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6,272 'Apps' stories April 2010 - October 2014
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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.

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9to5Toys Last Call: Amazon Fire TV Stick pre-order $19, RAVPower 10400mAh power bank $22, more

Avatar for Oct 27 2014 - 3:43 pm PT
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Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Amazon announces $39 Fire TV Stick to take on Chromecast, Prime members get it for $19

Omaker Premium 3-Port USB Car Charger $9 Prime Shipped (Reg. $13)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12WZiLf3KPo?rel=0]

Oakley teams up with Garmin to bring new video recording features to its Airwave 1.5 goggles

Apple 13.3-inch MacBook Air 1.4GHz/4GB/128GB: $850 or $800 w/ .edu email (Reg. $999)

Small States: Former Nike designer brings together form and function with the Spool Dock, multiple giveaways

Other new deals:


More deals still:

New products/ongoing promos:

Facebook releases updated iOS client with improved support for sharing multiple photos

Avatar for Mike Beasley Oct 27 2014 - 3:10 pm PT
6 Comments
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Facebook has announced that it will be releasing an updated version of its mobile application later today that will improve the process of sharing multiple photos in a single post. The new composer will allow users to choose multiple images from their device’s photo library or camera, then show a preview of the post with each image in the order they were selected.

From here users will be able to add captions to each photo, write an introduction for the post, or rearrange the order of the photos. The post will show up in friends’ news feeds as a photo collage rather than a horizontal group of photos.


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Wells Fargo offers up to $20 credits for Apple Pay users, says business Visa support coming next month

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 27 2014 - 12:46 pm PT
4 Comments
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As others have in promotion of Apple Pay service, Wells Fargo is offering customers up to $20 credits on their bill just for trying out the new NFC-based payments service. Readers sent in screenshots of an email (pictured above) that Wells Fargo has sent out to customers informing them of the credits in a promotion that will last until November 30. The company also confirmed that Apple Pay support for its business Visa cards is arriving next month…
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Yelp iOS app updated for iPhone 6/6 Plus, new Directions button

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 27 2014 - 12:34 pm PT
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Today Yelp updated its app for iPhone and iPad with optimizations for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which means you can now finally take full advantage of the increased screen real estate on the devices.

The optimizations include a number of UI tweaks for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus that allow you to view more content on larger displays of the new phones.

In addition to the update for new iPhone users, Yelp also notes new and improved features for Directions with a new “Directions button which tells you just how long it’ll take to walk or drive to the business.”

The updated Yelp app, version 8.7.0, is available on the App Store now.

What’s New in Version 8.7.0

• For you early adopters with the new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, it’s time to get pumped. The Yelp app is now optimized for your fancy new phones.
• You’re going to love our new Directions button which tells you just how long it’ll take to walk or drive to the business.

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9to5Toys Last Call: 13-inch MacBook Air from $800 w/ .edu email, Camera+ for iOS free inside Apple Store app, more

Avatar for Oct 24 2014 - 5:23 pm PT
0 Comments

Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Apple 13.3-inch MacBook Air 1.4GHz/4GB/128GB: $850 or $800 w/ .edu email (Reg. $999)

Camera+ for iOS now available for free inside the Apple Store app ($2.99 value)

VisionTek packs a high-performance Solid-State Drive into a USB 3.0 flash drive

Dyson’s first blade-less humidifier keeps your family healthy and comfortable

PSA: original iPad Air Smart Covers will fit iPad Air 2, save up to 50% now

Small States: Tinsel and Timber makes beautiful wooden homes for Apple TV and other accessories, multiple giveaways & 10% promo code

Other new deals:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_VBXRZuHTc?rel=0]

More deals still:

New products/ongoing promos:

Creators of ‘Room’ say Facebook copied their chatroom app, threaten legal action

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 24 2014 - 12:36 pm PT
16 Comments
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Facebook’s new ‘Rooms’ app                              Room Inc’s ‘Room’ app

Following the launch of Facebook’s new “Rooms” app for iPhone, the company behind a similar piece of software called “Room” is claiming the social media outlet copied its intellectual property. The Room application, which like Facebook’s app allows users to create and invite others to chatrooms while remaining anonymous, was first released on the App Store back in September.

The company’s Damien Rottemberg, Co-Founder and CTO of Room, sent over the following statement on the situation:
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PSA: Bitcasa ending unlimited cloud storage, data will be deleted if not migrated by 15th Nov

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Oct 24 2014 - 5:42 am PT
10 Comments

The (almost) free lunch promised by Bitcasa of unlimited cloud storage for just $99/year is coming to an end, and the company has also informed users that they will need to manually migrate all data to a new backend by 15th November or it will be deleted.

Bitcasa was able to offer low-cost “infinite storage” because it figured that most users would have only a relatively small proportion of unique content. As I mentioned in my comparative review:

The company estimates that most people have no more than 25GB of unique content on their computers, the rest – music, movies, etc – being content held in common with other people. For that data, Bitcasa stores only one copy of the file, with the rest of our backups containing a pointer to it.

But, says, Bitcasa, some people have been “abusing” the facility, which seems to be a reference to businesses storing large quantities of data in what is supposed to be a personal account.

While that may seem understandable, what is rather less so is giving users such a short time to migrate their data before it is lost, especially when the company’s support document recommends that people do this one folder at a time.

We recommend that you do not drag all your files and folders at once. Instead, drag one folder at a time and wait for it to complete before moving onto the next file/folder.

Those on unlimited subscriptions are being offered a choice of 1TB for the same $99/year, or 10TB for a rather eye-watering $999/year. The company says that only 0.5% of its subscribers have more than 1TB of data.

There is an attempt on Reddit to start a class-action lawsuit against the company.

Developer says Apple sent them pornographic image when rejecting app

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Oct 24 2014 - 4:06 am PT
36 Comments
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Apple’s developer guidelines on explicit content

An iOS developer said Apple demonstrated that their app could be used to surf for porn by sending them a screenshot containing a pornographic image. Carl Smith shared the story of the rejection of Wave, an app for browsing Instagram and public images, in a blog post.

It turns out Apple thought the best way to tell us our app could be used to surf porn was to surf for porn using our app. Then send us some pictures and say take a look at these! Except they said, “Please see the attached screenshot for more information.” So with no warning […]

They sent us a picture of a guy masturbating.

The explicit image was attached to an email rejecting the app on the basis that the process for flagging inappropriate content was inadequate … 
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BBEdit 11 released with updated clipping system, text extraction tool, and more

Avatar for Mike Beasley Oct 23 2014 - 6:56 pm PT
0 Comments

Text/HTML editor BBEdit got upgraded to version 11 this week with a huge number of new features, improvements, and fixes. The highlights include improved syntax highlighting, an updated interface for the “Find Differences” feature, and a new text extraction capability. The Clipping system has been updated to allow for the creation of snippets that can be used in any language, or just in one.

You can get BBEdit 11 for $49.99 if you don’t own a previous verison, or $29.99 if you own version 10. Upgrading from version 9 or lower is also possible, but will cost $39.99. Customers who bought BBEdit 10 on or after May 1, 2014 will get version 11 for free. The app is available from the Bare Bones Software website. Like Realmac’s RapidWeaver 6, BBEdit 11 is not available on the Mac App Store.

The full (and lengthy) change log is below and goes into very fine detail about every change in the new version.


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9to5Toys Last Call: iPad Air Smart Covers up to 50% off, Seagate 2TB desktop HDD $70, Beats Solo2 $160, more

Avatar for Oct 23 2014 - 12:42 pm PT
0 Comments

Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:
PSA: original iPad Air Smart Covers will fit iPad Air 2, save up to 50% now

USB 3.0 Desktop HDDs: Seagate Backup Plus 2TB $70 (orig. $120), WD Elements 3TB $91 (orig. $160)

Beats By Dr. Dre Solo2 on-ear headphones (all colors): $160 shipped (Reg. $200), more

Bang & Olufsen enters the competitive portable Bluetooth speaker arena with its gorgeous BeoPlay A2

Small States: Tinsel and Timber makes beautiful wooden homes for Apple TV and other accessories, multiple giveaways & 10% promo code

Other new deals:

More deals still:

New products/ongoing promos:

Facebook releases ‘Rooms’ for iPhone, a chat room app that lets you go anonymous

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 23 2014 - 10:52 am PT
12 Comments
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Facebook is today unveiling the latest app being released under the company’s Creative Labs project that recently released the new Paper, Slingshot, and Mentions apps. The new app, called Rooms, is described by Facebook as a meeting place inspired by early Internet chatrooms and web communities: Rooms lets you create places for the things you’re into, and invite others who are into them too.
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Continuity Activation Tool enables Handoff/Instant Hotspot/AirDrop features on unsupported Macs

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 23 2014 - 10:07 am PT
38 Comments

Apple decided not to support all Bluetooth 4.0 capable Macs for its new Continuity features in OS X Yosemite for undisclosed reasons, but it is possible to get the feature up and running on some older, unsupported Macs. Previously it required a bit of manual tinkering, but now a utility called OS X Continuity Activation Tool makes the process much easier.
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iHeartRadio iPhone app updated w/ CarPlay support & Today widget

Avatar for Zac Hall Oct 23 2014 - 9:16 am PT
1 Comment
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iHeartRadio, the Internet radio streaming app, is out with a new version for iPhone today adding a couple of new features for listeners. First up is support for Apple’s CarPlay feature for CarPlay-equipped vehicles. This presents an optimized version of the iPhone app on CarPlay equipped cars’ built-in screens when connected to the iPhone making it easier to navigate and control the app when driving.

Apple has mentioned that iHeartRadio is a supported CarPlay app since the re-branded feature was introduced earlier this year, but support was not yet available when we reviewed CarPlay in an aftermarket Pioneer display last month. iHeartRadio brings a wide variety of content to CarPlay with stations ranging from talk radio to sports to various music genres, and traditional AM/FM stations with online streams can be accessed through CarPlay using the new iHeartRadio app for iPhone.
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Review: Pixelmator for iPad out now, a desktop-class photo editor for a mobile device

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Oct 23 2014 - 4:00 am PT
26 Comments
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Note: The app is still rolling out worldwide. Check back soon if the links don’t work for you!

Announced during Apple’s October event, Pixelmator for iPad ($4.99) is an important stepping stone in the iPad’s history. The Mac app is regularly featured by Apple as an exemplar app in the Mac App Store and it is clear Apple wants to use Pixelmator as a ‘trophy’ app in the same way. No doubt this app (aside from games) is one of a handful that will directly benefit from the A8X performance gains.

I tested the app on an iPad Air, although the app technically supports all the way back to iPad 3, even some operations on the Air felt slow. I would be a bit cautious if you intend to install it on one of Apple’s older tablets.

As a 1.0 release, the depth and breadth of this app is staggering. There are a myriad of effects, painting brushes, color adjustments and other features to help edit and create images. The vast majority of the Mac app’s functionality have been ported across to the iPad with a touch-friendly interface, including advanced editing options like layer styles. There are also some template options that aren’t currently included in the Mac app to appease the ‘Photo Booth’ selfie crowd.

Read on for 9to5Mac’s full review of Pixelmator for iPad …


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9to5Toys Last Call: Seagate 2TB $80/ WD 1.5TB $60, Foscam wireless IP cam $73, Olloclip for iPhone 6/Plus pre-order, more

Avatar for Oct 22 2014 - 3:04 pm PT
0 Comments

Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Daily Deals: Seagate 2TB $80 or WD 1.5TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive $60, more

Foscam FI9821W V2 HD Wireless Pan/Tilt IP Camera $73 shipped (orig. $160)

Olloclip for iPhone 6/Plus adds four advanced photo lenses to front and rear cameras

Target announces free shipping for all items through the holiday shopping season

SanDisk Connect Wireless iOS Flash Drive: 64GB for $68 (Reg. $100) and 32GB for $45 (Reg. $60)

Best Buy trade offer is the best way to jump from iPad 2 to iPad Air 2

Small States: Tinsel and Timber makes beautiful wooden homes for Apple TV and other accessories, multiple giveaways & 10% promo code

Other new deals:

More deals still:

New products/ongoing promos:

Inbox for Gmail: hands-on and first impressions

Avatar for 9to5 Staff Oct 22 2014 - 1:08 pm PT
22 Comments

Google this afternoon announced Inbox for Gmail, its all-new emailing solution that is intended to coexist with the regular Gmail platform (Think Paper for Facebook?). Inbox for Gmail is available on an invite only basis for Android, iOS and Chrome. I am fortunate enough to have received an invite to Inbox for Gmail, and I have been giving the iPhone app a rundown to see how it works. For the most part, Inbox is everything that you know and love about Gmail in a sleeker package.


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Yahoo Mail iOS app updated w/ travel & event notifications in Today view

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 22 2014 - 12:47 pm PT
0 Comments

Yahoo updated its Yahoo Mail mobile apps today bringing new travel and event notifications to the app for iPhone and iPad.

For travel, the app’s “Today” view will now display information on flights including when flights are cancelled or delayed, and users will be able to “get directions to the airport, call the airline to rebook your flight or go directly to the airline website” in a single tap.

“And once you land at your destination, you’ll receive suggestions for the top restaurants and attractions in the area, with reviews and pictures from Yelp.”

The updated Yahoo Mail app also provides notifications for events in the Today view from Evite, Eventbrite, and Ticketmaster, event information, and the ability to view and share directions.

Yahoo also said the update includes “the latest headlines with News notifications” that can be switched off in Settings. All of the new features are available in the U.S. only.

The updated Yahoo Mail app for iPhone and iPad is available on the App Store now.

What’s New in Version 3.2.8

– The Multi-talented Yahoo Mail app is now even smarter. Now in Yahoo Today, view your upcoming flight details plus get real time updates of flight delays or changes. Also, see your upcoming events which you can map directions to and easily share with friends. Available in the US only.
– Stay on top of the latest headlines with News notifications. Turn it on or off anytime under Settings. Available in the US only.
– Performance improvements
– Bug fixes

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Amazon confirms it’s working on Apple Pay support for its Visa rewards card

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 22 2014 - 8:56 am PT
3 Comments

Following our report yesterday that some card types are not yet supported with Apple Pay, today Amazon confirmed in a statement to GeekWire that its working to offer support for its Amazon Rewards Visa Cards.

A Chase spokesman confirmed to GeekWire that Amazon is not supporting Apple Pay initially, but did not provide a reason… But an Amazon spokesman confirmed to GeekWire this evening it is working to enable the Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card for use on Apple Pay, although declined to say when it would be available.

Yesterday we noted that some co-branded cards, as well as other card types from business cards to prepaid cards, are not yet supported on Apple Pay through certain banks. Many readers reported that Amazon’s Rewards cards for Chase were not yet working, but today is our first official word from Amazon that its indeed not yet supporting the platform. Apple lists Chase as supporting co-branded cards, but it does warn users to contact their bank for information about specific cards that are supported.

As we noted yesterday, Apple’s support document confirms that only American Express and Capital One are listed as supporting small business credit cards, for example. Capital One and J.P. Morgan, on the other hand, don’t support Co-branded cards (Airline, hotel, retail, rewards), while the other banks do. Corporate cards are also not yet supported, while several readers report problems with some card types that are listed as supported in Apple’s chart (below).

Fantastical for iOS updated w/ Today view widget, extension, interactive notifications

Avatar for Zac Hall Oct 22 2014 - 7:00 am PT
6 Comments
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Fantastical for iPhone and iPad, the alternative calendar and Reminders app from Flexibits, received a major feature update today for iOS 8 users. If you’re unfamiliar with Fantastical, the ability to turn text input like “Dinner with Tim tomorrow night at 7pm” into a calendar appointment without fiddling with menus and dials is it’s killer feature.

Fantastical for iPhone received an update last month which optimized the user interface for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users, and today’s new version adds a Today view widget in Notification Center, an app extension for use in other apps, and interactive notifications for responding to alerts without even opening the app. Check out the new features in the latest version of Fantastical for iPhone and iPad below.
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Google updates Hangouts for iOS with support for larger displays

Avatar for Mike Beasley Oct 21 2014 - 5:46 pm PT
0 Comments

Google has released an update to the Hangouts app for iOS that contains support for the larger displays on the latest iPhones. There don’t seem to be any other changes in this version. You can grab the messaging and video calling application for free on the iTunes App Store.

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9to5Toys Last Call: SanDisk 64GB iOS Flash Drive $68, Belkin Bluetooth car kit $28, Intel 120GB SSD $60, more

Avatar for Oct 21 2014 - 2:46 pm PT
0 Comments

Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

SanDisk Connect Wireless iOS Flash Drive: 64GB for $68 (Reg. $100) and 32GB for $45 (Reg. $60)

Add Bluetooth to your car – Belkin Hands-Free Bluetooth Car Kit: $27.58 AC shipped

2.5-inch Solid-State Drives: Intel 530 Series 120GB $60 (orig. $150), Crucial m4 256GB (refurb) $85 (orig. $300)

Apple’s former Director of Industrial Design is behind the new Leeo Smart Alert Nightlight

Civilization: Beyond Earth is coming to Mac this holiday season

Review roundup: Kindle Voyage is unanimously the best e-reader ever but is its $199 price tag justified?

 

Best Buy trade offer is the best way to jump from iPad 2 to iPad Air 2

Small States: Tinsel and Timber makes beautiful wooden homes for Apple TV and other accessories, multiple giveaways & 10% promo code

Other new deals:

More deals still:

New products/ongoing promos:

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Vine iPhone update adds iPhone 6/Plus enhancements, iOS 8 share extension, & more

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 21 2014 - 9:36 am PT
1 Comment

The Vine iPhone app today received an updated to version 3.0.0 and with it comes UI enhancements and full support for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users. Also included in today’s update is a new share extension for iOS 8, allowing users to take advantage of the new feature for quickly sharing videos from camera roll or other apps to Vine.

Other improvements include a new “+” button for quickly following channels and having featured posts appear in your home feed. The company said it also “updated the app to look great on iPhone 6 and 6 Plus,” which allows the app to display more content on the larger displays of the new iPhones. 

The updated Vine app for iPhone is available on the App Store. A full list of what’s new in version 3.0.0 is below:

What’s New in Version 3.0.0

This release is packed with updates that help you find great Vines to watch, take advantage of iOS 8 extensions, and improve Vine for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
– Follow channels: Tap the new “+” button at the top of any Vine channel to get select featured posts from that channel right in your home feed!
– Share extension: With the new iOS 8 share extension, it’s easier than ever to share videos directly from your camera roll or other video apps with Vine.
– Easy on the eyes: We’ve also updated the app to look great on iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

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Infuse for iOS updated for iPhone 6 and iOS 8 with new features and design tweaks

Avatar for Mike Beasley Oct 21 2014 - 8:47 am PT
3 Comments

Infuse has been updated to version 3.0 and introduced a host of changes and upgrades. The app is now fully compatible with iOS 8 and the newer iPhone models and features several design tweaks such as improvements to browsing TV shows and an all-new dark mode.

Functional improvements include the ability to download videos in the background and stream synced files over HTTP from wireless external hard drive and more. You can mark movies and shows as watched or unwatched and the app now features 2-way sync for your Trakt.tv viewing history. You can also now use your own folder artwork in the file fiewer and quickly access your favorite streamed folders.

Infuse 3 is a free app with a $9.99 in-app purchase to upgrade to Infuse Pro. The extensive list of changes is below:

  • Optimized for iOS 8, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus
  • Streaming is now available to free users
  • Share synced files via AirDrop
  • Create favorites for quick access to streamed folders
  • Download content from the main ticket view
  • Huge improvements for browsing TV show collections
  • Dark mode theme
  • Download/stream synced files via HTTP
  • Download videos in the background
  • Use your own folder artwork (folder.png or folder.jpg)
  • Default language options for audio, subtitles, and metadata
  • Sync/stream over 4G/LTE cellular
  • Manual artwork for folders (use folder.jpg or folder.png)
  • Mark movies and shows as watched/unwatched
  • 2-way trakt watched history sync
  • Sort files by name or date
  • Tap ticket artwork to start video playback
  • Manual movie/show title search
  • Transfer files via Wi-Fi when iPhone is acting as a hotspot
  • Initial URL scheme for video streaming
  • Better support for subtitle encoding types
  • Better support for some TV series
  • Better handling of new and past In-App purchases
  • Improved AirPlay reliability
  • Improved subtitle support for Arabic languages
  • Improved playback of some h.264 content
  • Resolved issues with missing synced iTunes content
  • Various UI updates
  • Many other reliability and performance improvements