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App Roundup: Google Duo, Office 365, Reeder 3, Viber, more!

In the constantly-changing landscape of the iOS and Mac App Store, and other software marketplaces, new apps and updates to existing titles are announced all the time. AppleInsider highlights some of the more notable app introductions and software updates for iOS and macOS that arrived over the last few days.

This week's highlights include Google Duo becoming more useful for iPads, changes to Office 365, and updates for The Weather Channel, Reeder 3, MailPlane 4, Affinity Publisher, and Viber.

Google Duo

Google Duo

Google Duo, the search company's answer to FaceTime, has been updated on iOS to include support for the iPad. Previously, the app was built for the iPhone display, but could still run on iPad in 2x mode, with the new version now working properly with the larger screen space.

The app provides video and audio calling between registered users, using their Google Account, with calls able to be placed cross-platform between iOS and Android devices. The app also enables users to leave a video message for the user if they are not available to answer the call.

Get it for iOS: Free. Requires iOS 9.0 or later.

Office 365

Microsoft is updating the Office 365 Home and Personal subscriptions, to make it more useful in a number of ways, starting from October 2. First, the Home device install limit of 10 devices across five users, and the personal limit of one computer and one tablet, will be lifted to allow an unlimited number of installations, and to be signed into accounts on up to five devices at the same time.

The Office 365 Home subscription will also increase the license limit from 5 to 6 people on an account, at no extra charge to the existing $99.99 annual fee. The license extension provides access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote for that extra user, as well as their own 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage.

Lastly, Microsoft will be allowing users to manage their subscription from account.microsoft.com.

Get it for iOS and macOS Here. $69.99/year Personal, $99.99/year Home.

Reeder 3

Arguably the best RSS newsreader app has just been made free for both Mac and iOS. It collates all the new articles from websites you choose and presents them together in a particularly well-designed app. Skim headlines, tap to read more or get the entire article right within Reeder 3.

Reeder 3 for iOS

Previously Reeder 3.1.2 for Mac cost $9.99 and for iOS was $4.99.

Get it for Mac:Free. Requires macOS 10.10 or higher.

Get it for iOS:Free. Requires iOS 9.0 or higher.

The Weather Channel

The Weather Company has revamped its iOS Weather Channel apps to include greater detail and increased alerts for real-time reports.

The Weather Channel for iOS

Version 10.0 is centered on a personalized homepage which updates to include details you repeatedly search for. It also includes video reports from local sources plus a graph of weather trends in your area.

Get it for iOS: Free with optional $3.99 in-app purchase to remove ads. Requires iOS 11 or later.

MailPlane 4

MailPlane has updated with a series of new features intended to make using the Gmail app both faster and more powerful. New messages are displayed as notifications and you can optionally reply directly from there or choose to archive the message to find later.

MailPlane 4 for Mac

Finding later is also improved: the app now has a single search and navigate field where you can type a term and go straight to a message, a bookmark or other parts of MailPlane.

The app now also supports Gmail's offline mode to allow you to write emails and send them whenever you have an internet connection.

Get it for Mac: $29.95. Requires macOS 10.12 or higher.

Affinity Publisher beta

Affinity Publisher will be a desktop publishing companion to the company's existing photography and illustration apps. While it's not expected to launch for some months, you can now try out the beta version.

Affinity Publisher beta for Mac

Bear in mind that it is beta software. However, Affinity Publisher aims to be to Adobe InDesign what Pixelmator Pro is to Adobe Photoshop. It's a full-featured, well-rounded application that's easy to use. There's no pricing for the final product yet but it's likely to be cheaper than its Adobe rival.

Get it for Mac: Free beta trial. Requires macOS 10.11 or higher.

Viber

Messaging app Viber has recently undertaken a facelift, with a number of changes made to its chat functionality. First, messages are now being delivered at up to double the speed compared to before the change, with new message status icons added to reflect the faster delivery times.

Chat bubbles have been made bigger and brighter than before, to show more content on the screen at once. Lastly, the updated image experience involves higher quality thumbnails of GIF animations, photographs, and videos.

The changes are rolling out for iPhone users at first, with Android soon to follow.

Get it for iOS: Free. Requires iOS 9.0 or later.

Get it for macOS: Free.