It’s the weekend again, and what better way to spend the remaining hours of Sunday than by checking out the best new apps — and major app updates — to hit the App Store? From a stunning real-time feed of Earth from space to a tremendous Rube Goldberg-style puzzler, you’re almost certain to find something of interest in this week’s picks.
Check them out below.
Apple is inviting users to provide their feedback on how they stream video. Its latest survey includes questions about the experience on iPad and the Apple TV, and could be used to shape future improvements to its products and services.
Apple loves talking about Apple TV’s impressive screensavers, which let viewers fly through some of the most jaw-dropping locations on the planet. You know what’s even more impressive than the world’s most gorgeous locations, though? The most dazzling locations out of this world!
That’s the concept behind NASA’s stunning new Apple TV app, which offers realtime views of the Earth as glimpsed from the International Space Station, among other space-age features.
Installing the latest tvOS betas on Apple TV is usually a pain in the ass, even when you’re not using shady channels to get developer access.
Getting the betas often requires unplugging it from your TV and connecting it via USB to a Mac, but with tvOS 10 there’s finally a way to install using an iPhone.
Along with macOS, iOS and watchOS Apple recently unveiled the latest system update to their Apple TV operating system: tvOS 10.
tvOS 10 brings some great new additions along with a new iOS remote app. To see the new Apple TV and remote app updates in action, check out the video below.
We’ve got items big and small in this week’s roundup of best Apple deals. Whether you want to take advantage of all the latest updates from WWDC 2016, or just want an affordable refurb Mac that will get the job done, read on for savings.
You won’t be forced to use Apple’s teeny tiny Siri Remote to play games on Apple TV much longer.
Apple is turning its little black box into a more serious gaming console with tvOS 10 by giving developers the ability to require a third-party controller for games.
The next generation of tvOS for Apple TV will be more powerful than ever thanks to some huge new updates Apple unveiled today at the company’s WWDC keynote.
Apple VP Eddy Cue showed off new features for Apple’s set-top box that make Siri more powerful than ever while also giving developers new tools to create better tvOS app experiences.
tvOS devs may be driven away from developing for Apple TV, claims a new report citing poor audience retention rates.
Suggesting that users are “generally disinterested” in Apple TV, the report from mobile app analytics company adjust says they found that just 8.9 percent of users return to a tvOS app seven days after installing it. That’s roughly half the number seen on mobile devices, where the comparable numbers stand at nearly 20 percent on tablets and 18.5 percent on smartphones.
You won’t have to go all the way to San Francisco to watch Apple’s big WWDC keynote as it happens.
Apple revealed today that it will offer a live stream of the event, which will be held June 13 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. The company is expected to unveil iOS 10, OS X 10.12 and much more at the software-oriented keynote in front of thousands of lucky developers.
With WWDC 2016 set to kick off in just 10 days, Apple has released a new update to its annual WWDC app that makes it easy to keep track of all the new software and announcements, even if you’re not attending the conference.
Developers will now be able to virtually attend sessions thanks to the new live streaming tools that come with the new tvOS version of the WWDC app, as well as multitasking picture-in-picture option for the iPad version.
Amazon Alexa, the powerful virtual assistant found inside the retail giant’s Echo speaker, is now available in your browser. It can answer your questions and even control your smart devices, and all you need is an Amazon account and a microphone.
Details of Apple’s upcoming Amazon Echo competitor are starting to surface, and it sounds like it could be both Apple’s most futuristic and creepiest product yet.
The iPhone-maker is considering adding a camera to its Echo rival, according to a new report that claims the device will be able to tell who is using it just by looking at you.
It may not be quite the major update Apple TV looks set to receive at WWDC (thanks to the expected Siri API), but if you’re a pay-TV fan of shows from NBCUniversal’s Bravo, Syfy and E! networks you’re in luck because Apple TV just launched three new apps letting you watch content from the stations.
Apple is planning to open Siri up to third-party developers and it appears that Apple TV could be the biggest benefactor from the expanded platform.
In order to better compete with Amazon’s Echo devices, Apple reportedly plans to update the Apple TV with more Siri features that will hopefully turn the device into the hub of everything.
Apple considered buying out Time Warner late last year, according to a new report, claiming that Eddy Cue mooted the idea in a meeting with Olaf Olafsson, Time Warner’s head of corporate strategy.
Google has again given up on competing with the Apple TV and other set-top boxes after discontinuing the Nexus Player. The Asus-made device is no longer available from the Google Store — but this doesn’t mean Android TV is dead.
Apple is busting out a fresh batch of beta updates for developers today ahead of next month’s big WWDC announcements.
A new beta for OS X El Capitan had been seeded to developers along with an update for tvOS and iOS 9.3.3 that was released earlier this morning.
In an effort to shake off its shady image, BitTorrent is launching a new streaming service that will bring a number of live channels to Apple TV, iOS, and Mac.
The service is called BitTorrent Live, and it will initially offer news, sport, music, and more.
The fourth generation Apple TV experienced the largest increase in unit sales last year among streaming media players but it hasn’t been good enough to supplant Roku as the top streamer in the U.S.
Apple TV’s biggest weakness appears to be its price point. New research shows that smaller stick streamers made up half of last year’s sales and Apple’s competition reaped the rewards.
Apple’s executive team is optimistic about the company’s future, despite a bleak earnings call. And why wouldn’t they be? Apple’s slump brought in more money than most other tech companies out there.
Read all about the positive spin in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine, along with a trick to making your iOS folders look round with no jailbreak required, a frank appraisal of the Apple Watch one year in, 8 killer Instagram tips, the world’s biggest Apple Museum and much, much more.
Here are the top stories for this week.
What a magical world we live in. We can lift our Apple Watch up to listen to music, talk to our friends, and (yes) even tell the time.
If you’re an Apple TV user, you can send your Apple Watch tunes to the big screen, and you can even control your Apple TV right from your wrist.
Simply magical. Here’s how to control your Apple TV with your Apple Watch.
Faster processors, speedier memory, longer battery life and a rose gold finish — what more do we need from a new MacBook? We love Apple gear, but it’s possible we’re getting addicted to the “wow” factor.
Add that to Prince’s untimely death, and the dearth of streaming options for listening to his music, and we’ve got a lot to talk about. It’s all in this week’s free Cult of Mac Magazine, along with reviews of Amazon’s new Echo smart speakers and 12 awesome Apple Watch tricks that prove Cupertino’s wearable doesn’t need a “killer app.”
Here are this week’s top stories.
Members of Apple’s public beta testing program can now get their hands on all the new software updates Apple dropped on developers yesterday.
New betas for iOS, tvOS, watchOS and OS X have been seeded to the public, bringing a bunch of bug fixes for every Apple platform, as well as some new features on iPhone.
Have you ever tried to plan a trip with your posse while gathered around your iPhone? It’s kind of a mess. The tiny screen doesn’t really lend itself to larger viewings. Even an iPad is much smaller than one of those big-old paper maps we used to use to group plan.
If you want to use a big screen to find your way to a road trip this summer, perhaps TV Maps by Arno Appenzeller will do the trick, letting you plan a trip right on your giant screen TV.
This third-party Apple TV app will let you search a destination, get directions, and then send everything to the companion app on your iPhone, which will then launch Apple’s Map app to get you where you need to be.
Here’s how.