Apps

6,231 'Apps' stories April 2010 - May 2017

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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.

Apps

Mafia 3’s open-world organized crime comes to Mac today

Justin Kahn May 11 2017 - 1:21 pm PT

From 9to5Toys.com

Just over 6 months ago, 2K released the third entry in the long running Mafia franchise for PS4, Xbox One and PC. The game was praised for its treatment of the racially charged 1960’s era it was set in along with its interesting take on organized crime gameplay mechanics. In the meantime, players are now able to try out a lengthy free demo of the game on both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in order to get a taste of New Bordeaux, 2K’s open-world take on New Orleans. And now Mac gamers are able to get in on the action…
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The average smartphone user spends 2h 15m a day using apps – how about you? [Poll]

Ben Lovejoy May 5 2017 - 7:17 am PT

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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Apps

Battle Bay for iOS from the makers of Angry Birds available now

Justin Kahn May 4 2017 - 1:10 pm PT

From 9to5Toys.com

You might know Rovio and its little avian-flinging games, Angry Birds. The series has amassed a strong following over the years and is one of highest-rated game franchises on the App Store. However, excitement for the brand has dimmed as of late despite the Angry Birds reaching into just about every product category Rovio could fling them in to. And now it looks like the developer is quietly testing the waters with the release of its latest IP, Battle Bay…
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Opinion: It’s time to rethink early Apple Watch apps, not abandon them

Zac Hall May 1 2017 - 1:25 pm PT

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 will reportedly drop 32-bit app support entirely with iOS 11 this fall

Chance Miller Apr 9 2017 - 1:30 pm PT

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 launching pregnancy study app with Apple’s ResearchKit

Zac Hall Mar 20 2017 - 6:39 am PT

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 rolling out its latest Snapchat Stories clone ‘Messenger Day’ feature globally

Zac Hall Mar 9 2017 - 8:01 am PT

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 iOS app that transforms your iPad into a private piano instructor

Zac Hall Mar 8 2017 - 9:30 am PT

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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Third-party Home app developer releases Finances 2 for iOS + Mac public beta

Zac Hall Mar 8 2017 - 6:44 am PT

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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SoundCloud Go introduces new cheaper $5/month plan w/ limited catalog

Jordan Kahn Feb 28 2017 - 7:48 am PT

After first introducing its $10/month ‘SoundCloud Go’ subscription service last March, the company is today introducing a mid-tier offering at a cheaper $5-6 price point with a limited catalog.

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Pocket read-it-later service sells out to Firefox-maker Mozilla after 10 years

Zac Hall Feb 27 2017 - 11:38 am PT

Pocket, the popular read-it-later bookmarking service, has been acquired by Firefox developer Mozilla, according to Recode. Pocket has client apps on the iPhone, iPad, and even the Mac including both a browser extension and dedicated reader app.

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Alto’s Odyssey is coming this summer, catch the first glimpse of gameplay here [Video]

Trevor Daugherty Feb 20 2017 - 11:15 am PT

From 9to5Toys

Two years after releasing Alto’s Adventure, Built by Snowman has revealed the first trailer for the sequel of the award winning title, Alto’s Odyssey. Slated for launch this summer on iOS and, presumably Android, the next rendition continues with visually appealing gameplay. The teaser trailer is quick, but we do get a glimpse of the scenery, which appears to be a desert. There aren’t many more details at this time, but we expect for Snowman to roll out more info over the coming months.

In conjunction with today’s announcement, the original Alto’s Adventure has gone on sale for $1.99 (Reg. $5). You’ll find that and all the rest of today’s best iOS deals in our daily app roundup.

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TwIM is a new standalone Twitter DM app for iPhone with Siri integration and location sharing

Zac Hall Feb 15 2017 - 3:00 am PT

TwIM is a new Twitter app for iPhone focused entirely on chatting over Direct Messages. TwIM supports the latest iOS features like SiriKit, 3D Touch, and rich notifications plus other features not supported by Twitter’s official app.

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Eddy Cue says Planet of the Apps will premiere this spring & be ad-free, watch the first clip now

Chance Miller Feb 13 2017 - 8:15 pm PT

At the Code Media conference this evening, Apple’s Eddy Cue sat down alongside Ben Silverman for an interview. Silverman is one of the minds behind Apple’s upcoming reality TV series “Planet of the Apps,” making the series a central topic of the interview.

The first clip of the show was also premiered…

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Apple has reportedly concluded filming of its ‘very inspirational’ Planet of the Apps reality series

Chance Miller Feb 11 2017 - 8:32 am PT

One of Apple’s first original content efforts is its Planet of the Apps reality show. Originally announced last year, the series is an unscripted reality show focused on developers creating apps and receiving mentorship from various celebrities during the process.

According to a report today, Apple has recently concluded filming the show…

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Apps

First look at Tesla’s new mobile app with new UI, Touch ID, and widgets

Fred Lambert Feb 10 2017 - 10:31 am PT

Last month, we published an exclusive report on our sister-site Electrek about Tesla’s upcoming new mobile app: ‘Tesla is about to release its biggest app update yet: Touch ID login, widget integration, and more‘.
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Apple’s new $199 Pro Apps Bundle for Education now available in 35 countries

Jordan Kahn Feb 9 2017 - 12:18 pm PT

After launching a new Pro Apps Bundle earlier this month that includes Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro X, and Apple’s other pro apps at a discounted price for education customers, the offer is now available in additional countries outside of the US.

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Fantastical for iPhone and iPad gains iMessage sticker pack, rich notifications for calendar alerts and reminders

Zac Hall Feb 1 2017 - 6:54 am PT

Fantastical has a new update out today for iPhone and iPad that delivers new iOS 10 features and enhancements plus a brand new iMessage sticker pack for the Messages app. Aside from fun and cute, Fantastical’s sticker pack is actually useful for communicating schedule-related messages.

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Google Maps for iOS updated w/ ‘Popular Times’ feature for tracking how busy a place is in real-time

Chance Miller Jan 25 2017 - 5:39 pm PT

Google today is rolling out an update to its Google Maps on iOS that brings one of the most useful features from the web version of the app to iOS. Today’s update, which bumps the app to version 4.27, the service’s popular crowd tracker, as well as the ability to quickly access addresses saved to your clipboard.

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Apps

Buyer’s Guide: 10 apps to buy with that iTunes gift card you were just given

Chance Miller Dec 25 2016 - 9:59 am PT

One of most common holiday gifts every year is an iTunes gift card. It seems that when people don’t know what to buy for a tech enthusiastic or a teenager, the go-to fallback is an iTunes gift card.

If you’re one of those people who received an iTunes gift card (or more than one) this holiday season, read on as I break down some of my favorite iOS apps to spend that budget on. If apps aren’t your thing, check out Apple’s “Best of” lists for some of the top music, movies, and tv…

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Deals

Mega iOS/Mac Holiday App Sale Roundup: GO Trilogy, Oceanhorn, Duet Display, Bastion, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Rush + many more

Justin Kahn Dec 21 2016 - 2:39 pm PT

From 9to5Toys:

(Update 12/22 11:19am): This post has now been updated with loads more iOS/Mac productivity apps including Tweetbot and Day One, along with a long list of new games.

As usual at this time of year, just about every major app developer starts putting its best apps/games on sale for the holidays. We are even seeing massive year-end movie deals on iTunes. We are just days away from the price lock on the App Store, and we are already seeing a massive list of top-tier titles go on sale. This year’s list certainly leans heavily on the game side of things but we are seeing some great prices on productivity apps like Duet Displays, Home Design and more.

Head below for the year’s largest list of discounted iOS games/apps and be sure to check back over the course of the next few days as we will be updating this post as more titles pop-up:
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VSCO for iOS updated with full support for RAW image capturing and editing

Chance Miller Dec 19 2016 - 5:58 pm PT

After beginning the rollout earlier this month, popular mobile photo editing app VSCO today announced full support of RAW in its iOS app. Apple first introduced RAW editing support with iOS 10 and the feature has come to various other mobile photo editing apps since then, but VSCO is today joining the club.

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Panic discontinuing Status Board stats app following final iOS 10 support update

Chance Miller Nov 28 2016 - 8:53 pm PT

Over three years ago, Panic introduced an app that quickly gained popularity, especially from pro users. Called Status Board, the iOS app displayed a host of information, all in a modular, easy to follow interface. Today, however, Panic announced that it is discontinuing development of Status Board.

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2 Awesome Mac bundles: $20 each, 60 apps, choose wisely! (PDF Expert, RapidWeaver, Crossover, more)

9to5 Staff Nov 10 2016 - 11:59 pm PT

There are still two weeks to go until Black Friday, but 9to5Toys Specials is already offering some amazing deals. Today, we’re highlighting the Black Friday Mac Bundle 2.0, featuring nine apps worth nearly $380 altogether. For a limited time pick up these nine utility Mac apps for just $20:

PDF Expert 2.0 for Mac (Orig. $59.99) — Edit text, add links, sign and annotate documents with this App Store award winner.
Call Recorder for FaceTime (Orig. $29.95) — Record interviews and podcasts in crystal-clear HD.
MainMenu Pro 3 (Orig. $19.99) — Keep your Mac running smoothly with scheduled maintenance scripts, and access extra settings.
TripMode (Orig. $7.99) — Control and track data usage during mobile tethering.
AfterShot 3 (Orig. $39.99) — Harness powerful RAW editing features and view images at speed.
ParticleShop (Orig. $49.99) — Add extra style to your photos with 11 creative brushes.
Total Video Converter Pro for Mac (Orig. $29.99) — Convert and burn videos at original quality in 250 formats.
RapidWeaver 7 (Orig. $99) — Create beautiful, custom, SEO-optimized websites without any code.
CrossOver 15 for Mac (Orig. $39.95) — Run Windows apps on your Mac at native speed, no Bootcamp necessary.

Want a bigger selection of different apps? Bundlehunt lets you choose any 10 apps out of a 50 Mac app selection offered for the same $20 purchase price.

Frankly you can’t go wrong with either, or both – some of these apps retail for much more than the $20 bundle price. Even better, 9to5Rewards is giving away one of these bundles each to someone anywhere in the world sharing this post on Twitter and Facebook…
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