Apps

Earlier today, we shared a report about the record spend on apps during the pandemic, and now a Sensor Tower research shows that iPhone users really have been spending more than ever in the App Store ecosystem. iPhone users in the US spent an average of $138 on apps in 2020, which is 38% more than in 2019.

The pandemic saw a record spend on apps last year, and App Annie reports that this has continued into the first quarter of this year.

The analytics firm says that demand for entertainment during lockdown saw developers enjoy the biggest quarter since records began…

Apple has seeded developer and public testers with the sixth beta for macOS 11.3. Version 11.3 features new sorting options in Reminders, expanded support for Xbox/PlayStation controllers, autoplay in Apple Music, mentions of the first Apple Silicon Macs, and more.

One of the challenges that schools face with iOS is web filtering. There are multiple ways to filter web traffic for inappropriate content, but many of them require IT expertise that smaller schools might not have. Apple includes a web filter with iOS that can be controlled by a mobile device management system, but it’s a black box in terms of what’s blocked vs. what’s not. SPIN Safe Browser is now available as a “school edition” with no in-app purchases and controllable AppConfig from Jamf.

Focus Live was introduced in 2020 with the ability to record and edit videos in portrait mode on iPhone and iPad using depth data from multi-lens cameras. The app was updated this week with some great new features, including a redesigned media selector and new effects that can be added to videos.

Apple has announced that it is discontinuing its Music Memos application. As such, it has rolled out an update to the app today to allow users to export their recordings to the Voice Memos app. This is the first update to Music Memos in over a year, and it’s sole purpose to sunset the app altogether.

Update March 2, 2021: Apple has officially discontinued the Music Memos application and removed it from the App Store completely. This was first spotted by The 8-Bit.

iOS 14 brought the ability to add widgets to the iPhone and iPad Home screen, and Apple itself offers some widgets for apps like Notes, Reminders, and Music. However, one of my main complaints against the official Music widget is that it only shows the recently played songs.

WidgetPod is a new app that comes to solve exactly that with a Now Playing widget that works for both Apple Music and Spotify.

Clubhouse is a new social network that has been available for a while now, but it has been getting a lot of attention in recent weeks — which has even prompted Twitter and Facebook to work on competitors for the app. A new report points out that Clubhouse, which is exclusive for iOS so far, has already been downloaded 8 million times on the App Store.

Mp3tag is one of the most popular apps for editing audio metadata on Windows as it works with multiple audio formats and has advanced tools that help users better organize the details of songs, albums, or podcasts. Today Mp3tag is finally coming to the Mac with an official macOS app available on the App Store.

As I once reviewed here on 9to5Mac, Diagrams is a Mac app that lets users easily create flowcharts. Following the app’s first anniversary this month, Diagrams has just received its first major update with new tools and also support for M1 Macs.

In this latest edition of What’s on my iPhone, I take a look at some of the apps that I use on a regular basis. Some of these apps have been around for years, while others are relatively new to the first page of my iPhone’s home screen. Inside you’ll find details on my favorite Reddit client, my go-to app for securing cryptocurrency, an app that helps put the kibosh on annoying robocallers, and more. Watch our hands-on What’s on My iPhone episode, and subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more videos like this.