Vudu and Telegram iOS apps update with new 3D Touch options, more

By Roger Fingas

Walmart on Thursday updated its Vudu iOS app with support for 3D Touch and iOS 9's Picture-in-Picture mode, while messaging service Telegram expanded its use of 3D Touch across the board.

Vudu

watchers with an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus can now use 3D Touch to jump into various sections -- like Last Watched -- directly from the app's home screen icon. People can also press down on movie posters in the app to access more options.

Picture-in-Picture lets iPad owners continue to watch videos in a thumbnail view while working in another app. Users must however have an iPad Air, iPad Pro, iPad mini 2 or better.

Also new are custom notification settings, which can be used to control the kinds of notifications the app pushes, including marketing.

The Vudu iOS app is a free download for devices on iOS 8 or later, but users must buy or rent videos from the service on another platform before they can be streamed on iOS.

Telegram

Telegram

owners can now use 3D Touch to preview links in the Shared Links section, profile images in chat, and photos and videos across the app's interface. This includes areas like attachment menus and message histories.

The new version also sports two new camera shortcuts, which work without 3D Touch: tapping and holding the attachment button will launch into the camera, while holding on the camera's "take photo" button will start recording a video, stopping immediately once a person lets go.

Finally, the app's Get Directions feature now supports Uber and Citymapper. Telegram is free and runs on devices with iOS 6 or better.