The Sora app uses AI to generate fun, very realistic videos from user prompts. Screenshot: OpenAI
OpenAI introduced the Sora iPhone app Tuesday, and by Friday, it had already hit the No. 1 spot on Apple’s Top Free Apps list. The secret of the new AI video app’s appeal? It’s a lot of fun, letting users create hilarious short videos with a simple text description.
Watch some of the hilarious (and amazing) videos people have already created, there go make your own.
Get a lifetime of unlimited transcriptions and summaries for one low price. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
If you ever endured a long lecture or an hours-long all-hands meeting, you know this to be true: There’s no way you can jot down every single word your professor or colleague utters. Rather than scramble and stress about missing certain parts of a presentation, you could add an AI note taker like My Notes AI to your productivity tool kit.
This AI-powered note transcription and summarization app works with your iPhone, iPad and Mac to help you catch every single word. Think of it as your very own personal assistant! You can snag a lifetime subscription to My Notes AI for just $29.97 (regularly $299) with code TAKE10. That’s the best price you’ll find online.
Dropbox Passwords users, it's time to abandon ship. Photo: Dropbox
Dropbox will shut down its password manager, Dropbox Passwords, in late October. However, it will begin winding down support well before then.
Dropbox says it is doing this to focus on its core product: cloud storage service. To reduce inconvenience to its users, the company will discontinue the service in a phased manner.
It's truly free to use and doesn't even have ads. Photo: Clever Files
Clever Cleaner is a new, completely free iPhone storage cleanup app that helps you reclaim valuable space, organize photo libraries and speed up your phone’s performance.
Developed by Clever Files, maker of popular data-recovery tool Disk Drill, it stands out in a crowded market for one simple reason: It actually delivers on its promises of fast iPhone cleaner app that’s completely free to use — and free of advertising.
“We believe everyone should have access to a high-quality, reliable and safe cleaning tool for your iPhone,” Clever Files says. “Clever Cleaner is our way of giving back to the community, ensuring people don’t have to sacrifice privacy or pay monthly subscriptions just to keep their devices organized.”
Start a new hobby with Merlin Bird ID. Image: Cult of Mac
Spring is here, and the air is full of birdsong. The Merlin Bird ID app tells you what type of birds you’re hearing … plus it’s quick, easy and free.
With this software from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on your iPhone, you can learn about all the birds around you — you might be surprised how many of them there are. And if you get interested, you’ll soon be able to identify them without the app.
Meta AI's dedicated iPhone app now available on the App Store. Photo: FB Blog
You can now access Meta AI through a dedicated iPhone app, bringing the Llama AI assistant right to your fingertips. Until now, you could only access Meta AI through WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram.
Meta calls the app a first step toward creating a “more personal AI experience.”
Get up and get moving with a lifetime sub to Moova. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Sitting all day is terrible for your long-term health, so break timer app Moova helps you sneak in exercise breaks. It offers more than 200 targeted exercises for battling stiffness, aches, RSI, bad posture and general low energy — without throwing off your daily routine.
Simple, effective and customizable, it’s an easy way to start feeling better ASAP. You don’t even need to set aside a ton of cash for monthly fees, either. You can grab a lifetime subscription for just $79.99 from Cult of Mac Deals (regularly $164.97).
This (kind of) free app can handle it all for you. Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
To tackle your party planning, the new Apple Invites app can help you get organized with RSVPs and keep everybody up to date. It can even handle a shared music playlist and photo album that anyone can contribute to.
And yes, you can invite people who don’t have the app installed yet, don’t have an Apple Account or don’t have an Apple device at all. You can invite people via email; they can RSVP on the web and get follow-up notifications in their inbox.
“A new app that brings people together for life’s special moments,” according to Apple. Image: Apple/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Apple is taking on Evites. On Tuesday, the company unveiled Apple Invites, an app that lets users share invitations and RSVP to events via iCloud+. Invited guests can add to a shared photo album and even contribute to the music playlist.
“With Apple Invites, an event comes to life from the moment the invitation is created, and users can share lasting memories even after they get together,” said Brent Chiu-Watson, Apple’s senior director of worldwide product marketing for Apps and iCloud, in a press release. “Apple Invites brings together capabilities our users already know and love across iPhone, iCloud, and Apple Music, making it easy to plan special events.”
Moving files between iPhone and Windows is about to get easy Image: Microsoft
Microsoft started rolling out an upgrade Wednesday to its Phone Link software and the Link to Windows app that promises seamless file transfers from iPhone to PC and vice versa.
The goal seems to be imitating the functionality of AirDrop, Apple’s simple system for wirelessly moving files between iPhones, Macs, iPads, etc.
With iOS 18.1, developers will gain access to API enabling secure, in-app NFC payments. Photo: Square
The introduction of NFC and Secure Element (SE) APIs in iOS 18.1 unlocks new monetization opportunities for iOS app developers, Apple said Wednesday — though fees apply. But on the plus side, secure in-app near-field communication (NFC) transactions in iOS 18.1 will let devs integrate secure, contactless transactions directly within their apps on iPhone, independent of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.
The PDF app is powerful, up-to-date and user-friendly. Image: PDF Editor, PDF Book Reader
Who says you have to shell out big bucks for something like Adobe Acrobat to get a great PDF editor? The much more affordable PDF Editor, PDF Book Reader stands out as a comprehensive, user-friendly app designed to transform how you interact with PDF documents. Available for iPhone and iPad, this advanced PDF editor offers a seamless blend of robust features tailored to meet the needs of professionals and casual users alike.
People have relied on the app for years, and it’s constantly updated to keep working well with iPhone, iPad, Mac, iMessage and Apple Vision Pro.
You can play nearly any classic game with one of these emulators. Photo: Daniel De Matteis/Henrik Rydgård
Those who want to play classic retro games on iPhone or iPad have a couple of new options. RetroArch can emulate a wide variety of consoles, while PPSSPP is a PlayStation Portable emulator.
There’s been something of a flood of these since Apple dropped its ban on them.
Gamma PlayStation emulator is a reminder that PS1 games are low-res. Photo: ZodTTD/Cult of Mac
The just-released Gamma retro game emulator brings original PlayStation titles to iPhone. It’s ready to bring Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy 7 to the device you carry around everywhere.
The app is free and supports game controllers and iPad.
Delta turns an iPhone into a range of classic handheld consoles. Screenshot: Testut Tech
The new Delta retro game emulator is now on the iPhone App Store. Not only can it handle ROMs originally for the classic Game Boy handheld console, but it also emulates NES, SNES, Nintendo 64 and Nintendo DS.
It’s a launch that fans of classic games have long awaited.
The new Apple Sports app for iPhone got an update for basketball and baseball fans. Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
The new Apple Sports iPhone app just received its first big update. It’s now ready for basketball’s March Madness and baseball’s Opening Day.
The free sports app that debuted in February gives fans access to real-time scores, stats and more for their favorite teams across a wide range of sports leagues.
★★★★☆
Clean out years of bad pictures. Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
CleanMyPhone is a new app that will tidy up your photo library. Developed by MacPaw, maker of CleanMyMac X, the new app can do a thorough scan of images on your iPhone to clear out years of screenshots, saved TikToks and unusably blurry shots. It’s a simple way to clean up photos on your iPhone.
It also uses artificial intelligence to sort your photos into handy categories. Plus, it makes it simple to periodically look at the last week or month of your photos to sort things into albums and stay organized. As a bonus, the app comes with an internet speed test — good for checking if your connection is solid enough to take an important video call.
The App Store also recommends Paramount+ for watching the 2024 Super Bowl. Image: Apple/Paramount
The 2024 Super Bowl is Sunday, and football fans can watch via their favorite Apple device. Maybe it’s on an Apple TV connected to the big screen in your living room, or you might need to watch on your iPhone because you have to be at work tonight.
Whatever your setup is, here are the best ways to stream the big game.
Apple Maps now has the SpotHero parking-space finder built in. Here's how to use the new combination. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
iPhone users can now find a parking space with Apple Maps. Starting Monday, the navigation application has SpotHero built in, giving parking options for more than 8,000 locations across North America.
The feature is free, though the spaces are not. Here’s how to use it.
WhatsApp's video and voice calling experience is about to get a lot better. Photo: WhatsApp
WhatsApp is finally catching up to FaceTime and adding support for video calls with up to 32 participants. You can also mute or message an individual on a group call.
Up until now, you could use WhatsApp for group voice calls with 32 people. Video calls were limited to 8 people.
Truecaller for iPhone can now identify spam callers up to 10x more reliably. Photo: Truecaller
Truecaller is rolling out a new update for its iPhone app that has been completely reworked from the ground up. The company now promises 10x better identification of spam calls.
Truecaller has never worked as reliably on iPhones as it does on Android. The company aims to finally solve this issue for good with its latest app update.
Developers no longer need approval to increase iPhone subscription prices. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Pay attention to renewal notices for App Store subscriptions because these are the only notification you’ll receive that the cost is going up. Developers are now allowed to increase iPhone app subscription prices without users having to opt in.
There are limits on how much the fees can go up, though.
Apple moved back the deadline for devs to update their 'outdated' App Store applications. Photo: Apple
Apple still intends to remove iPhone applications it considers outdated from the App Store, but has given developers more time to update their software. The deadline has changed from 30 days to up to 90 days.
And Apple says it focuses the App Store Improvements process on applications that are hardly ever downloaded.
Apple is warning developers of "outdated" applications that they'll soon be removed from the App Store. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Numerous developers report that their applications that aren’t being actively updated will soon be kicked out of the App Store. This is apparently part of an ongoing effort by Apple to remove “outdated” software from the store.
Devs must submit new versions of their applications to stay in the store, which means they’ll have to comply with newer Apple policies.