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6,531 'Apps' stories April 2010 - January 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.

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Microsoft’s upcoming iPhone keyboard has a special one-handed typing mode

Avatar for Greg Barbosa Jan 25 2016 - 2:17 pm PT
7 Comments

The Verge has obtained a sneak peak image into what Microsoft’s Word Flow keyboard for iOS may look like once it is officially released. The keyboard will include a one-handed mode that places the keys out in a fan-style layout. The user can still access emoji and word suggestions and even use swipe gestures to type. This differs from the Word Flow keyboard on Windows 10 Mobile where the keys simply shift to one side. The Verge explains that other than that one-handed mode, the rest of Word Flow for iOS is similar to the Windows Phone version.


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Paper by 53 gains app extension, new text formatting tools on iOS

Avatar for Zac Hall Jan 25 2016 - 12:03 pm PT
1 Comment

FiftyThree has steadily been turning its Paper app into a full-fledged notebook from just a basic sketching app, and the latest update for iPhone and iPad goes even further. Paper already supported plenty of sharing options for notes and drawings within the app to destinations like Facebook and Twitter, and version 3.5 adds a new iOS Sharing Extension so you can easily send images and notes from other apps directly to Paper.

The app has also been updated with some new text formatting tools for note takers. Check out the full release notes below:

What’s New in Version 3.5.0

This update introduces new automatic text formatting to make your notes look better, faster. You can also now send text and photos from other apps directly to Paper via our iOS Share Extension.

Love Paper? Please give us a review! We are reading every comment, review, and tweet, and your thoughts and suggestions will definitely be taken into consideration as we continue to evolve Paper.

Need help or want to send us feedback? Please contact us at support@fiftythree.com. We can’t respond to App Store reviews so please email if something seems broken.

– New text ideas will start with big bold text, and auto format to normal text as you continue typing.
– Text ideas will vertically center in the Spaces grid view.
– Paper is now available as an iOS Share Extension for compatible apps. Import text and photos from other apps directly into Paper through the iOS share menu.
– Bug fixes.

Paper by 53 is available for free on the iPhone and iPad through the App Store.

9to5Toys Last Call: Apple Watch Steel Band $19, Brother Laser Color Printer w/ AirPrint $150, more

Avatar for Justin Kahn Jan 25 2016 - 9:12 am PT
0 Comments

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:

Fender brings its big name into the world of headphones with new Pro In-ear Monitors

[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/691705289968599041 align=’center’]

Apple Watch Stainless Steel Bands – 42 or 38mm: Space Gray $21 (Reg. $36), Traditional $19 (Reg. $30)

Apple 13-inch MacBook Air 1.6GHz/4GB/128GB (newest version): $800 shipped (Reg. $999)

Several refurbished 12-inch MacBook w/ Retina display models are now available from Apple

AirPrint Color Laser Printers: Brother $150 shipped (Reg. $200), Canon 3-in-1 $190 shipped (Reg. $250)

Pay What You Want: The 2016 Mac Bundle ~12

Work Faster & Smarter on Your Mac with 12 Apps to Clear Your Hard Drive, Enhance Audio, Track Device Activity & More

Apple’s Get Productive iOS App Sale 50% or more off: Things, Clear, Duet Displays, Deliveries, much more

App Store Free App of the Week: MarcoPolo Ocean puzzle game (Reg. $3)

1Password for Mac keeps your accounts and information safe, now $25 (Reg. $50)

Use your iPad as an additional screen for your Mac or PC w/ Duet Display, now just $8 (Reg. $16)

Astropad turns your iPad into a professional Mac drawing tablet, download it now for $10 (Reg. $20)

Deliveries package tracker for iOS hits its lowest price yet: $2 (Reg. $5)

MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:

Media: new Blu-rays $10 – Jurassic World, Minions, more + BOGO offer

[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/691463611982675968 align=’center’]

MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:

Samsung 850 EVO 1TB 2.5-inch Internal Solid-State Drive: $290 shipped (Reg. $329+)

Throw one hell of a Super Bowl party w/ this Samsung 60″ Smart 3D 4K UHDTV: $998 shipped (Orig. $1,800)

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

NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:

ComfyLight learns your routine and imitates your lighting patterns while you’re out

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Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld releases new diabolical version of Solitaire for iOS

Avatar for Greg Barbosa Jan 25 2016 - 7:56 am PT
5 Comments

While the rest of Washington DC and Silicon Valley are debating corporate taxes and encryption privacy, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has pointed his interests in a different direction. A game. A new variation on the classic solitaire to be precise. Using Medium to post about the app’s development process, and how the original game came to be discovered, Rumsfeld quips about signing off “on something they call UX” and spending countless hours on betas.


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How-To: Use Apple Watch faces as gorgeous Mac screen savers

Avatar for Greg Barbosa Jan 22 2016 - 9:44 am PT
23 Comments

Even though I’ve owned a Mac for going on 5+ years now, I never thought I would actually end up using screen savers. But the launch of Aerial a few months ago, which I’ve been using daily ever since, has definitely changed my mind. Awesome Apple TV screen savers on the Mac is a win. And today I came across the Apple Watch Screen Saver for OS X by Rasmus Nielsen and immediately knew it would be my next screen saver of choice.

Incorporating over 80 combinations of the already recognizable and well designed Apple Watch faces, all in Retina display quality, it makes a great additional screen saver to have installed. For those unfamiliar with the process of installing new screen savers on the Mac, or just want an overview before starting, I’ve put together a small guide below to walk you through the process:


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Mac users can now try out new Microsoft Office features early with ‘Office Insider’ program

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Jan 22 2016 - 7:31 am PT
1 Comment

Microsoft opened up a beta test program for Windows users last November, letting Microsoft Office fanatics get early access to upcoming new features. Microsoft is now rolling out the program to the Mac, so OS X users can (optionally) join the beta program too. For the first round of the beta program, Microsoft will be adding inking and realtime typing / collaboration to PowerPoint. Expect these features in the ‘coming weeks’. More details available here.


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Apple shares new Apple TV ad highlighting popular tvOS apps

Avatar for Chance Miller Jan 21 2016 - 4:23 pm PT
5 Comments
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Apple this evening has shared a new advertisement for its Apple TV set-top box. This ad continues the trend of the company highlighting the tvOS App Store that is available on the device, showcasing a handful of the most popular applications available so far. The ad is entitled “Apple TV – The Future of TV is Apps,” which is a slogan Apple has used since the launch of the device back in October.


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Facebook for iPhone testing in-app peek & pop features, more 3D Touch enhancements

Avatar for Chance Miller Jan 21 2016 - 2:02 pm PT
4 Comments
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Facebook today is rolling out a new update to its iOS app that brings a handful of new features to iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus users. As usual, the actual changelog provided in the App Store by Facebook doesn’t detail any of the changes, but rather states that Facebook periodically updates its app to add new features and performance and reliability improvements. Today’s new features come in the form of new 3D Touch capabilities for the app on iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus devices.


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Adobe’s Voice app for storytellers lands on iPhone with project syncing from iPads

Avatar for Zac Hall Jan 21 2016 - 9:41 am PT
2 Comments

Adobe first launched its creative Voice app for iPad almost two years ago, and this week version 2.0 has been released with full iPhone support for the first time. I took Adobe Voice for a test drive when it was brand new back in 2014. The app lets you easily combine photos, videos, text, voiceovers, and more to a project that you can easily share to spread your message. Stories can be shared either publicly or privately over Facebook, Twitter, email, messaging, the web, and more.


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Comparison breaks down all the missing features in Office for Mac & iPad vs Windows

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jan 21 2016 - 8:18 am PT
37 Comments
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This comparison of the differences between Microsoft Office on Mac, Windows, and iOS devices was put together by Kurt Schmucker who (disclaimer) works for Parallels — the company that makes slick virtual machine apps for running Windows and other operating systems on Mac — but he also happens to know a thing or two about the subject after his previous role as Senior Mac Evangelist at Microsoft and on the Office team. So what exactly is missing on Mac and iOS devices compared to Windows when it comes to the Office suite?
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Microsoft Office for iOS adds 3D Touch quick actions for iPhone 6s, Apple Pencil ‘ink’ on iPad Pro

Avatar for Zac Hall Jan 21 2016 - 7:39 am PT
4 Comments
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Microsoft is out with a nice update to its Office for iOS suite today, adding 3D Touch quick actions to Word, PowerPoint, and Excel for iPhone 6s and 6s Plus users as well as promised Apple Pencil integration on the iPad Pro. The latest versions of the Office suite also changes how fonts are handled and improves document search on iOS.


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CornerTube for iPad lets you quickly watch picture-in-picture YouTube videos on iOS 9

Avatar for Greg Barbosa Jan 20 2016 - 11:59 pm PT
16 Comments
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With iOS 9 being out for nearly five months now, you would’ve expected all the top video apps to already be including picture-in-picture for the iPad. Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be the case with YouTube and a few others. If you’re feeling the hurt from not being able to catch up on your favorite YouTuber’s latest videos while multitasking around your iPad, then check out CornerTube, a new YouTube utility app focused on PIP. CornerTube lets users quickly jump into videos on YouTube, all the while enabling that missing PIP feature. It gets even better once you start utilizing the included Today widget in Notification Center and Action extension in other apps.


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Apple updates Logic Pro X & MainStage 3 Mac apps with performance improvements, new features

Avatar for Chance Miller Jan 20 2016 - 4:08 pm PT
0 Comments
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Following its onslaught of music updates this morning, Apple this evening has rolled out updates to two more of its Mac audio apps. First is Logic Pro X, which has been bumped to version 10.2.1 with this evening’s update. Next is MainStage 3, which is now at version 3.2.3 thanks to its most recent update. Both apps have received a handful of new features, under-the-hood changes, and performance improvements with their respective updates.


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Learn absolutely nothing from watching T-Pain use the new GarageBand

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jan 20 2016 - 2:36 pm PT
27 Comments

Is this really one of Apple’s official spokespeople for GarageBand? That’s what The Verge says in this T-Painful tutorial that teaches us next to nothing about today’s Garageband update. An update that by the way actually introduces some interesting new features for users of the audio production suite Apple bundles with its iOS devices and Macs.
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9to5Toys Last Call: iPad Pro $700, 1Password for Mac $25, 13″ Retina MacBook Pro 256GB $1,250, more

Avatar for Trevor Daugherty Jan 20 2016 - 9:00 am PT
0 Comments

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:

Use your iPad as an additional screen for your Mac or PC w/ Duet Display, now just $8 (Reg. $16)

[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/689870855267041280 align=’center’]

Apple’s biggest tablet is now on sale: iPad Pro 32GB Wi-Fi $700 (Reg. $799), 128GB Cellular $1,000 (Reg. $1,079)

Apple iPad Air Wi-Fi 16GB in Silver or Space Gray: $299 shipped (Reg. $399)

1Password for Mac keeps your accounts and information safe, now $25 (Reg. $50)

Apple 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro w/ Force Touch (newest) 2.7GHz/8GB/256GB $1,250 shipped (Reg. $1,499)

Apple 12″ Retina MacBook 1.2Ghz/8GB/512GB: $1,290 shipped (Reg. $1,599)

iTunes Gift Cards 20% off w/ free shipping: $100 for $80, $50 for $40 — Save on apps, music, movies, more

MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:

Games/Apps: Things task manager for iOS from $5 (Reg. up to $20), Clear for iOS from $2, amiibo from $7, freebies, more

Astropad turns your iPad into a professional Mac drawing tablet, download it now for $10 (Reg. $20)

Deliveries package tracker for iOS hits its lowest price yet: $2 (Reg. $5)

MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:

Grab some peace of mind with this RAVPower 12,000mAh Car Jump Starter and Power Bank: $48 (Reg. $70)

App Store Free App of the Week: Lifeline text-adventure game goes free for the first time (Reg. $3)

The Trace Murder Mystery Game for iOS hits its lowest price yet: $1 (Reg. $4)

A Dark Room for iOS goes free as IGN’s Game of the Month (Reg. $1)

Game pre-orders for Amazon Prime members – Final Fantasy XV, more: $48 ea (Reg. $60)

NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:

The first Amazon Dash Replenishment devices are now available for order

Grovemade’s new entryway collection brings handcrafted charm to your home

Apple updates Logic Remote with iPad Pro enhancements + iPhone support

Avatar for Zac Hall Jan 20 2016 - 8:57 am PT
3 Comments
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Apple’s hooking up music creators on iOS with lots of new software updates and features today. In addition to releasing a new Music Memos app and enhancing GarageBand for iPad Pro and iPhone 6s, Apple’s Logic Remote app which works with both GarageBand, Logic Pro X, and MainStage on the Mac has been updated with full iPad Pro support and an iPhone version for the first time.


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Apple releases new ‘Music Memos’ iOS app for songwriters

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jan 20 2016 - 8:10 am PT
10 Comments

Apple today released a brand new app for iOS devices called Music Memos that allows songwriters to quickly and easily record audio and develop song ideas.

Apple’s press release for the new app notes that Music Memos was inspired by the fact that many musicians have long used the iOS Voice Memos app as a way of quickly capturing ideas in audio on their iPhones and iPads:
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Apple enhancing GarageBand for iPad Pro, adding 3D Touch for iPhone 6s & 6s Plus, much more

Avatar for Zac Hall Jan 20 2016 - 8:08 am PT
1 Comment

Apple today is releasing a new update to GarageBand for iOS that includes enhancements to take advantage of the iPad Pro’s 12.9-inch Retina display. The new version, previously only shown in iPad Pro marketing material, shows more of instruments and tracks in a single view than on smaller iPads and iPhones. New 3D Touch features are also being included for iPhone 6s and 6s Plus users. Separately, Apple is releasing a new music app called Music Memos, and adding a new Live Loops feature to GarageBand for iOS. 
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Microsoft OneDrive for iOS updated w/ iPad Pro & Apple Pencil optimizations

Avatar for Chance Miller Jan 19 2016 - 6:04 pm PT
0 Comments

Microsoft today has updated its OneDrive cloud storage app with a handful of new features and capabilities. The update bumps the app to version 6.8 and includes additions like iPad Pro optimization, 3D Touch support, and more.

With iPad Pro optimization, PDF annotations are now pressure sensitive, meaning your writing and drawing will be darker the harder you press on the screen and lighter the softer you press. Furthermore, the Apple Pencil is now supported with improved optimization, as well.

The full changelog is below:

  • Your lines have never looked so smooth! PDF annotations are now pressure sensitive, including support for Apple Pencil and 3D Touch displays.
  • Plenty of bug fixes and stability improvements.

Microsoft OneDrive is available for free in the App Store.


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Apple releases iMovie for Mac 10.1.1 with YouTube sharing fix, stability improvements, more

Avatar for Chance Miller Jan 19 2016 - 1:36 pm PT
1 Comment

The same day as it released OS X 10.11.3 to the public, Apple has now pushed an update to its iMovie video editing software. The update bumps the app to version 10.1.1 and includes primarily under-the-hood bug fixes and performance updates, some of which will certainly be welcomed by users.

First off, Apple says the update fixes an issue with YouTube sharing that would prevent a user from signing in if they had multiple accounts. The update also fixes an issue relating to applying White Balance adjustments to clips, as well as one that caused an incorrect display of still images. Another change is that clips are now copied when dragged from the Project Media area to the events area of the Library list.

The full changelog is below:

What’s New in Version 10.1.1

• Resolves an issue with YouTube sharing that could prevent sign in for users with multiple accounts
• Fixes a problem that could prevent White Balance adjustments from being applied to clips
• Sony XAVC S clips captured at 100 fps or 120 fps now play correctly
• Resolves an issue that could lead to incorrect display of still images
��� Clips are now copied when dragged from the Project Media container to events in the Library list
• Stability improvements

Back in October, Apple introduced the much larger iMovie 10.1 update that brought 4k video support, as well as support for 1080p video at 60 frames per second. iMovie is available on the Mac App Store.

Digital property after death issues continue as Apple requires court order for widow to get late husband’s Apple ID password

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Jan 19 2016 - 3:48 am PT
31 Comments

CBC News is reporting that Apple would not disclose Apple ID passwords to a widow after presenting her late husband’s death certificates and her will. Instead, Apple demanded Peggy Bush, 72, to attain a court order in order to gain access to the account. See the video after the jump for the full story.

Initially, Apple said that a death certificate would suffice but the company changed its mind on followup calls, making this situation even more frustrating for Bush. She just wanted to play her iPad freemium card game in peace. Law regarding digital assets after death is murky, although Bush points out that death certificates enabled her to transfer pensions and benefits, making it seem ridiculous that Apple would also not cooperate with the same information.


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