Big changes are coming to the community-based music streaming service SoundCloud as the company today introduces a new subscription service for the first time.
The new feature, dubbed SoundCloud Go, will allow users to listen to SoundCloud music both offline and ad-free for $10/month:
Update: The Miitomo app is now available on the U.S. App Store.
The game is already available in Japan— that’s how Jeff managed to go hands-on in our first look video earlier this month— but today Nintendo confirmed that its first iOS game, Miitomo, will officially arrive in the US on March 31st.
The game isn’t exactly bringing over any of Nintendo’s very popular first party franchises to iPhones and iPads, but it does feature known Mii characters and, as we noted in our review, the release feels very much like a Nintendo title:
When you first start Miitomo, it’s immediately recognizable as a Nintendo title. It feels like someone took my Nintendo Wii and shrunk it down to fit inside of my iPhone 6s. The music and sound effects, most notably, are of the characteristic Nintendo style. The Miis themselves look just like the Miis on the game-maker’s handheld and home consoles. The writing — witty, with just a hint of corniness thrown in for good measure — is classic Nintendo.
Nintendo noted in its press release today that Miitomo was downloaded over a million times in the first three days after launch in Japan and it also managed to become the #1 most downloaded free app in both the App Store and Google Play.
While Nintendo didn’t mention other countries by name today, it did say that “several other countries” will receive the title on the 31st alongside users in the US.
Check out our review of the game from earlier this month to get a first look before it officially arrives in the US and other countries on the 31st.
Apple today has released an update to the Apple Music app for Android users. The update over month after the app’s last update that added support for saving music to SD cards for offline listening. Today’s update adds yet another feature that isn’t supported on iOS: the ability for users to add an Apple Music widget to their homescreen. The Beats Music app offered a widget when it was available for Android, but Apple Music has lacked it since release.
Following the release of iOS 9.3, Shazam has released a significant update to its iOS app that bumps it version 9.4.1. The update deepens the app’s integration with Apple Music, allowing users to now more easily add songs they Shazam to their Apple Music library.
Earlier this week, Apple released the first version of its new Classroom iOS app for iPad, and today the company’s other educational app iTunes U has been updated with new features. iOS 9.3 includes initial support for the new Shared iPad feature for classrooms, which makes using iPads between classrooms versus one iPad per each student in school possible, and iTunes U is now optimized with support. Managed Apple IDs are also compatible now, and other iOS 9 features like Spotlight Search which let you find content in apps from the Home screen now have better support. Full release notes below:
Google is updating its Google Sheets and Slides apps for iOS today with new features that allow changing themes, filters and layouts on the fly from within the mobile apps.
For Google Sheets, the update brings the ability to view and change existing filters applied to a spreadsheet.
After announcing a deal in September to produce a Pokémon Go games with Nintendo and Alphabet-owned Niantic, the Pokémon people are today showing a little more about how gameplay will work and giving us a first look at the title coming to both iOS and Android devices.
The game uses augmented reality features to blend real world objects and locations with the gameplay, and the company today gave the run down and a look at how exactly that will work:
DeskConnect is a file transfer app from the makers of Workflow. It allows you to easily share files between your iPhone, iPad and Mac. DeskConnect isn’t an app that will replace a service like Dropbox or even iCloud, because it was designed solely with file transfers in mind.
We reviewed the initial version of DeskConnect back in 2013. Since then, a lot has changed — iOS has gained inter-app communication via handy share extensions, iCloud Drive has made it easier to move and manipulate files across a variety of storage solutions, and AirDrop can now easily transfer files between iOS devices and Macs.
In 2016, where does a new version of DeskConnect fit in? Does AirDrop make it redundant? Have a look at our overview for the details.
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The YouTube app for iOS sees an update today adding support for Slide Over and Split View multitasking. Even though iOS 9’s multitasking functionality has finally reached the app, picture-in-picture support remains to be seen. Users will note that background audio is available for current YouTube RED subscribers. The newly introduced multitasking functionality should help to appease those who’ve longed for the ability to catch up on their favorite YouTubers while also flicking through email or other apps.
Apple’s new Classroom app for iPad is now available in the App Store. The educational app enables shared iPad experiences, task/group assignment, and much more on iOS 9.3 and beyond. Here’s the full description:
Twitter upgraded its private Direct Messaging feature last year to increase the character limit from 140 to 10,000 characters, but CEO Jack Dorsey shared in an interview with NBC’s “Today” show this morning that the same change will not be coming to tweets. As Variety reports:
Sega today released an update to its classic gaming title Sonic the Hedgehog. The update brings Apple TV support to the table, adding more value to the universal app.
Those of you who’ve already purchased Sonic the Hedgehog on iOS will therefore be able to enjoy the game on the 4th generation Apple TV free of charge. Everyone else will need to pony up $2.99 for the privilege of playing the classic game, but your money goes a long way, as it’s playable on the iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and Apple TV.
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Scanner Pro for iOS has today received a hefty update. The latest update brings the app to version 7 and includes a host of new features, including text recognition, quality improvements, workflows, and much more.
Popular note taking and annotation app Notability is getting an update today for both iPad and Mac that includes improved Apple Pencil support, new themes, copy & paste for pages, and more.
For the iOS app, version 6.2.0 brings enhanced Apple Pencil integration that adds supports for improved palm rejection and one finger scrolling. “With these improvements, Notability offers the most fluid writing experience on iPad Pro, so customers can focus more easily on their ideas and notes. In addition, the update supports copy and pasting pages between notes, saving time.”
In addition, the updated iOS app is receiving some refreshed themes today for the spring season that users can find tucked under settings, and a new “define” button for non-English languages.
And Mac users are also getting the ability to copy and paste pages between notes with today’s update to version 2.2.0 of the Mac app. Other new features in the update include an “improved text box insertion on PDFs” and the same Define button for non-English languages that the updated iOS app received.
The updated Notability apps for iPad and for Mac are available on the App Store now.
– Copy and paste individual pages into another note.
– One finger scrolling when using Apple Pencil.
– New Spring theme in settings.
– Define button for non-English languages.
– Bug fixes.
– Copy and paste pages into another note.
– Define button for non-English languages.
– Improved Text Box insertion on PDFs.
– Bug fixes.
T-Mobile is expanding its Binge On initiative that allows users to stream content in certain apps without using up their data allowance, and with today’s update YouTube, Google Play Movies, and many other services are now officially supported.
Update: The Miitomo app is now available on the U.S. App Store.
Thanks to my Japanese App Store account, this morning I was able to go hands-on with Nintendo’s first real venture into the App Store. The game, Miitomo, doesn’t feature a household name like Mario, Donkey Kong, or even Kirby, but the release feels very much like a Nintendo title.
Uber is beginning to test a new feature that will make it easier for family and other close-knit groups to share an Uber account. That means that your family could use a single credit card for Uber across several devices, making it easy for parents to pay for their kids or other family members, for example.
Following the introduction of the TAG Heuer Android Wear watch late last year— the first of the major Swiss brands to launch a full-fledged smartwatch— TAG’s parent company says Hublot will likely be its next brand to receive smartwatch features. Bloomberg reports:
Waze, the popular Google-owned mapping app with a focus on community-based features, is today adding a new feature called “Planned Drives” for iOS users.
Starting today, Parallels is offering a new bundle for a limited time that will let you get 81% off 7 great Mac apps with the purchase or upgrade of Parallels Desktop for Mac ($50-$79).
That means if you either purchase Parallels Desktop for $79.99, or upgrade to the latest version for $49.99, you’ll get the following 7 apps free: 1Password, CleanMyMac, Kaspersky for Mac, PDF Expert, PDF Office for iPad & Parallels Access.
TomTom used to have a handful of paid apps, each specific to a region. The app covering just the U.S., for example, was $45. But today it’s making its premium navigation services free for iPhone users everywhere for the first 50 miles or 75km of use. The new freemium model comes as the company consolidates its TomTom apps for each region under a new, redesigned app simply called TomTom Go Mobile.
Microsoft has enabled Touch ID support to its email and calendar app Outlook today. This introduces a level of security not yet seen in any other major emailing application. Since its acquisition of Acompli a year back, Microsoft has slowly been revamping and adding new features to their purchase. Supporting multiple email account and cloud storage services, swipe options, Skype integration, and now Touch ID, Outlook is becoming quite a formidable email application.
Adobe has released the first preview version of its new Experience Design CC app for creating and testing interactive design prototypes. The latest Creative Cloud tool was first announced last October at Adobe’s Max Creative Conference under the name Project Comet. As Experience Design is currently in preview, Adobe is letting anyone with a free Adobe ID try the new tool and provide feedback ahead of its commercial release.
