These are some of the best free apps, app updates and new apps that have landed in the App Store recently. Please note that all app prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly, so take advantage of the discounts while you can.
Apps Now Free
The Great Photo App [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $2.99] Photo academy in your pocket! The basics of photography for beginners and useful tools for professionals.
ColorStrokes [iPhone; Now free, down from $1.99] You’ll easily create stunning pictures with the colors you want.
WireShare – PDF/EPUB/TXT/CHM Reader[iOS Universal; Now free, down from $3.99] WireShare supports more than 30 different file formats, including PDF, EPUB, TXT, CHM,PNG,MP3, RMVB and AVI.
Shift – Photo Filters Designed By You [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $0.99] Until now, photo filters have been limited to what someone else has created for you. Shift lets you create your own personal photo filters with one tap of a button.
Sunny ~ Sleep Relax Meditate on the Beach with Calm Wave and Ocean Sounds [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sunny-sleep-relax-meditate/id916540089?mt=8
Angry Birds Seasons [iPhone; Now free, down from $0.99] Join the Angry Birds as they celebrate unique seasonal events from around the world! Apple’s App of the week!
Angry Birds Seasons HD [iPad; Now free, down from $2.99] Join the Angry Birds as they celebrate unique seasonal events from around the world! Apple’s App of the week!
New and Notable Apps
Skyward [iOS Universal; Free] A great journey to the sky starts with a single step. Through dynamic Escher-style labyrinths you will reach your inner peace in this endless one-tap-one-step game.
Handle: To-Dos + Email + Calendar [iOS Universal; Free] By combining your INBOX, TO-DO list and CALENDAR in ONE APP, Handle gives you the power to focus on the important things and the peace of mind to know that you’re on top of your life.
Midnight Star [iOS Universal; Free] Midnight Star is an epic sci-fi shooter designed from the ground up for mobile.
Ambie [OS X; Free] Ambie helps you create the perfect ambience for your customers, playing a music soundtrack that’s handpicked for your space.
Updates you don’t want to miss
Due — Reminders, Countdown Timers [iOS Universal; $4.99] Due remembers all the things that you need so you don’t have to. Version 2.0.1 brings the following changes:
- Turn off sync notifications
- Reduce sensitivity of Swipe to Search
- Disable or increase sensitivity of Swipe to Delete (Settings > Swipe Options)
- Enable/disable sound effects
- Create reminders with no alert sound
- Set default due date for new reminders
- ‘Insert Contacts’ not working correctly
- ‘Interval on time picker’ not respected
- Snoozing from notification may end up snoozing for a shorter period of time than expected
- ‘Last Sync’ not updated
- Crash when keying in certain full-width punctuations in Chinese/Japanese (thanks Eames Liu)
- Localization issues (thanks Michal Szaj, Maciej Smoła, Stefan Thom, 林楷佳, Eames Liu, Pablo Viale, Ricardo Melo)
- Following a user on Twitter also mistakenly enables mobile notifications (sorry! and thanks Adam Howitt)
- Restored user interface sound effects
- Improves performance when changing settings
- Adds in-app support (Help > Get Help)
Hydra – Amazing Photography [iOS Universal; $4.99] Hydra offers innovative photo capture technology, and lets you take beautiful pictures even in the most difficult lighting conditions, which makes it a great companion to iOS Camera app. Version 1.0.1 brings the following changes:
- Hydra will now autofocus before the video recording starts, but it becomes a manual process during the recording. This avoid focus shakes during capture. (thanks Allen B. for feedback)
- 12MP HDR on iPhone & 8MP on iPad are sharper (bug fix).
- As per user request, and even though Hydra only uses microphone to record sound for videos, Hydra will now work without microphone access (if you refuse access in first launch). In that case, recorded video will be silent. You can enable microphone at any time from global Privacy settings.
- Location & Microphone access (optional) are now better explained when authorisation is requested.
- Bug fixes & enhancements
LastPass: Password Manager and Secure Digital Vault [OS X; Free] LastPass is a password manager that simplifies everything you do online by remembering your passwords, logging into websites instantly, creating strong passwords for every account, and so much more. Version 3.7 brings the following changes:
- Continue to show folders when search.
- Preferences dialog doesn’t erroneously warn while saving.
- Some performance enhancements.
- Support for disable trust enterprise override.
- Local data is now doubly encrypted when using Yubikey and Sesame.
