Apps

6,231 'Apps' stories April 2010 - December 2014

Learn about the latest news for iOS, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV apps

Apps for iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS power our modern world. 9to5Mac will update you on the latest news, review, and updates for all types of apps. “There’s an App for that”.

The term came became part of our vocabulary when Steve Jobs announced The App Store as part of the iPhone 2.0 software update in 2008.

Over the years, the term has become as common as kleenex for describing applications on all of our devices. Apple’s platforms have apps for just about anything from finance, banking, sports, social media, podcasting, music, and more. We have a guide for helping you discover the best ones as well. Apps are now on everything from our TV, to our smartphones, on our laptops, and all the way down to our wrists.

As new ones are released or existing ones have major updates, the team here at 9to5Mac will bring you the latest news and reviews. If you want to follow along with video footage, be sure to follow 9to5Mac on YouTube. Scroll down below our latest updates on all things relating to applications on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch.

Apple reverses decision on rejecting iCloud Drive feature in Panic’s Transmit app

Zac Hall Dec 11 2014 - 10:07 am PT

2 Comments

In the latest instance of Apple reversing controversial app rejection decisions, Panic says it received the green light to resubmit a version of its Transmit app with the ability to send files to other services including iCloud Drive once again. The news comes after Apple requested Panic remove the feature from the app to prevent it being pulled from the App Store.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Google iOS app updated w/ Material Design, Street View integration, more

Zac Hall Dec 11 2014 - 9:21 am PT

15 Comments

Google is rolling out a completely redesigned version of its iPhone and iPad app with its Material Design look and feel right down to the app icon.

The latest version of the search app now presents a bottom navigation bar (which can slide out of view) that presents a persistent Google button for searching for new information. The navigation bar also offers a button for quickly accessing recent search pages, something that feels similar to multitasking between apps on Android.

Also notable as part of the redesign is the optimization searching for photos has received. In the latest version of Google’s iOS app, image results now take on a full-screen, mosaic look for presenting larger results. The update also packs in deep Google Maps integration for location searches including support for Google Street View right in the app for iPhone users. You can read the full change log below:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Workflow brings an Automator-like experience to iOS for easy and fast automation

Zac Hall Dec 11 2014 - 8:30 am PT

4 Comments

We’ve covered automation apps for iOS in the past, and iOS 8 adds a lot of potential for what’s possible thanks to extensions for performing actions and sharing data from anywhere in the system. Today a new app called Workflow is joining the mix with a super simple and approachable way to set up actions at the tap of a button…

Expand Expanding Close

Beta distribution service HockeyApp acquired by Microsoft

Zac Hall Dec 11 2014 - 6:40 am PT

1 Comment

A suite of new MSN apps for iOS isn’t the only news out of Microsoft this morning. HockeyApp, the popular beta app distribution and analytics service, announced today that it has been acquired by Microsoft. HockeyApp supports several software platforms including iOS, OS X, Android, and Microsoft’s Windows Phone.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Spotify and SoundCloud updated w/ playlist features, iPhone 6/6 Plus optimization

Ben Lovejoy Dec 11 2014 - 6:13 am PT

0 Comments

If you want to stay in tune with your friends, Spotify is rolling out a new feature that automatically generates a playlist of your friends’ favorite tracks. The feature is appearing on all platforms, including version 2.2 of the Spotify Music iPhone app, out today.

The SoundCloud iPhone app also gets playlists for the first time, and both apps have been optimized for the iPhone 6/Plus.

Spotify Music is a free download from the App Store on iTunes, with in-app purchases, while SoundCloud is completely free.

Microsoft releases suite of MSN apps for iOS, including News, Sports, and more

Mike Beasley Dec 11 2014 - 6:00 am PT

6 Comments

Microsoft released an entire suite of MSN apps for iOS today, which includes MSN News, Money, Health & Fitness, Food & Drink, and Sports. A Weather app has also been announced, but hasn’t yet been released for iOS. It’s scheduled to arrive later this year.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Robinhood launches on App Store, brings zero-commission stock trading to the masses

9to5 Staff Dec 11 2014 - 5:59 am PT

14 Comments

For several years, my grandmother has encouraged me to get involved with the stock market. While she was successful at persuading my older brother into investing in penny stocks, I have never taken the initiative to learn how the stock market truly works. For that reason, I was excited when I heard about a brand new app called Robinhood, which provides zero-commission stock trading at your fingertips.

While online brokers are nothing new, with existing firms such as Interactive Brokers and E-Trade, Robinhood is a mobile-first service that doesn’t require a desktop. Whether you are a twenty-something college student that doesn’t fully understand how the stock market functions, an experienced Wall Street stock trader, or fall somewhere in between, the app makes stock trading easier for the masses.
Expand
Expanding
Close

9to5Toys Last Call: LG 65-inch 1080p LED HDTV $699, Pitendo NES emulator, iGrill Mini giveaway, more

Dec 10 2014 - 2:27 pm PT

0 Comments

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the brand new 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

LG 65″ 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV $699 w/ free in-store pick up (Reg. $900)

Relive your favorite classic video games with the pocket sized Pitendo NES emulator

Giveaway: iDevices iGrill Mini Bluetooth Grilling Thermometer for iOS/Android ($40 value)

Kitchen Tech: Magical ice ball makers transform everyday drinks into classics

Amazon flips the switch on free 4K streaming for Prime members, here are the 4K UHDTVs you want to watch it on

More new deals:

New! Games/Apps: Xbox One Assassin’s Creed bundle w/ free game $349, Threes! $2, more
New! Headphones: Klipsch X11 earbuds $130, LG Tone+ Bluetooth headset $40, more
New! Daily Deals: JLab Poppin BT speaker: $40, Logitech speaker system: $35, more
New! Dell UltraSharp 23.8-inch LED Monitor w/ HDMI & USB 3.0 hub $209 (orig. $350)
New! MXL 770 Cardioid Condenser Microphone $60 shipped (orig. $170)
New! Home: Hamilton Beach coffee maker $49 (orig. $80), more
New! Magazine subs from $4 per yr: Popular Science, Men’s Fitness, Wired, more
New! Sony PlayStation 4 gets free game, $35 DriveClub deals at Amazon
New! Amazon Gold Box: up to 50% off select Razor Kick Electric Scooters and Vtech Toys

More deals still alive:

MacBook/iPad stickers (multiple options) Buy One, Get One Free: $4 shipped (Reg. $40)
$50 gift card w/ purchase of iPhone 6 from Target – plus other stackable discounts
Audio-Technica ATH-PRO700 MK2 over-ear headphones $130 (orig. $230)
LG 27-inch 1080P IPS LED Monitor w/ HDMI: $180 shipped (Reg. $300)
Pioneer 4K AirPlay A/V Receiver $347 shipped (Reg. $500)
Blue Microphones Spark USB/Lightning Mic for Mac/iOS $129 shipped (Reg. $200)
WD 2TB HDD w/ Adobe Lightroom 5 or Photoshop Premier Elements from $100
MFi Certified 3ft. Lightning to USB Cable $7.49 (Reg. $10), 10ft. for $11 Prime shipped
Bluetooth speakers: UE MINI BOOM $70, BOOM $170, JBL Charge 2 $130
Bluetooth speakers: Marshall Stanmore $340, Gramovox Gramophone $350
Headphones: Harman Kardon Over-Ears $140, Monster iSport In-Ears $100, more
iPhone 6 Tempered Glass Screen Protector with curved edge finish: $5 shipped (Reg. $15)
Media: Thor The Dark World $20 Prime shipped (Reg. $40), Blu-rays/DVDs from $3
HDTVs: LG 55″ 4K 3D $1,170 (orig. $2,300), more
Roku 3 $78 new or $65 refurb (orig. $100)
Buy $10+ Starbucks Card eGift with a Visa card and get a $10 bonus for free
Stickman iOS apps go free: Soccer, Tennis, Downhill, Motocross, more (Reg. $1 ea.)
GoPro HERO4 Black w/ 32GB microSD, headstrap, $50 gift card: $500 ($597 value)
SanDisk iXpand 32GB Lightning flash drive $60, more
Kingdom Rush Frontiers is IGN’s free iOS game of the month ($2.99 value)
iPad Air 2s and Mini 3s $50-$100 off at Best Buy and 20% off select iPads at Staples
iTunes Free App of the Week: God of Light ($1.99 value)
PNY Turbo 256GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive: $70 shipped (50% off)
Acer 13.3-inch Chromebook 2.1GHz/2GB/16GB: $200 shipped (orig. $300)
TP-LINK AV500 Nano Powerline Adapter Starter Kit $30 Prime shipped (orig. $70)

Holiday Gift Guides:

Justin’s holiday gift guide: accessories to amplify your Mac set-up
Trevor’s holiday gift guide: products that make life easier and look good doing it

New products/ongoing promos:

Pocket Gamer to offer one free iOS app every day for two weeks
Seagate’s new Archive drives pack 8TB of storage for less than $300
Samsung releases an updated version of its best selling consumer SSDs
Get three months of Spotify Premium for $0.99 ($30 value)
Google doles out free $20 Play credits to Chromecast owners
Tommy Hilfiger’s new solar jacket can charge two iPhones at once
TRENDnet THA-101 combines a network extender and smart plug
Google Play gives Chromecast users the original X-Men movie for free ($13 value)
WeMo and Holmes team up to take the worry out of small room heaters
Top 10 kids’ toys of 2014 per early Google Search data
Twelve South makes the best iPhone 6/iPad dock even better
Internet Archive brings 900 classic arcade titles to your web browser for free
The thinnest iPhone 6/Plus cases we’ve found so far

Alipay updated w/ Touch ID amid talk of potential Apple-Alibaba partnership

9to5 Staff Dec 10 2014 - 9:45 am PT

0 Comments

Apple CEO Tim Cook, speaking at the Wall Street Journal: Digital conference in October, claimed that he would be entering discussions with Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba, about a potential partnership with the Chinese e-commerce company. It was speculated at the time that any partnership would likely be centered upon the integration of Apple Pay and Alipay for mobile payments on Alibaba, Taobao and Tmall.

Amid the speculation, China Daily was first to report that Alibaba has updated its Alipay app for iPhone and iPad today with Touch ID support. Alipay users with an iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus will now be able to use their fingerprint instead of a password when making mobile payments on the latest version of the app, which is a step closer to the way that Apple Pay works in the United States.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Instagram hits 300M monthly actives, rolls out verified user badges & deactivates spammy accounts

Jordan Kahn Dec 10 2014 - 8:28 am PT

1 Comment

Instagram announced today that it’s now at 300 million monthly active users, up from 200 million users that it announced approximately nine months ago. The company is announcing the new milestone on its website alongside other update user stats.

In addition, Instagram is today rolling out verified badges for brands and public figures while announcing it’s making a “significant effort to remove spammy and fake accounts”:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Check out Apple and IBM’s new enterprise iOS apps (Gallery)

Zac Hall Dec 10 2014 - 7:14 am PT

9 Comments

After first announcing a major partnership earlier this year, Apple and IBM unveiled today a list of new enterprise apps focused on various industries including retail, government, banking, travel, and more. This is the first glimpse of what the collaboration between Apple and IBM actually looks like, and below you can see exactly what these enterprise apps look like and what they do for their respective industry. Check out each app name and description below (click for full size):
Expand
Expanding
Close

Shazam for iOS updated w/ redesigned music player, deeper Spotify integration & more

9to5 Staff Dec 10 2014 - 6:55 am PT

2 Comments

Shazam for iOS received a major update on Wednesday with a redesigned home screen and music player for more conveniently keeping up to date with the latest artists you have identified, finding out what songs friends are listening to and accessing the latest Shazam charts. A brand new Shazam.com was also launched with a Hall of Fame for artists and other new features.
Expand
Expanding
Close

LastPass matches Dashlane with automated password changing – but it doesn’t yet fully compete

Ben Lovejoy Dec 10 2014 - 6:52 am PT

1 Comment

After password manager Dashlane grabbed the limelight yesterday with an automated password changer for 50 top US websites, LastPass has hit back with its own version of the same feature. However, while LastPass supports more sites, it falls short of the Dashlane offering by forcing you to change one password at a time, rather than doing all supported sites en-mass, and not yet supporting sites that employ two-factor authentication.

We’re excited to announce that the Auto-Password Change feature we released to our Pre-Build Team last week is now available for all users in beta. LastPass can now change passwords for you, automatically. We’re releasing this feature for free to all our users, on Chrome, Safari, and Firefox (starting with version 3.1.70) […]

Auto-Password Change already supports 75 of the most popular websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Pinterest, Home Depot, and Dropbox.

LastPass notes that it does this while maintaining its secure approach of ensuring that only encrypted versions of the password are ever stored on the LastPass server, with the apps doing the decrypting on your device.

You can download the beta from the LastPass download site. If you’re not yet using a password manager, check out out our how-to guide.

Apple & IBM announce first batch of MobileFirst iOS apps for enterprise

Jordan Kahn Dec 10 2014 - 5:56 am PT

10 Comments

Following an announcement earlier this year that Apple was teaming up with IBM to deliver a number of enterprise solutions, today Apple has officially announced the first wave of iOS apps being released through the partnership. As part of IBM’s “MobileFirst for iOS,” Apple and IBM today announced 10 new apps designed specifically for businesses including banking, retail, insurance, financial services, telecommunications and for governments and airlines.

“This is a big step for iPhone and iPad in the enterprise, and we can’t wait to see the exciting new ways organizations will put iOS devices to work,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The business world has gone mobile, and Apple and IBM are bringing together the world’s best technology with the smartest data and analytics to help businesses redefine how work gets done.”

The apps launching today through the partnership include Plan Flight and Passenger+ for the travel industry, Advise & Grow and Trusted Advice for the banking and financial industries, Retention (insurance), Case Advice and Incident Aware for government, Sales Assist and Pick & Pack for retail, and Expert Tech for telecommunications industries. Apple notes that the apps offer customizable experiences and are “managed and upgraded via cloud services from IBM specifically for iOS devices.”

In addition to the new apps, which Apple described in more detail in its press release below, Apple noted other services that will go hand-in-hand with the apps. Those include integration with IBM’s Mobile Platform and Enterprise solutions as well as AppleCare for the Enterprise, Apple’s new business specific tech support service introduced as part of the IBM deal.

Apple’s full press release is below:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Snapchat finally updated with iPhone 6/6 Plus support

9to5 Staff Dec 9 2014 - 7:52 pm PT

3 Comments

While the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were released nearly three months ago, some high-profile developers have taken incredibly long to update their apps with native resolution for the larger screens. Look no further than Snapchat, which has finally been updated with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus support in an update released today.

The latest version of the popular ephemeral messaging app, in which users can share photos, videos and instant messages with others that disappear after a customizable length of time, also received enhancements in other areas, including improved captions, the ability to change the color of, pinch to resize and drag around special text and stacked filters.
Expand
Expanding
Close