Apple picker Facebook Messenger has a billion users, Square Enix developers are preparing a game for Apple Watch, Pokémon Go broke the App Store record, Scrivener arrived on iOS and Chrome got Material Design on Mac. Read App Week 29 to learn more.
News from the world of applications
Facebook Messenger has a billion active users (July 20)
Facebook Messenger is already used by a billion people a month, which means that Facebook offers three apps with a user base exceeding the magic billion mark. After Facebook's main application, WhatsApp boasted a billion users in February this year, and now Messenger has also surpassed this number of monthly active users.
Messenger is growing really fast this year. It added its last 100 million active users in just the last three months, and as recently as January, the service had "only" 800 million active users. Looking at these numbers, it's no wonder Messenger has become the second most successful iOS app of all time (after Facebook). In addition, the application has already recorded over a billion downloads on Android alone.
In addition to connecting individuals, Facebook sees great potential for Messenger in mediating communication between companies and their customers. Therefore, an important statistic for the company is that a billion messages are sent daily between companies and their customers via Messenger. The number of so-called "bots" that they are supposed to bring this communication to the next level, increased from 11 to 18 thousand in the last twenty days.
It is also worth noting that 22 million GIFs and 17 billion photos are sent monthly via Messenger. "As part of our journey to reach that billion, we've focused on creating the best modern communication experience," said Messenger CEO David Marcus when announcing the numbers.
Source: The Verge
The creators of Final Fantasy are inviting an RPG game for Apple Watch (July 21)
Square Enix, the Japanese development studio behind the Final Fantasy game series, is working on an RPG game for the Apple Watch. The only other information currently available is found at game website. Here we learn that it will be called Cosmos Rings, and perhaps we can see a screenshot from the game, showing blue-purple rings and a figure with a sword in the foreground. The watch display also has Japanese currency, a counter and a timer. According to some, it could be a game using GPS not unlike the hugely successful Pokemon Go.
The website also specifically states that the game is intended for the Apple Watch, so it will most likely not be available on other platforms
Source: 9to5Mac
Pokémon Go boasts the best first week in App Store history (22/7)
Apple has officially announced that the new Pokémon Go game, which is phenomenon of the last days, broke the App Store record and had the most successful first week in the history of the digital app store. The game took the first place among the most downloaded free apps and also reigns as the most profitable apps.
No specific data on the number of downloads is available. However, both Nintendo, whose value has doubled since the launch of the game, and Apple, which has a 30% share of in-app purchases, must be very happy about the game's success.
Source: 9to5Mac
New applications
Scrivener, software for writers, comes to iOS
Twenty euros for a text editor for iOS seems like a lot, but Scrivener is aimed more at those who take writing seriously (and find it inefficient to invest in a mechanical typewriter). Of course, it can do all the basic formatting, according to preset templates as well as its own, it offers a wide selection of fonts, etc. But as far as formats are concerned, in addition to plain text, it also offers the user the ability to write scenarios, short notes, ideas, etc.
E.g. when working on a longer text, one project can contain many different parts, from sketched ideas, to sketches, notes, and work-in-progress, to the finished continuous text - all neatly categorized in the sidebar of each project.
Scrivener also includes other tools for text structuring, such as the ability to hide completed paragraphs for better overview, easily reorganize the text, work with statuses, notes and labels for individual parts of the text, etc. Formatting and pasting are also top notch. Inspiration from other sources can be sought directly in the application and images can also be inserted from there, the size of the text can be adjusted by stretching and zooming in, the user can select buttons for punctuation, control or formatting in the bar above the keyboard, etc.
Scrivener is also available for OS X/macOS (and Windows) and, using e.g. Dropbox, automatically ensures synchronization of projects across all user devices.
[appbox app store 972387337]
Swiftmoji is the SwiftKey for emojis
The Swiftkey iOS keyboard is known not only for its alternative swipe typing method, but also for its fairly reliable word hints.
The main purpose of the new Swiftmoji keyboard from the same developers is the same. It consists in the ability to predict which emoticons the user will want to enliven the message. At the same time, it will not only offer emoticons closely related to the meanings of the words used, but also suggest a somewhat more creative approach.
Swiftmoji Keyboard is available for both iOS and Android. However, it has not yet arrived in the Czech App Store. So let's hope we see it soon.
Important update
Chrome 52 on Mac brings Material Design
All Chrome users got the chance to update to version 52 this week. On Mac, it brings a decent change to the user interface in the spirit of Material Design, various security patches and last but not least, the removal of the ability to use the backspace key to go back. For some users, this function caused people to return unintentionally and thus lose the data filled in various web forms.
Material Design arrived in Chrome back in April, but then it only arrived on the Chrome OS operating system. After a while, Material Design is finally coming to Mac, so users can enjoy a consistent UI across platforms.
Further from the world of applications:
- How to use AirDrop on iPhone, iPad and Mac
- A 22-year-old Apple engineer is impacting the lives of blind people
- Apple's proposal to change the payment of streaming royalties could sink Spotify
- Safari could soon be as fast as Chrome
Discounts
You can always find current discounts in the right sidebar and on our special Twitter channel @JablickarDiscounts.
