

Since releasing its augmented-reality game Pokémon GO five days ago on the App Store in the United States, New Zealand and Australia, Nintendo stock has jumped 25 percent, gaining a cool $7.5 billion and posting a record since it began trading in Tokyo in 1983, Reuters reported Monday.

Buno, Folioscope, Instaread, and other apps to check out this weekend

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 11, 2018

It's the weekend again, and you know what that means: it's time for another edition of our Apps of the Week post. For those who aren't familiar with the column, this is where we put together a small list of apps and games that we think are worth checking out, and we think we've really made some awesome selections this week.