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6,292 'Apps' stories April 2010 - October 2013
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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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Receive desktop push notifications for any RSS feed with Pronto Push & Mavericks

Avatar for Scott Buscemi Oct 22 2013 - 9:13 pm PT
13 Comments

As part of the new OS X Mavericks, websites can now send push notifications to your computer. Back in June, we featured the first public website that took advantage of the native push notification feature. Today, the same developer, Connor LaCombe, released Pronto Push, a new service that allows you to receive push notifications for any RSS feed.

Rather than waiting for your favorite websites’ developers to add the push notification feature, you can sign up for Pronto Push, type in the websites you’d like to receive notifications for, and immediately receive a push notification when a new post has been added. There’s no software to install, and managing your subscriptions is done through a simple web interface. You can even manage multiple Macs under one account.

Initial setup has to be completed with Safari 7, but after that clicking on notifications will open the related post in your default browser. Notifications come through immediately, so there’s no delay between when a new RSS item is added and when you receive the notification. You can also receive instantaneous Facebook notifications (since the native ones are usually delayed or don’t even appear).

Pronto Push is free and requires Mavericks.

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Apple TV update brings new iMovie Theater channel

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 22 2013 - 5:42 pm PT
7 Comments

When Apple updated its iLife suite on iOS and OS X today during its iPad event, it announced a new feature for iMovie called “iMovie Theater” designed to allow users to share content to iCloud and then watch the clips, movies or trailers easily on any Apple device. Apple mentioned that would also include the Apple TV and has now added a new “iMovie Theater” channel in a quiet update to Apple TV.

The new iMovie Theater channel is accessible after installing a software update on Apple TVs and you can access your shared content by signing into the same Apple ID used for your iCloud account on your other Apple devices with iMovie.

The iMovie apps are available for free to users who purchase new devices and to everyone else for $4.99 and $14.99 on the App Stores.

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Xcode 5.0.1 released with Mavericks SDK and new build / debug features [update: new versions of OS X Server and Remote Desktop]

Avatar for Scott Buscemi Oct 22 2013 - 4:30 pm PT
1 Comment

Xcode has been updated to version 5.0.1, bringing with it the OS X 10.9 SDK and several new features for developers to use. The app is free in the Mac App Store.

Developers can now use the “Debug Gauge” to see how much power their apps use in realtime. In addition, to go along with the new version of OS X Server ($19.99) that was released today, “continuous integration bots build and test your iOS and OS X apps on OS X Server.”

What’s New in Version 5.0.1

Includes SDKs for OS X 10.9 Mavericks, OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, and iOS 7.

New features for OS X Mavericks:

• Continuous integration bots build and test your iOS and OS X apps on OS X Server.
• Source Control menu creates new remote Git repositories on Mac servers.
• Debug Gauge for energy use displays a live graph of your app’s power consumption.

The $79.99 Apple Remote Desktop app was also updated to version 3.7 today, with Mavericks support as the main addition:

What’s New in Version 3.7

This update is recommended for Apple Remote Desktop users and addresses several issues related to overall reliability, usability and compatibility. This update also provides:

– Support for OS X Mavericks
– Automatic copy and paste between local and remote computers
– Improved support for Mac systems with multiple displays and multiple IP addresses
– Enhanced multi-observe with gesture support for swiping between screens

Apple releases redesigned Podcasts, Find my iPhone, and iTunes Trailers apps (Update: Keynote Remote now free, not updated)

Avatar for Michael Steeber Oct 22 2013 - 3:53 pm PT
17 Comments
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Along with updates to iWork and iLife today, Apple has overhauled their Podcasts, Find my iPhone, and iTunes Trailers apps to fall in line with the design paradigms of iOS 7. Along with new icons, all three apps have been completely redesigned, with user interfaces that closely resemble Apple’s other iOS 7 apps. While Find my iPhone and iTunes Trailers don’t include new features, Podcasts has received updates to the search tab, Top Charts section, and more. Here’s what the new icons for all three apps look like:


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Apple’s new iLife & iWork apps for iOS 7 now available on App Store w/ 64-bit support & new features

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 22 2013 - 3:44 pm PT
13 Comments
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After announcing earlier today at it is releasing new versions of iWork and iLife for both Mac OS X and iOS, the updated versions of iMovie, Keynote, Numbers, Pages, GarageBand, and iPhoto are now all available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.

While Apple was only able to go through a few new features of each app during its iPad event this morning, the iTunes release notes have a long list of new features listed for each app. Below you’ll find release notes detailing what’s new for each of the iWork and iLife suites for iOS. 
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Aperture updated to version 3.5 with support for iCloud photo sharing, SmugMug integration, and more

Avatar for Michael Steeber Oct 22 2013 - 2:45 pm PT
3 Comments

Along with a slew of other updates today, Apple has just released version 3.5 of Aperture, with notable support for iCloud photo sharing, multiple contributors to Photo Streams, and the ability to post videos to shared streams. The “Places” feature inside of Aperture has also switched to use Apple Maps, instead of relying on Google’s mapping data like it did previously. SmugMug integration has also been added, allowing those who use the service to publish and sync galleries of their photos. A full change log for Aperture is listed below. You can grab the app for $79.99 in the App Store.


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Pixelmator 3.0 FX released: adds layer styles, ‘Liquify’ warping tools, Mac Pro and Mavericks optimizations

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Oct 22 2013 - 2:37 pm PT
1 Comment

Today, the team behind Pixelmator has released the latest version of their app, version 3.0 FX. As before, the app is available on the Mac App Store for $29.99. The update brings a slew of changes to the already popular image editor, especially considering version 2.2 was only released a few weeks ago. 9to5Mac has had access to a preview copy of the update for a few days … so read on for a full walkthrough of the changes.

The headline feature for Pixelmator 3.0 is the addition of layer styles. Layer styles apply effects such as strokes, fills, shadows and reflections to the entire layer in very few clicks. More importantly, these changes are non-destructive — they affect the layer, not the canvas pixels themselves. This means layer effects can be undone and manipulated without changing the underlying image data. In fact, layer styles can even be copied to the clipboard and duplicated across layers.


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OS X Mavericks is out, walkthrough: iBooks, Maps, and more

Avatar for Mike Beasley Oct 22 2013 - 11:53 am PT
8 Comments
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Today Apple released version 10.9 of Mac OS X, codenamed “Mavericks.” The new OS includes several new features and enhancements over the previous version, “Mountain Lion.” The update is available for free for all compatible Macs from the App Store

Below you’ll find a closer look at some of the new features in 10.9.


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Tim Cook at iPad event: 64% of iOS devices on iOS 7, 20 million iTunes Radio listeners, 1 billion songs played, 1 million apps

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 22 2013 - 10:10 am PT
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Keeping with tradition, Tim Cook kicked off Apple’s iPad event today by giving us an update on some of the company’s core businesses and accomplishments since last checking in. Below is a roundup of the numbers and stats that Cook shared on stage today during the event including updates on the new iPhones, iOS 7 adoption, iTunes Radio, and the App Store:

iPhone & iOS 7:

– 9 million iPhones launch weekend, biggest iPhone launch ever

– iOS 7 200 million devices in five days-

-64% of devices currently running iOS 7

iTunes Radio:

– iTunes radio, 20 million listeners, 1 billion songs

App Store:

-1 million apps on App Store

-60 app billion downloads

-$13B earned by developers (up from 11 billion in July)

iPad:

-170 million iPads sold

-475k iPad apps (up from 375k in July)

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Spotify iOS app updated with iOS 7 compatibility & UI tweaks

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 22 2013 - 6:18 am PT
4 Comments

While the majority of popular apps have already released updates to incorporate support for iOS 7, Spotify is a little bit late to the game with its iOS 7 support update hitting the App Store today. The release notes on iTunes don’t mention many changes other than compatibility with iOS 7, but you will see a few UI tweaks that make the app fit more in with Apple’s new, flatter OS. Buttons and other UI elements seem to have been given the flat treatment, and you’ll also notice that the sidebar and media controls have been streamlined as well.

Version 0.8.0 of Spotify for iPhone and iPad is available now on the App Store.

What’s New in Version 0.8.0

• New: Now compatible with iOS 7.
• Fixed: Some bugs that were irritating us.
• Fictitious: This app cries at weddings.

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HMV’s presumed PR stunt succeeds as iOS app is approved then pulled

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Oct 22 2013 - 5:40 am PT
1 Comment

Having somehow managed to gets its iOS music-purchase app approved by Apple, UK record store HMV today saw the app pulled for contravening the terms & conditions which prohibits directing sales of goods or services outside of an app, reports the Guardian.

The app had allowed people to browse and buy MP3 downloads from HMV’s relaunched digital music store, while also scanning artwork and identifying music playing in the real world and providing preview clips.

HMV, which once owned more than 300 record stores, entered administration earlier this year after failing to adapt its business model to the digital music era. It was then bought out and relaunched with 133 stores. The music app was a claimed venture into digital downloads, but while it seems lax approval procedures got it into the app store, it was never going to stay there.

HMV Chairman Paul McGowan claimed innocence in a series of tweets, affecting not to know why Apple had asked them to remove or amend the app and then pulled it when he refused.

Via Engadget

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BlackBerry announces 5 million downloads of BBM for iOS and Android only 8 hours after release

Avatar for Mike Beasley Oct 21 2013 - 9:47 pm PT
4 Comments

BlackBerry revealed via the official BBM Twitter account that in the first eight hours since launching BBM for iPhone and Android, the app has been downloaded over by over 5 million customers across both platforms. The app is also now the #1 free app on the iTunes App Store.

That number could actually be much higher, as the 5 million applies only to the number of users whose accounts have been activated for use. BlackBerry did not specify how many more users were still waiting to be activated, if any.

[tweet https://twitter.com/BBM/statuses/392474565059686400 align=’center’]

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9to5Toys Last Call: 20% off $50 iTunes gift card, MFi Lightning cable $8.50, Klipsch Image ONE headphones $60, more

Avatar for Oct 21 2013 - 3:00 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+.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

$50 iTunes gift card for $40: Save 20% on future app, music, movie, book purchases

Monoprice Apple-certified 6′ MFi Lightning cables as low as $8.50 each shipped

Klipsch Image ONE Premium on-ear headphones with Mic and Apple controls $60 shipped (Reg. $150)

Other great deals from today:

The best deals that are still alive:

Mac software bundles:

  • The SuperStacked Mac Bundle: Over $3,000 Worth Of Premium Developer & Designer Tools – $44 today, but price increases everyday it’s on sale.
  • The Mac Freebie Bundle 2.0: 10 Apps To Enhance Your Design, Photography & Productivity – Ends tonight!

New product announcements & reviews:

  • Pyle Audio releases new mini Hi-Speed HD sports camera
  • Synology introduces new, faster SOHO NAS w/ hot-swappable drives for $330
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Hulu Plus iOS app updated w/ Chromecast streaming on iPhone

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 21 2013 - 10:49 am PT
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Hulu-Plus-iOS

Earlier this month Google announced that Hulu had updated its Hulu Plus mobile apps with support for Chromecast feature, something that it promised was on the way back in July when it first announced the $35 HDMI streaming stick. The iOS version of the Hulu Plus app previously only supported Chromecast streaming from iPad, but today the app was updated with the ability to stream TV shows and movies to Chromecast from iPhones running iOS 6 and up:

The Hulu Plus integration with Chromecast will convert your app into a custom remote letting you control video on your Chromecast connected TVs, while allowing you to browse the Hulu Plus app directly from your iPhone.

What’s New in Version 3.3.1

Start casting your favorite TV shows and Movies on Chromecast from Hulu Plus, now from your iPhone (iOS6 and above)

BlackBerry announces BBM for iPhone & Android available today with reservation system

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 21 2013 - 10:04 am PT
16 Comments
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Update: The app is now live on the App Store.

After the BBM apps prematurely started rolling out for iPhone and Android and were abruptly pulled late last month, BlackBerry finally confirmed today that it’s officially kicking off the roll out of the apps. In a blog post, the company announced that the BBM apps will be available for both iPhone and Android within the next few hours through the App Store, Google Play, and Samsung’s App Store:

The demand for BBM on Android and BBM on iPhone continues to be amazing. About six million people signed up for information about BBM at BBM.com. As you know, in just seven hours, about one million Android users were using the unreleased version of BBM for Android. What you don’t know is that more than one million people have found creative ways to “side load” BBM on their iPhone. This is incredible.

While the app is available to download starting today, it will utilize a staggered rollout that will see users reserving a spot in line by entering their email address. BlackBerry says users that signed up previously through its website can start using the app immediately, but we’ll have to wait to see how many people sign up today in order to estimate how long the queue will be. 
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Tune in Oct. 22 for new iPads, Mac Pro details, MacBook Pros, and Mavericks

Avatar for Mark Gurman Oct 20 2013 - 9:23 am PT
5 Comments
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Apple’s next event is upon us, and it’s likely to be action-packed. As Apple says: it has “a lot to cover.” So besides the speculation that rings in from the word cover (new Smart Covers, anyone?), Apple has some new tablets, computers, and software to discuss. Read our full roundup of what to expect (and not expect) on Tuesday, October 22nd, from Apple:


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Google Hangouts for iOS adds outgoing and incoming voice calls through Google Voice

Avatar for Mike Beasley Oct 18 2013 - 4:51 pm PT
3 Comments

The Google Hangouts app for iPhone and iPad got a significant update to version 1.3 today. The update introduces Google Voice integration that allows incoming calls to your Google Voice number and outgoing calls to U.S. and Canadian numbers. Also included in the new version is the ability to see which friends are currently online, support for animated GIFs, and a fix to keep the app from stopping your music when a message comes in.

The update is available for free to all users on the iOS App Store now.


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9to5Toys Last Call: Staples $15 off $50 includes Apple gear, Belkin iPhone 5/5s MFi battery case $70 , Gamestop Black Friday, more

Avatar for Oct 18 2013 - 3:00 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+.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Staples $15 off $50 or more site-wide: Western Digital 2TB USB 3.0 portable HD $85, Toshiba 1TB $48, Apple gear, more – Deals are selling out fast so start shopping!

Belkin Grip Power Case 2000mAh Battery/protection for iPhone 5/5S (2 colors): $70 shipped ($30 off)

SOLD OUT Belkin Zero Stand for Apple laptops $21 shipped (Reg. $50)

Other great deals from today:

The best deals that are still alive:

Mac software bundles:

New product announcements & reviews:

  • Pyle Audio releases new mini Hi-Speed HD sports camera
  • Synology introduces new, faster SOHO NAS w/ hot-swappable drives for $330
  • LaCie’s new Porsche designed USB 3.0 key drive available now
  • OtterBox begins shipping new Commuter Series Wallet case for iPhone 5/5s and Galaxy S4
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9to5Toys Last Call: Seagate 1TB portable HD $56, Smart Covers $15, iOS freebies, Incase Retina MBP case $19, more

Avatar for Oct 17 2013 - 2:34 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+.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

SOLD OUT Seagate Backup Plus 1TB USB 3.0 portable hard drive (red) $56 shipped (Reg. $95) – Act fast it is “Almost Gone”

Apple iPad full-size/iPad mini polyurethane and leather Smart Covers from $15, Smart Case $23, more

Game/App Deals: Batman Arkham Origins for iOS out now, Asphalt 8: Airborne FREE, iOS freebies, more

Other great deals from today:


The best deals that are still alive:

Mac software bundles:

New product announcements & reviews:

  • Pyle Audio releases new mini Hi-Speed HD sports camera
  • Synology introduces new, faster SOHO NAS w/ hot-swappable drives for $330
  • LaCie’s new Porsche designed USB 3.0 key drive available now
  • OtterBox begins shipping new Commuter Series Wallet case for iPhone 5/5s and Galaxy S4
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Facebook for iOS updated with comment editing, photos, and more

Avatar for Zac Hall Oct 17 2013 - 1:33 pm PT
9 Comments

Facebook for iOS received an update today bringing the ability to edit posts and comments directly from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Previously, this feature was only available from the desktop version of the website. The update also brings another desktop feature: the ability to add photos to comments. All in all, version 6.6 appears to bring the app closer to feature parity with the desktop, but a few of these features like status and comment editing appear to be absent from the iPad app for now. Read the full change log and see examples below:
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Apple finally allowing Games into South Africa App Store

Avatar for Mark Gurman Oct 17 2013 - 12:07 pm PT
7 Comments

Update: Several readers report that games were previously held up by a dispute with the Films and Publications Board responsible for approving movies, games, and other content before going on sale in the country. No word on the resolution with Apple, but it appears they are now allowing Apple to sell games to iOS users in South Africa.

Apple has flicked the switch on the ability for developers to offer their games in the iTunes App Store in South Africa. It is unclear why Games have been unavailable in the country until now. A look at the South Africa App Store shows that the Games category is now active. Apple informed developers of the new ability to sell games, and the company tells the creators that games will automatically appear in the South African store.

We’re pleased to announce that games are now available on the South African App Store. All apps in the Games category that are cleared for sale in South Africa will be automatically available on the South African App Store. No additional action is required on your part.  If you need to make changes to the territories where your apps are available, visit the Rights and Pricing section of the Manage Your Apps module on iTunes Connect.

Apple is celebrating the addition with a large Games banner at the top of the App Store in South Africa (shown above).


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Yahoo Screen iOS app adds AirPlay support, push notifications, and more

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 17 2013 - 11:23 am PT
0 Comments

Yahoo Screen, the iOS app the company launched back in September as a TV remote-like experience for browsing content from Yahoo, gets updated today to version 1.0.2. With the update, users can now AirPlay content from the app to an Apple TV and receive push notifications for live content like “breaking news and concerts.”

The updated app also brings the usual bug fixes and performance enhancements.

Yahoo Screen is available on the App Store for free on iPhone and iPad and includes Yahoo content from Comedy Central, MLB, UFC, The Onion, Martha Stewart, and more.

What’s New in Version 1.0.2

* Now with AirPlay support! Send a video to your TV while still browsing others in the app.
* Push notifications for live and featured videos, such as breaking news and concerts.
* Bug fixes and performance improvements

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Microsoft debuts Remote Desktop app for PC access on iOS (Update: For Mac too)

Avatar for Zac Hall Oct 17 2013 - 10:23 am PT
4 Comments

Alongside Windows 8.1, Microsoft released a rather useful app for iOS as well today. Microsoft Remote Desktop allows you to access and control your Windows PC from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. It looks like a rather decent utility, especially for business users, as plenty of similar apps have tried to pull off the same function with less simplicity.

With the Microsoft Remote Desktop app, you can connect to a remote PC and your work resources from almost anywhere. Experience the power of Windows with RemoteFX in a Remote Desktop client designed to help you get your work done wherever you are.

Features
•Access to remote resources through the Remote Desktop Gateway
•Rich multi-touch experience with remote desktop protocol (RDP) and RemoteFX supporting Windows gestures
•Secure connection to your data and applications with breakthrough Network Layer Authentication (NLA) technology
•Simple management of all remote connections from the connection center
•High quality video and sound streaming with improved compression and bandwidth usage
•Easy connection to external monitors or projectors for presentations

Microsoft Remote Desktop is a free for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users in the App Store.

Update: Microsoft introduced a version for Mac as well for OS X users to control Windows remotely.

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Twitter to launch standalone Direct Messaging app?

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 17 2013 - 6:34 am PT
4 Comments

Twitter has been making a lot of improvements to its messaging experience in its mobile apps in recent months. It first introduced Direct Message syncing and other improvements back in July, and in recent weeks started rolling out the ability to receive direct messages from any follower (even those you don’t specifically follow) for a select number of users after testing it internally. Today, a new report claims that Twitter is planning further improvements to Direct Messaging and could as far as launching a standalone messaging app, much like Facebook Messenger.

The company plans to significantly update its direct-messaging product in the near future, according to multiple sources, bringing the long-buried feature to the forefront for the first time in years.

But Twitter’s new vision for direct messages will go further. It has kicked around the idea of launching a standalone direct-messaging application separate from the Twitter app, according to three people familiar with the matter. It is unclear, however, what form the final revamp of direct messages will take.

The report doesn’t provide much more info on Twitter’s plans, but does say it recently met with employees from MessageMe, one of the increasingly popular messaging apps that Twitter’s revamped DM service would attempt to combat. It also adds that we could see the new Direct Messaging app by the end of the year alongside a previously reported design overhaul.