Skip to main content

App Store

See All Stories

Apple says it has created or supported 629,000 jobs in Europe, including 500k from the ‘app economy’

Site default logo image

Screen Shot 2014-08-06 at 12.33.58

Apple is today touting a lot of new stats regarding Apple’s contribution to European economies. The company has done similar things for the United States, in the past. For Europe, Apple claims to have created or supported 629,000 jobs across Europe, with over 500,000 of those representing the ‘app economy’. Apple says this number is made up of employees whose jobs can be directly attributed to the App Store. Out of $20 billion in worldwide developer earnings, $6.5 billion has gone to European developers.

In 2014, Apple estimates the ‘app economy’ will add $86 billion to worldwide GDP this year. Aside from the App Store, Apple employees 16,000 Europeans directly and indirectly supports a total of 132,000 jobs elsewhere. The company has also calculated that 116,000 European jobs have been created at other companies as a result of Apple’s growth.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple says it had record month in July for App Store revenue, customer transactions

Site default logo image

appstore2-1050x584

Apple has announced that July was a record setting month for App Store revenue following its earnings report last month where the company reported strong iTunes results for the three-month period that ended June (via CNBC).

The company also told CNBC today that it saw “a record number of customers making transactions” for the App Store during the month:


Expand
Expanding
Close

Wikipedia app re-launches on App Store ahead of iOS 8 integration

Site default logo image

IMG_0253

The popular online service Wikipedia has re-launched its iOS app with a new native version that features editing and an offline mode. The free app has some unique features other than browsing through Wikipedia entires, as Wikipedia tells us:

  • Fastest way to get into the content. Other highly-rated unofficial free iOS apps have hurdles to access the content. Either downloading some content, or just simply not being able to dive right in to it. That doesn’t happen with the official app.
  • You can edit with this app, unlike other unofficial apps. And you can do it logged out, if you choose.
  • Wikipedia Zero for developing and emerging countries. If you’re on one of the participating operators, you can use Wikipedia free of data charges.

Wikipedia also shared some other important features:


Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Crowdfunding service Indiegogo launches iPhone app

Crowdfunding platform Indiegogo today announced that it’s finally launching an app for iPhone and iPod touch that comes alongside a new look for the website. The app includes features for both users discovering and supporting projects and those managing Indiegogo campaigns they’ve launched:

A full list of features in the first release is below:

Supporting Indiegogo campaigns

  • Discovering new campaigns through recommendations based on past activity and preferred categories
  • Exploring and following campaign categories
  • Claiming campaign perks
  • Sharing favorite campaigns with friends

Managing Indiegogo campaigns

  • Receiving notifications each time a contribution is made to a campaign
  • Monitoring campaign comments
  • Posting campaign updates and photos
  • Thanking contributors
  • Sending custom messages to phone contacts and Facebook friends
  • Promoting campaigns on social networks

At launch the Indiegogo app is available in English, Spanish, German, and French. The app is available for free on the App Store now.

Kamcord now uploading 1hr of mobile gameplay video every min, launches redesigned social iOS app

Site default logo image

Kamcord, the SDK that lets iOS developers offer gameplay recording and sharing functionality, is today launching a redesigned community iOS app while announcing some impressive new milestones for the service.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple releases OS X Yosemite Public Beta

Site default logo image

upload

Apple has started sending out OS X Yosemite builds for Beta Program, as announced yesterday. The build is being sent out to a million Beta Program members. Participants can get a redemption code from the site, to redeem in the Mac App Store.

Screen Shot 2014-07-24 at 11.18.16 AM

Apple has said that Apple will not update the Beta Program Yosemite builds as often as the developer seeds (which come out every two weeks, usually), but participants will be able to upgrade to the final public version of Yosemite seamlessly through the App Store, when it is released.  The seed released in the beta program is one build newer than the one released to developers on Monday.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Pixite’s new 3D photo editing app Matter debuts on iPhone and iPad

Site default logo image

Pixite is out today with a new photo editing app for iPhone and iPad called Matter. The app allows you to embed and manipulate 3D objects in your photography or photos from others to give your photos an impressive science fiction effect. This is achieved by Matter’s ability to intelligently apply shadows and reflections that match your photography to its library of 3D objects. You can see examples of images edited in Matter above and more details about the photo editing app below…
Expand
Expanding
Close

Steve Jobs’ favorite analytics company acquired by Yahoo

Site default logo image

If you’re a long-time Apple watcher, you may be familiar with Flurry Analytics as Steve Jobs’ favorite analytics firm. The video above sums up his opinion well on the topic. Today, Re/code breaks the news that Yahoo’s prolific Mergers and Acquisition department will be acquiring Flurry for “hundreds of millions of dollars” later today. TechCrunch pegs the price at roughly $300 million. As for Apple, the Cupertino-based company will be launching its own iOS analytics software this fall alongside iOS 8.

Update: The purchase is now official:


Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

iTunes Festival app updated for London 2014, brings new design

 

This morning, Apple announced a new iTunes Festival for the United Kingdom, featuring over sixty bands, for September. The iTunes Festival app has now been updated to relay this information and exhibits the design style and iconography for the 2014 show. Because this is a UK show, the app is only available in the UK iTunes Store.

Currently, the app doesn’t feature much content — simply linking out to the iTunes Store app to enter the raffle for tickets. When the 2014 iTunes Festival starts, the app will stream the gigs alongside other related content. The festival will also be shown on Apple TV.

The app was last updated earlier this year for the corresponding 2014 show in the US.

Review: Hours, the world’s simplest time-tracking app from former Apple Design Award winner Tapity

Site default logo image

TimerRunning

Anyone who has ever had the misfortune to have to use a corporate hours-tracking/billing system will know that they typically give every impression of being designed by an enraged gorilla working to a spec provided by a sadistic accountant.

Tapity, which won an Apple Design Award back in 2011 for “the ultimate app for students” Grade, has today launched Hours, a simple color-coded app it says aims to take the pain out of time-tracking. I’ve been using a pre-release version for the past week so that I could let you know my thoughts on the day it launched …


Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

HBO’s Game of Thrones Ascent game arrives on iPhone

GOT-ASCENT-iPhone-05

Following a release for iPad back in March, HBO’s Game of Thrones Ascent game developed by Disruptor Beam & Kongregate is now available for iPhone. The game already racked up around 2,500,000 players on Facebook and the web before making its way to iPad in March, and it comes to the App Store with new art, optimized imagery for Retina displays, and Game Center leaderboards.

With Game of Thrones Ascent, fans can immerse themselves beyond the books and show, living the life of a noble in Westeros, working with (or against) each other in a persistent, authentic game world. Taking part in thousands of story-driven quests, players delve deeply into the lore and develop their own lands and reputation among the Great Houses. Players explore an expansive world filled with deep political and social play involving diplomatic agreements, pacts, marriages, and betrothals. Through Alliance challenges, players work with hundreds of others to accomplish great tasks and rise to the top of the Power Rankings.

The developers update the game weekly and alongside new episodes of the TV show when it’s airing. That includes new quests, in-game items and more that follow the storyline of the show.

Game of Thrones Ascent is available for iPhone now as a free download on the App Store.

Site default logo image

Google releases official Analytics app for iPhone with Real Time reports

Screen Shot 2014-07-17 at 6.03.25 AM

Google has added yet another official application to its iOS App Store portfolio: Google Analytics. Analytics is Google’s popular service that allows website owners to manage and view data such as page views, demographics, and the technologies users utilize to access the website. The iPhone app also has the neat Real Time reports feature that allows website owners to view how many people are on the website at the current time. Google launched an optimized version of the Analytics app last year on Android and debuted a related AdWords app on iOS just last week. Like all Google apps, the Analytics program is on the the App Store for free.


Expand
Expanding
Close

New iTunes Pass credit refill service now available in United States and several other countries

Site default logo image

itunes-pass2

Yesterday Apple rolled out its new iTunes Pass service to Japan, allowing users to use a Passbook card to add credit to an iTunes account from an Apple Retail Store. Starting today, the offer is also available in the United States and Australia. Users in Canada, Germany, and the UK are also reporting seeing the feature, though it’s not officially listed on Apple’s website for those countries just yet.

To take advantage of this new program, you need to use the iTunes Store app on an iOS device to obtain an iTunes Pass. You can get one of these by tapping the “Redeem” button at the bottom of the home page within the app. To use the card, you can visit an Apple Retail Store and ask a specialist to help you add credit to your account. The specialist can then scan the barcode on the Passbook card to immediately add credit to your account.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Jawbone’s UP iPhone app gets new weight management & food-tracking features

UP-Food-tracking-appJawbone today announced new weight management and food-tracking features via an update for the UP by Jawbone fitness tracking app that pairs with its UP wearables.

Jawbone’s entirely new food-tracking interface for UP helps you simply log food and water, quickly assess the healthiness of foods, and easily track progress toward your target weight… The UP Insight Engine™ provides intelligent guidance around your food choices, calorie consumption and weight goals, helping you understand how each of those is related to activity and sleep.

Highlights for the version 3.2 update include the ability to set goals for weight and calorie intake while using new tools for logging and tracking food consumption. It’s also teaming up with food apps like HealthyOut, Munchery, Nutrisystem, and PlateJoy to sync data and automatically track food ordered through those services.

The updated iPhone app is available on the App Store now.

More details on the new features are in the company’s press release below:

Jawbone Launches New Weight Management Features For UP

After Steps and Sleep, Jawbone’s UP App Now Offers an Easier, Smarter Way to Track Food and Manage Weight

SAN FRANCISCO, July 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Jawbone® today unveiled new weight management features for UP® , the system that helps you manage your weight, sleep better and stay fit.

Jawbone’s entirely new food-tracking interface for UP helps you simply log food and water, quickly assess the healthiness of foods, and easily track progress toward your target weight.

The UP Insight Engine™ provides intelligent guidance around your food choices, calorie consumption and weight goals, helping you understand how each of those is related to activity and sleep.

“UP and UP24 have inspired millions of people to get engaged in their own health – we’ve shown that living better really is a universally popular proposition,” said Travis Bogard, vice president of product management and strategy at Jawbone. “For the nearly three out of four Americans that are overweight or obese*, living better often includes weight loss. Our new food and weight features for UP, combined with some exciting new food apps we’ve added to the platform, make UP the most complete solution for weight management and a healthy lifestyle.”

Simplified Weight Management

Jawbone’s new and intuitive food-tracking interface for UP delivers an easier, smarter way to track what you eat and manage your weight:

  • Personalized Food Library: Quickly see and select from the foods you eat most frequently, right from the front and center of your food-logging screen. More than a quarter of meals logged in UP include regularly consumed items, making easy access to them a time-saving shortcut. UP also surfaces foods that are commonly paired with the items you’re eating via Jawbone’s intelligent food database. Enter eggs, and UP will show you other items that may be included in your meal, like bacon, toast, or potatoes.
  • Access to Restaurant Menus: With half of meals in the US eaten outside of the home**, UP now lists dining establishments nearby based on your location and lets you quickly log menu items from many restaurants you visit. Quick access to menus lets you instantly select what you’re eating and automatically import calorie information when available. At local restaurants where nutrition information may not be on hand, add nutrition details and UP will save it in your library for future visits. Jawbone’s data science team will aggregate data entered from multiple users, making it available to the entire UP community for a more complete restaurant menu database.
  • Food Score: Use UP’s food detail screen to quickly evaluate how healthy a dish is at a glance. UP shows you the breakdown of healthy nutrients to less healthy nutrients for any given item, along with a new Food Score to help you quickly asses the overall healthiness of individual items and full meals. You’ll also see a rolling average of the score throughout your entire day.
  • Weight Goal: Log your weight and set a personal goal in the app to see your progress toward your target weight. UP will recommend a daily calorie goal and balance calories burned versus calories consumed to show you your remaining allowance for the day. And as you log new meals, a convenient progress meter shows you the number of calories you’ve already consumed – and how many you’ll be adding with each new item.
  • Insights: A completely redesigned Insight Engine for UP makes its intelligent guidance and useful health tips even more accessible and intuitive. Complete with new food-specific insights and opt-in “Today I Will” commitments, you’ll be motivated to try original recipes, reinforce your diet with fiber and protein, and start building new food habits to keep you on track.

New Food Apps on the UP Platform

Jawbone teamed up with several meal planning and delivery services to take the UP system a step closer toward the promise of automatic logging and customized meal recommendations:

  • Order a fresh, chef-prepared meal from the daily menu of Munchery , now in San Francisco and Seattle, and have it delivered that night When you connect your Munchery account with UP, each meal ordered will be automatically entered for you in UP’s food-logging system, including detailed nutrition information.
  • Use HealthyOut to order healthy meals from nearby restaurants nationwide, at any time.
  • Use the Prep Pad WiFi connected scale from The Orange Chef Co. ™  to create recipes that can be automatically logged in UP. Prep Pad can also factor in your activity from UP to provide more personalized meal recommendations.
  • Get meal plans and recipes from PlateJoy that are tailored to your preferences and customized based on your activity and sleep from UP – complete with ingredients delivered to your home.
  • And coming soon, you’ll be able to choose recipe recommendations from NuMi™ by Nutrisystem® that are personalized based on your calorie goals, lifestyle preferences, and the time of day. UP will automatically log the recipes you select, and NuMi will use your activity and calorie information to make even smarter recommendations.

Backed by Industry-Leading Experts

Jawbone’s new weight management system and food tracking tools have been backed by leading dietitian Ashley Koff, RD, an international nutrition expert and regular commentator on health and food issues.

“Food journaling is proven to be an effective method for weight management and weight loss, but writing everything you eat down with pen and paper isn’t convenient for most people. What Jawbone has developed is a really simple solution to this challenge,” said Koff. “While calorie counting is a key part of weight management, the balance of your nutrient intake is equally, if not more, important. It’s great to see a simple Food Score –  intelligently developed using several nutrient ratios – alongside calorie counts in the UP system to show you at a glance how well-balanced your food is.”

Development of the new features has been led by Laura Borel, a product manager at Jawbone and founder and former CEO of Nutrivise, a consumer nutrition company acquired by Jawbone last year. Nutrivise delivered personalized and automated meal recommendations based on a user’s unique biometrics and dietary preferences, and was voted “most promising health company” by Stanford Medicine X in 2012.

Available on July 16

UP by Jawbone™ 3.2 for iOS is available today as a free download from the App Store. The UP or UP24™ wristband is required for the app.

Site default logo image

Weep for humanity, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood app reportedly set to take in $200 million this year

Kim-Kardashian-hollywood-app

According to a report from TMZ, Kim Kardashian’s latest game for iPhone and iPad is set to take in $200 million with Kardashian’s share coming in somewhere in the neighborhood of $85 million.

Sources familiar with the deal tell TMZ … Kim’s cut is 45% of net profits.  The game — “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood” — is set to gross a reported $200 million this year alone.

We’re told the actual expenses associated with the business are relatively low.  A straight 45% cut of $200 million totals a whopping $90 million. To put this in context … according to Forbes, Kim made $28 million last year.

Keep in mind that the app itself is free. All of that revenue is from in-app purchases like a $59 “Huge Star Pack” and other in-game items users purchase while playing celebrity in the Glu developed game. Expenses for the games are reportedly somewhere around $10 million, but there’s no word on if these numbers take Apple’s 30 percent cut into account. The revenue estimate of $200 million is reportedly for this year alone after the title launched back in May.

The Kim Kardashian: Hollywood app is available for iPhone and iPad on the App Store.

Paul McCartney releases five classic albums as iPad apps – more content, lower cost

Site default logo image

ipad

The Guardian reports that Paul McCartney has released five of his classic albums as iPad apps, offering remastered audio tracks, videos, interviews, photos, and artwork from both albums and singles.

Five of his classic albums – Band on the Run, McCartney, McCartney II, RAM and Wings over America – have been turned into iPad apps by label Concord Music Group, and released through Apple’s App Store.

Surprisingly, despite the additional content, the cost of the apps is lower than buying just the albums alone… 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple debuts iTunes Pass in Japan, allows Passbook-based iTunes credit refills at Apple Stores

Site default logo image

itunes pass

Apple today has launched an interesting new service for iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore users in Japan with iPhones and iPod touches. The new service, called iTunes Pass (no, not that iTunes Pass), allows users to go to an Apple Store in Japan, purchase credit in-store for the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore, and have that money immediately applied to the Apple ID account instead of needing to receive a gift card and enter a redemption code…


Expand
Expanding
Close

Nike’s latest iOS app is a hub for all things Nike football/soccer

Site default logo image

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZPupLRu6ZU]

Nike is today launching a brand new app called Nike Football (or Nike Soccer in the US), that will act as a hub for all things Nike Football from exclusive content and Q&A sessions with athletes to the latest product launches for the company’s line of football products. Nike is also including some social features that let users organize their own pick-up games, trash talk among friends and teammates, and more:
Expand
Expanding
Close

The App Store’s 6th anniversary by the numbers

Site default logo image
Steve Jobs introducing the App Store in 2008

Steve Jobs introducing the App Store in 2008

As Apple celebrates the 6th anniversary of the App Store today, let’s take a look at the most recent numbers Apple has announced regarding App Store statistics. During the WWDC keynote on June 2nd, Apple CEO Tim Cook shared that the App Store then featured more than 1.2 million apps and counting.

Out of that catalog, App Store customers have downloaded apps more than 75 billion times since the digital store debuted on July 10, 2008. Apple also noted that its platform is home to more than 9 million developers with registered accounts through the Developer Program, a number which was up 47% from the previous year…
Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Minecraft Pocket Edition gets biggest update yet w/ infinite worlds & much more

Minecraft Pocket Edition, the iOS version of the popular Minecraft PC game, is getting what developer Mojang says is the app’s biggest update yet today. Version 0.9.0 introduces a number of new features carried over from the original game including infinite worlds, much improved caves, wolves, new items, and much, much more.

In addition, Mojang is bringing over new biomes from the PC version of the game with mesas, jungles, swamps and extreme hills, and you’ll also notice abandoned mineshafts, villages and “new feature generation, including lakes, vines and monster rooms.” That doesn’t even include a fraction of what’s actually included in today’s update. A full list of new features from new blocks to new and updated features for biomes, mobs, AI and feature generation is below.

The game also receives some welcomed UI tweaks in the update including a new “interaction” button that Mojang hopes will cut down on accidental sheep punches.

Infinite worlds!
Caves!
Loads of new blocks and items including Monster Eggs and huge mushroom blocks.
Wolves! Tame a loyal companion.
Loads of new flowers! So pretty.
New mobs, including the spooky endermen and less spooky Mooshrooms.
New biomes from the PC version, including mesas, jungles, swamps and extreme hills.
Abandoned mineshafts, villages, and many other cool places to explore.
A brand-new “interaction” button. Never accidentally punch a sheep again!
New feature generation, including lakes, vines and monster rooms.
Many bugs fixed, and possibly a few added.

The updated Minecraft Pocket Edition version 0.9.0 is available now on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.

The full huge list of what’s new via Mojang is below:

New features

  • Unlimited worlds!
  • New culling algorithm
  • New culling of clouds
  • Tile entities are saved differently
  • New falling mechanics for gravel and sand
  • New insta ticking of water and lava

New blocks

  • Podzol
  • Mycelium
  • Huge mushroom blocks
  • Cocoa
  • End portal frame
  • Double plants
  • More stairs/slabs for new wood types
  • New log types (savanna tree and dark oak)
  • New leafs (savanna tree)
  • Monster egg
  • Stained clay
  • Waterlily
  • New flowers
  • Red sand
  • Hardened clay
  • End stone
  • Granite
  • Diorite
  • Andesite
  • Emerald block
  • Emerald ore
  • New leveldb based saving format
  • New entity handling
  • New crafting screen
  • Remade network code (mostly the same packages but new system).
  • New interact button (to make the game easier for new players)

New mobs

  • Slimes
  • Endermen
  • Wolves
  • Mooshrooms
  • Silverfish

New and updated biomes

  • Deserts
  • Extreme hills
  • Forests
  • Redwood taiga
  • Roofed forests
  • Frozen
  • Jungle
  • Savanna
  • Mesa
  • Mushroom island
  • Taiga
  • Deep ocean
  • Swamps

New world feature generation

  • Sand
  • Boulders
  • Ice patch
  • Ice spike
  • Spike
  • Lake
  • Double plants
  • Ground bushes
  • Fancy oaks
  • Jungle tree
  • Mega jungle tree
  • Mega pine tree
  • Savanna tree
  • Swamp tree
  • Huge mushroom
  • Tallgrass
  • Waterlily
  • Vines
  • Melons
  • Pumpkin
  • Dead bush
  • Monster rooms
  • Desert well
  • Fallen logs
  • Emerald ore

Tweaks to caves

  • Lava at the bottom of caves
  • Caves in desert and mesa
  • Strongholds
  • Villages
  • Villagers
  • Abandoned mine shafts
  • Flat world generation
  • Limited world generation
  • “New” mob spawning
  • Updated light generation
  • Grass color for different biomes
  • Foliage color for different biomes
  • Water color for swamps

New AI

  • Spiders
  • New leaf rendering
  • Added more spawn eggs in Creative Mode
  • Added immersive mode for Android
  • Added drip particles for water and lava
  • Updated create world screen

Tweaks and bug fixes

  • Correct name for stairs, slabs and spawn eggs
  • Beds no longer gives full health in normal difficulty
  • Smooth lighting added for:
  • Beds
  • Fences
  • Walls
  • Cobwebs
  • Chests
  • Leaves
  • Smooth lighting removed for:
  • Glowstone
  • Glass
  • Jack ‘o’ lanterns
  • Improved performance of TNT
  • Prettier clouds
  • The fog is darker underground

Known Bugs

  • The block highlight flickers (z-fights) when more than 10k blocks distant from spawn
  • Changing the view distance while in a world might crash the game
  • If players walk too far from each other in multiplayer, they can’t see each other

Known bugs requiring attention

  • Multiplayer is a bit fragile. Please test it and report all issues to us!
  • The LevelDB save format + upgrading of old maps. Please report any data corruption!
  • Crashes in general – uncommon and random crashes might still happen

Apple launches iTunes U 2.0 with iPad-based course creation, student discussions, more

Site default logo image

Apple today issued a significant update to its iTunes U application for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The application focuses on enhancements for both teachers and students, and the application was first announced by Apple last week alongside the new Back to School retail initiatives.

Here’s what is new for students:


Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple bolsters iOS 8 Health app with on-device steps, distance tracking & caffeine monitoring

Site default logo image

Apple has made significant enhancements to its upcoming Health application for iOS 8 in the latest beta of the new iPhone operating system. Most notably, the Health application can now utilize the iPhone’s own M7 motion tracking hardware for data sourcing.

The Health app’s Steps counter tab can now report steps without connecting to any third party applications or hardware devices. Because this feature likely uses the M7 processor, an iPhone 5s is required to get the steps data directly from the device…


Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Google Play Music for iOS updated w/ gapless playback, ability to download subscribed playlists, more

Google this afternoon started rolling out an update to its Play Music app on iOS with a handful of new features. The update bumps the app to version 1.3.0.2190. Firstly, the update finally adds support for gapless playback, which means that there is no pause between the end of one song and the beginning of another. The update also adds the ability to download subscribed playlists in one tap, allowing you to listen to them without a data connection.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Korean Fair Trade Commission rules that Apple must change App Store refund policy

Site default logo image

apps_2x

Apple has been ordered by the South Korean government to revise its App Store refund policy, the Korea Herald reports. The company’s current policy requires users to submit a request for a refund and have the case reviewed by an Apple employee before a refund will be considered.

The practice was ruled “unfair” by the Fair Trade Commission after numerous requests from the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice. Apple told the Fair Trade Commission that it would create a new, automated refund system for the Korean App Store, and consider rolling the change out worldwide.


Expand
Expanding
Close