Apps

Everything you need to know in app news this week

Whether you like it or not, Spotify changed the way we listened on the go.

Apple on Wednesday released updates to two of its audio production apps -- Logic Pro X for the Mac, and GarageBand on iOS -- adding customizable Touch Bar support on the former, and features like a redesigned sound browser on the latter.

Not only can you work with it, but that new iPad of yours is going to be how you relax and how you stay informed -- AppleInsider picks the apps that should've come in the box.

Less than a week after enabling downloads of select TV shows and movies for offline viewing, Netflix on Monday beat out popular games and rival streaming services to become the top-grossing iPhone title for the first time ever.

The mobile app will automatically store music offline based on recent listening history while tapping into your location and other factors for music suggestions.

Record Bird is a free iPhone app that allows users to be informed about new and upcoming music releases from their favorite artists. And this week it was updated to add support for Apple Music, making it easier than ever to be in the know about upcoming album releases.

A smartphone feature has divided our office....

Deezer on Tuesday opened up its plans to the entire U.S., putting the on-demand music service in true competition with Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music for the first time.

It took a fairly long time, but today Sonos finally got around to adding lock screen controls to its iOS app. So now you can pause, skip, or backtrack songs without needing to unlock your iPhone or iPad first to get at the Sonos Controller app. These are the same lock screen music controls you'd see from any other app, but it's something Sonos users have been waiting for....

Once a year, Apple stops its Worldwide Developer Conference to recognize a handful of apps for being particularly well designed. The prize? A shiny statue, a full suite of Apple hardware, and the right to say that one of the most respected companies in the world thinks you’re a good designer.For app developers and designers, it’s one of the finest honors that money…

Apple on Monday announced its annual selection of Design Awards recipients on Monday, handing out honors to the developers behind standout app properties like Lara Croft Go, Frame.io and dj Pro, among many others.

Built-in apps like Stocks, Calendar, and Weather are now in the App Store, and deletable—with some consequences. Apple also hasn't said whether you can replace a built-in app with a third-party app.

The music-streaming service Rhapsody has released a virtual reality app, naturally called Rhapsody VR, which will offer exclusive 360-degree concert videos. The app is designed to work with Google Cardboard, and currently features performances from Talib Kweli, Flatbush Zombies, and Dem Atlas, among others....

In its latest play at the Chinese market, Apple on Monday released an updated version of GarageBand with a heavy focus on Chinese music, introducing new regional instruments, Chinese music loops and Chinese language localization, among other feature additions like social network sharing.

If you've got a song in your heart, sing it along with the world.

Spotify is making a small but meaningful design change on iOS today: it's removing the hamburger button and replacing it with a navigation bar along the bottom of the screen. This better matches the rest of iOS, and — more importantly — does a better job of putting commonly used features right in front of users....

There are countless ways to connect with famous musicians, whether it’s following them on Instagram and Snapchat or buying tickets to all of their public appearances. But on either side of the spectrum, from the passive follow to the active stalking, the connection between fan and celebrity is minimal. Bkstg is looking to change all that, not only for fans but for artists. Bkstg is its…

Version 4 of the Soundcloud iOS app has been released today, and its update notes carry news of an as-yet-unannounced new service: Soundcloud Go. Free for the first 30 days and $12.99 per month thereafter, Go appears to be Soundcloud's venture into the world of paid music streaming subscriptions, with the company promising a newly expanded catalog of artists and an entirely ad-free experience. Offline playback is also available, and the Go name in itself suggests a focus on attracting mobile users....

Music video service Vevo is getting smarter today thanks to integrations with Spotify, Twitter, and YouTube, which it will use to offer more personalized recommendations for its mobile apps based on the data you provide. In the past, Vevo asked new users to manually approve artists to create a "Spotlight" feed of new music they might like. The company can now automatically import that type of data from competing services to kickstart the process. Vevo is also making the act of signing up less...

WillCall had great design and community, but didn’t have tickets to the best concerts. Ticketfly had deep relationships with music venues, but no one was using it to discover shows. Today, Ticketfly’s acquisition of WillCall comes full circle.The parent company is using what it learned about style and recommendations to launch its own native iOS concert discovery app.

With opportune timing, given Apple’s decision to put its curated iTunes Radio stations behind a paywall, music streaming service SoundCloud today launched its own take on continuous, lean-back listening with the debut of “Stations.” Similar to other radio services, like Pandora, Stations allow users to listen to an endless stream of music based on a track, search terms…

I like single-use apps, with their inherently low cognitive load. I’m also a huge fan of having other people do work for me. A new app from Playlists.net, the Spotify community and playlist sharing site acquired by Watner Music Group, hits both of those notes.

The new Music Memos app uses the iPhone’s built-in microphone to record audio in a high-quality, uncompressed format.

Chelsea Handler: Gotta Go, an app for making well-timed excuses to leave, launched Saturday alongside Handler's new Netflix documentary.