It looks like HopStop is doing the walk of shame back from Apple’s apartment. The city transit mapping service is shutting down as of this October. Apple acquired HopStop in 2013 and seems to have used up just about all of the data it wants for its own Maps app, so the folks in Cupertino have apparently moved on.
The weekend lasts a way-too-quick 48 hours, so it’s essential that you don’t waste time downloading the wrong app.
Fortunately, Cult of Mac is here to fill you in on the best pieces of mobile software to hit the App Store as of late. From a photo-app-with-a-difference to a fantastic new Star Wars title, we’ve got you covered whatever your interests.
Make sure you check out our picks below:
Though there aren’t any specific numbers on Apple Watch units sold up until this point, we do have some exciting statistics on how many apps are available for watchOS. It turns out that ahead of the watchOS 2 public release, developers have shown significant interest in the platform. They’ve contributed an impressive 11,469 Watch apps to the App Store and counting, but growth has particularly taken off in recent months.
We’ve all been focusing on games as the killer apps for a new Apple TV reveal tomorrow at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, but even regular apps could bring Apple the audience it wants as it tries to leapfrog competitors like Chromecast and Roku with features that the other guys just don’t have (yet).
Unlike many previous must-have tech gadgets, the Apple Watch doesn’t just have one killer app — but many. So what exactly do owners use their Watch for then, and how does this stack up against Apple’s stated goals for the device?
A new survey released by analysts at Wristly charts the usage of around 2,000 Apple Watch owners, and reveals a few intriguing insights into the most and least popular uses for Apple’s debut wearable device.
The conclusions? Checking the time and monitoring activity = Hot. Using it as a next-gen communication device = Not.
The weekend is short enough as it is, and Cult of Mac knows you don’t want to spend it searching through the App Store for the best apps you might have missed over the past week.
Whether you’re after wacky bread-related games for your iPhone, video chatting tools for your iPad, or or a nifty travel-related messaging service for your Apple Watch, we’ve dutifully combed through the best offerings of the past 7 days to find something for everyone.
Check below to see our picks:
From undersea virtual reality to a great Mac Instagram client, there have been plenty of interesting apps that have hit the App Store in the past seven days. But which ones to download this weekend?
Thankfully, Cult of Mac is here to help guide you through the best apps of the week. Check below to see our picks:
If you use Gmail – and let’s face it, most of us do – one of the biggest draws of using an external app, like OS X Mail, is being able to get Notifications when new emails arrive. Unfortunately, many email apps don’t support Gmail’s best features natively, like labeling, search or automatically filtered inboxes.
If you’d like to get Notifications when a new Gmail comes in, but continue to use the Gmail web app instead of a dedicated client, here’s how.
Apple released updates today for Logic Pro X and MainStage 3, adding a famous synthesizer and other fun goodies. This synthesizer, called Alchemy, for the most part isn’t an Apple original – it was previously an award-winning piece of software from Camel Audio, which Apple acquired at the beginning of the year. Now it has officially resurfaced in Apple’s professional audio apps.
If you keep track of the ways the iPhone is a revolutionary tool, you can soon add 3-D printing the growing list.
A Microsoft research team has created an app that turns any smartphone camera into a 3-D scanner without the need for extra hardware.
Instagram is great on the iPhone. It kind of sucks on the iPad. And it’s nonexistent on the Mac. But Photoflow aims to change the latter.
It’s a beautiful new Instagram client, just for the Mac. And while Photoflow won’t ever replace Instagram on your iPhone, it does supplement a lot of the app’s features for power users.
It’s the weekend, which means that it’s time to relax, kick off your shoes, and download some great apps. And, man, have we got some picks for you this week!
Check below for our list of the best of the apps of the past 7 days, which demand a place on your Apple device right this moment:
Beneath the keyboard of your Mac lies a vast ocean of untapped potential. We’ve assembled some of the best deals on the most powerful apps for drilling deep into those hidden reserves of functionality. From productivity-enhancing programs. to comprehensive hard-drive maintenance and unlocking hidden Mac OS functions, these app bundles are power-packed and priced to move.
Making games can be as fun as playing them, and the key to mastering both is practice. After working through this bundle of lessons, you’ll be ready for the iOS game-making equivalent of Carnegie Hall. Covering the how-tos with over 20 games in four different genres, this package from StackSkills usually goes for over $2,000. But right now the whole thing is just $20 at Cult of Mac Deals.
Facebook is working on a breaking news app that would deliver news outside of the main Facebook app, according to a report. The app would ask users to pick out publications and topics that interest them, then it would broadcast bite-sized news alerts when new articles get published.
Publications that get on board would be able to send out instant notifications to all of its followers for the latest news. They’re allowed 100 characters of text and a link to the news article. Sounds pretty much like a tweet, right?
It’s the weekend, which means it’s time for Cult of Mac to run down the week’s best apps. From guerrilla filmmaking to guerrilla warfare, and silent messaging apps to RSS readers, we’ve got something for everyone.
Check out our picks below:
“What you don’t know won’t hurt you” is a common phrase that unfortunately does not apply to the apps on your phone. It turns out that thousands of apps on Android and iOS secretly have ads in them that you can’t see, and they very well might be what’s causing a number of problems that plague smartphones today.
Apple and IBM have been collaborating on creating an excellent suite of apps for the iPhone and iPad over the past year, but starting today, IBM’s MobileFirst apps are adding support for Apple Watch.
The Apple and IBM partnership revealed today that it’s created 10 more apps that cover everything from managing employee shifts to helping government inspectors get all the data necessary while out in the field.
Take a tour of the new apps below:
Twitter managed to create a swarm of disgruntled developers over the past few years. It worked tirelessly to break down many of the third-party apps that made the social network successful. Now, as Twitter discovers what it really is as a service, it’s working to repair relationships with developers and elevate the platform. This ought to be a win-win for everyone.
A long time ago (well, three days ago) in an App Store far, far away, Disney finally dropped its official Star Wars app ahead of the release of this winter’s Episode VII movie. Bringing you all the breaking news and interactive features you can shake a lightsaber at, the app will let you know the second a new trailer drops or any other big announcement is made.
On top of that, the app lets you unlock 3D characters for a special Augmented Reality camera feature, take and share a Star Wars selfie, and so much more.
Download it you probably should.
Available on: iPhone/iPad
Price: Free
Download: App Store
Excited about the new Heroes: Reborn series coming back to television? Want to relive highlights from the original Heroes series in preparation for the reboot set to air this fall?
How about an entire prequel series that explains how the world has changed since Heroes? You’re in luck, then, as NBC has created a digital series that does just that: Heroes Reborn: Dark Matters.
If you want to see it, though, you’ll need to download the Heroes: Reborn app, which is only on iOS.
There’s good news and bad news for Beats Music and future Apple Music users alike. Apple has confirmed that the new music service will arrive for Sonos apps and speakers, but unfortunately not right away. It turns out integration won’t be ready in time for the big launch tomorrow, June 30, but the two companies are working together to bring Apple Music to Sonos as soon as possible.
The worst part about vacationing is coming back home and getting hit in the face with cold, hard reality. Excessive food consumption, relaxing atmospheres and sugary alcoholic beverages are out of your life and work is back in. But what if you take the travel part (not to mention the cost) completely out of equation? You get Flyover in Apple Maps.
Why vacation in this costly, unforgiving world when you can live vicariously through your iPhone, iPad or Mac?
Flyover, the immersive 3-D view in Apple Maps, now supports hundreds of cities around the world and Apple adds more all the time. In fact, seven more were added to the list just today so we thought it would be fun to take a look at the hottest vacationing spots of 2015, without even leaving the couch.
Get your summer vacay on at these hot Flyover spots:
Looking for an app or two to while away the weekend? Then you’ve come to the right place, my friend!
From reading apps to Terminator navigation tools to gorgeous RPGs, we’ve got everything you need to know about the latest must-have apps.
Check out our top picks below:
Color blindness is an extremely prevalent disability, especially amongst men: according to official statistics, 1 in 12 men are color blind (although women fare better, at a rate of only 1 in 200). These rates of color blindness are part of the reason why Google places such importance in their Material Design guidelines on designing with color blindness in mind. For example, by not relying on color alone to relay critical information within an app.
But no matter how well programmed an app is, it’s not going to help someone who is color blind see colors… or is it? Red Stripe is a new app by developer Michel Fortin that aims to do just that.
