During its F8 Developer Conference today, Facebook announced a new Facebook Messenger Platform that will allow third-party apps to integrate with its popular Messenger app.
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Both the App Store and iTunes is currently experiencing a widespread performance issue resulting in missing content from the categories sections and errors when downloading new content.
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Instagram today released a new app called Layout that lets users easily stitch together multiple photos by automatically generating layouts to make a collage of sorts.
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Google Maps for iPhone and iPad has received an update to version 4.4.0 bringing a new full-screen map view, improved transit directions and voice search, and the ability to filter search results for Zagat-reviewed restaurants.
Google notes that the new full-screen mode can be activated by “tapping an empty spot on the map,” while improved voice search brings the ability to “type, or tap the mic and say, “directions to” a place for faster results.”
The update also includes new transit line colors on maps when viewing transit directions and a Zagat filter for restaurants in search results.
The updated Google Maps app for iOS, version 4.4.0, is available on the App Store now.
• View a full-screen map by tapping an empty spot on the map
• See transit line colors on the map when you get transit directions
• Filter search results for Zagat-rated restaurants (where available)
• Type, or tap the mic and say, “directions to” a place for faster results
• Bug fixes
Searching for ‘antivirus’ now only shows games or Find My iPhone-esque apps.
Apple has seemingly decided to crack down on antivirus and antimalware apps, removing them from the App Store. Although there has been no official statement from Apple on a policy change, Apple’s loose guidelines allow them to pull pretty much anything at any time, particularly something like antivirus which has questionable utility within the sandboxed iOS environment of iPhones and iPads.
One casualty of the removal is Intego’s VirusBarrier, which claims that this takedown was not specific to its product with Apple deciding the entire category of antivirus products is now off-limits.
Atari is releasing a new fitness app today called Atari Fit that lets users unlock classic Atari arcade games by working out.
The app acts as a personal trainer of sorts with over 100 exercises and fitness routines as well as integration with Apple’s Health app and fitness tracking wearables like Fitbit and Jawbone.
It also has a few interesting gaming features including multiplayer, online leaderboards, and the ability unlock classic Atari games like Pong, Super Breakout, and Centipede:
Multiplayer – Play with friends all over the world anytime. Join a team and workout together or race against each other. Track your stats as a group and encourage each other to workout. Compete to become the fittest team of gamers worldwide!
In addition to unlocking games using points earned by working out, Atari is teaming up with Walgreens to offer Walgreens Balance Rewards loyalty program points as in-game rewards.
The Atari Fit iPhone app is available for free on the App Store.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MucM1Cwe3t8]
Update: Some of the websites shown in the video cannot be explained by the hypothesis posted below about adverts redirecting to the App Store. The large amount of corroboration by readers about this happening to them suggests there is a mechanism, somewhere along the line, causing a real problem.
Website advertisement companies have found a way to circumvent the protections introduced in iOS 8 to stop users from being kicked to the App Store because of certain cleverly-coded JavaScript advertisements.
I am now experiencing this myself, and it makes browsing on the iPhone unusable. Browsing to websites such as Reddit and Reuters and others now automatically open the App Store. In many cases, there is no way for me to read the actual content on the pages. You can see this happen in the video above.
This flared up as a serious issue last year, when users found they were being taken to random App Store pages without granting any kind of permission…
In iOS 8 beta 2, Apple supposedly had remedied the issue: “Safari now blocks ads from automatically redirecting to the App Store without user interaction.”. However, it seems that ad companies have now managed to work around these safeguards.
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My feelings for Nintendo are complicated. I’ve loved its games ever since the original Donkey Kong, owned every Nintendo console (including the Virtual Boy), and recommended the Wii U as the best game console for families and kids. But if I was mildly displeased with Nintendo as a company during its haughtiest years — the time when most of its key third-party developers walked away — I’m downright angry with it today. At a press conference in Japan this morning, Nintendo announced its second collaboration with a mobile game publisher in two months, the headline from which was what millions of people have been waiting years to read:
Sure, the official Nintendo press release actually says “smart devices” including phones and tablets, but iPhones and iPads are a safe bet. The press release also says “gaming applications” rather than games, but a press release from Nintendo’s new mobile partner DeNA confirms that the companies will indeed produce mobile games together. Just think about it: Super Mario World on the iPad! Donkey Kong Country on the iPhone! That’s just what everyone has wanted! But there’s a catch…
What kind of parent are you if you don’t plunk down $80 for one of these OSMO things right now? I just got one. Amazon reviewers gave it an impressive 4.8/5 stars and it comes with 4 apps. The latest, Masterpiece for iPad [free, App Store] lets kids learn to draw by a type of tracing using the iPad camera illustrated in the excellent Sandwich video above.
After the kids are done you can send it all over the place or print it out. There is a nice video capture feature as well that replays the drawing which looks like it will pump up your kids for the next drawing.
The OSMO game system has three other games at present: Words, Newton and Tangram
It looks pretty cool but I’ll see if I can corral my 6 year old into a review.
Press release follows:
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Apple looks to be having a few lot of problems with its servers this morning. At the time of writing, iTunes Connect is refusing logins, the iBooks store is not responding and there are intermittent outages when viewing some individual items in both iOS and Mac App Stores …
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RadPad, an app we told you about back in November when it launched as one the first to let you pay rent using Apple Pay, now lets you easily split rent with roommates.
Pay with RadPad Roommates makes it really, really easy for renters who have roommates to pay their rent together, using their own credit, debit card or Apple Pay… A roommate signs up and invites their other roommates to pay rent together: RadPad sends invites to each roommate, via text and email. The roommate receives the invite, accepts it and then enters in their credit or debit card or elects to use Apple Pay. That’s it!
You’ll also be able to see when your roommates are slacking with status information on their half of the rent. The app allows up to four roommates to split the rent and sends a check to the landlord on behalf of the tenants. You can even setup rent payments to your landlord through the app if they aren’t using RadPad.
RadPad tells us it’s expecting to process $14M in annual rents this year after launching in October.
The RadPad app is available on the App Store for free.
The MLB.com At Bat app for iPhone and iPad gets a big update today in time for Spring Training bringing Spanish language support, new features, and all the details on what content will be available. Most of the app has also been redesigned including all new UI’s for team pages, scoreboards, and the newsreader.
Also new in the app for version 8.0.0 and 2015:
• New UI for all 30 team pages & the league-wide scoreboard (iPhone only)
• Player search expanded to include all active and historical MLB player cards (iPhone only)
• Re-designed UI for the newsreader (iPhone & iPad)
• Team-by-team statistical data filters (iPhone only)
• Native resolution to optimize At Bat for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
• Easy access to every game with new team schedule navigation (iPhone only)
• Application available in Spanish language, requires device language set to Spanish (iPhone & iPad)
As for Spring Training content, here’s what you’ll get with the usual $2.99/month or $19.99/year subscription:
The updated MLB.com At Bat app for iPhone and iPad is available on the App Store now.
Alongside releasing the second OS X 10.10.3 preview release and iOS 8.3 beta 2, Apple shared Xcode 6.3 beta 2 through the Mac and iOS Developer Center today. The latest beta version of Xcode, which developers use to build and manage software, includes a new crash log reporting system to show developers issues users may experience with their apps.
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Dropbox for iPhone and iPad users is getting a lot more powerful today as the latest version includes a new action extension for iOS 8. This allows you to save information from various apps to Dropbox on iOS without having to open the cloud-syncing app.
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Microsoft is today rolling out an update to its Office apps for iOS devices bringing the ability to save to iCloud and tap into storage from other services across all three apps.
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Apple has been working with several third-party App Store developers at its Cupertino, California offices to assist developers in finishing up applications for the upcoming Apple Watch. Development and design representatives from dozens of different development firms have visited Apple last week, or are coming to Cupertino this week, to work with Apple engineers to finish up WatchKit-based applications. One source claims that Apple is holding workshops for over 100 different developers across February. Apple also met with a smaller number of developers to assist with WatchKit development and discuss future plans in early January…
iOS and Android are completely different worlds when it comes to apps. Android is pretty much the wild west, with little control over quality or even safety (malware is commonplace). iOS, on a non-jailbroken device, is a walled garden, where Apple decides what apps can and can’t do, and which ones get approved for sale.
Yet despite that carefully-controlled approach, the App Store can still feel like a bit of a jungle. Which is why I wonder whether the Pinterest tie-in announced yesterday may offer hope for the future.
But let’s start with the problem I think needs to be solved, and that problem begins with search. Results may vary by country, and you can try the searches for yourself to compare your results with mine, but here’s what I get for a few obvious app searches …
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Apple has apparently been revising its app review strategy this week and has decided to reverse a previous decision that banned MassRoots, a marijuana-centric social app, from its software storefront. The application was booted from the App Store late last year (though it lasted much longer on the store than some other apps).
According to App Store guideline 2.18:
Apple has started enforcing a long-ignored rule in its App Store guidelines regarding what kinds of content can appear in app metadata. According to rule 3.6 in the guidelines document:
Apps with App icons, screenshots, and previews that do not adhere to the 4+ age rating will be rejected
This rule has been mostly unenforced since the App Store launched, but according to a new report from Pocket Gamer, some app developers are starting to see their apps rejected for depictions of violence in their screenshots.
Apple announced today that it’s rolling out a new feature for its TestFlight beta distribution service called TestFlight Groups to improve the experience of managing builds with multiple testers.
Apple noted the Groups feature will allow developers to “organize your testers into groups to quickly send specific builds”, provide separate instructions on where to focus, and apply an action to several testers at once in TestFlight.”
The new feature is available to those using Apple’s in beta TestFlight service through iTunes Connect.
Apple acquired the TestFlight beta app testing platform through its purchase of Burstly in February of last year and repositioned the service as a feature of its iTunes Connect developer portal.
As part of Apple’s weekly App Store refresh, the company is currently highlighting iOS games for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch that are paid apps with no in-app purchases, MacStories points out. The featured section is notable as in-app purchases have been a source of confusion and frustration for many consumers since their introduction despite being an added revenue source for developers and Apple.
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Apple today announced that it is increasing the size limit for apps submitted by developers to the App Store through its iTunes Connect service. Previously limited to 2GB, app packages can now be a maximum of 4GB in size. Apple made the announcement on its website for developers earlier today but some apps have been over the 2GB limit since at least January.
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Like several other professional sports teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers will now be sending out location-aware notifications to iPhone users at its games using Apple’s Bluetooth beacon iBeacon tech. The team will send out the usual reminders, video content, and promos available to those at the game.
The team announced today that the notifications (pictured above) will be sent to fans through the official Cleveland Cavaliers app. YinzCam, Inc develops the app and is using Gimbal Bluetooth beacon hardware at the Cav’s Quicken Loans Arena to get the job done.
The opt-in notifications will include the following:
The MLB was one of the first professional sports team to adopt the tech for beaming location sensitive notifications to attendees at games, while the Golden State Warriors became the first NBA team to take advantage last year followed by several others.
The Cleveland Cavaliers app is available on the App Store now.
Reuters is today releasing a new app for iPhone called Reuters TV that offers access to on-demand video content and live feeds of Reuters’ live coverage of certain events.
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