Apple patent hits at almost-universal integration of mobile payments

Patents sometimes don’t translate to actual products. But they do hint at what’s possible for a company. Tech giant Apple looks to be expanding its peer-to-peer mobile payment system beyond iMessage. A recently filed patent application by the company suggests they are looking to integrate the mobile payment system into other iOS services such as a phone call, an email, and even calendar events. This means, if Apple intends to develop this, you can use your iPhone and its many apps and services to easily make payments. Now, that is convenient.

Source: Quartz

Microsoft has a selfie app on iOS (just because)

Microsoft has been working hard to bring its apps and services to users. So, this time they address a popular need… the need to have good selfies. Aptly named Microsoft Selfie, the iOS app promises to improve those countless selfies you take by doing things like instantly adjusting exposure and clearing up skin imperfections. The app also works to reduce noise while taking into account things like age, gender, skin tone, and lighting. You can add filters, too. Of course you can also adjust the amount of processing the app has done if it seems so excessive for you.

Source: Microsoft News | Via: Engadget | Download: Apple App Store (Free)

Snapdrop is a simpler AirDrop replacement

If Apple’s AirDrop feature has ever acted out on you, Snapdrop is just the tool you need. This website will make it easier for your to transfer files to and from your iOS device to your OS X computer. All you need to do is open Snapdrop’s webpage on both devices while you’re on the same network. After that you can just transfer files between the two with just a few clicks or taps. Just make sure the webpage is open on both devices, they don’t even have to be using the same browser.

Source: The Next Web

VLC adds split-screen support on iOS, among other features

VLC gets a significant update on iOS. One of the new features include split-screen support for the iPad. This means, you can watch your favorite shows or movies while doing other things on your tablet. The app also gets Touch ID support, meaning you can lock the app behind this feature and not have people looking into your video collection.

Other new features include the ability to configure gestures as well as the ability to set up your playback continuation options.

Source: Lifehacker | Download: Apple App Store (Free)