Apps

6,295 'Apps' stories April 2010 - September 2015

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.

9to5Toys Last Call: $100 iTunes Gift Card for $80, 15″ Retina MacBook Pro $1,550, iPhone 6s cases from $3, more

Justin Kahn Sep 23 2015 - 9:02 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:

Double your iPhone 6/s battery capacity w/ this 3,100mAh MFi Apple-Certified Case for $20 Prime shipped (Reg. $37)

Power banks: EC Technology 22,400mAh w/ USB $27, TechMatte 5,600mAh Dual Port $15, more
Bluetooth speakers: I-Venstar waterproof $26 (Reg. $35) , Altec Lansing The Jacket $44 (Reg. $54), more
Skreens combines your DVR, Xbox One, Roku and more onto one screen
Runtastic’s Push Ups PRO for iOS goes free (Reg. $2)
Fallout 4 Limited Edition Loot Crate features over $150 worth of rare gear, pre-orders available now
Freebies: Cinnabon MiniBons + 8BitBoy on Steam + Zipcar $25 credit for new members + More!
Home: Black + Decker yard tools up to 50% off, Electric Leaf Mulcher $88, Kwikset SmartCode Deadbolt $70, more

$100 iTunes Gift Card for $80 w/ email delivery via PayPal: save 20% on movies, apps, more

Gift Cards w/ email delivery: Staples $100 for $85, Applebee’s $50 for $40, other restaurants, more

Apple 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro (newest) 2.2GHz/16GB/256GB: $1,550 shipped (Reg. $1,999)

Spigen iPhone 6s/Plus cases in multiple styles and colors as low as $3 with free shipping

Wrap your new iPhone 6s with Speck’s CandyShell Grip case for $14 shipped (Reg. $25+), more

Amazon teases one day sale that’ll discount Prime memberships down to just $67

Apple iPad Air 2 Wi-Fi up to $150 off (all colors): 16GB $349, 64GB $449, 128GB $549 (Reg. up to $699)

Giveaway: This is Ground’s Mod Laptop 2 is a road warrior’s dream bag, up to $499 value

More new gear from today:

This $4 dock will hold your Apple Watch at night and hide your charging cable too (Reg. $8)

CyberPower 1350VA 810W UPS Mini-Tower w/ Dual USB Ports: $130 shipped (Reg. $175+)
Daily Deals: Goal Zero Solar Charger (Refurb) $33, Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 (Refurb) $130, more
Games/Apps: Prime pre-orders Yoshi Wooly & Animal Crossing HHD $43 ea, freebies, more
Jump into the Rainbow Six Siege closed beta on Xbox One, PS4, and PC for free
Private Internet Access VPN offers browsing protection, 2-year subscription now $60 (Orig. $80)

More deals still alive:

Grand Theft Auto iOS titles $3 ea: Chinatown Wars, Vice City and GTA III (Reg. $5 ea.)

The best USB car charger (Aukey 4 port/48W) is just $7 Prime shipped, Lumsing 6000mAh Power bank: $10

GoPro HERO4 Black $389 + shipping (Reg. $500), HERO+ LCD $249 (Reg. $300)
Freebies: Best of albums from Elvis, Nas, 311, more + Nikola Tesla eBook + more!
Samsung goes old school on its new Serif TV set with help from fonts
LG 49-inch 60Hz Smart 4K UHDTV: $550 shipped (Reg. $800+)
The Mega Mac 2015 Bundle: 15 solid Apps including MacBooster 2, Disk Drill Pro & More $25 (Orig. $564)
MacUpdate Bundle: 10 apps including Toast 14, DevonThink, ExpanDrive, Boom, iMazing and more for $50
Dell 27-inch 4K Ultra HD LED IPS Monitor: $450 shipped (Reg. $525+), more
Headphones: Symphonized Wooden In-ear $16 (Reg. $25), Sennheiser Over-ear + DAC $500, more
App Store Free App of the Week: Shadowmatic puzzle game goes free for the first time ($3 value)
OtterBox iPhone 6 Defender Case (gray or black) from $24 shipped (Orig. $50)
Saicoo 8A/40W 5-Port Rapid Car Charger $12 Prime shipped (Reg. $17)
Logitech Type+ Folio Case with Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad Air: $35 shipped (Reg. $100)
Plantronics BackBeat Fit Bluetooth Sport Headphones $70 shipped (Orig. $130), more
Cyber Acoustics 30W Powered Computer Speakers w/ Subwoofer: $30 Prime shipped (Reg. $50)
Rolo Travel Bag: $45 Shipped (Orig. $60, CA Tax Only)
$25 Amazon credit w/ 12-mo Adob Creative Cloud Photography Plan: $120 ($145 value)
Toys R Us Clearance Event Up to 70% off: Star Wars Command Epic Assault Set $7 (Orig. $20), more
Download Jason Derulo’s Everything Is 4 album on Google Play for free (Reg. $8)
proXPN VPN: Premium Lifetime Subscription $39 ($375 value)
Pandora One: 6-Month Subscription $24 (Reg. $30)

New products & more:

Polk’s new flagship Omni S6 speaker goes after the multi-room audio crown

Sony reveals the first 1TB PlayStation 4 for North America w/ the new COD: Black Ops III bundle

Infento’s Constructible Rides are a K’NEX-like bicycle system that grows with your kid
The Makerarm 3D prints, laser engraves, and even assembles your electronics
Square Enix is bringing the new Final Fantasy Type-0 Online to iOS, Android and P
Review: Tile’s 2nd-gen Bluetooth tracker makes finding lost keys, dog, or iPhone easier than ever
The all-in-one Bruvelo Coffeemaker hits Kickstarter with a lofty goal and slim design
Tacos are the key to scoring one of Sony’s crazy limited edition Gold PlayStation 4 bundles
This new Game Boy Guitar plays “both Pokemon and rock and roll!”
iRobot takes its new Roomba 980 vacuum to the cloud
Timex combines its analog heritage with fitness tracking on the new Metropolitan+
Amazon intros new $50 7-inch Kindle Fire and 8/10-inch Kindle Fire HD plus 4K Fire TV
Dark Souls III North American release date revealed + early access details & new gameplay footage
This Star Wars Battlefront Deluxe bundle includes a working Han Solo mini fridge
Explore the depths of the ocean with the new Trident submersible drone
Mophie goes slender with its new iPhone 6 battery case, details new external power packs
Logitech aims to take over your whole home with its new Harmony Elite remote
Amazon adds 3 valuable benefits to Prime including free Washington Post access

Fantastical 2.1 for Mac now includes OS X El Capitan’s split-screen feature + much more

Zac Hall Sep 23 2015 - 7:00 am PT

3 Comments

Fantastical 2.0 notably upgraded the smart calendar menu bar utility to a full-sized calendar app in March. Following that massive release, Flexibits is back today with the first big update that builds on that it.

Fantastical 2.1 for Mac adds full El Capitan support ahead of OS X 10.11’s release next week (which should be welcome news to El Capitan public beta and developer testers now). In addition to general stability that you would expect, OS X 10.11 support includes El Capitan’s new split-screen feature for viewing and resizing two full-screen apps side-by-side.

Fantastical’s developers say the new release also fulfills the vast majority of feature requests after version 2.0 that users have requested. The result is more refined Fantastical 2 for Mac with an extensive change log that likely includes something for everyone:
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Pixelmator for iOS 9 adds iPad split-screen multitasking, 64 megapixel image editing, more

Benjamin Mayo Sep 23 2015 - 4:45 am PT

5 Comments

Pixelmator today released the latest version of its photo editor for iPhone and iPad, Pixelmator version 2.1. The update brings full support for iPad iOS 9 multitasking, the ability to import and edit 8K resolution images, Open-In-Place document management across iOS and more.

As part of general improvements for iOS 9, such as adoption of Apple’s new system font (San Francisco) in the UI, the primary change is the addition of the iPad multitasking support. This means Pixelmator can now be docked to the side of the screen using Slide Over. On more recent iPads, you can also pop Pixelmator into Split View for true 2-app side-by-side multitasking.

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Apple to offer local Xcode downloads in China as scale & scope of XcodeGhost issue becomes clearer

Ben Lovejoy Sep 23 2015 - 4:20 am PT

5 Comments

Apple is to make Xcode available for local download from servers based in China as part of its response to the XcodeGhost malware issue. The announcement was made on the Chinese social media site Sina by Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior VP of worldwide marketing (via CNET). It’s believed that many Chinese developers inadvertently downloaded the fake version because the official download was taking too long.

“In the US it only needs 25 minutes to download,” Schiller told Sina, admitting that in China getting Xcode “may take three times as long.” He told the Chinese publication that, to quell this problem, Apple would be providing an official source for developers in the People’s Republic to download Xcode domestically.

Analysis of infected apps by security researchers appears to be revealing a mix of good and bad news …
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Instagram reaches 400 million active users, 80 million photos shared per day

Chance Miller Sep 22 2015 - 2:43 pm PT

3 Comments

Popular image sharing service Instagram today announced that it has grown to have more than 400 million active monthly users, up from 300 million in December of 2014 and double the number it had in March of 2014.

Furthermore, Instagram says that more than 80 million photos are shared via the social network every day. The company also notes that of the last 100 million users to join, more than half live in Europe and Asia. This accelerated global growth rate means that more than 75 percent of all Instagram users live outside of the United Sates.

We are thrilled to announce that the Instagram community has grown to more than 400 million strong. While milestones like this are important, what really excites us is the way that visual communication makes the world feel a little bit smaller to every one of us.

Our community has evolved to be even more global, with more than 75 percent living outside of the US. To all the new Instagrammers: welcome! Among the last 100 million to join, more than half live in Europe and Asia. The countries that added the most Instagrammers include Brazil, Japan and Indonesia.

Instagram was, of course, acquired by Facebook back in 2012 for $1 billion, although Facebook has maintained a rather hands-off approach when it comes to interfering with Instagram. Most recently, Instagram on iOS gained long awaited support for landscape photos and videos.

Office 2016 for Mac now available outright for $150, no Office 365 subscription required

Chance Miller Sep 22 2015 - 12:13 pm PT

9 Comments

Update (via 9to5Toys.com): MacMall has Office Home and Student 2016 for $139.99 ($10 off) or Business for $20 off) with Tax in a few states.

After teasing it at the beginning of this year, Microsoft made Office 2016 available for Mac earlier this summer, but only for those that had an Office 365 subscription, which runs $9.99/mo or $100/year. Today, however, Microsoft has released a standalone version of Office 2016 for Mac, allowing anyone to purchase the software outright.

Purchasing Office 2016 for Mac without an Office 365 subscription will run you $150 for a Home & Student license, which lacks Outlook. With the purchase, you’ll also get 15GB of OneDrive storage. Office 365 subscribers get 1 terabyte of space. Office Home & Business 2016 for Mac is also available for $229.99 and includes Outlook. Both of those prices are up $10 from the previous versions of Office and for single licenses, as Microsoft continues to push users towards Office 365 plans.

Microsoft this time around is not offering a standalone business plan for Office. Instead, organizations are required to sign up for an Office 365 plan. Business plans start at $5 per users and increase in increments up to $12.50 per user, depending on what features you want.

Office 2016 for Mac features a redesigned suite of apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. The software also includes enhanced cloud functionality, including the ability for multiple users to collaborate on documents in real time when using the same app on different platform, including Mac, iPad, or PC. The apps are also all now optimized for devices with Retina displays.

You can purchase Office 2016 for Mac outright for $150 now via Microsoft’s website. Read our initial hands-on with the software here.

9to5Toys Last Call: Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard $40, Brother Printer w/ AirPrint $48, Speck iPhone 6/6s case $14, more

Sep 22 2015 - 9:01 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:

The best USB car charger (Aukey 4 port/48W) is just $7 Prime shipped, Lumsing 6000mAh Power bank: $10

Polk’s new flagship Omni S6 speaker goes after the multi-room audio crown
Sony reveals the first 1TB PlayStation 4 for North America w/ the new COD: Black Ops III bundle
GoPro HERO4 Black 4K Action Camera $389 + shipping (Reg. $500), HERO+ LCD $249 shipped (Reg. $300)
Freebies: Best of albums from Elvis, Nas, 311, more + Nikola Tesla eBook + Outback Bloomin’ Onions + more!
Samsung goes old school on its new Serif TV set with help from fonts
Home: Philips AirFryer (refurb) $100 (Orig. $230), Portable Car Jump Starter w/ flashlight $55 (Reg. $70), more

Logitech mice, keyboards, speakers up to 50% off: Wireless Solar Keyboard for Mac $40, Bluetooth mouse $22, more

Brother AirPrint All-in-One InkJet Color Printer: $48 shipped (Reg. $80+)

Wrap your new iPhone 6s with Speck’s CandyShell Grip case for $14 shipped (Reg. $25+), more

Amazon teases one day sale that’ll discount Prime memberships down to just $67

Apple iPad Air 2 Wi-Fi up to $150 off (all colors): 16GB $349, 64GB $449, 128GB $549 (Reg. up to $699)

Giveaway: This is Ground’s Mod Laptop 2 is a road warrior’s dream bag, up to $499 value

More new gear from today:

Grand Theft Auto iOS titles $3 ea: Chinatown Wars, Vice City and GTA III (Reg. $5 ea.)

Games/Apps: Batman Arkham Knight $39, Max Payne Mobile $2, iOS freebies, more
Dell 27-inch 4K Ultra HD LED IPS Monitor: $450 shipped (Reg. $525+), more
Daily Deals: OontZ Curve Bluetooth Speaker $15, MS Band Smartwatch $100, more

More deals still alive:

LG 49-inch 60Hz Smart 4K UHDTV: $550 shipped (Reg. $800+)

The Mega Mac 2015 Bundle: 15 solid Apps including MacBooster 2, Disk Drill Pro & More $25 (Orig. $564)

MacUpdate Bundle: 10 apps including Toast 14, DevonThink, ExpanDrive, Boom, iMazing and more for $50

Headphones: Symphonized Wooden In-ear $16 (Reg. $25), Sennheiser Over-ear + DAC $500, more
App Store Free App of the Week: Shadowmatic puzzle game goes free for the first time ($3 value)
OtterBox iPhone 6 Defender Case (gray or black) from $24 shipped (Orig. $50)
Saicoo 8A/40W 5-Port Rapid Car Charger $12 Prime shipped (Reg. $17)
Logitech Type+ Folio Case with Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad Air: $35 shipped (Reg. $100)
Plantronics BackBeat Fit Bluetooth Sport Headphones $70 shipped (Orig. $130), more
Cyber Acoustics 30W Powered Computer Speakers w/ Subwoofer: $30 Prime shipped (Reg. $50)
Rolo Travel Bag: $45 Shipped (Orig. $60, CA Tax Only)
$25 Amazon credit w/ 12-mo Adob Creative Cloud Photography Plan: $120 ($145 value)
Toys R Us Clearance Event Up to 70% off: Star Wars Command Epic Assault Set $7 (Orig. $20), more
Download Jason Derulo’s Everything Is 4 album on Google Play for free (Reg. $8)
proXPN VPN: Premium Lifetime Subscription $39 ($375 value)
Pandora One: 6-Month Subscription $24 (Reg. $30)

New products & more:

Infento’s Constructible Rides are a K’NEX-like bicycle system that grows with your kid

The Makerarm 3D prints, laser engraves, and even assembles your electronics

Square Enix is bringing the new Final Fantasy Type-0 Online to iOS, Android and P
Review: Tile’s 2nd-gen Bluetooth tracker makes finding lost keys, dog, or iPhone easier than ever
The all-in-one Bruvelo Coffeemaker hits Kickstarter with a lofty goal and slim design
Tacos are the key to scoring one of Sony’s crazy limited edition Gold PlayStation 4 bundles
This new Game Boy Guitar plays “both Pokemon and rock and roll!”
iRobot takes its new Roomba 980 vacuum to the cloud
Timex combines its analog heritage with fitness tracking on the new Metropolitan+
Amazon intros new $50 7-inch Kindle Fire and 8/10-inch Kindle Fire HD plus 4K Fire TV
Dark Souls III North American release date revealed + early access details & new gameplay footage
This Star Wars Battlefront Deluxe bundle includes a working Han Solo mini fridge
Explore the depths of the ocean with the new Trident submersible drone
Mophie goes slender with its new iPhone 6 battery case, details new external power packs
Logitech aims to take over your whole home with its new Harmony Elite remote
Amazon adds 3 valuable benefits to Prime including free Washington Post access

Starbucks completes U.S. rollout of ‘order ahead’ feature, will hit Canada & UK next month

Ben Lovejoy Sep 22 2015 - 6:12 am PT

4 Comments

If you haven’t got time to stand around in a Starbucks queue to place your order, the good news is that the company has completed the U.S. rollout of its ‘order ahead’ service, which allows you to place and pay for your order on your iPhone before reaching the store.

The service started as a test in Portland before gradually expanding across the USA. It says that it is now available in all 7,400 wholly-owned stores. Note that it is not supported by franchised stores, which tend to be smaller.

Starbucks says that the service will be introduced in Canada and the UK next month. The app is a free download from iTunes.

Compromised apps remain in Apple China App Store; $1M bounty offered for iOS 9 exploits

Ben Lovejoy Sep 22 2015 - 4:49 am PT

6 Comments

App analytics company SourceDNA – whose clients include Google, Amazon and Dropbox – claims that the compromised versions of many apps remain live in the Chinese App Store. This includes CamCard, which is a very popular app ranked #94.

The apps were infected with malware by a fake version of Xcode dubbed XcodeGhost which legitimate developers were fooled into downloading, believing it to be a copy of the genuine Apple app. A partial list of infected apps has been posted by security company Palo Alto Networks …
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Google Wallet on iOS updated w/ new interface, focus on peer-to-peer payments

Chance Miller Sep 21 2015 - 6:20 pm PT

5 Comments

Google today has released a major update to its Wallet app on iOS, completely redesigning and repurposing it. Similar to an update released to the Android version of the app earlier this year, the update gives the app a focus on sending money between users, rather than paying for goods from merchants.

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9to5Toys Last Call: 15″ Retina MacBook Pro $1,700 (or less), iPad Air 2 $349, LG 49″ Smart UHDTV $550, more

Sep 21 2015 - 9:03 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:

Infento’s Constructible Rides are a K’NEX-like bicycle system that grows with your kid

The Makerarm 3D prints, laser engraves, and even assembles your electronics
Square Enix is bringing the new Final Fantasy Type-0 Online to iOS, Android and PC
Arts & Crafts + Toys: Crayola products 40% off, LEGO City Trains $140, Tile Lock Scrabble $8, more
Home: Hamilton Beach Coffee Maker (refurb) $22, Wine Sealer $3.50, up to 20% off Target/Michaels gift cards, more

Apple 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro (newest) 2.2GHz/16GB/256GB: $1,700 or $1,650 w/ .edu (Reg. $1,999)

Apple iPad Air 2 Wi-Fi up to $150 off (all colors): 16GB $349, 64GB $449, 128GB $549 (Reg. up to $699)

LG 49-inch 60Hz Smart 4K UHDTV: $550 shipped (Reg. $800+)

Giveaway: This is Ground’s Mod Laptop 2 is a road warrior’s dream bag, up to $499 value

Review: Tile’s 2nd-gen Bluetooth tracker makes finding lost keys, dog, or iPhone easier than ever

More new gear from today:

Games/Apps: FX Photo Studio goes free, PS4 Destiny Taken King bundle w/ MGS V $399, iOS freebies, more

Headphones: Symphonized Wooden In-ear $16 (Reg. $25), Sennheiser Over-ear + DAC $500, more
Daily Deals: JBL Voyager Portable Bluetooth Speaker $100, Google Nexus Player $50, more

More deals still alive:

The Mega Mac 2015 Bundle: 15 solid Apps including MacBooster 2, Disk Drill Pro & More $25 (Orig. $564)

MacUpdate Bundle: 10 apps including Toast 14, DevonThink, ExpanDrive, Boom, iMazing and more for $50

App Store Free App of the Week: Shadowmatic puzzle game goes free for the first time ($3 value

OtterBox iPhone 6 Defender Case (gray or black) from $24 shipped (Orig. $50)
WD My Passport Ultra 3TB Portable USB 3.0 Hard Drive $125 (Orig. $200)
Saicoo 8A/40W 5-Port Rapid Car Charger $12 Prime shipped (Reg. $17)
Logitech Type+ Folio Case with Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad Air: $35 shipped (Reg. $100)
Plantronics BackBeat Fit Bluetooth Sport Headphones $70 shipped (Orig. $130), more
Bluetooth Headphones: Mpow Sport $21 (Reg. $28),
Aukey 13.3-inch Macbook Carrying Bag and Sleeve Case Cover $6.50 Prime shipped (Reg. $13)
Bose SoundLink Mini Portable Bluetooth Speaker $159 (Orig. $200)
10-ft MFI Apple-Certified Nylon Braided Lightning Cable $11 Prime shipped (Reg. $17), more
Bike Accessories w/ Prime shipping: KingTop Aluminum Pump $20
Cyber Acoustics 30W Powered Computer Speakers w/ Subwoofer: $30 Prime shipped (Reg. $50)
Samsung 850 Pro 1TB 2.5-inch Internal Solid-State Drive: $400 shipped (Reg. $470)
Buy D-Link IP Surveillance Camera, get a free Smart Plug: $70 shipped (~$115 value)
Rolo Travel Bag: $45 Shipped (Orig. $60, CA Tax Only)
$25 Amazon credit w/ 12-mo Adob Creative Cloud Photography Plan: $120 ($145 value)
Apple is handing out free downloads of Super Hexagon for iPhone and iPad ($3 value)
Toys R Us Clearance Event Up to 70% off: Star Wars Command Epic Assault Set $7 (Orig. $20), more
Download Jason Derulo’s Everything Is 4 album on Google Play for free (Reg. $8)
Google Play offers free downloads of Sia’s 1000 Forms Of Fear album ($10 value)
proXPN VPN: Premium Lifetime Subscription $39 ($375 value)
Pandora One: 6-Month Subscription $24 (Reg. $30)

New products & more:

The all-in-one Bruvelo Coffeemaker hits Kickstarter with a lofty goal and slim design

Tacos are the key to scoring one of Sony’s crazy limited edition Gold PlayStation 4 bundles

This new Game Boy Guitar plays “both Pokemon and rock and roll!”
iRobot takes its new Roomba 980 vacuum to the cloud
Timex combines its analog heritage with fitness tracking on the new Metropolitan+
Amazon intros new $50 7-inch Kindle Fire and 8/10-inch Kindle Fire HD plus 4K Fire TV
Dark Souls III North American release date revealed + early access details & new gameplay footage
This Star Wars Battlefront Deluxe bundle includes a working Han Solo mini fridge
Explore the depths of the ocean with the new Trident submersible drone
Wilson’s X Connected Basketball is a simple shot tracking solution
Mophie goes slender with its new iPhone 6 battery case, details new external power packs
Logitech aims to take over your whole home with its new Harmony Elite remote
Amazon adds 3 valuable benefits to Prime including free Washington Post access
Sony takes the wraps off a new gold DualShock controller (and other colors too)

Skype down for many users, Microsoft working on a fix

Ben Lovejoy Sep 21 2015 - 5:05 am PT

1 Comment

If all your Skype contacts are showing as offline, it’s not that your friends have deserted you – Microsoft says there is “an issue with the status settings” for many users and it is working on a fix.

While the problem persists, you’ll be unable to make Skype calls to contacts shown as offline. If you are not logged in to Skype, you may be unable to sign in. Microsoft says it is doing all it can to resolve the problem.

The iOS app got a redesign earlier this month.

Security firm publishes list of some of the iOS apps infected by XcodeGhost – including Angry Birds 2 [Update: more apps]

Ben Lovejoy Sep 21 2015 - 4:06 am PT

57 Comments

Update 1: The list of apps has now been updated with apps identified by Dutch security company Fox-IT. The company is reporting seeing malware traffic from the apps in Europe.

Update 2: Rovio has advised that only the version of Angry Birds 2 in the Chinese App Store was affected.

I wish to clarify that Rovio can confirm that only the Chinese build of Angry Birds 2 — available only on the App Store in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau — is vulnerable to the security issue. All other builds of Angry Birds 2 available in other countries are completely safe and secure. An update of Angry Birds 2 for customers in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau that fixes the issue is coming very shortly.

After yesterday’s revelation that hundreds of iOS apps on the App Store had been infected by malware, security company Palo Alto Networks has posted a list of some of the affected apps – which include Angry Birds 2.

The apps were infected by a fake copy of Xcode dubbed XcodeGhost, unwittingly downloaded by Chinese developers in place of the real thing. It’s believed they downloaded the fake from local servers because it took too long to download the original from Apple’s own servers. It’s not yet known why Apple’s own checks did not detect the malware when apps were submitted to the App Store.

It’s been suggested that over 300 apps are infected, with 31 of them so far identified (list below) …
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War and Peace: Ad blocker dev Marco Arment pulls #1 rated app over guilty conscience

Zac Hall Sep 18 2015 - 10:42 am PT

155 Comments

Apple’s support for building Safari ad blockers in iOS 9 was sure to be controversial as they negatively and directly impact writers/publications like us here at 9to5Mac and others that rely on advertising for revenue. And while a few ad blockers climbed the App Store’s top paid chart this week, the highest ranked Safari content blocker has been pulled after being sold for just 48 hours. Developer Marco Arment announced today that he decided to pull his ad blocker app Peace from sale, citing that it “just doesn’t feel good” to [profit from] the negative impact to “many who don’t deserve the hit.”
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9to5Toys Last Call: Free App of the Week, Brother inkjet w/ AirPrint $45, Samsung 50″ smart HDTV $500, more

Justin Kahn Sep 18 2015 - 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:

GoPro HERO3+ Silver Action Camera: $219 shipped (Reg. $300)

The all-in-one Bruvelo Coffeemaker hits Kickstarter with a lofty goal and slim design
Saicoo 8A/40W 5-Port Rapid Car Charger $12 Prime shipped (Reg. $17)
Tacos are the key to scoring one of Sony’s crazy limited edition Gold PlayStation 4 bundles
Download Jason Derulo’s Everything Is 4 album on Google Play for free (Reg. $8)
This new Game Boy Guitar plays “both Pokemon and rock and roll!”
Amazon Gold Box – Lacoste Mens Shoes up to 40% off: Concours Driving Loafer $90 (Orig. $150)
Home: 5-pack wireless remote control plugs $22 (Reg. $30+), 8-piece VISE-GRIP Pliers Set $59 (Orig. $160), more

App Store Free App of the Week: Shadowmatic puzzle game goes free for the first time ($3 value)

AirPrint All-in-One Inkjet Printers: Brother $45 shipped (Reg. $90), HP $70 shipped (Reg. $100)

Samsung 1080p Smart LED HDTV 50-inch $500 (Orig. $750)

Save $100 on Apple’s all-new 12-inch MacBook + extra $50 for students/faculty: 256GB model $1,150 w/ .edu (Reg. $1,299)

13″ Retina MacBook Pro $1,280 (Reg. $1,499)

Save $100 on Apple iPad: Air 2 Wi-Fi 16GB $399, 64GB $499, 128GB $599, mini 3 Wi-Fi 16GB $299

Review: Tile’s 2nd-gen Bluetooth tracker makes finding lost keys, dog, or iPhone easier than ever

The Mega Mac 2015 Bundle: 15 solid Apps including MacBooster 2, Disk Drill Pro & More $25 (Orig. $564)

MacUpdate Bundle: 10 apps including Toast 14, DevonThink, ExpanDrive, Boom, iMazing and more for $50

Giveaway: Schoolhouse Electric makes the clock cool again, $290 value

More new gear from today:

Games/Apps: Splashtop 2 Remote Desktop for iPhone free, Worms titles up to 80% off, iOS freebies, more

Amazon Gold Box – Ooma Telo Air VoIP Phone w/ Bluetooth Adapter $90 shipped (Orig. $180)
USB Deals: RAVPower 16000mAh $25, Kmashi Bluetooth Speaker w/ 4800mAh $22, more
Rolo Travel Bag: $45 Shipped (Orig. $60, CA Tax Only)
Plantronics BackBeat Fit Bluetooth Sport Headphones $70 shipped (Orig. $130), more
Daily Deals: SanDisk 64GB Flash Drive $15, Logitech K410 Wireless Keyboard $20, more

More deals still alive:

OtterBox iPhone 6 Defender Case (gray or black) from $24 shipped (Orig. $50)

Portable USB 3.0 Hard Drives: WD My Passport Ultra 3TB $125 (Orig. $200), Samsung 2TB $70 (Reg. $80)

Toys R Us Clearance Event Up to 70% off: Star Wars Command Epic Assault Set $7 (Orig. $20), more
Home: Waring Belgian Waffle Maker (refurb) $60 (Orig. $100), Wet/Dry Shop-Vac $90 (Orig. $140), more
Logitech Type+ Folio Case with Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad Air: $35 shipped (Reg. $100)
Bluetooth Headphones: Mpow Sport $21 (Reg. $28),
Amazon intros new $50 7-inch Kindle Fire and 8/10-inch Kindle Fire HD plus 4K Fire TV
Aukey 13.3-inch Macbook Carrying Bag and Sleeve Case Cover $6.50 Prime shipped (Reg. $13)
Apple is handing out free downloads of Super Hexagon for iPhone and iPad ($3 value)
Bluetooth Speakers: Bose SoundLink Mini $159 (Orig. $200), Sony SRSX3 $60 (Orig. $140)
10-ft MFI Apple-Certified Nylon Braided Lightning Cable $11 Prime shipped (Reg. $17), more
Bike Accessories w/ Prime shipping: KingTop Aluminum Pump $20, 1byone Mount $16
USB chargers w/ Prime shipping: Aukey Dual Car Charger $6, 3200mAh power bank $6, more
Cyber Acoustics 30W Powered Computer Speakers w/ Subwoofer: $30 Prime shipped (Reg. $50)
Belkin WeMo iOS connected LED Lighting Starter Kit + extra bulb: $40 shipped ($75 value)
proXPN VPN: Premium Lifetime Subscription $39 ($375 value)
Pandora One: 6-Month Subscription $24 (Reg. $30)
Samsung 850 Pro 1TB 2.5-inch Internal Solid-State Drive: $400 shipped (Reg. $470)
Buy D-Link IP Surveillance Camera, get a free Smart Plug: $70 shipped (~$115 value)
$25 Amazon credit w/ 12-mo Adob Creative Cloud Photography Plan: $120 ($145 value)
NERF Buy 2 Get 1 Free: N-Strike, Mega Series and Modulus Blasters, more
Google Play offers free downloads of Sia’s 1000 Forms Of Fear album ($10 value)

New products & more:

iRobot takes its new Roomba 980 vacuum to the cloud with Wi-Fi connectivity and remote management

Timex combines its analog heritage with fitness tracking on the new Metropolitan+

Dark Souls III North American release date revealed + early access details & new gameplay footage
This Star Wars Battlefront Deluxe bundle includes a working Han Solo mini fridge
Explore the depths of the ocean with the new Trident submersible drone
Wilson’s X Connected Basketball is a simple shot tracking solution
Mophie goes slender with its new iPhone 6 battery case, details new external power packs
Logitech aims to take over your whole home with its new Harmony Elite remote
Amazon adds 3 valuable benefits to Prime including free Washington Post access
Sony takes the wraps off a new gold DualShock controller (and other colors too)
Devon and Nixon reveal new luxury Dark Side-inspired Star Wars watches
Kickstarter veteran launches new HiddenHUB smart omnidirectional whole home audio system
The new Westinghouse Nucli combines a deadbolt, door bell and FaceTime
Review: Monoprice’s new action camera is loaded with value for a fraction of GoPro’s price tag
The new Bluetooth Seaboard Rise looks to modernize the typical MIDI controller like never before

It turns out we may not have really seen Apple’s first Android app after all

Ben Lovejoy Sep 18 2015 - 6:03 am PT

18 Comments

While Apple’s new Move to iOS app appeared to be the company’s first ever Android app, Phandroid did some digging around in the code to discover that it in fact appears to be just a rebadged third-party app called Copy My Data.

If we take a look under the hood of Apple’s Move to iOS app, we see the […] android:name is still set to android:name=”com.mediamushroom.copymydata”. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The two applications share a vast majority of code and functionality. In fact, all of the com.mediamushroom.copymydata strings were left inside Apple’s rebranded version. Essentially, the only differences between the two apps are Apple’s artwork being added, the inclusion of Apple’s licensing agreements, and Media Mushroom’s UI elements being removed. That’s really it.

Apple thus appears to have simply licensed an existing app, rather than creating its first Android app – meaning that the Apple Music app expected to makes its way across to Android sometime this fall may be the first Apple-coded app on the rival smartphone platform …
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AirServer adds live streaming from iOS apps to YouTube, higher quality mirroring w/ iOS 9’s rewritten AirPlay

Jordan Kahn Sep 17 2015 - 9:16 am PT

7 Comments

With the launch of YouTube Gaming earlier this year, Google’s Twitch competitor that lets users live stream and watch gameplay videos on YouTube, users can now live stream and browse gameplay videos on YouTube from dedicated apps. Google first enabled live streaming the desktop, and today announced plans for Android, but an update to the popular AirServer app is taking advantage of the lack of iOS streaming support by enabling users to live stream directly to YouTube from their iOS devices.

Google does have a YouTube Gaming app or iOS, but it currently only acts as a community-style app for letting users access live streams and recorded gameplay videos from their iPhone or iPad. AirServer, however, tells us it collaborated with YouTube to enable streaming from iOS apps using its mirroring technology:
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iOS 9.1 beta suggests Apple News hitting the UK soon, here’s how to get it now

Ben Lovejoy Sep 17 2015 - 6:39 am PT

4 Comments

While Americans got the new Apple News app as part of iOS 9, Brits are going to have to wait a little longer – it’s currently in the beta of iOS 9.1. As Engadget notes, that suggests it may be around a month (or more) away.

But if you want to take a look now, you can, just by changing your region from the UK to USA. Go to Settings > General > Language & Region > Region and set it to United States. Confirm, wait a few seconds while your iPhone makes the changes (the screen may switch off for 5-10 seconds at this point) and then the News app should magically appear.

Frankly, though, having taken a look at the app, it doesn’t strike me as a great improvement on Newsstand … I’ll be sticking to the web, thanks.

Ford launches Apple Watch app to find & control your car, but only for three models so far

Ben Lovejoy Sep 17 2015 - 4:36 am PT

2 Comments

Ford has updated its MyFord Mobile iPhone app to add Apple Watch support for its three electric and hybrid cars. The Watch app allows you to get walking directions back to your car, check battery status and range, lock and unlock the car, start it remotely and check a range of stats …
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BBC iPlayer latest app to support new Picture in Picture feature in iOS 9 [Update: MLB At Bat too]

Ben Lovejoy Sep 17 2015 - 3:58 am PT

1 Comment

The BBC iPlayer app, which provides streaming and downloadable access to BBC television shows in the UK, has joined Hulu and Pocket in supporting the new Picture in Picture feature in iOS 9.

As with other apps, press the home button once while playing a show and the video window becomes a small floating window that you can resize and reposition while using other iPad apps. The functionality is available on the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 2 and 3.

iPlayer is a free download from iTunes. MLB At Bat has also joined the party.

Via Engadget

Hulu and Pocket for iOS updated w/ support for iOS 9’s Picture in Picture feature

Chance Miller Sep 16 2015 - 5:54 pm PT

2 Comments

We’ve already rounded up several apps this week that have been updated with iOS 9 support and that rollout continues tonight to a pair of popular apps. This evening, both Pocket and Hulu for iOS have been updated with support for the latest version of Apple’s operating system. Pocket has been updated to version 6.0.1, while Hulu has been updated to 4.6.1.

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The new Apple TV might not do 4K but iMovie for iOS can with latest update

Mike Beasley Sep 16 2015 - 2:10 pm PT

4 Comments

In the lead-up to the release of the iPhone 6s, with its new 4K video camera, Apple has released an updated version of iMovie for iOS that enables editing of 4K video on the latest devices. The update also adds 3D Touch support to help users start a new project more quickly from the home screen.

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1Password 6 debuts with refreshed design, new password generator options, and iOS 9 features

Mike Beasley Sep 16 2015 - 1:32 pm PT

8 Comments

AgileBits has pushed out the latest version of its popular password management app, 1Password. The update brings support for new iOS 9-exclusive features, such as the ability to search for your saved passwords directly through the native iOS Spotlight screen.

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Twitter for iOS 9 enables quick reply to tweets directly from the notification, adds iPad multitasking support

Benjamin Mayo Sep 16 2015 - 12:30 pm PT

0 Comments

Twitter has updated its app with support for iOS 9 features, following the release of iOS 9 earlier today. The update adds multitasking support on iPad, so you can now browse Safari (or do anything really) whilst having Twitter docked in a side column.

More importantly, Twitter adds quick reply to mention notifications. This means you can reply from the tweet without having to enter the app, just like how quick replies with the iOS Messages app. This is a big boon for productivity. Activate quick replies by pulling down on the notification banner to reveal a text box. Type your reply in the message box and press Send — that’s it.

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