Apps

6,229 'Apps' stories April 2010 - April 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.

Netflix is now larger than HBO, now offers $12 family plan

Michael Steeber Apr 22 2013 - 5:23 pm PT

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Netflix, the streaming media company who just announced huge gains in its quarterly numbers, is now larger than HBO, according to Quartz.

After several strong quarters of growth, Netflix now has 29.2 million people in the US subscribed to its $8-a-month streaming plan, which is, for the first time, greater than HBO’s domestic subscription base of 28.7 million.

Quartz notes that Netflix, while not a cable network in the traditional sense, is now viewed more than any traditional U.S. cable market.

From an internet service standpoint, Netflix is also fairing quite impressively, making up 33% of all downstream traffic, which is more than services like YouTube, Amazon Video, and most impressively, iTunes.

As part of the earnings announcement, Netflix also noted that it would begin offering a $12 monthly family plan that would allow 4 simultaneous streams.

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Twitterrific 5.2.1 adds notification badges and more

Mike Beasley Apr 22 2013 - 12:57 pm PT

Twitterrific 5 has recieved another big update today, which introduces several new features, improvements, and fixes. The most prominent new feature is the fact that you can now enable app badges for push notifications, but other new additions include support for Twitter’s trending topics and the Favstar service. There are also a bunch of little improvements and bug fixes throughout the app, further polishing the recently-redesigned app.

The update is available now in the App Store. The change log is below, and you can find our full review of Twitterrific 5 here.

NEW FEATURES

• App badges for push notifications (enable in iOS Settings > Notification Center)
– Notification count for replies, mentions & DM’s
– Using app badges also clears messages from Notification Center
• Favstar support (enable in Settings > Other Services)
– View a user’s Favstar page from their profile or via long tap on their avatar
– View Favstar info on a tweet via more actions menu (…)
• Twitter trends (open Sidebar > Search > Tweets tab to view)

IMPROVEMENTS

• Faster tweet loading time
• Search interface remembers last selected tab
• Support for Twitter stock symbols ($AAPL, etc)
• New tweet count stays on screen until the timeline is scrolled
• Home timeline auto-refreshes when posting a new tweet or DM
• Automatic theme changing now based on dawn/dusk at your location
• Compose gesture: one-finger swipe left/right to adjust cursor
• VoiceOver now speaks hint text at the bottom of settings panel
• VoiceOver now speaks muffled tweet descriptions
• Holding timeline position improved when using VoiceOver
• Photo viewer can be dismissed using VoiceOver’s two-finger Z gesture

BUG FIXES

• Muffled hash tags are now case insensitive
• Buttons in settings are now easier to tap
• Corrected display bugs during pull-to-refresh
• Fixed a bug that prevented Readability from turning off
• Tweets at the top of the timeline are easier to swipe
• User links in emailed tweets now properly point to the user’s profile
• Fixed various bugs that caused the timeline to jump to top unexpectedly
• Compose displays correctly when using foreign language keyboards on iPad
• Additional fixes & improvements

Dropbox iOS app updated with support for 6 new languages

Jordan Kahn Apr 22 2013 - 11:55 am PT

Earlier this month Dropbox announced support for 6 new languages on the desktop and Android devices. As promised, today the iOS app gets the same update, bringing support for “Indonesian, Malay, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese.” Update version 2.1.4, available on the App Store now, also includes the usual bug fixes and performance enhancements.

Dropbox version 2.14

Yahoo! for iOS adds Summly integration

Zac Hall Apr 22 2013 - 8:08 am PT

Yahoo continues to rebrand itself under the leadership of former Google executive Marissa Mayer, proving it can be just as innovative as its competitors.

Following the launch of Yahoo! Weather and Yahoo! Mail for iPad last week, the Internet giant updated its Yahoo! for iOS app today to include news summaries in its articles provided by Summly as well as a redesigned page for articles.

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Google launches ‘Places for Business’ iPhone app to manage business information across Google services

Mark Gurman Apr 21 2013 - 10:38 pm PT

Today, Google has released a new iPhone and iPod touch application for its Places for Business platform. Places for Business is a Google service that allows business owners to manage the presence of their business across Google services such as Search, Maps, and Google+. Now, with the new app, these tasks can be handled on the go.

Business owners can use the app to:
– Verify your business listing directly from your phone
– Update your business information: hours, address, contact information, and description
– Post beautiful pictures of your business on your local Google+ page
– Track web traffic going to your listing
– Manage multiple business locations from one app

Having the ability to manage Places for Business from an iPhone or iPod touch is a compelling experience because information can be updated at a quicker pace. Additionally, the camera inside of iOS devices allows for quick uploading of photos of businesses. The app is free on the App Store.

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Review + Giveaway: Abstergo jailbreak tweak finally fixes iOS notifications

Mike Beasley Apr 21 2013 - 10:00 am PT

When Apple introduced Notification Center in iOS 5, they changed the way most people manage notification on their iOS devices. For the most part, they were right. Unfortunately, Notification Center introduced its own deficiencies and now people are looking for changes once again.

Today, change has finally come in the form of a jailbreak tweak called Abstergo, and we’ve got five free copies for our readers. Keep reading for a full breakdown of the tweak and more information about how you can win a copy.

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Get Mac Blu-ray Player, Snapz Pro, Disk Tools, CrossOver, Paperless OCR, Gemini de-duper, more: $9

9to5 Staff Apr 21 2013 - 6:18 am PT

From 9to5Toys.com:

We covered this earlier this week when it was under $7 but it bears repeating as the price is still under $10.

Usually, these ‘name your own price’ bundles are full of duds but this one is pretty impressive. You get Mac Blu-ray Player, Snapz Pro, Disk Tools, CrossOver, Paperless OCR, Gemini de-duper, MusicTube and more. There is a catch though. It isn’t really “name your own price”, it is pay a bit more than the last folks did. The good news is that it is currently under $9.17. The bad news is that the more people that buy, the higher the price goes, so get in quick.
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Tips: Use little-known gestures to arrange photos and shapes in iOS Pages

Benjamin Mayo Apr 20 2013 - 4:26 pm PT

Although the touch-centric UI makes getting to grips with Pages for iOS straightforward, the interface does not appear well-suited to precise positioning of objects, which is necessary in more complicated documents. Luckily, Apple’s iWork suite extends the default iOS set of gestures to provide options for finer-grained control. Learning these more-obscure techniques makes doing ‘real work’ with Pages for iOS an enjoyable experience, rather than an annoyance.

Nudging objects

The natural way to position an object with an iPhone or iPad is to drag it, but this method is not really suitable when doing pixel-accurate alignments. With Pages for Mac, you can achieve one-pixel ‘nudges’ with the arrow keys. To do a nudge on a keyboard-less iOS device, you have to use a special two-finger gesture. Start by placing one finger on the photo you want to nudge to select it. Then, swipe in any direction outside of the photo’s bounds with another finger, to move the object in the respective direction. Add on another ‘swiping finger’ to shift by 10 pixels, rather than single pixels, at a time.

Locked movement

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Watch our LIVE 9to5Mac Happy Hour April 19, 2013

9to5 Staff Apr 19 2013 - 2:11 pm PT

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Review: CamFind for iPhone lets you search for anything with your camera

Michael Steeber Apr 19 2013 - 10:30 am PT

Back in late 2010, Google brought Google Goggles (not to be confused with Google Glass) to the Google Search app for iPhone. At the time, it seemed like a great feature. You could take a photo of anything with your iPhone, and Google would instantly identify the object in the frame, returning relevant data about the photo.

That was 2010. You’d probably think that in the years following, Google would’ve continually updated Goggles, making the recognition more accurate and expanding its features. Well, you’d be wrong. In fact, Goggles functions entirely the same as it did in 2010, another fine example of Google’s continued dedication to their products.

Image Searcher, the developers behind a new app called CamFind, have seemingly stepped in where Google failed, creating a image-based search service that they claim is “four times more accurate than Google Goggles.” Let’s take a look at how it really performed.

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Vu news app for iPhone has unique interface, recommends content

Mark Gurman Apr 18 2013 - 2:52 pm PT

We’ve been testing a new, free iPhone news app called Vu that presents content based on what you have previously read/viewed within the app via an easy to use, fast interface. The app recently gained article saving and improved article sharing features, and we think it is worth taking a look at. Like other news apps, you can sync content between your iPhone, iPad, and your computer. You can access content you have saved for later via a web browser on non-iPhone devices.

NBA Game Time app for iPhone and iPad updated for the Playoffs

Mark Gurman Apr 18 2013 - 12:29 pm PT

The NBA has updated its iPad and iPhone/iPod touch applications in time for the NBA Playoffs. The Playoffs begin this Sunday, so the app updates feature a live updating Playoffs bracket and new content.

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Google Babel to have iOS client at launch

9to5 Staff Apr 18 2013 - 11:21 am PT

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Google’s new Babel messaging platform is not only taking on a Hipchat-like Group messaging featureset, it also appears it will hit the iOS App Store at launch (which is looking like sooner rather than later for all of the code leaks). More at 9to5Google

Facebook launches SDK 3.5, Share Dialog, over 80% of top iOS apps/games include Facebook integration

Zac Hall Apr 18 2013 - 9:05 am PT

via redmondpie.com

Facebook announced updates regarding mobile today at its Mobile Developer Conference in New York City continuing its effort to transition to a mobile-first platform.

Changes include an improved experience with Facebook Login, easier implementation of Open Graph on mobile, a new Object API and Object Browser, a native Share Dialog and Facebook SDK 3.5 for iOS.

The new Share Dialog allows users in non-Facebook apps to share directly to Facebook without leaving the app.

Facebook says its permissions dialog is 20% faster now.

The social network is encouraging mobile developers to integrate Facebook into their apps as it announced that 81% of the top grossing 100 iOS apps already integrate with Facebook.

(Source: Facebook)

Twitter #music for iPhone, iPod touch is now playing

Zac Hall Apr 18 2013 - 8:25 am PT

Twitter launched its new music discovery app Twitter #music for iPhone today.

Twitter #music takes a step toward filling the void created when everyone migrated from MySpace, which was one of the most effective music discovery tools for me until it was largely vacated.

Twitter promises to “change the way people find music, based on Twitter,” per the social network’s blog, which I believe will be widely appreciated.

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LinkedIn iPhone app updated with simpler, more personalized interface

Mark Gurman Apr 17 2013 - 9:10 pm PT

LinkedIn has updated its iPhone and iPod touch application with a redesigned, simpler user-interface that is more personalized. Additionally, the update allows for more actions from the Updates Stream. The iPad app does not appear to have picked up the new interface yet, but the tablet-optimized version did receive bug fixes and performance improvements. Release notes:

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Yahoo plans to launch iPad email app, new iOS weather app tomorrow (Update: Live)

Mark Gurman Apr 17 2013 - 6:14 pm PT

Update: Yahoo! Weather is now available in the App Store. Yahoo! Mail for iPad is also available in the App Store.

Check out our new Yahoo! Weather app featuring Flickr photos, now available for iOS! http://t.co/p0o9vPAUqd

— marissamayer (@marissamayer) April 18, 2013

Yahoo plans to release an in-house weather app for iOS and an iPad version of its Yahoo Mail app as soon as tomorrow, according to a person familiar with the apps.

The iPad version of Yahoo Mail is optimized for the iPad’s larger screen, and it is already available for the iPhone and iPod touch. Late last year, Yahoo released a redesigned version of its iPhone application that focused on speed and intuitiveness.

Yahoo’s new weather app is notable as the company already is in a partnership with Apple to provide the data for the Weather app pre-installed on all iPhone and iPod touch models…

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Things for Mac, iPad, and iPhone gets a speed boost, improved time zone support

Mark Gurman Apr 17 2013 - 2:29 pm PT

The Things to-do management app for Mac OS X, iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch has been updated today with speed improvements for both the actual application and for downloading and syncing with the Things Cloud service.

We’ve identified the resource hogs and improved performance in key areas that were troublesome in the past. Below are some measurements we took before and after these improvements. Overall, the app now feels much more responsive, especially when you perform an action on multiple items at once.

Additionally, the application’s time zone support has been improved.

For this release we’ve been through and carefully adjusted all the date-related functionality in Things. It’s been a considerable amount of work, but these improvements – which affect scheduled dates, due dates, repeating tasks, local notifications, and the Daily Review – are a good and necessary foundation going forward.

I’ve been testing out the app updates for a couple of months now, and the improvements seem to live up to Cultured Code’s (the developer) claims.

Things is meant for users with many to-dos that need to sort their work into projects. With that in mind, the suite is a bit pricier than applications in the same category: Things for Mac (49.99), Things for iPad ($19.99), Things for iPhone/iPod touch($9.99). The three apps sync with a free Things Cloud system.

Release notes below:

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iPhone, iPad leads in business, profitability, Android leads in smartphone marketshare

Zac Hall Apr 17 2013 - 10:40 am PT

via techin5.com

Henry McCracken over at Time has done us all a favor by collecting various data sets that illustrate the state of iOS versus Android.

The data ranges from device marketshare to revenue from app downloads, which presents some stark differences between the two platforms.

We unpack the results below.

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Time Warner Cable iOS app updated with ability to stream live TV away from home

Mark Gurman Apr 17 2013 - 9:39 am PT

As announced yesterday, Time Warner Cable has updated its iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch application with the ability to access and stream select OnDemand content and TV channels while away from home. Previously, the application could only stream TV while you were in your home with Time Warner Cable TV service. Additionally, the app update has improved filtering and sorting for categories and shows. Bug fixes and various performance enhancements are also included in the 3.2.0 update.

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Richard Williamson, former Apple executive who led Maps team, Loren Brichter join Facebook

Mark Gurman Apr 16 2013 - 3:29 pm PT

According to Bloomberg‘s Adam Satariano, Richard Williamson has joined Facebook. We’ve independently heard the same. Williamson is a former iOS executive from Apple who was reportedly terminated over Apple Maps. Williamson ran Apple’s iOS 6 Maps team and also worked on Siri features.

Williamson joined Facebook in the past couple of weeks to be a manager within its expanding mobile-software group, said two of the people, who declined to be identified because the information isn’t public.

Facebook’s hire of Williamson is notable as the social network reportedly has hired several former Apple engineers to work on various projects, including the Facebook Home software and various other mobile applications. Williamson’s hire marks one of the more high-profile hires of former Apple employees.

Following up on this morning’s news that Loren Brichter is working with Facebook some capacity, Bloomberg also notes that the company has actually hired the Letterpress developer and former Apple employee as a consultant.

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Leaked document apparently shows AppGratis enticed developers with potential high App Store rankings

Mark Gurman Apr 16 2013 - 11:07 am PT

Business Insider has obtained a leaked document that seems to show that AppGratis enticed developers with potential high iTunes App Store rankings. According to the document, AppGratis said that if a developer invests $100,000 with them, an app will likely reach the top 5 spots on the App Store top charts.

Of course, reaching the top of the App Store rankings is highly lucrative as hundreds of millions of iOS devices are given a prominent view to the top of the App Store charts.

AppGratis was reportedly originally pulled from the App Store for mimicking Apple’s App Store and for sending its users ad-like push notifications. Of course, the aforementioned apparent move by AppGratis to inflate rankings is a serious concern for Apple and it is something that Apple, of course, wants to keep out of its App Store. Interestingly, AppGratis, yesterday, seems to have denied participating in inflating App Store rankings.

Since the App Store algorithm has been based on download velocity only for so long, advertisers know exactly what they are doing.Reaching the the top of any App Store is a simple and logical equation. But we’re not in this business.

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Mailbox email app for iPhone removes reservation system following scaling improvements

Mark Gurman Apr 16 2013 - 9:26 am PT

The Mailbox for iPhone email application no longer has a reservation system, its developers announced today. The developers say that improved scaling contributed to this.

Good news! Mailbox is now available without having to wait in line. After 10 weeks of around-the-clock hard work, our engineering team has scaled the Mailbox service to deliver over 100 million messages per day (and growing). We believe we can now confidently handle new users as they sign up, so we’ve pulled down the reservation system.

It is unclear if Dropbox, the new owner of Mailbox, contributed to the new scaling efforts. The developers say that the app processes 100 million emails per day. Yesterday, Mailbox was updated with interface enhancements and new snooze options.

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Time Warner Cable announces out-of-home live TV streaming coming to iOS devices tomorrow

Zac Hall Apr 16 2013 - 9:23 am PT

via digitallanding.com

Time Warner Cable is launching out-of-home video on-demand and live content streaming to its TWC TV app for iPhone and iPad tomorrow.

Live channels will include Aspire, BBC America, beIn, Big Ten Network, FearNet, Fox News Channel, Fox business, GMC, Pac-12 Network and TV Guide Network; while channels like MTV and Comedy Central will offer video on-demand, according to Engadget.

The broadcast company first offered in-home VOD and TV streaming support two years ago, but allowing live content to be viewed remotely is a huge feature for Time Warner Cable customers.

TIME WARNER CABLE TO OFFER LIVE MOBILE CONTENT ON APPLE DEVICES

— Jay Yarow (@jyarow) April 16, 2013