Apps

Over the weekend, Apple made the controversial decision to remove VPN applications from the App Store in China in response to local laws. CEO Tim Cook was asked about this decision during the company’s Q3 earnings call this evening…

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While we are seemingly light-years past regularly using disposable cameras, the folks over at Screw Bar have developed a new iOS app to bring back the nostalgic Kodak disposable camera experiences from yesteryear.
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If you’ve never heard of LumaFusion ($19.99), I won’t fault you for that. I hadn’t heard of it either until commenters on our YouTube channel vehemently encouraged me to give the app a shot.

Pardon me for initially being skeptical, as I’d heard this story numerous times before: “So and so has produced an amazing app that finally lets you truly edit videos on the iPad.” As a Final Cut Pro X devotee who’s often seen tethered to a Mac, I guess you can say I have trust issues when it comes to such lofty claims.

I’ve tried a handful of video editing apps on iPad, and have walked away disappointed every single time. Most of them promise something that they simply can’t deliver, while others show promise, yet ultimately fail in some key area.

The most competent video editing app that I’ve seen up until now — Corel’s Pinnacle Studio — featured way more power user features than competing apps like iMovie, but it sorely lacked in presentation and ease of use. Speaking of iMovie, Apple has the presentation part down pretty well, but the app falls laughably short in all but the most basic of features — “Final Cut Lite” it is not.

So there’s the backstory to my video editing woes on iPad. Thus, you can imagine how thrilled I am to be able to say that LumaFusion is an absolutely amazing video editing app on iPad (it also works on iPhone!), with a very bright future.

This, folks, is an app that not only has the power and the features, but is actually fairly easy to use, and isn’t fiendishly ugly to stare at for hours on end. LumaFusion shows what’s possible on the iPad, and like Affinity Photo for photo editors, LumaFusion isn’t perfect, but it’s definitely shaping up to be an absolute must-have for iPad video editors. Have a look at our hands-on video as we step through a dozen features that make this app so promising.
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Nike announced today that it’s now using augmented reality features through its iOS app to make exclusive sneaker releases a more interactive experience. Using its Nike+ SNKRS app popular among those trying their luck at purchasing in-demand shoe releases, Nike is integrating AR features that will make some new sneakers only available to those that unlock them through viewing real-world items via their iPhone’s camera.

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Apple debuted the first episode of its reality series Planet of the Apps last week and followed it up with episode two this week. When first announced, the show was met with a wide variety of responses, with some criticizing the concept of the show and others saying reality TV isn’t where Apple should be directing its attention.

Now that the first two episodes are available, what are your thoughts on Planet of the Apps?

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Update: You can watch the first episode here, for free for a limited time.

Apple’s first foray into original content will debut later tonight, according to a report from Reuters. “Planet of the Apps” has long been teased by Apple, but the first episode will finally be made available for streaming tonight at 9PM PT/midnight ET.

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Data from App Annie shows that the average smartphone owner spends 2 hours and 15 minutes a day using apps – the equivalent of one month a year. The average person has 60-90 apps installed on their phone, using around 30 of them each month and launching 9 per day.

Utilities and Tools led the way thanks to numerous pre-installed apps, such as Safari on iOS and Google on Android. After pre-installed apps, some of the largest categories by average apps used are Social Networking, Communication, and Social. This underscores the continued importance of social categories to marketing efforts for all types of apps.

The time spent using apps varied dramatically depending on the type of app …

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Despite having its own App Store on the iPhone, Apple Watch has had a mixed experience with third-party apps during its first two years on the market. The first round of apps heavily relied on the iPhone to work, then Apple later allowed developers to run apps natively on the Apple Watch. Some high-profile iPhone apps still have outdated Apple Watch versions or no version at all. Now a few big name companies are quietly pulling their existing Apple Watch apps altogether.

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Apple has slowly been cracking down on 32-bit iOS apps, but it appears that it will make a drastic change come this fall. According to prominent developer Steven Troughton-Smith, Apple will drop support for 32-bit apps altogether with iOS 11. This means that many legacy apps will no longer function at all.

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WebMD has launched a new version of its pregnancy app that uses Apple’s ResearchKit framework to easily conduct user surveys. The Healthy Pregnancy Study relies on ResearchKit to “easily and anonymously answer questions, and share connected device data about their pregnancies with researchers for analysis” according to WebMD.

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Facebook has officially announced its new Messenger Day feature for iOS and Android after previously testing the Snapchat Stories clone with a limited number of users. Messenger Day is rolling out globally to Facebook’s Messenger app beginning today.

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Skoove is a new iPad app launching today that helps you learn how to play piano from iOS. The app includes more than 250 interactive lessons and courses that you can follow along with at home as if your iPad was a private piano instructor.

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Finances 2 is a new personal and business bookkeeping app for iOS and macOS from developer Matthias Hochgatterer. Prior to Finances 2, Hochgatterer created the excellent third-party HomeKit app Home before Apple’s version in iOS 10. Like his Home app, Finances 2 takes advantage of modern iOS technologies including 3D Touch, Spotlight integration, and Split View on the iPad.

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