Free

Apple says U2 ‘Songs of Innocence’ album has been downloaded 26 million times

The controversial U2 album 'Songs of Innocence' has been downloaded nearly 30 million times since Apple announced it would be available to iTunes users for free last month. In a statement to Billboard on Thursday, senior VP Eddy Cue said that the album had racked up 26 million 'complete downloads' since its September 9 debut.

Cue adds that over 81 million Apple customers have experienced Songs of Innocence within the last month—a number that includes Beats Music, iTunes, and iTunes Radio streams. "To help put this into perspective," Cue says, "prior to this, a total of 14 million customers had purchased music from U2 since iTunes opened in 2003."

Grab Ski Safari: Adventure Time, IGN’s latest free game of the month

IGN has named Cartoon Network's Ski Safari: Adventure Time its Free Game of the Month for October. Simply visit IGN's promo webpage here and click the big red 'Get My Free Game' button in order to redeem your free copy of the iPhone and iPad game, a 99-cent saving.

Filing as a stunt skiing endless runner, this hilarious game features Finn, a silly kid with an awesome hat, and Jake, a brassy dog with a big kind heart.

You'll be skiing with your butt and sliding your way through themed worlds like Ice Kingdom, Fire Kingdom, Candy Kingdom, the Forbidden Dungeon and the Mystery Mountains.

The game features mathematical costumes, algebraic stunts, the ability to hitch a ride with Cartoon Network's popular characters, including Jake, LSP, Flame Princess, Marceline, Princess Bubblegum, Lady Rainicorn, Ice King and Gunter, and much more.

Artistic photography app Fragment is Apple’s new Free App of the Week

Artistry in iPhone photography can now be in everyone's hands with Fragment, Apple's new Free App of the Week. As you know, each Thursday the App Store editorial team cherry-picks a new app to slash from its regular price to zero bucks, for a week.

Fragment by Pixite is a nifty little iPhone and iPad app that puts cool prismatic effects in your pocket, allowing you to transform your snaps into unique artworks.

It also plays nice with iOS 8 and includes a handy extension to edit your images right within the stock Photos app. Fragment is free until next Thursday, a $1.99 saving.

Real Steel is Apple’s new Free App of the Week

It's Thursday and Apple's editors have slashed another app to zero bucks in the App Store's weekly Free App of the Week promotion.

Free until next Thursday and replacing last week's Free App of the Week, the addictive puzzler Bicolor, movie tie-in Real Steel by Reliance Big Entertainment has now gone free for a week, until next Thursday.

Representing a $0.99 saving, Real Steel for the iPhone and iPad is based on the 2011 Dreamworks movie starring Hugh Jackman which takes place in a secret world in the not-so-distant future where boxing has gone high-tech.

Instead of human boxers, players control sophisticated boxing robots weighing over 2,000 pounds and reaching up to eight feet tall. Featuring lush graphics, fast-paced action and addictive mechanics, Real Steel is a nice time-killer. And with all-new Tournament and Survival modes, it should keep you busy.

Bicolor goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Folks who missed the opportunity to grab Bicolor when it was offered for free in the Apple Store app will be happy to hear that it's gone on sale again. Apple is offering the popular game for free from now through next Thursday as part of its App of the Week promotion.

For those unfamiliar with the title, Bicolor is a deceptively-complex puzzler that tasks players with solving 240 handmade puzzles. In each level you must figure out how to draw a path with one color, and then cover it up with another using the right amount of moves.

Apple Store app offering ‘iMaschine’ free for a limited time

Folks looking to kill some downtime this weekend should head on over to the Apple Store app. Apple is always offering up free iOS content in its digital storefront, and its latest benefaction is the popular beat-making app 'iMaschine.'

iMaschine promises to put "professional groove production in the palm of your hand." It features 16 pads with over 400 samples, a melody keyboard, and a voice recorder for vocals. You can even sample sounds directly from iTunes.

IGN names ‘Hitman Go’ its Free Game of the Month

Heads up gamers, IGN has named Square Enix's ‘Hitman Go′ its Free Game of the Month for September. We named the game one of our ‘Apps of the Week’ for the iPhone and iPad back in April, and it normally retails for $4.99.

For those unfamiliar with the title, Hitman Go is a turn-based strategy game based on the hit console franchise. Players must navigate fixed spaces on a beautiful diorama-style grid to avoid enemies and complete their missions.

Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Apple has named Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage it's App of the Week for this week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the popular game for both iPhone and iPad for free—a decent savings of $1.

For those who aren't familiar with the game, it was created by Angry Birds hit-maker Rovio Entertainment and Nitrome. It's essentially a Cut The Rope-style physics-based puzzler, which has you rescuing vikings from blocks of ice.

Starbucks offering free month of Lumosity Premium as its ‘Pick of the Week’

Heads up US-based readers, Starbucks is currently offering a free month of Lumosity's Premium service as its App Store 'Pick of the Week.' The promotion is worth a solid savings of $15, and opens up additional games and features for an already extremely popular app.

For those unfamiliar with Lumosity, it's essentially "sophisticated, scientifically designed brain training for anyone." The iOS app, which currently has a 5-star rating on 85K+ reviews, offers games that help improve skills in the areas of memory, problem-solving and more.

Minimalistic puzzle game Bicolor goes temporarily free via Apple Store app

Concluding its four-week promotion celebrating the life of a college student, the beautiful minimalistic puzzle game Bicolor has gone free for a week inside Apple's official Apple Store client for the iPhone and iPad (not to be confused with the App Store).

Created by 1Button and released on May 1, Bicolor includes 180 handmade levels, each consisting of just two colors. Bicolor tasks you with completing various patterns in order to clear the board and progress to the next level.

Priced at 99 cents in the App Store, Bicolor is free for the next seven days exclusively through the Apple Store app.

Sci-fi robot platformer Atom Run goes free as Apple’s new Free App of the Week

It's Thursday and you know what that means, don't you? That's right, today is the day Apple editors get to pick another paid app to go free for seven days, as part of the App Store's ongoing Free App of the Week promotion.

Reminder: last week's freebie was Uppercut Games' excellent post-apocalyptic shooter, Epoch 2.

This week's free app is Atom Run by Fingerlab.

Normally costing three bucks a pop, this retro-futuristic platformer set in a mechanical-dynamic environment will be free until next Thursday so best thing you save yourself $2.99 and download Atom Run for free right now...

Beautiful iOS calculator Tydlig goes temporarily free in official Apple Store app

Apple is celebrating the life of a college student so they're giving away one education-themed app each week via the official Apple Store client for the iPhone and iPad.

Although some other promo offers are available only to Apple Store visitors, anyone who has downloaded the free shopping app to their device and has a U.S.-based iTunes account can now download Tydlig for free.

Note that these promos are separate from Apple's ongoing Free App of the Week so iOS apps which go temporarily free in the Apple Store app still cost money when accessed regularly in the App Store via their iTunes links.

In the past two weeks, two high-quality apps have gone temporarily via the Apple Store app (not to be confused with the App Store): the gorgeous Rise Alarm Clock and Runtastic Pro, a premium version of the popular fitness tracking software.

If you love calculators, the advanced Tydlig for the iPhone and iPad will be free until next Wednesday, a $2.99 saving.

Here's how you can redeem your free copy of Tydlig...