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iOS apps - page 8

iOS app shows virus lockdown leads to remarkably cleaner skies

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IQAir app showing LA air quality in coronavirus
Los Angeles has cleaner air under COVID-19 restrictions.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

A pandemic that kills thousands offers no silver linings.

But stay-at-home orders to slow the spread of COVID-19 shows us a window for what living with clean air is like.

An air quality tech company, whose global measurements can be monitored on an iOS app, says greenhouse gas emissions are so low right now, Los Angeles has the cleanest air of all metropolitans areas in the U.S.

Facebook Messenger Kids expands its reach, adds new features

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Facebook-Messenger-Kids
Download it from the App Store today.
Photo: Facebook

Facebook Messenger Kids, the free chat app designed specifically for your little ones, on Wednesday expanded its reach to more than 70 new markets and added a number of helpful new features.

It’s now possible for parents to give kids control over their contacts (if they wish), and for kids to join approved groups. The changes come at a time when many children are out of school and unable to see friends.

Quibi quickly captures 1.7 million downloads; fast-tracks plans for shows on streaming TV

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Quibi
Quibi is taking a different approach with streaming.
Photo: Quibi

Quibi, the new smartphone streaming service with 10-minute program, keeps wracking up the downloads and may give viewers a choice to watch its “quick-bite” shows on streaming TV.

CEO Meg Whitman told an interviewer Monday that Quibi has had more than 1.7 million downloads since launching one week ago.

Facebook’s mushy chat app Tuned lets couples privately document their love story

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screenshots of Tuned
Aww, isn't that adorable?
Screenshot: Facebook/Apple App Store

Facebook wants to give you and your boo some space, so it created a chat app for iPhone users in love.

Tuned is the product of Facebook’s New Product Experimentation Team. The engineers designed the new iOS app to give couples the tools to build a “digital scrapbook.” This is not a dating app, but an app for two people who are already dating.

Will people pay for Quibi’s snack-size shows? Free trial might help

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Nicole Richie as Nikki FreSh
Nicole Richie is Nikki Fre$h.
Screenshot: Quibi/YouTube

A new streaming service started Monday — but put down the remote. You won’t find Quibi on your television.

Instead, Quibi – its title a mashup of the words quick and bites – brings short-form entertainment through an app downloaded to an iPhone or iPad. If you are just hearing about Quibi, here’s a quick primer on the new streaming service.

This app uses a scientifically tested method to get you sleeping in two minutes [Deals]

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Restly Sleep App
Fall into deep sleep in just 2 minutes with this app's voice guidance with calming background sounds.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you’re having trouble sleeping these days, you’re not alone. Stress is high, schedules are screwy, and the future is uncertain — but a good night’s sleep is as important as ever. Plenty of us are staring at our phones instead of sacking out, but now your phone can actually help get much-needed Zzs.

ConnectionOpen is like Skype for musicians

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ConnectionOpen Marshall amp and guitar player
ConnectionOpen lets musicians collaborate over the internet.
Photo: Daniel Chekalov/Unsplash

If you sit in front of an iPad typing up Apple-related how-tos all day long, then working from home is no problem. In fact, it’s simply the next step up from “working from bed.” But for some professions, like musicians, working from home is difficult if not impossible. You might have a home studio, but you still need to get the band together to record them.

Or do you? ConnectionOpen is an app that lets musicians play together over the internet. The wild thing is, it’s a standard plugin for Logic, Ableton, Pro Tools and other audio-editing apps. And now, it’s also available for the iPad.

How to change your Safari downloads folder on iPhone and iPad

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books
Don't let your iCloud Drive end up looking like this.
Photo: lle dnuor/Unsplash

By default, Safari on iOS downloads all files to a folder in your iCloud. This means you can access those files from all your devices. But it also means those files fill up your iCloud Drive. Worse, every megabyte you download also gets uploaded back to iCloud, doubling your bandwidth usage.

Today we’ll see how to change the location of your Safari downloads folder in iOS 13.

How to mark email as junk on your iPhone

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junk mail
The inevitable spam:junk-mail metaphor image
Photo: Pau Casals/Unsplash

Your iPhone’s Mail app is pretty good. It does most of what you need, and you can be sure that it doesn’t steal your email password, or send details from your incoming mail to Apple. There are even a bunch of very powerful smart folders and features hidden in its sidebar. But getting basic stuff done is sometimes awkward, thanks to Apple’s insistence on hiding everything in the name of minimalism.

That includes marking an email as spam. It’s actually easy, but you might not know how to do it. Today we’ll look at three ways to mark email as junk mail.

Shortcutify integrates Spotify, Google Maps, Todoist and more into Shortcuts

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Control your smart lighting, your music, and more with Shortcutify.
Control your smart lighting, your music, and more with Shortcutify.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Shortcutify is a free iOS app that lets you use web-based services in your Shortcuts. For instance, it can connect with Spotify, Todoist, AirTable and more, and provides an easy bridge between these services’ complicated APIs and the Shortcuts app on your iPhone or iPad.

If you use any of the supported services, you’re going to totally love Shortcutify. If not? More app integrations are planned for the future.

This one trick will make the Apple News app way better

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Scrolling Apple News on iPhone
Scrolling Apple News doesn't have to be about ignoring dozens of articles.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Ever since its launch, people have mostly been dismissive about Apple News on iPhone, iPad and Mac. One big reason is the way it interacts with links on the web, boxing users into the News app instead of letting them visit the open web.

For me, that’s actually a pretty desirable thing, because I really like the News app. It’s much cleaner-looking than many ad-bloated websites, and far less emotional and combative than getting your news on social media.

But making the News app show you the things you care about, with less clutter and noise, requires one simple trick.

Save on 3 years of VPN security for all your devices [Deals]

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WifiMask VPN Unlimited Devices- 3-Yr Subscription
Stay secure, anonymous, and free of annoying content restrictions for three years, and on all your devices.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Here at Cult of Mac, we’re big fans of VPNs. That’s because they not only keep us secure and private online, they also bypass annoying location-based content restrictions, so you can stream your favorite content anywhere you go. With this great deal, you can get VPN protection on all your devices for three whole years.

How to replace Apple’s Music app with something better

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Yes it does landscape, too.
Yes it does landscape, too.
Photo: Marvis

Like almost all of Apple’s built-in iOS apps, the Music app is capable but hard to use. Apple’s habit of hiding key functions behind multiple button-taps is in full force here, and it’s getting worse. Want to “heart” a track? You used to be able to do it from the lock screen player. Now you have to access the Music app’s share menu, and find it there.

And what if you want to view your recently added items as a list, or your list of songs as a grid? Tough. On the other hand, if you use features like the For You… playlists, and Apple Music’s excellent More by… recommendations, many alternative music apps don’t support them.

The answer to this digital music conundrum is Marvis Pro, a 1-year-old music app that offers everything you need — and nothing you don’t.

Apple ‘discussing’ plans to allow third-party browsers, email apps to be defaults on iOS

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close all tabs
You might not be stuck with Safari for much longer.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is finally “considering” giving users the ability to set third-party web browsers and email clients as defaults on iOS, according to a new Bloomberg report. It could also open up HomePod to rival music streaming services.

iPhone and iPad owners can already install third-party alternatives, but iOS currently does not allow them to override Apple’s built-in services. That could change as Apple faces increasing pressure over the tight control it imposes over its mobile devices.

SoundCloud for iOS now lets you upload directly from the Files app

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SoundCloud-iOS
Who needs a computer?
Photo: SoundCloud

The official SoundCloud app for iPhone and iPad now lets you upload your latest tracks directly from the Files app.

Its new upload feature supports any audio file, including lossless formats like FLAC and AIFF. It also lets you add metadata, artwork, descriptions, and more — all from the palm of your hand.