Apps

6,253 'Apps' stories April 2010 - October 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.

Tweetbot updated with iPhone 6 support, actionable notifications, 1Password and more

Mike Beasley Oct 1 2014 - 10:36 am PT

24 Comments

Tweetbot, the incredibly popular iPhone Twitter client, has just been updated with support for the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus displays. The update includes interactive notification banners that allow you to quickly favorite, retweet, or reply to tweets as they come in.

The new version also includes the ability to login to an account using the new 1Password extension introduced in the newest update to that app. Other third-party extensions will also be supported through native iOS 8 share sheets. Other miscellaneous bug fixes are included to round out the update.

You can grab Tweetbot 3.5 for iPhone on the App Store for $4.99. It’s free for existing users. The full change log is below.

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9to5Toys Last Call: XCOM: Enemy Unknown free, Nikon D3300 (refurb) $400, Roku stick (refurb) $35, more

Oct 1 2014 - 9:18 am 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:

Last Call updates:

Parrot’s Zik 2.0 Bluetooth headphones add deep app integration & noise cancellation
Golden Joystick Awards offer voters a free copy of XCOM: Enemy Unknown for Mac/PC
~~Brother HL-2280DW 3-In-One Monochrome Wireless Laser Printer: $90 shipped (orig. $200)~~
Nikon D3300 DSLR w/ 18-55mm lens kit (refurb) $400 shipped (orig. $650)
REI Mega Sale: Coleman Tent $45, North Face Grizzly Jacket $61, Kelty Daypack $33, more
10% off laptop bags, shoes and more at 6PM.com: mens dress shoes as low as $16
Home: Mr. Beams LED Lantern w/ USB charging $17, Bosch Router Table $118, more

~~WD Elements 2TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive: $80 shipped (orig. $120)~~

Roku Streaming Stick w/ remote (refurb) $35 shipped (Reg. $50)

HDTVs:

Sharp AQUOS 60-inch LED Smart HDTV: $780 shipped (orig. $1,000)
Samsung 60-inch 1080p Plasma $700, TCL 50-inch 4K $450, Seiki 39-inch 4K $299, more

iOttie Easy Flex 2 Car/Desk Mount + RapidVOLT dual car charger $20 shipped (orig. $43)

Small States: Owen & Fred send a message and look good doing it, giveaway worth $412, 10% promo code

Other new deals:

New! Receivers: Denon AVR-E400 7.1 w/ AirPlay $300, Pioneer VSX-523 5.1 (refurb) $125
New! Daily Deals: Jawbone Mini Jambox: $69, Foscam Wireless IP Cam: $55, more
New! Games/Apps: Scrabble for iPhone/iPad up to 62% off, white DualShock 4 $45, more
New! 1-yr mag subs from $5 w/ digital access: Wired, GQ, Fortune, Sports illustrated, more
New! Lucky Brand 30% sitewide sale on all jeans and apparel

More deals still alive:

Pebble Smart Watch for Apple/Android $100 (Reg. $150), Moto 360 Stone Leather: $250
Apple 32GB WiFi iPads: Air $490 (reg. $599), mini $280 (orig. $429)
TRENDnet 500AV Nano Adapter Powerline Kit $25 shipped (orig. $65)
uNu DX iPhone 5/5s 2300mAh MFi protective battery case $40 shipped (Reg. $80)
Download a copy of Jason Aldean’s “Night Train” album for free (~$10 value)
Headphones: Harman BT over-ears (refurb) $99 (orig. $250), Scosche in-ears $41 (orig. $250)
Sony DRB Bluetooth headphones (black or white) from $59 shipped (Reg. $130)
Apple 32GB WiFi iPads: Air $490 (reg. $599), mini $280 (orig. $429)
Top Bluetooth speakers: Ultimate Ears Mini Boom: $79, Jawbone JAMBOX $83
Sony speakers (refurb): HT-CT60 2.1 soundbar $60, 5.1 home theater system $59
Jabra Solemate Mini wireless Bluetooth speaker $32 shipped (Reg. $100)
HP Chromebox CB1 desktop computer 1.4GHz/2GB/16GB SSD $139 (Reg. $180)
25% off 3 accessories at AT&T store: Apple, Beats, JBL, Jambox and more

More iPhone 6/6 Plus deals, accessories, and trade offers:

iloome readies “the world’s first” curved tempered glass screen protector for iPhone 6/6 Plus
Roundup: the best ultra tough Lightning cables for your new iPhone 6/6 Plus
Faster 2.1A chargers/batteries, more for iPhone 6/Plus quick charging (roundup)
Apple isn’t making an iPhone 6/6 Plus dock, here are your best options
Couldn’t score a 128GB iPhone? Add storage to any iPhone w/ a wireless drive
Best iPhone 6/6 Plus plan in US? T-Mobile unlmtd.100 mins talk: $30/month
Should you protect your new iPhone 6/6 Plus with AppleCare+ or SquareTrade?

New products/ongoing promos:

Relonch accessory camera lets your iPhone 5/6 take “magazine-class” photos
Pokémon TCG Online for iPad is now available for download in the U.S
SteelSeries re-invents its Siberia line of headsets with every gamer in mind
Ring Wi-Fi enabled doorbell that lets you answer the door even when you’re not home
GoPro’s HERO4 shoots 4K video at 30FPS, all-new HERO model is its most affordable ever
Samsung’s new 27-inch LED monitor curves for a more immersive viewing experience
Polaroid’s Cube action camera is just over 1 cubic inch, shoots 1080p, and is less than $100
GRID 2 Reloaded Edition is now available on Mac
Haven smartlock can stop a battering ram and will integrate with Apple HomeKit
Apple Store offers 11.6″ MacBook Air (2012 model refurb) w/ 1-year warranty: $599
IK Multimedia intros its new iRig Pads portable MIDI controller for iOS and Mac/PC
Refurbished 2013 Mac Pro models now on Apple online store at 15% discount

PSA for parents: Apple recommending inappropriate apps for kids due to App Store bug

Jordan Kahn Oct 1 2014 - 7:12 am PT

12 Comments

If you use the Kids sections in the App Store for finding appropriate apps for children, you might want to be careful until Apple fixes a bug that’s currently displaying the wrong apps for kids. Specifically, the “Kids” category under the App Store’s Top Charts section is currently displaying apps that should go in the main “All Categories” section. That means that the All Kids, Kids 5 & Under, Kids 6-8, and Kids 9-11 categories are currently displaying many apps that are inappropriate for kids (pictured above).

The bug appears to be iOS 8 only, and is present in App Stores in at least the US, Canada, and Germany. Reader and developers at Happy-Touch informed us of the issue, which we confirmed on an iOS device in the Canadian and US App Stores. Apple is aware of the bug.

iPhone app Numerous adds iCloud sign-in, Today widget, more

Zac Hall Oct 1 2014 - 6:53 am PT

0 Comments

Numerous, the number tracking app for iPhone, previewed a new version of the app over the summer with several features that take advantage of iOS 8. Today the update is live and includes support for HealthKit to read data from Apple’s Health app, a Today widget in Notification Center for glancing at numbers you track, and added AirPlay support for displaying an optimized version of your numbers on Apple TV.

The update also includes iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus enhancements and landscape support, but iCloud sign-in support is probably my favorite addition. Introduced earlier this year at WWDC, iCloud sign-in support allows developers to offer app users an alternative to easy log-ins through social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
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Pokemon trading card game demoed in August now available for iPad

Mike Beasley Sep 30 2014 - 11:41 pm PT

6 Comments

In August we got a glimpse of the upcoming Pokemon trading card game for iPad in what would be the first official Pokemon game for Apple’s platform. Tonight the app became available on the App Store.

The game features both a single-player mode in which you play against a computer as well as an online version that allows you to challenge other players as well as a full deck management system.

You can grab Pokemon TCG for free on any iPad that has a Retina display (non-Retina models aren’t supported). The App Store description is below:

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Yosemite GM provides an early look at new versions of Pages and Keynote for Mac

Mike Beasley Sep 30 2014 - 8:42 pm PT

16 Comments

On Tuesday Apple provided developers and beta testers with the GM build of OS X Yosemite, which will likely be the version that ships to consumers later in October (although since this is only a “GM candidate” we may see another build sometime before then). Earlier we noted that this build includes updated videos to demonstrate the trackpad gestures in System Preferences that showed off new iWork icons.

As it turns out, those demo videos also give us a quick look at what will almost certainly be the next major version of Apple’s iWork suite. Above you can see an unreleased version of Pages that features a redesigned toolbar and other tweaks. Another of the videos has our first look at the updated Keynote app:

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9to5Toys Last Call: Bose SIE2i headphones $100, Samsung wireless laser printer $100, iPad Air 32GB $490, more

Sep 30 2014 - 2:25 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:

Headphones: Bose SIE2i Sport in-ears (multiple colors) $100 (orig. $150), Harman Bluetooth over-ears (refurb) $99 (orig. $250), more

Daily Deals: Samsung Mono Laser Printer: $100, Creative Bluetooth speaker: $30, more

Apple 32GB WiFi iPads: Air (Silver or Space Gray) $490 (reg. $599), mini (Space Gray) $280 (orig. $429)

Ends today! ZAGG 20% off sitewide coupon: iPhone 6/6 Plus protection from $12 http://t.co/qDq5r01bcc pic.twitter.com/F61gzJacAG

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) September 30, 2014

Relonch accessory camera lets your iPhone 5/6 take “magazine-class” photos

Pebble Smart Watch for Apple and Android $100 (Reg. $150), Moto 360 Stone Leather: $250

Small States: Owen & Fred send a message and look good doing it, giveaway worth $412, 10% promo code

Other new deals:

“@amazon: Need a portable charger for your new phone? Check out this 77% off Lightning Deal http://t.co/5JSqkYZCny pic.twitter.com/nlgStFHgpa”

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) September 30, 2014

New! Ring Wi-Fi enabled doorbell that lets you answer the door even when you’re not home
New! SteelSeries re-invents its Siberia line of headsets with every gamer in mind
New! uNu DX iPhone 5/5s 2300mAh MFi protective battery case $40 shipped (Reg. $80)
New! TRENDnet 500AV Nano Adapter Powerline Kit $25 shipped (orig. $65)
New! Games/Apps: Dead Rising 3 & Ryse $33 ea, Fast Cam & Instaflash go free, more
New! Worx blower (refurb) $65 (orig. $160), SodaStream soda maker $50 (orig. $130), more
New! Download a copy of Jason Aldean’s “Night Train” album for free (~$10 value)
New! iOttie Easy Flex 2 Car/Desk Mount (works w/ iPhone 6) + RapidVOLT dual car charger $20 shipped (orig. $43)

More deals still alive:

Back in stock! Seagate Expansion 2TB USB 3 portable hard drive: $80 shipped http://t.co/Zj4X2GK4oO

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) September 30, 2014

Samsung 60-inch 1080p Plasma $700, TCL 50-inch 4K $450, Seiki 39-inch 4K $299, more
Sony DRB Bluetooth headphones (black or white) from $59 shipped (Reg. $130)
Apple 32GB WiFi iPads: Air $490 (reg. $599), mini $280 (orig. $429)
Top Bluetooth speakers: Ultimate Ears Mini Boom: $79, Jawbone JAMBOX $83
Sony speakers (refurb): HT-CT60 2.1 soundbar $60, 5.1 home theater system $59
Jabra Solemate Mini wireless Bluetooth speaker $32 shipped (Reg. $100)
HP Chromebox CB1 desktop computer 1.4GHz/2GB/16GB SSD $139 (Reg. $180)
25% off 3 accessories at AT&T store: Apple, Beats, JBL, Jambox and more
ZyXEL pocket-sized $15 (orig. $40), TRENDnet wireless AC $24 (orig. $60), more
13.3-inch MacBook Pro w/ Retina display (newest version) $1,300 w/.edu ($199 off)

More iPhone 6/6 Plus deals, accessories, and trade offers:

iloome readies “the world’s first” curved tempered glass screen protector for iPhone 6/6 Plus
Roundup: the best ultra tough Lightning cables for your new iPhone 6/6 Plus
Faster 2.1A chargers/batteries, more for iPhone 6/Plus quick charging (roundup)
Apple isn’t making an iPhone 6/6 Plus dock, here are your best options
Couldn’t score a 128GB iPhone? Add storage to any iPhone w/ a wireless drive
Best iPhone 6/6 Plus plan in US? T-Mobile unlmtd.100 mins talk: $30/month
Should you protect your new iPhone 6/6 Plus with AppleCare+ or SquareTrade?

New products/ongoing promos:

GoPro’s HERO4 shoots 4K video at 30FPS, all-new HERO model is its most affordable ever
Samsung’s new 27-inch LED monitor curves for a more immersive viewing experience
Polaroid’s Cube action camera is just over 1 cubic inch, shoots 1080p, and is less than $100
GRID 2 Reloaded Edition is now available on Mac
Haven smartlock can stop a battering ram and will integrate with Apple HomeKit
Apple Store offers 11.6″ MacBook Air (2012 model refurb) w/ 1-year warranty: $599
IK Multimedia intros its new iRig Pads portable MIDI controller for iOS and Mac/PC
Refurbished 2013 Mac Pro models now on Apple online store at 15% discount
Gameloft’s new 80’s inspired Asphalt Overdrive lane racer now availble
Dragon Dictate for Mac 4 (digital download) $100 (Reg. $200)
Karma’s pay-as-you-go mobile hotspot offers nationwide LTE, pre-orders $50 off

‘Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel’ will arrive on Mac Oct. 14, same day as PC & consoles

Jordan Kahn Sep 30 2014 - 1:24 pm PT

4 Comments

Aspyr just announced that it’s going to release the much anticipated next installment in the Borderlands series on October 14. For anyone keeping score, that’s the same day scheduled for 2K’s release on PC and consoles! The company also confirmed that Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel for Mac will feature everything the PC release has including cross-platform multiplayer and future DLC:
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Spotify music streaming service finally launches in Canada

Jordan Kahn Sep 30 2014 - 7:21 am PT

0 Comments

Spotify announced today that it’s finally expanding into Canada giving Canucks access to the music streaming service that was previously available in the UK, US and a long list of other European and South American countries.

The official announcement comes from Spotify’s blog following a beta period in the country in which the company invited select users to sign-up and try out the service.

Canadians that download the Spotify app will be able to access the service’s usual “fully licensed free tier.” That includes the ability to “shuffle play on mobile or play any song on tablet or desktop,” but users can also pay $10 CAD per month for the unlimited, on-demand experience with the highest quality audio and no ads.

A full list of countries that Spotify is currently available in is here.

Weather Underground updated with iOS 8 widget featuring radar view and current conditions

Mike Beasley Sep 29 2014 - 4:13 pm PT

14 Comments

The popular Weather Underground app has been updated with support for iOS 8’s widgets that sports a lot more data than most weather widgets will give you. The new at-a-glance view in the Notification Center provides a look at current radar images and current weather conditions.

You can grab the free Weather Underground app from the iOS App Store. For even more iOS 8 widgets, check out our recent round-ups of general-purpose and weather-specific widgets, and more.

Apple woes continue: Some reporting iCloud down across iOS, Mac, and web

Stephen Hall Sep 29 2014 - 4:13 pm PT

32 Comments

Update: Apple says all is good.

It was less than an hour ago that we told you about a newly-discovered bug within iOS that could potentially delete your iWork files. But now, according to a variety of internet reports, Apple’s month of misadventure continues as iCloud is currently experiencing an outage of some kind. Most notably, it seems as if many are being prompted over and over to enter their iCloud credentials within iOS. Apple has acknowledged the outage on its system status page:

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Kindle & Facebook Messenger updated for iPhone 6 support

Zac Hall Sep 29 2014 - 11:57 am PT

4 Comments

The list of updated apps for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus is still somewhat small since developers only learned of the new iPhone display resolutions earlier this month. The Kindle iPhone app from Amazon is joining that short list today, though, with a new version optimized for the iPhone 6.

That means that like iBooks, text you read in Kindle’s iPhone app won’t be fuzzy or scaled up. If you prefer the zoomed up version, however, iPhone 6 users do have that option to make every app larger using the Display Zoom feature found in the accessibilities section of the Settings app on iOS.

Kindle’s previous added a handy widget in Notification Center’s Today view for quickly accessing books you’re reading. Kindle for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

Facebook Messenger has also been updated for the new iPhone models. Notably, the chat app has beat the primary app for the social network in updating for the new iPhones.

iHealth’s nine iPhone-connected healthcare accessories now work with iOS 8’s Health app

Jordan Kahn Sep 29 2014 - 11:04 am PT

19 Comments

iHealth, maker of various iPhone connected healthcare accessories, today announced that its iOS apps are being updated with HealthKit integration. That means that the users of the company’s Wireless Blood Pressure Monitors, Blood Glucose Meters, Wireless Scale, and other health tracking accessories will be able to sync data with the new iOS 8 Health app.
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iOS 8 Roundup: Apps updated for Health (running list)

Zac Hall Sep 29 2014 - 9:22 am PT

52 Comments

Over the weekend Apple shared a short list of HealthKit apps that work with the new Health app on iOS 8 after a few apps hit the App Store on Friday with HealthKit support included. Several more iPhone apps using HealthKit to share data with Apple’s Health app on iOS 8 have become available and more are anticipated from some big names shortly. We’ll continue to update the list below over the next few weeks with iPhone apps and accessories with HealthKit and Health support to give you a comprehensive list of apps that can put your Health app to better use.
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9to5Toys Last Call: Pebble smart watch $100, iPad Air 32GB WiFi $490, Samsung 60″ Plasma $700, more

Sep 29 2014 - 9:10 am PT

1 Comment

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:

Last Call updates:

Samsung’s new 27-inch LED monitor curves for a more immersive viewing experience
Apple 32GB WiFi iPads: Air $490 (reg. $599), mini $280 (orig. $429)
Sony DRB Bluetooth headphones (black or white) from $59 shipped (Reg. $130)
Rachael Ray 10-Piece Cookware Set $100 ($90 off), Breville Juicer $120, more

Pebble Smart Watch for Apple and Android $100 (Reg. $150), Moto 360 Stone Leather: $250

~~Samsung 840 Pro 512GB 2.5-inch Solid-State Drive $250 shipped (orig. $500)~~

Samsung 60-inch 1080p Plasma $700, TCL 50-inch 4K $450, Seiki 39-inch 4K $299, more

iloome readies “the world’s first” curved tempered glass screen protector for iPhone 6/6 Plus

GoPro’s HERO4 shoots 4K video at 30FPS, while the all-new HERO model is its most affordable ever

Small States: Owen & Fred send a message and look good doing it, giveaway worth $412, 10% promo code

Back again: $5 off $20 iPhone 6 accessories at eBay – chargers, cases, car mounts, more http://t.co/UjFncrQYzt

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) September 29, 2014

Other new deals:

New! Jabra Solemate Mini wireless Bluetooth speaker $32 shipped (Reg. $100)
New! Daily Deals: Garmin Nüvi 5″ GPS $83, Monster 1650mAh PowerCard $15, more
New! Roku 3 1080p streaming media player $70 shipped (Reg. $100)
New! HP Chromebox CB1 desktop computer 1.4GHz/2GB/16GB SSD $139 (Reg. $180)
New! Sony speakers (refurb): HT-CT60 2.1 soundbar $60, 5.1 home theater system $59
New! Top Bluetooth speakers: Ultimate Ears Mini Boom: $79, Jawbone JAMBOX $83

More deals still alive:

iOttie Easy One Touch 2 smartphone car mount (works w/ iPhone 6/6 Plus): $18 (Reg. $30)
25% off 3 accessories at AT&T store: Apple, Beats, JBL, Jambox and more
ZyXEL pocket-sized $15 (orig. $40), TRENDnet wireless AC $24 (orig. $60), more
13.3-inch MacBook Pro w/ Retina display (newest version) $1,300 w/.edu ($199 off)
LifeProof nüüd case for iPad Air $68 shipped (Reg. $130)
Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for Apple iPad Air (refurb) $30 shipped (Reg. $100)
Sennheiser Momentum over-ear headphones (brown) $180 (orig. $380)

More iPhone 6/6 Plus deals, accessories, and trade offers:

Roundup: the best ultra tough Lightning cables for your new iPhone 6/6 Plus
Faster 2.1A chargers/batteries, more for iPhone 6/Plus quick charging (roundup)
Apple isn’t making an iPhone 6/6 Plus dock, here are your best options
Couldn’t score a 128GB iPhone? Add storage to any iPhone w/ a wireless drive
Best iPhone 6/6 Plus plan in US? T-Mobile unlmtd.100 mins talk: $30/month
Should you protect your new iPhone 6/6 Plus with AppleCare+ or SquareTrade?

New products/ongoing promos:

Polaroid’s Cube action camera is just over 1 cubic inch, shoots 1080p, and is less than $100
GRID 2 Reloaded Edition is now available on Mac
Haven smartlock can stop a battering ram and will integrate with Apple HomeKit
Apple Store offers 11.6″ MacBook Air (2012 model refurb) w/ 1-year warranty: $599
IK Multimedia intros its new iRig Pads portable MIDI controller for iOS and Mac/PC
Refurbished 2013 Mac Pro models now on Apple online store at 15% discount
Gameloft’s new 80’s inspired Asphalt Overdrive lane racer now availble
Dragon Dictate for Mac 4 (digital download) $100 (Reg. $200)
Karma’s pay-as-you-go mobile hotspot offers nationwide LTE, pre-orders $50 off
Wink’s new touchscreen controller brings added convenience to home automation

Waze app now automatically remembers where you park

Jordan Kahn Sep 29 2014 - 8:33 am PT

16 Comments

Waze , the maps and navigation app acquired by Google last year, today gets an update that introduces a few new features to help improve navigation through user feedback.

First up, the app will now automatically remember and save where you park when using it to navigate to your destination: ”Your parking location will be saved automatically. Plus, you’ll help Waze learn where to find parking & how much time to account.”

Other new features included in today’s version 3.9 update: the ability to “easily add or edit places, business or residential” as well options for adding arrival photos and driving info for specific destinations. In addition, the update adds search autocomplete worldwide for all users.

The Waze app is available now on iPhone and iPad for free.

What’s New in Version 3.9

Version 3.9 introduces Waze Places! Help make information on local places fresh & accurate for everyone.

– Easily add or edit places, business or residential
– Add driving related info like if a place has a parking lot or drive-thru
– Add arrival photos to help others find a place at any time
– Drive with Waze until you park: your parking location will be saved automatically. Plus, you’ll help Waze learn where to find parking & how much time to account
– Search autocomplete added worldwide
– Multiple bug fixes and optimizations

Jawbone’s UP app adds HealthKit support, wristband not required

Zac Hall Sep 29 2014 - 7:07 am PT

14 Comments

Now that Apple has announced its entry into the fitness-tracking wearable space with the Apple Watch, Jawbone, the makers of the UP and UP24 activity trackers, has introduced a version of its UP iPhone app that works without requiring the fitness band. Instead, the new version of Jawbone’s health and fitness iPhone app adds support for Apple’s HealthKit feature and Health app on iOS 8 making UP’s software for tracking activity and sleep as well as logging meals more valuable to iPhone users wanting to fill the new Health app with data.
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Apple removes Launcher app from App Store for ‘misuse’ of iOS 8’s widget capability

Mike Beasley Sep 28 2014 - 12:50 pm PT

87 Comments

An iOS 8 app that allowed users to create custom shortcuts and access them from a Notification Center widget has been removed from the App Store by Apple for what it calls “misuse of widgets,” the developers said in a notice posted on the app’s website.

The app, called Launcher, worked by letting users enter a URL or select an application to be launched when a shortcut was tapped. The shortcuts would then be displayed in Notification Center, allowing quick access to a variety of tasks such as starting a phone or FaceTime call, creating a new text message, email, or iMessage, opening an application, or more.

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iOS 8 How-to: Customize and disable the contacts section in the multitasking interface

Sarah Guarino Sep 28 2014 - 12:00 pm PT

11 Comments

Multitasking dramatically got redesigned with iOS 7. With iOS 8, Multitasking added a shortcut to the people who are most important to you. In this how to, I will discuss customizing the people that appear at the top, using multitasking to contact your important people, as well as disabling it.

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Secret developers launch new notification-focused app called Ping

Mike Beasley Sep 26 2014 - 9:21 pm PT

6 Comments

The developers behind the controversial Secret social app have launched another piece of iOS software today. The new app is called Ping and its entire purpose is to send you notifications when certain events happen. It’s essentially like an automated version of Yo.

When you first launch Ping, you’ll be presented with a screen that allows you to choose what topics you want to be notified about. This can be anything from weather updates to “pickup lines for Friday night.” After you’ve picked a few topics to subscribe to, you close the app and wait. When there’s a change to one of those topics, you’ll get a push notification.

There’s not really much to the application beyond that. New topics can be pushed over-the-air by the developers, and you’ll be notified when new ones become available (several new ones have been added just since the app launched a few hours ago). The developers say that as you use the application it will learn to adapt to what you like or don’t like based on your usage.

Ping is free on the iOS App Store.

MLB At Bat app will for the first time live stream every World Series game, select Postseason games

Jordan Kahn Sep 26 2014 - 2:13 pm PT

1 Comment

The MLB.com At Bat app was updated today alongside a couple notable announcements including the league’s plan to live stream every World Series game and select Postseason games to all of its MLB.TV Premium subscribers through the app. The 2014 World Series is set to kick off on October 21.

The release notes add that the app will now also offer “Live Postseason coverage for every game through the 2014 World Series” and a Postseason.TV feature with “Live companion coverage featuring up to 10 alternate camera angles for the AL Wild Card, AL Division Series and AL Championship Series (TBS broadcasts only).”

The update MLB.com At Bat app is available in the App Store now for iPhone and iPad. Regular $129 for the full year, an MLB.TV Premium subscription is available to purchase now for $3.99 for the remainder of the season, World Series, and postseason.

What’s New in Version 7.4.2

• For the first time we will be streaming live every World Series game and select other Postseason games to all authenticated MLB.TV Premium subscribers
• Live Postseason coverage for every game through the 2014 World Series
• Postseason.TV: Live companion coverage featuring up to 10 alternate camera angles for the AL Wild Card, AL Division Series and AL Championship Series (TBS broadcasts only)
• General performance improvements

HealthKit support added to WebMD, Carrot Fit, Yummly, more

Zac Hall Sep 26 2014 - 2:02 pm PT

12 Comments

In addition to FitPort and MyFitnessPal, a few more app updates with HealthKit support have become available on the App Store. These updates allow you to share health and fitness data with Apple’s new Health app on iOS 8 now that Apple has enabled HealthKit with the release of iOS 8.0.2 after issues in iOS 8.0 and iOS 8.0.1.

First up is WebMD for iPhone. Users of the WebMD iPhone app can now allow the health information service’s Healthy Target feature to communicate with data shared with Apple’s health app. The benefit to this is WebMD uses this information to create “actionable insights on your health data”. WebMD’s update was previously available on iOS 8 launch day until Apple pulled HealthKit-enabled apps due to a late-discovered bug.

Carrot Fit is another app affected by the launch day issue, but its back today with full HealthKit integration. The unconventional workout app uses data from Apple’s Health app to monitor workouts, weight, and dieting for monitoring your fitness. This is how Carrot describes Fit’s HealthKit integration:
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iOS 8 Roundup: The best weather widgets for Notification Center

Zac Hall Sep 26 2014 - 12:50 pm PT

30 Comments

When Apple introduced iOS 7 with an overhauled design for the iPhone and iPad software, it replaced the weather widget showing current temperature and weekly forecast introduced with iOS 5 with a text summary of the day’s weather conditions. This weather summary includes an icon for the current weather condition as well as a text description like ‘mostly cloudy’, but it tends to give you the high and low temperatures of the day and not the current temperature like Apple’s former weather widget.

Luckily, iOS 8 allows developers to create third-party widgets including – you guessed it – weather widgets with current temperature and forecast. Since iOS 8 was released last week, I’ve been trying a variety of apps with included weather widgets, and below I’ll share with you what I’ve discovered so far.

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MyFitnessPal updated w/ HealthKit support for tracking calories, weight, & workouts

Zac Hall Sep 26 2014 - 11:14 am PT

17 Comments

MyFitnessPal, an app focused on helping you track your diet habits and caloric intake, has released a new version today with support for HealthKit and Apple’s new Health app on iOS 8. The new version allows users to interface three types of data with Apple’s Health app and other HealthKit-enabled apps: meal summaries, weight syncing, and workout data from exercises. Specifically, MyFitnessPal can share meal data you add to the app with other HealthKit apps while weight and workout data can be shared back and forth with other apps.
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