App Store

1,928 'App Store' stories December 2010 - June 2014

Apple cracking down on apps offering third-party music downloads, incentivized ad watching & social sharing?

Jordan Kahn Jun 10 2014 - 6:21 am PT

Music-Download-apps-iOS-8 Apple has reportedly started cracking down on apps offering the ability to download music from third-party services like YouTube that normally don’t allow users to do so. In addition, a separate report claims that Apple has also started going after apps that incentivize users to either watch ads or share content through social media networks.

The first report comes from MacRumors, which notes the App Store has replaced results for the search query “music download” with an advertisement for iTunes Radio followed by other music services like Spotify (pictured right). At first glance it appears to be Apple simply cleaning up search on the store (I’d expect to get iTunes Radio, Spotify, etc for the search “music download”), but MacRumors also claims that “Apple has asked them to remove audio downloading functionalities from their app, perhaps to prevent potential piracy.” For now the apps still live on the App Store and the change doesn’t appear to have taken place in countries outside iTunes Radio availability. Results in the Canadian App Store continue to show apps for download music illegally from YouTube and other online services.

Another report has popped up claiming that Apple is also not too happy about apps that are encouraging users to watch ads or share to social networks in exchange for rewards. A report from TechCrunch detailed the change, which also appears to extend to apps promoting apps other than their own through the methods mentioned above.

It’s worth noting that Apple’s App Store guidelines have always had rules against promoting other apps and we’ve seen Apple reject apps in the past that include functionality that might compete with the App Store. There are a lot of grey areas in the App Store guidelines.

We’ll have to wait and see if this is part of a broader change to the App Store in iOS 8, which also introduced app bundles, Editor’s Choice picks, app video previews, and more, and if Apple is truly going to remove these third-party music downloading apps for good.

Skype for iPhone gets ground-up redesign; top designer talks future iPad & iOS 8 updates

Mark Gurman Jun 9 2014 - 9:24 am PT

22 Comments

A few years ago, Skype was the rockstar of the messaging world, but now with smartphones and mobile messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and iMessage, Skype’s iPhone feature-set and application have begun to stagnate. However, the Skype development team has not been standing still. The Microsoft-owned company is revealing today that it is nearing the launch of a completely revamped Skype application for the iPhone and iPod touch. I met with lead Skype designer Guilherme Schneider last week for an exclusive preview and an interview regarding the new software, and the application certainly seems impressive…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple notifies developers of incoming VAT-influenced pricing changes to South African App Store

Mark Gurman Jun 8 2014 - 12:16 pm PT

0 Comments

This weekend, Apple has notified App Store developers that the South African App Store will see app price changes due to the country’s new 14% Value Added Tax rate. Apple commonly makes these changes to align with tax changes in certain regions. It’s likely that these price changes will spread to other Apple web properties such as the iTunes Store and iBookstore. Expect to see these changes within the next 24 hours. A new pricing matrix can be accessed by developers in iTunes Connect.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple will soon (finally) share its master list of MFi controller-enabled iOS games

Jordan Kahn Jun 5 2014 - 1:44 pm PT

7 Comments

moga-ace-power-01

We’ve learned Apple finally has a way for users of Made-For-iPhone/iPad game controllers to view a master list of supported games from the App Store, but it will first require the controller makers to issue firmware updates to their controllers.
Expand
Expanding
Close

GoPro iOS app finally gets completely redesigned for iOS 7

Jordan Kahn Jun 5 2014 - 10:49 am PT

3 Comments

An update to the GoPro app that allows users to remotely control their GoPro cameras has been a long time coming. Just in time for iOS 8, today the app finally gets an overhaul for iOS 7 with a completely redesigned UI that ditches that super outdated design the app has been sporting for quite a while now.
Expand
Expanding
Close

iOS 8: Lock screen app shortcuts, iPhoto changes, & App Store reviews

Zac Hall Jun 3 2014 - 12:37 pm PT

22 Comments

Update: Explanation of lock screen apps after the break…

Since Apple previewed iOS 8 yesterday during the keynote at WWDC, we’ve been continually trying out the new iPhone and iPad software to get familiar with the changes coming to users this fall. First up is a new way for apps to be promoted on the iPhone using subtle location-based prompts. Similar to how the lock screen features an icon and a swipe up gesture from the lower right corner of the display to quickly access the Camera app, several users are reporting a variety of apps are being featured on the lower left corner prompted by being near a relevant venue.

For instance, in the screen shot displayed above on the left, the user is visiting an Apple Store and an App Store icon appears in the lower left corner. Swiping up from the bottom acts as a shortcut to quickly access the Apple Store app within the App Store. Once installed, the Apple Store app icon then appears on the lock screen when visiting the retailer. While it’s not certain which specific perimeters must be met for this functionality to work, the commonality between other supported App Store apps including Starbucks and ShopSavvy is location.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Flappy Bird recreated in Swift, Apple’s programming language announced just hours ago

Zac Hall Jun 3 2014 - 9:17 am PT

2 Comments

687474703a2f2f692e696d6775722e636f6d2f314e4c6f546f552e676966

Okay, it may just be Flappy Bird, the addictive game that once took over the news cycle for days and still threatens to return again some day, but the thing here is it was written in Apple’s new programming language for developers called Swift. What’s so special about that? Swift was only announced yesterday, less than 24 hours ago, so what this simple Flappy Bird clone really means is Swift is off to a good start given its only a few hours old. You can view the code for the Swift version of Flappy Bird by Nate Murray on Github, and read more about Apple’s new programming language Swift on iBooks.

Polls: What are your first impressions of iOS 8 and Yosemite?

Ben Lovejoy Jun 3 2014 - 5:23 am PT

165 Comments

poll

Now you’ve had a chance to catch up on our coverage of the main new features of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, and seen our hands-on videos (iOS 8 overview, OS X Yosemite overview, iOS 8 Spotlight and iOS 8 interactive notifications), we’d like to hear your first impressions of each.

Whether you’re blown away by all the new features, disappointed by things you wanted but didn’t get, or just a bit underwhelmed, here’s your chance to let us know.

We’ve summarized the features Apple has chosen to highlight, and there are separate polls for each platform …
Expand
Expanding
Close

iOS 8 will allow users to install systemwide third-party keyboards

Mike Beasley Jun 2 2014 - 11:38 am PT

19 Comments

Apple has just announced at WWDC 2014 that as part of its iOS 8 extensions capability, users will be able to install systemwide keyboards, such as the popular Swype system. The keyboards will run in a secure sandbox and not have access to anything except text input, though they can ask for permission to use the network in order to provide more features.

These keyboards can be installed through third-party apps on the updated App Store.

Apple focuses on developer features for iOS 8: TestFlight beta testing, biggest SDK ever, inter-app communication and more

Benjamin Mayo Jun 2 2014 - 11:28 am PT

6 Comments

Alongside a whole of other changes to the App Store, Apple is integrating TestFlight. This allows developers to do seamless beta-testing for free. There are also a whole host of ‘extensions’ apps can access, enabling integration into share sheets, Notification Center widgets and more.

Apple is heavily stressing that this is the biggest developer release since the App Store was announced.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple officially introduces iOS 8 “Healthkit” platform & “Health” app

Jordan Kahn Jun 2 2014 - 11:13 am PT

7 Comments

Following our reports earlier this year that exclusively revealed details and screenshots of Apple’s Healthbook app, Apple today just officially announced the app confirming the details of our reports. Apple’s new platform, codenamed Healthbook, will be officially known as ‘HealthKit’ on the developer side of things, and will come with an accompanying app for iOS 8 called ‘Health’.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple giving out $25 App Store gift cards, jackets to WWDC 2014 attendees

Dom Esposito Jun 1 2014 - 9:51 am PT

16 Comments

Apple is giving out $25 App Store gift cards to WWDC 2014 attendees. The gift card is given to each attendee when picking up their badge. The $25 amount ties into the “25 years and coding” tagline printed beneath the WWDC logo. Check out Harrison Weinerman’s tweet below.

Expand
Expanding
Close

1Password iOS app gets automatic backups accessible in iTunes, item printing, more

Jordan Kahn May 30 2014 - 10:13 am PT

3 Comments

Popular password manager app 1Password received a nice update today for iPhone and iPad that introduces a few notable new features and the return of one previously removed. Version 4.5.2 of the app now includes automatic backups of data that users can access via iTunes. It also sees the return of item printing, bug fixes and more.

The app also makes some overall performance improvements. Developer AgileBits notes “Sync is now much sync-ier” and “That pesky flickering while viewing an item’s details is no more.”

Version 4.5.2 of the 1Password app for iPhone and iPad is available on the App Store now.

What’s New in 4.5.2

◆ 1Password now keeps automatic backups of your data that are accessible via iTunes
◆ Item printing is back, baby!
◆ Sync is now much sync-ier
◆ That pesky flickering while viewing an item’s details is no more
◆ The report of bug deaths is *not* an exaggeration

Google Play Music iOS app updated with editable playlists and more

Ben Lovejoy May 30 2014 - 6:26 am PT

0 Comments

music

The iOS version of the Google Play Music app has been updated, allowing you to edit playlists directly in the app rather than having to login to the website to do it.

Google has also introduced a few more goodies: Shuffle Artist, which does exactly what the name suggests, and a filter to show only the music you’ve actually downloaded – handy when you want to narrow your selection to your favourites.

Google Play Music is a free download from iTunes.

Rdio music streaming service adds push notifications to iOS app

Jordan Kahn May 29 2014 - 2:54 pm PT

0 Comments

Rdio-iOS-app Subscription music streaming service Rdio updated its iPhone and iPad app today with one notable new feature for version 2.5.9: Push Notifications.

The new push notifications feature will allow you to get notified for a number of different activities within the app such as music that’s being shared with you, subscribers to your playlists, new followers, and more. You’ll also be able to select which notifications you’d like to receive if you, for example, only want to know when users share new music with you and not every time someone subscribes to one of your playlists.

The app also includes “various UI improvements and minor bug fixes” in the latest release.

Version 2.5.9 of the Rdio app for iPhone and iPad is available on the App Store now.

What’s New in Version 2.5.9

– Push Notifications. Get notified on your mobile device about the activities of your choice, such as music shared with you, new followers, subscribers to your playlists and more.
– Various UI improvements and minor bug fixes.

Beats Music iOS app drops yearly pricing to $99, extends free trial as Apple confirms deal

Jordan Kahn May 28 2014 - 1:37 pm PT

9 Comments

Beats-iOS-app

Right as news is breaking that the Apple and Beats deal is finally official for $3B, the Beats iOS app has just been updated with new pricing and an extended free trial for all users.

Up from the previous free 7-day trial offered by the service, Beats Music now offers a “no strings attached trial” for 14 days to all users. Most notable in the update, however, is the fact that the service is slashing pricing from $119.88 a year to $99.99/year:

We’ve dropped price of our yearly subscription to $99.99, down from $119.88.

The service will continue to charge $9.99/month for users not purchasing a yearly subscription. The Beats Music website FAQ has been updated to reflect the new pricing and also continues to list $15/month family plans and extended free trials offered to AT&T customers.

Apple also confirmed today that it will continue to operate Beats Music as a separate service including Android and Windows phone apps.

Version 2.1.0 also includes “tons of bug fixes so the whole experience runs smooth as silk.”

What’s New in Version 2.1.0

● We’re stoked to announce that our no strings attached trial has been extended to 14 days to ensure everyone gets ample time to explore the full Beats Music experience.

● We’ve dropped price of our yearly subscription to $99.99, down from $119.88.

● To top it off, we pushed tons of bug fixes so the whole experience runs smooth as silk.

Declining iTunes sales underline need for Apple to launch a subscription music service

Ben Lovejoy May 28 2014 - 6:36 am PT

16 Comments

itunes

Declining iTunes sales highlighted by Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty and reported by Fortune appear to underline the need for Apple to move beyond sales of music downloads and into the subscription music business. iTunes sales are down 24 percent year-on-year.

While the slack is being picked up by app sales – a trend previously noted by Asymco’s Horace Dediu – that falling blue line reflects the wider shift in consumer behaviour from purchasing downloads to subscribing to streaming services noted last year by Billboard magazine …
Expand
Expanding
Close

Bubble app lets you discover real world items linked to the web w/ iBeacons

Jordan Kahn May 21 2014 - 3:28 pm PT

7 Comments

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtQSJx2nI9I]

Bubble, a new app launching this week, is about to make it super easy for anyone to link real world items to websites using Apple’s new iBeacon Bluetooth LE technology. Up until now retailers, event planners, and more have been using iBeacons in order to send relevant notifications to users in proximity, but that required users to actually have that specific retailer’s app installed. Bubble, on the other hand, acts as an iBeacon browser of sorts allowing users to discover web content as they come in contact with real world items.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple releases Safari 7.0.4 & 6.1.4 for OS X with security improvements

Zac Hall May 21 2014 - 1:37 pm PT

0 Comments

Screen Shot 2014-05-21 at 3.28.06 PM

Alongside the release of OS X 10.9.3 and iTunes 11.2 last week, Apple released Safari version 7.0.3 and 6.1.4. Apple has since released a minor bug fix to that version of iTunes, and today Apple has released a security update to Safari bringing the latest version to 7.0.4. Users can find the latest version in the Mac App Store.

Safari 6.1.4 and Safari 7.0.4

WebKitAvailable for: OS X Lion v10.7.5, OS X Lion Server v10.7.5, OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.5, OS X Mavericks v10.9.3Impact: Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution
Description: Multiple memory corruption issues existed in WebKit. These issues were addressed through improved memory handling.

Read Apple’s documentation on the latest version of Safari here.

Facebook announces TV Show and Music ID app updates for iOS and Android

Mark Gurman May 21 2014 - 8:49 am PT

3 Comments

According to multiple sources, Facebook will unveil a new service today that can identify television shows and music playing in the background. The new software, which will be available via an updated App Store app on iPhone and a Google Play app on Android, will work in tandem with your smartphone hardware’s microphone. Facebook is said to be integrating the feature so Facebook users can more easily share what music they are listening to or what TV show they are currently watching to their Timelines. In iOS 8, Apple will unveil a new Siri feature in partnership with Shazam to identify songs playing in the background. Update: Official announcement after the break…
Expand
Expanding
Close

Italian authorities give Apple & others 20 days to submit defence to “unfair” in-app purchase claims

Ben Lovejoy May 21 2014 - 4:08 am PT

4 Comments

inapp

An Italian competition organization has given Apple, Google, Amazon and Gameloft twenty days to submit a defence to its investigation into in-app purchases or face a fine of up to €5M ($6.9M), reports ZDNet.

The companies now have 20 days to comply with the requests for information that came with the letter, and to respond with their defences to the allegations. If the alleged violations proved to be true, the three internet giants and the European game developer could each face a fine up to €5m — although the Italian watchdog told ZDNet that the punishment would be proportional to each company’s size.

The complaint is based on two concerns. First, whether consumers are clear about the likely total cost of the app at the time they download it. Second, whether sufficient information is provided about how to prevent or limit in-app purchases, especially in games played by children.

Apple settled a similar complaint with the FTC in January, after last year offering refunds to parents whose children had made in-app purchases. At that time, Tim Cook pointed to the safeguards in place, which include the ability to disable in-app purchases with a single switch, and requiring a password for any purchases made more than 15 minutes after downloading the app.

iOS also now alerts customers that further purchases can be made within 15 minutes without re-entering their iTunes password, and all iTunes apps that offer in-app purchases are labelled as such in the App Store.

Amazon Cloud Drive Photos app gets revamped albums w/ large cover photos & more

Jordan Kahn May 20 2014 - 12:09 pm PT

0 Comments

Amazon updated its Cloud Drive Photos app for iOS today with a few nice new features for viewing and managing photos and video stored in the app.

The app, which offers 5GB of storage free and automatically backs up photo and video from your iOS device, now includes a revamped album view with large cover photos in addition to other new photo management features. You’ll also now see your photo as its being uploaded within the progress indicator as well as dates when transitioning between months and years while viewing photos: Swiping through photos in the single photo view now lets you know when you transition between months or years.

Lastly, Amazon notes the app now includes a filter to sort photos by newest or oldest first.

The updated Amazon Cloud Drive Photos app is available now on the App Store.

What’s New in Version 3.1.0

– New Album View: Quickly scroll through your albums with large, beautiful cover photos for each of them
– Upload Progress: See your photos as their being uploaded to the cloud
– Know when your photos were taken: Swiping through photos in the single photo view now lets you know when you transition between months or years
– Sort your Photos: Choose to see your photos newest first or oldest first
– Bug and Crash Fixes

Apple under fire from Italian antitrust regulator over freemium app sales model

Mike Beasley May 16 2014 - 10:15 pm PT

21 Comments

Italy’s Antitrust and Competition Authority says it is investigating “freemium” apps offered in Apple’s App Store along with similar stores operated by Google and Amazon, saying that customers could be misled by the “free” label, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

According to the regulatory group, users who download these apps for free could believe that the game is completely free and not know when downloading the app how much it will actually cost.

If Apple is found to have misled customers, the company could be fined as much as €5 million. It’s not likely to put a big dent in Apple’s cash reserve, but the Italian antitrust committee has previously convinced Apple to change its policy regarding AppleCare marketing.

Flappy Bird creator teases new game in screenshot

Jordan Kahn May 15 2014 - 1:54 pm PT

5 Comments

Flappy-Dong-Man-Building-Jumper-Game

Just a day after Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen told CNBC his hit iOS game would return to the App Store in August, today the developer is teasing a new game currently in development.

Despite reportedly confirming Flappy Bird would make a return, Nguyen’s tweet about his new game reads, “I am making a new game. So people can forget about Flappy Bird for a while.”

There aren’t any other details on the game or a timeframe for release, but Nguyen did provide the screenshot above which appears to show similar gameplay to Flappy Bird.