Apps

Looking for a way to bring some holiday cheer to your Mac? Festivitas is a new app from developer Simon Støvring that does exactly that.

Exclusive deal! 9to5Mac readers can sign up for CardPointers for $36 per year (a 50% discount) for Cyber Monday. There’s also a lifetime option for 9to5Mac readers at $120 (a 50% discount). Plus, you can unlock a $100 Savings Card as a signup bonus with the Lifetime plan.

As someone who loves playing the “credit card points game,” CardPointers is one of my all-time favorite iPhone and iPad apps. CardPointers makes it incredibly easy to know which card to use to maximize your rewards on each purchase.

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.

Minizones is a sweet and simple Mac app that allows you to glance at varying timezones across the globe, right from your Mac’s menu bar. It’s a nice tool if you work remotely and have to communicate with coworkers across the globe, or regularly need to communicate with people in varying places.

Kaleidoscope, the popular file comparison and merge tool, recently released an update with significant improvements to its merge conflict resolution tools. The new version introduces new features and refinements that aim to streamline the process of resolving Git merge conflicts and provide users with a more comprehensive understanding of code changes.

HomePass is a must-have app for HomeKit and Matter users, making it easy to keep track of all your accessories. This week, developer Aaron Pearce has unveiled HomePass 2, a complete rewrite of the app that adds several excellent new features for HomeKit enthusiasts.

The premise of HomePass, available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, is that it gives you a central location to store your HomeKit accessory setup codes. This new version further upgrades that experience.

Note: This report contains links to reports about teenage suicides

Australia has followed France in imposing a social media ban for kids, and other countries are expected to follow. The French government is now pushing for an EU-wide ban.

Social media platforms are of course pushing back as they face losing a demographic seen as key to their future, and questions are being raised about how the ban will be enforced …

The streaming era has certainly changed the way we listen to music. There are curated playlists, algorithms and many other influences. With this in mind, the developers behind NowPlaying are now launching an Apple TV app, which aims to encourage people to listen to entire albums like in the old days.

Update: Australia has now voted to ban social media use by children under the age of 16. In a 9to5Mac reader poll on the issue, the vast majority of you thought the US should do the same – see the end of the piece.

The impact of social media use by kids is perhaps one of the hottest topics in tech. There’s significant evidence that social media apps like Instagram can be harmful to the mental health of children, while others argue that it can also enable social connection.

Popular video conferencing platform Zoom agreed to pay $85M in compensation back in 2021 after it was revealed that the company lied to users about the type of encryption it offered. It has now offered to pay an $18M fine to the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) in order to settle an investigation into the same security and privacy issue.

Zoom disclosed the offer in a regulatory filing …

It’s Black Friday season once again, meaning it’s the best time of year to save some money. We’ve gathered a list of our favorite indie app deals this holiday season – allowing you to try out something new on your iPhone, all while supporting small, independent app developers. There are 25 apps highlighted here, but there’s even more deals to find, linked at the bottom.

Mercedes-Benz has announced a new Apple Watch app with a wide range of functionality. The app is available today and includes real-time vehicle information, the ability to lock and unlock your car, and more.

Traveling is one of my favorite activities, but organizing a good trip can be quite complicated – especially when it comes to a new destination. Thankfully, there’s a new app called MagicMiles that helps you create entire travel itineraries using AI.

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.

Pestle is a recipe manager for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. It offers a number of unique features, including the ability to easily import recipes from anywhere, meal planning features, and more. It makes every recipe easily achievable.

Uber on Wednesday announced some updates coming to its app this holiday season. In addition to a new category called UberXXL, the company also revealed a new Home Screen widget for iPhone and iPad users.

The popular podcast player Overcast has gotten a big update today with a new listening stats feature. The app can now show you which podcasts you’ve listened to most over the last two years.

Today’s Overcast update also adds an incredibly useful new 48-hour history and undo feature to help you recover from accidentally skipping a podcast.

Compared to the iPhone and iPad, Apple Vision Pro has a limited number of apps available in the App Store. Even so, developers have been exploring the device’s capabilities with different projects, one of which is the Formula 1 app “Lapz.” Unfortunately, the app may not even make it to the App Store.

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.

Pinning is a unique calendar countdown app for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision. It offers a visually appealing way of keeping track of birthdays, calendar events, anniversaries, and more! It also includes a number of native-feeling design elements.

This weekend is Indie Charity Weekend – a new initiative started by notable app developer Will Bishop! Starting today, 100% of this weekends proceeds from the 23 participating apps will go to the charity of the developers choice.

Here’s a straightforward list, in no certain order, of Mac apps that I’m currently using.

Ford fans rejoice: it’s our turn to add widgets for our cars to Control Center. Ford is rolling out a new version of the FordPass app with Control Center toggles as well as a new Home Screen widget.