App Store

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9jA2km9TKM]

Google announced today Chromecast support for the HBO GO apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

This means HBO GO subscribers can now push content from their iOS Devices to their Chromecast-connected HDTVs. HBO GO casting is also available from the website from Chrome browser.

The actual Chromecast hardware is only $35 on Amazon (and if that’s not cheap enough, keep an eye on 9to5Toys for more deals) and offers a comparable experience in many ways to AirPlay on Apple TV. HBO subscribers can download and use the HBO GO apps at no additional charge from the App Store.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Clumsy Ninja finally hits the App Store, originally announced at iPhone 5 event last year

Benjamin Mayo Nov 21 2013 - 7:15 am PT

4 Comments

Originally demoed at Apple’s September 2012 event, to show off the power of the new fifth-generation iPod touch, Clumsy Ninja was said to be launching that holiday season; i.e. fall 2012. However, much like with the announcement of Infinity Blade Dungeons, the app never arrived. Whereas Dungeons ended up being axed entirely, it turns out that Clumsy Ninja was just severely delayed.

After over a year since the game was demoed, Clumsy Ninja has finally hit the App Store today. At Apple’s event, NaturalMotion described the game as an ‘interactive toy’ based on “years of research”. The game centres around a cute 3D ninja, which acts similarly to a virtual pet.

Tumblr iOS app completely redesigned for iOS 7

Jordan Kahn Nov 20 2013 - 1:15 pm PT

Tumblr has finally released a complete redesign of its app for iOS 7 today. The app introduces a new streamlined look and feel for both the iPhone and iPad and also a few new features.

On top of a complete redesign for the Dashboard, you’ll notice a new UI for composing, choosing a post style, and reblogging. The updated app also includes a new autocomplete feature for tags.

What’s New in Version 3.5

We’ve completely redesigned Tumblr for iPhone and iPad! It’s faster and has a beautiful new look and feel, just like iOS 7.

• Total Dashboard makeover
• New post compose screen
• New post chooser
• New fast reblog
• Tag autocomplete!

Tumblr version 3.5 is available now for iPhone and iPad. Screenshots of the iPad app below:

Google Chrome iOS app updated w/ synced Autofill, long press for related image search

Jordan Kahn Nov 20 2013 - 10:10 am PT

Google today released an update to its Chrome app for iOS that it first announced last week and released for Android. As promised, Google has added a new synced Autofill feature that allows users to autofill forms in a few taps and also sign into their Google account on Mac or other iOS devices to sync the data.

Version 31 of Chrome for iOS also adds a new long press feature for images. When holding an image with a long press, Chrome will now automatically run a search for related images.

In addition, Google says the update brings stability and security enhancements.

What’s New in Version 31.0.1650.18

• Fast form completion with Autofill
Tired of filling out web forms with the same information time and time again? The Autofill feature lets you complete forms with just a few clicks. Sign in to sync this data from your computer to your iPhone or iPad and save even more typing.
• Long press on an image to search for related images
• Stability / security improvements and bug fixes

PayPal iPhone app updated w/ iOS 7 redesign, withdraw to bank, QR/bar code scanning, more

Jordan Kahn Nov 20 2013 - 7:38 am PT

PayPal is releasing an updated iPhone app today that on top of introducing a redesign for iOS 7 also introduces a few new features.

You’ll notice a number of UI tweaks in the new app and a redesign that fits in with the look and feel of iOS 7, but you’ll also now be able to withdraw money from your PayPal balance to your bank account within the Wallet tab. Also new is the ability to pay by scanning QR and bar codes a select retail partners:

Paying just got even easier! Scan a QR or bar code to pay at select merchants

In addition, version 5.2 of PayPal for iPhone includes the ability to choose your home screen for fast access to the features you use most.

What’s New in Version 5.2

5.2
• Need to withdraw some cash from your PayPal balance to your bank? You can do that in your Wallet
• Check out our new iOS7 look and feel
• Paying just got even easier! Scan a QR or bar code to pay at select merchants
• Choose your start screen for fast access to the info you need
• We’re still hard at work finding and fixing bugs

We’re always listening, so please send comments, suggestions, and any words of encouragement to mobile-apps@paypal.com.

Fantastical 2 for iPhone updated with new notification sound, additional toggles and improvements, and more

Zac Hall Nov 18 2013 - 6:29 am PT

After a rather successful launch (it was #1 in the App Store for quite a while), Flexibits has updated Fantastical 2 for iPhone with a number of small but notable improvements.

Most notably, Fantastical alerts now come with a notification tone. New options for assigning the app icon badge are available as well.

If you haven’t already tried it out, you can pick up Fantastical 2 on sale for $2.99 in the App Store (regular $4.99) and read our full review here. Fantastical 2.0.1 is a free update to existing customers and available now. (Full change log below.)
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple revamps design of iBooks and iTunes U for iOS 7 on iPad & iPhone

Mark Gurman Nov 14 2013 - 9:16 am PT

30 Comments

Following redesigns of many of its other applications, Apple has completely redesigned its iBooks application for iOS 7. The new iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch app follows the design aesthetic of the bundled Newsstand application, and also includes a completely redesigned iBookstore. The free update is available via the App Store now. For fans of the page curl effect in iBooks, you will be happy to know that it has not been removed.

Apple has also completely redesigned its iTunes U application, an app for downloading and managing education content. Both apps include redesigned icons:

Mint refreshes its iPhone and iPad app with iOS 7 design, brings Trends to mobile

Benjamin Mayo Nov 14 2013 - 6:18 am PT

4 Comments

The Mint mobile app is rarely updated with new features, but it’s not like it has been abandoned — it receives maintenance updates every few months. Today, though, Mint has pushed version 2.7 to the App Store which does bring more than just bug fixes.

Apple doubles developer promo code limit to 100 per app version

Benjamin Mayo Nov 12 2013 - 9:33 am PT

7 Comments

Although Apple is yet to provide official confirmation, developers are finding that they are now being allocated 100 promo codes per version of their apps. Until today, the limit was 50.

Facebook iOS app now lets iPad users edit posts

Jordan Kahn Nov 7 2013 - 4:27 pm PT

3 Comments

Back in October Facebook added the ability to edit posts and comments and also view all of your changes. However, at the time the feature was only available to iPhone users. Today iPad users can finally edit posts too with an update to the Facebook iOS app that just rolled out on the App Store.

Also new in version 6.7 of the app is new languages for icons, but Facebook doesn’t list the specific languages in its release notes.

The Facebook app is available on the App Store for free.

What’s New in Version 6.7

• Now in additional languages: Use icons to share how you’re feeling and what you’re doing
• Now on iPad: Edit your posts and tap to see all your changes
• Bug fixes

IFTTT adds actions for iOS Photo albums & Reminders

Jordan Kahn Nov 6 2013 - 12:58 pm PT

IFTTT, the popular web service that allows users to automate tasks from a long list of other mobile apps and web services, today updated its iOS app with the iPhone’s Photos and Reminder apps…
Expand
Expanding
Close

Updated Xfinity TV Go iOS app adds live streaming

Ben Lovejoy Nov 5 2013 - 4:13 am PT

Xfinity TV’s iOS app now allows subscribers to stream live TV channels as well as access on-demand content. The app has also been renamed from Xfinity TV Player to Xfinity TV Go.

Early reviewers, though, seem more interested in Air Play functionality, which has not yet been added.

The app is a free download from iTunes.

App Store banner corroborates impending iOS 7 update for Apple’s Remote app

Mike Beasley Oct 31 2013 - 2:33 pm PT

6 Comments

Image via MacRumors

A banner that appeared in the Colombian App Store seems to indicate that Apple may finally be updating its Remote app with a new design for iOS 7. The banner sports a redesigned icon that we first noticed earlier this month in the iTunes device manager. The new icon uses much more white than the previous version and conforms to the icon grid used to design Apple’s other iOS 7 icons.

Many of Apple’s apps have already been updated with a new design, but updates for Remote, Find My Friends, iTunes Connect and iBooks have been noticeably absent. It seems at least one of those will be redesigned in the near future, although there’s still no word yet on when the others might finally get a makeover.

We haven’t been able to independently confirm the precense of the banner in the App Store, which was likely published earlier by accident.

Apple promoting its own stock iOS apps for popular App Store search queries

Jordan Kahn Oct 31 2013 - 8:22 am PT

4 Comments

Apple appears to have recently started promoting some of its own stock iOS apps on the App Store for search terms that would have previously displayed results from third-party developers first. As noted by MacStories, when searching for terms such as “browser”, “web”, “SMS”, “Movies”, “cloud, “Siri”, “internet”, and others on the App Store, Apple is now promoting some of its own apps and services such as Safari, iTunes, Messages, iCloud, and Siri as the first results.

The result for Apple’s apps aren’t typical App Store listings but instead provide users with a brief description and link to either “Learn more” or open the app. Clicking Learn More takes users to Apple’s website in Safari for more information on the app, while some listings, such as iTunes, allow users to tap “Visit iTunes Store” and automatically launch the iOS iTunes app.
Expand
Expanding
Close

CloudMagic brings cloud-powered email search to the iPhone

Mike Beasley Oct 30 2013 - 9:00 am PT

A brand-new mail client called CloudMagic launched today on the App Store. The app supports most email services and has all of the basic features you’d expect from a mail app. One CloudMagic feature blows most other apps away, though: search.

Rather than searching on your phone for a certain email and then remotely searching each individual mail account to find what you’re looking for, CloudMagic caches your entire mail account on their server and uses server-side search to find any message almost instantly. The search is powerful and intelligently suggests words and phrases that I found to be exactly what I was looking for.

Fantastical 2: The calendar Apple should have built… again

Zac Hall Oct 30 2013 - 6:00 am PT

50 Comments

After bringing natural language input to the mobile calendar experience with Fantastical for iPhone last November, Flexibits today released a brand new version of what was already my absolute favorite calendar app.

Fantastical 2 delivers an all new design made just for iOS 7 as well as numerous new features like Reminders support, dark and light themes, landscape support for week view, and much more.

I’ve been using Fantastical 2 for the past few weeks, and below I’ll show you why it’s my go-to calendar for iPhone.

Clear iOS apps updated with support for iOS 7’s Background Refresh

Jordan Kahn Oct 28 2013 - 9:05 am PT

The popular Clear productivity apps for iOS have been updated today with support for Apple’s Background Refresh feature new in iOS 7. That means your lists in Clear will now update more often, refreshing from iCloud in the background so they’re always up to date across all of your devices running Clear.

The update is available for the $1.99 Clear app for iPhone and the $4.99 Clear+ for iPhone and iPad now. Developer Realmac Software also teased that it’s working on other big new features for a future update:

We’re hard at work on some great new features for Clear – and today we’re releasing a small update to Clear and Clear+ to take advantage of a great new iOS 7 feature: Background Refresh.

iOS 7 launches your most frequently-used apps in the background throughout the day, allowing them to refresh their data. This means that, with today’s update, Clear will refresh your lists from iCloud to ensure they’re always up to date on all your devices.

NBA Game Time apps updated for 2013-14 season w/ iOS 7 redesign, new free content, and much more

Jordan Kahn Oct 28 2013 - 7:02 am PT

The NBA Game Time apps for both iPhone and iPad have been updated today with a redesign for iOS 7 alongside full support for the 2013-2014 regular season and new content for both free and paid subscribers.

On top of the redesign pictured in the screenshots above, the apps add home and away broadcasts for every game and archives for each nationally broadcast game for those that have an NBA League Pass. It also adds new content for free users, however, including the Game Recaps, Team Video, Player Statistics, Team Rosters, and Team Statistics features previously only available to paid users.

Version 5.1 of NBA Game Time also includes alerts for live streaming videos and push notifications for League Pass subscribers.

NBA Game Time is available for free from the App Store now as separate downloads for iPhone and iPad.

What’s New in Version 5.1

Redesigned and Optimized for iOS7

Full support for the 2013-2014 NBA regular season

NBA League Pass subscribers will now be able to enjoy both the home and away TV broadcasts from every game.

NBA League Pass subscribers will now be able to enjoy archives from each nationally broadcast game.

Game Recaps from every game now free.

Team Video from every team now free.

Player Statistics, Team Rosters, and Team Statistics now free.

Live Video alerts let you know when we’re streaming press conferences and events live.

League Pass Push Notifications now let NBA League Pass users know when games they can watch get exciting.

Many performance improvements.

Tweetbot 3 becomes top paid app in several countries, developers discuss future enhancements

Mark Gurman Oct 25 2013 - 8:25 am PT

7 Comments

Since its launch yesterday, popular Twitter client Tweetbot 3 for iPhone has topped the paid app charts in several App Store-supported countries across the world. A look at AppAnnie’s data indicates that the new application is the top paid app overall in 35 countries, and it is the top app in the Social Networking category in 70 countries. As Tweetbot developer Paul Haddad notes, these impressive launch day statistics are evidence for why developers should charge for major app updates…

Tweetbot 3 for iPhone arrives: gorgeous new design, same great features

Mark Gurman Oct 24 2013 - 3:03 pm PT

13 Comments

For many years, Tweetbot from Tapbots has been my favorite Twitter app and definitely my most used app on iOS. The application includes several powerful features wrapped up in a quick, smooth interface. However, the design began to look dated with the launch of iOS 7, Apple’s revamped iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch operating system, last month. For several months, the Tapbots crew has been hard at work on a complete, end-to-end redesign of their flagship app, and it is available now via the App Store. Check out my complete review…

BlackBerry Messenger for iOS updated with bug fixes for iOS 7.0.3

Mark Gurman Oct 23 2013 - 7:22 pm PT

Today, BlackBerry has updated its BBM app for iPhone and iPod touch with bug fixes, performance improvements, and some minor interface tweaks. Notably, the update also includes a fix for a font-related bug for users running the recently released iOS 7.0.3. BBM officially began rolling out on iOS and Android earlier this week. The update is available on the App Store and comes on the same day that BlackBerry announced 10 million users of BBM on non-BlackBerry devices.

Mac App Store bug allows iWork trial users to update the entire suite for free (Update: Aperture, too)

Mike Beasley Oct 23 2013 - 2:36 pm PT

159 Comments

Users who have previously downloaded the free 30-day iWork trial and kept it on their systems found themselves able to update to the latest version of Apple’s productivity suite for free yesterday due to what is apparently a bug with the way the store finds copies of the software purchased through other sources.

Since the Mac App Store now detects boxed copies of iWork and allows them to be updated to the Mac App Store version, it seems the trial versions of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote are perceived by the App Store as being a full purchased copy. This allows users to install yesterday’s updated apps without having to pay anything.

Evernote app updated with customized homescreen layout, mapping & improved saved searches

Ben Lovejoy Oct 23 2013 - 5:39 am PT