By AppleInsider Staff Tuesday, December 02, 2014, 11:36 am PT (02:36 pm ET)
Starting Tuesday, some users of popular streaming radio app Pandora began seeing a beta preview of a new user interface on their iPhone. Plus, American Express cardholders can now view their account information using Touch ID.Pandora
Pandora"s mobile redesign is currently available to 3 percent of iPhone and Android users, but will roll out to all mobile and tablet users over the coming months. The redesigned was developed based on insights gathered from listeners.
The new look focuses on personalization, and Pandora has said it lays the groundwork for future updates that will be driven by listener feedback. The new look also has updated transitions from the Station list to the Now Playing screen, providing more clarity on sense of place when navigating.
The new Personalization Icon lets listeners access a comprehensive thumb history, while previous track rankings can be adjusted. Pandora has also introduced a new "un-thumbing" capability where users can remove their review of a track.
Pandora"s update also includes improved artist discovery, giving listeners easier access to artist information. By swiping and tapping, users can access song details to learn more about new artists.
"For more than a decade, our engineering team has worked tirelessly to perfect the personalized radio listening experience and unleash the infinite power of music for our more than 76 million monthly listeners," said Pandora Chief Technology Officer Chris Martin. "And with our users logging more than 1.65 billion listening hours in September alone, we were extremely mindful in the way we made adjustments to the UI so as to enhance and simplify the experience."
Amex Mobile
The official Amex Mobile app was updated to version 4.6.4 on Tuesday, adding support for fingerprint-based Touch ID logins. The feature allows users to bypass password entry and log in quickly and more securely.
Touch ID support for third-party applications was introduced by Apple in iOS 8, and early adoption has proved popular among banks, credit cards, and other security-conscious apps.
Fitbit
Finally, popular fitness tracking tool Fitbit also received a minor update on Tuesday. Version 2.6 adds native support for the larger displays of the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
