New Apps & Games

Apps to check out this weekend: Noted, How Many Saturdays? and more

It's been a long week. Apple introduced a new iPhone, a new iPad, new Apple Watch accessories and it also released several software updates for its various platforms. So now that it's the weekend, it's time to kick up your feet, relax and check out some new apps and games. And as usual, we've put together a great list of suggestions for you.

Blocs Wave, ProtonMail and other apps to check out this weekend

Its the anticipation of Apple's upcoming iPhone SE event killing you? Don't worry, we have a great list of apps for you to check out this weekend to help you pass the time. We have a new app that helps you create music, a new email client, and a new game that allows you to create your own Disney amusement park.

This tweak supercharges your Instagram app with new features

Instagram lovers, if you've also got a jailbreak at your fingertips, then you won't want to miss out on a chance to download a new free jailbreak tweak called Rocket for Instagram from Cydia's BigBoss repository.

Rocket for Instagram provides Instagram users with a slew of new features that Instagram themselves have failed to provide for years. In this piece, we'll briefly go over some of the new features with you.

Scanner Pro 7 is here: OCR, workflows, distortion correction, revamped interface & more

Ukrainian developer Readdle today released Scanner Pro 7.0 for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, a major new version of its award-winning document, QR code and receipt scanner that has a revamped user interface and packs in a plethora of new features.

Among other enhancements, the new version packs in advanced optical character recognition (OCR) technology which automatically extracts text from sentences, paragraphs or whole scans, making Scanner Pro 7 more competitive with Scanbot.

Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog speeds on to Apple TV

Japanese gaming giant Sega is making its long-expected move to bring some of its most popular mobile games to the living room. Fans can now play some of their favorite Sonic titles on the fourth-generation Apple TV for the very first time.

Starting today, Sonic 1 is compatible with the new Apple TV. Next Thursday, March 24, fans will be permitted to grab Sonic 2 for Apple TV from the tvOS App Store. In addition, Sonic CD for Apple TV will release on Thursday, March 31.

Miitomo, Nintendo’s first smartphone game, soft-launches in the App Store

As promised, Miitomo, Nintendo's very first smartphone game, on Thursday released on the Japanese App Store ahead of its worldwide debut.

The freemium title, billed as “a friendly conversation starter,” is based on the Mii universe and invites gamers to customize their Mii avatars by mixing and matching from a bunch of costumes and styles to make it their own.

Your Mii characters created in the iOS app can then be easily shared with friends on social media. And by asking and answering questions, you can find out unknown aspects about your friends along with things that you share in common. “Your friends' Mii characters will also visit you when you play,” said Nintendo.

Apple Events app launches on tvOS App Store ahead of Monday’s ‘Let us loop you in’ media event

Apple has scheduled its 'Let us loop you in' media event on Monday, March 21. Ahead of the invite-only press conference, the company has released a native application, aptly named Apple Events, for the fourth-generation Apple TV in the tvOS App Store.

The app makes it easier for Apple fans to stream the company's media events live and watch replays of previous broadcasts on their box.

New TomTom Go Mobile app gives you 50 miles of free offline navigation each month

TomTom, a Dutch company that produces navigation and mapping products and one of Apple Maps data providers, today released a brand new real-time traffic information and navigation app on the App Store.

Dubbed TomTom Go Mobile, the free of charge software is now available globally and shares the same user interface as the TomTom GO satnav app. The app lets you drive up to fifty miles, or 75 kilometers, every month free of charge.

Upgrade to unlimited driving are available through the In-App Purchase mechanism.

Digit, Dream Machine and other apps to check out this weekend

It was a pretty big week for Apple news, with the iPhone-maker sending out press invitations for its long-rumored March event, but it was also a pretty big week for app and game releases. Our list of titles for you to check out this weekend include an app that helps you save money, a more intimate photo-sharing app, and two can't miss games.

EA announces Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, a collectible card game set in the PvZ universe

Super publisher Electronic Arts today announced Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, a new installment in its popular Plants vs. Zombies series that “takes you beyond the backyard.” A collectible card game, Heroes lets you choose from hundreds of characters across the Plants vs. Zombies universe, including new roster favorites from Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 like Super Brainz, Z-Mech, Citron and Rose.

Featuring comic-style narrative that tells the story gradually as the game progresses, Heroes challenges you to assemble an all-star Plants vs. Zombies team to outwit opponents in battle. The game soft-launched in New Zealand ahead of its upcoming worldwide release.

Social Square puts your favorite social networks in one app

As a rule thumb, the more popular a social network is the uglier, slower and more terrible its mobile app gets.

Facebook's app, for instance, has long been criticized for its battery hogginess, especially after it's been discovered that it's suspiciously circumventing Background App Refresh to continue running in the background when it should not.

That's where Social Square comes into play.

Formerly known as MySocial, this iPhone app by Chase Giles lets you browse Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and Tumblr without having to worry about your iPhone's battery life.