Today in the App Store -- the best free apps, new apps and app updates

By Kelly Hodgkins
App Store

Here are some of the best free apps, app updates and new apps that have landed in the App Store recently. All app prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly, so grab them while you can.

Apps Now Free

FX Photo Studio HD [iPad; Now free, down from $4.99] FX Photo Studio is a creative powerhouse for digital photographers on iPad.

Da Vinci [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $0.99] This app is an interactive virtual gallery dedicated to the great Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo Da Vinci.

Coins – Bitcoin Value Tracker [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] Coins makes it easy to see the value of your bitcoins.

Timerverse – Timer & Stopwatch [iPhone; Now free, down from $0.99] Timerverse is a timer application that is out of this world.

Tower Madness 2: #1 in Great Strategy TD Games [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] The aliens are back, and this time they're on a mission to turn your beloved sheep into sweaters for their emperor!

Network Player [OS X; Now free, down from $2.99] Network Player is an amazing media(audio/video) player and first in its kind which gives you feature to keep your media file in your computer and play it anywhere.

New and Notable Apps

NBA 2K15 [iOS Universal; $7.99] The NBA 2K franchise returns with NBA 2K15, our most true-to-life NBA experience yet on mobile.

Helix [iOS Universal; $2.99] Encircle your enemies. By the creator of 868-HACK, Corrypt and Glitch Tank.

Angry Birds Transformers [iOS Universal; Free] Angry Birds and Transformers collide in this action-packed, 3D shoot 'em up adventure!

MySwitch [OS X; Free] MySwitch – switching between running applications with keys F1 , F2 etc.

Updates you don't want to miss

TextExpander 3 + custom keyboard [iOS Universal; $4.99] Type faster on your iPhone®, iPad®, or iPod touch® in any App using the TextExpander keyboard. Version 3.2 brings the following changes:

  • Adds keyboards for: Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian
  • Adds QWERTZ layout to: Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish
  • Adds AZERTY layout to: Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish
  • Improves keyboard typing accuracy
  • Fixes 12-hour date formats so that they work even when 24-hour time is set
  • Keyboard respects "Ignore on iOS" group setting

PCalc [OS X; $9.99] PCalc is ideal for scientists, engineers, students, programmers, or indeed anybody looking for a feature rich calculator. Version 4.1 brings the following changes:

  • Added full support for OS X 10.10 Yosemite.
  • Added a Notification Center Widget on Yosemite to perform quick calculations. Tap the display to switch to the full app.
  • Added support for Handoff on Yosemite to continue the current calculation on another device.
  • You can now import custom layouts created on iOS and any changes will sync to the Mac via iCloud. Mac editing is coming soon!
  • Added a new calculator theme, "Backlight".
  • Added an option to switch off operator precedence entirely.
  • Added an option to only show the RPN stack in the "Stack" section and keep it scrolled to the bottom.
  • Added an option for bold key text.
  • Window titlebar is now drawn in the style of the current theme.
  • Hold down option to select the inverse of a conversion from the recent conversions menu.
  • Fixed a problem with operator precedence.
  • Core code has been updated to match PCalc 3.3 on iOS.

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