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6,368 'Apps' stories April 2010 - February 2016
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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.

Sleep++ 2.0 upgrades sleep tracking with the Apple Watch

Avatar for Greg Barbosa Feb 11 2016 - 6:25 am PT
28 Comments
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For anyone looking to get better tracking and a bird’s eye view of your sleep habits, be sure to check out Sleep++ 2.0 available today. This latest version brings in a major sleep analysis algorithm overhaul to help users get a better understanding of nightly sleep patterns.

For users who frequently forget to stop their sleep tracking, the app’s update also introduces the ability to trim time off any extra hours accidentally accrued.


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Mobile apps to become a $50B industry this year, $100B by 2020 – App Annie

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Feb 11 2016 - 5:17 am PT
0 Comments

Data from App Annie suggests that global mobile app revenue will hit $50B this year, and $101B by 2020. Total annual downloads will rise from 111B last year to 284B by 2020.

Apple’s iOS is set to retain its store leadership by gross revenue over the five-year period, while Google Play and third-party Android stores will expand their lead measured in downloads due to wider proliferation of devices.

The forecast was made a month after Apple announced a new record for App Store sales, hitting over $1.1B revenue in just two weeks of the holiday season.

App Annie suggests that China will overtake the U.S. in app revenue in the first half of this year, and cites good evidence for this …


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How-To: Keep up with Swift’s mailing list easily with Hirundo for Mac OS X

Avatar for Greg Barbosa Feb 10 2016 - 11:50 am PT
2 Comments
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If you’ve been following any of the Swift mailing lists and have begun to feel overwhelmed with the amount of conversations passing through, take a look at Benedikt Terhechte’s new beta app Hirundo. The app focuses on creating a comfortable reading experience for the multitude of mailing lists out there and allows users to easily find, bookmark, and mute messages they desire.


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BitTorrent launches first peer-to-peer streaming iOS and tvOS app

Avatar for Greg Barbosa Feb 9 2016 - 12:39 pm PT
2 Comments
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The first official implementation of BitTorrent’s peer-to-peer technology hits iOS and the Apple TV today, but not in the way you may have expected. OTT News, a small team bringing a different perspective to the election coverage, has launched an app in partnership with BitTorrent to livestream coverage of the New Hampshire primaries and beyond.


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Vine for iPhone gains 3D Touch shortcuts, new video sort order options

Avatar for Zac Hall Feb 9 2016 - 9:49 am PT
1 Comment

Twitter-owned Vine for iOS, which lets you create and share short video loops, received a new update today that adds new shortcuts from the Home screen on the latest iPhones. Users can press the updated Vine icon firmly on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus to jump directly into making a short Vine clip or viewing the explore section of the app.


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Final Fantasy IX is now available for download on iOS w/ special launch pricing

Avatar for Justin Kahn Feb 9 2016 - 9:25 am PT
1 Comment

From 9to5Toys.com:

Late last year, Square Enix announced that a re-releases of Final Fantasy IX would be coming to iOS, Android and PC. At the time, there was no specific word as to when North American gamers would actually get their hands on it. However, this morning we noticed a listing for the iOS version of the game go live on the App Store.


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Adobe delivers Animate CC (formerly Flash Professional) with many new features, also updates Muse & Bridge

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Feb 9 2016 - 4:29 am PT
7 Comments

Adobe announced back in December that it would be renaming Flash Professional as Animate CC in recognition of the fact that HTML 5 has now taken over from Flash as the main form of web animation. It has now done so, adding in a “seriously long list” of new features at the same time.

The new features range from new vector art brushes to a rotating stage whose contents scale proportionally to the size – and the company is providing live demos on its Twitch.tv channel …


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Microsoft looks to be ending its short-lived Office Accreditation Program for Mac

Avatar for Chance Miller Feb 8 2016 - 2:28 pm PT
1 Comment

Since 2013, Microsoft has consistently offered something it called its “Accredited Support Professional Program” for iOS and Mac users. Essentially, this program allowed the company to train and accredit Apple techs and consultants on Microsoft Office for Mac and iOS. In the past, the courses have been conducted alongside the MacTech events across various cities and states. This year, however, there’s no sign of Microsoft offering its Accredited Support program, despite the release of Office 2016 for Mac.


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New York Fashion Week attendees can now check-in from this Apple Watch app

Avatar for Greg Barbosa Feb 8 2016 - 8:38 am PT
3 Comments
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Attendees at this year’s Tommy Hilfiger New York Fashion Week show won’t have to be pulling out any physical invitations or even their smartphones to check-in to events this year thanks to a partnership with GPS Radar. Attendees instead will be able to use the newly updated GPS Radar Apple Watch app to view event invitations, RSVP to the events, and get a view on the fashion week’s calendar.


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PSA: Switching from the Facebook app to Safari can boost iPhone battery life by up to 15%

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Feb 8 2016 - 5:46 am PT
31 Comments

If your iPhone battery struggles to make it through a full day, and you don’t want to add an ugly hump to your device, Guardian tech writer Samuel Gibbs has found that deleting the Facebook app and using Safari instead can boost battery life by up to 15%.

Gibbs spent a week comparing battery usage when using the app against a week using Facebook’s mobile site in Safari, finding that he averaged 15% more remaining battery life at the end of each day. He recruited a bunch of others to repeat the experiment, with similar results reported.

A simple tip means that you don’t even sacrifice much convenience by doing so …


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Apple now selling a classic take on the virtual reality headset with the new View-Master

Avatar for Greg Barbosa Feb 5 2016 - 12:50 pm PT
25 Comments
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Apple today has started selling the View-Master Virtual Reality Starter Pack on its online store. With all the news about the company building out and prototyping virtual reality tech, it’s interesting to see it offering a glimpse at what that future tech may be by selling the device on the online store. Harkening back to the classic ideals of the View-Masters from the past, the new View-Master allows users to go on exciting new adventures. Utilizing a mix of augmented reality and virtual reality, these adventures are now taken to a whole new level. Taking advantage of Experience Packs, users can navigate space, various destinations, and wildlife through a mix of AR and VR.


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Opinion: Apple should lead iOS feature adoption, encourage major players to follow

Avatar for Zac Hall Feb 5 2016 - 10:47 am PT
30 Comments
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There’s been a lot of conversation this week around the quality of Apple’s software and services, and yesterday’s brief App Store outage certainly didn’t help. It’s true that new services like Apple Music and iCloud Photo Library are improving but aren’t rock solid yet, but there are two things that currently sour the app experience for me.

First, Apple only does a so-so job of implementing new software features from operating system updates into their own apps. It’s too easy to rattle off a dozen examples. Second, major players like Facebook and YouTube don’t have first class apps that showcase new software features either, and this is where customers spend the most amount of time.


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9to5Toys Last Call: Apple iPhone 6 Plus leather case $16, 128GB Flash Drive $25, Twelve South Apple Watch Dock $43, more

Avatar for Justin Kahn Feb 5 2016 - 9:30 am PT
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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:

Last Call Updates:

Twelve South HiRise Apple Watch Dock $43 shipped (Reg. $50), BookBook Leather iPhone 5 Case $20 and more!

Review: Incase and surfer Kelly Slater team up for the ultimate GoPro-focused backpack

[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/695668307991662592 align=’center’]

Apple genuine iPhone 6 Plus Leather Cases in multiples colors as low as $16 + in-store pickup (Orig. $50)

Daily Deals: SanDisk Ultra 128GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive $25, Verus iPhone 6/s Leather Wallet-Style Case $14, more

VLC’s Remote app for iOS/Apple Watch goes free for the first time (Reg. $5)

App Store Free App of the Week: Over graphic design & photo editing app ($4 value)

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for iOS hits its lowest price in years: $2 (Reg. $5)

Final Fantasy II on iOS available free inside the FF Portal app ($8 value)

13-inch MacBook Air 1.6GHz/4GB/256GB: $1,000 (Reg. $1,199)

11-inch MacBook Air 1.6GHz/4GB/256GB: $930 (Reg. $1,099)

13-inch Retina MacBook Pro 2.7GHz/8GB/256GB: $1,250 (Reg. $1,450)

15-inch Retina MacBook Pro 2.2GHz/16GB/256GB: $1,700 (Reg. $1,999)

Review: $13 GRDE Explorer Rugged 10,000mAh Solar dual USB Battery w/ 2 USB lamps: worth every penny

Be a hero this Valentine’s Day w/ these best-selling Adult Coloring Books from $6

MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:

Keep your Wi-Fi up and running w/ this APC UPS System + Power Bank: $90 (Reg. $120)

MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:

It’s time to ditch your cable bill! Get the AmazonBasics 35-Mile HDTV Antenna for $20 (Reg. $25)

RAVPower 2-pack of 3-ft. MFi Apple-Certified Lightning Cables for $8 Prime shipped (Reg. $15), more

Game pre-orders for Amazon Prime members –Zelda, Far Cry Primal, FFXV: $48 ea (Reg. $60)

NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:

Ubuntu’s first tablet offers a converged desktop PC experience as well

Here’s our first look at the new Uncharted 4 Limited Edition PS4 bundle, pre-order now

BBC iPlayer iOS app updated to support Spotlight search and Handoff between devices

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Feb 5 2016 - 5:53 am PT
6 Comments

The BBC has updated its iPlayer app for iOS to support Spotlight searches and allow Handoff between devices.

Spotlight support means that you to search for BBC TV shows by swiping down from the homescreen, while Handoff allows you to seamlessly pick up where you left off when switching between devices. The BBC notes that it has also fixed a nasty bug.

In addition to all that good stuff, we’ve also included a fix for a particularly nasty crash on launch, and last but not least, you can now find an entire catalogue of iPlayer programmes for a channel via the A-Z option in the channel page.

The iPlayer app made it onto Apple TV back in December.

BBC iPlayer is a free download from iTunes, but licensing restrictions means that content is limited to UK viewers.

How to watch Super Bowl 50 online for free on your MacBook, iPad or Apple TV

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Feb 5 2016 - 4:54 am PT
9 Comments
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Good news for cord-cutters in the U.S.: you can stream this year’s Super Bowl 50 without a cable TV subscription. The Panthers vs Broncos game kicks off at 6.30pm ET/3.30pm PT on Sunday 7th Feb, and watching it on your Apple device is as simple as downloading a free app or using the live web player …


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Instagram rolling out multiple account support to select iOS users

Avatar for Greg Barbosa Feb 4 2016 - 11:46 am PT
6 Comments

A little over two months ago our sister site 9to5Google reported that Instagram was releasing multiple account support for its Android app, and it now appears it will be coming to iOS too. The feature is not currently available to all users, but there are reports that many are already seeing it enabled. Multiple users are reporting to Latergramme that the option is now visible for them under the Options menu view.


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Day One 2 upgrades the journaling experience for both Mac and iOS [Giveaway]

Avatar for Greg Barbosa Feb 3 2016 - 5:15 pm PT
51 Comments
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The team at Bloom Built has today released the latest version of its journaling app Day One. Five since its original debut, with 40 free releases since then, Day One 2 sets the precedent for the direction of the new app. Albeit awkwardly titled, version 2 of Day One includes new overall features for both the iOS and Mac versions. Having been built from the ground up with data reliabilty and security in mind, Day One 2 lays the foundation for exciting new features to come in later versions.

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