Apps

Cat Bird: A cute and fun mobile platformer

It’s cute and all until…

Published

March 19, 2018

Leez

If you want a game that’s adorably challenging, I might have the game for you: Cat Bird.

It’s a title developed by Rayumi Adventure, an independent studio headed by Ryan Carag. If you like pixel art, you might want to check other titles from the same studio because they’ve developed similarly designed games.

About a cat that can fly

If you Google “catbird,” you’re up for a surprise: The game isn’t about the actual bird (yes, there’s an actual bird of the same name). We can pretty much appreciate the English language and how a space can alter compound words.

Anyway, Cat Bird is a mobile platformer where you have to get through enemies, falling spikes, and various obstacles. You play as Cat Bird, a white kitten with wings, who is lost and is finding its way home. Your task is to navigate your way back. Simple? You’d think so.

Charming design

When you first install the game, you’ll notice the adorable pixel design, charming music, and polished user interface. I’ll admit: The game has a lovely soundtrack that matches its cute design. When it comes to user interface, Cat Bird walks you through the basics. The controls are on the bottom of your screen. On the bottom right of the game is your jump control and on the bottom left, the forward and back controls.

It’s cute and all until…

… you realize you’re terrible at timing! It doesn’t help when you’re playing an adorable character that dies every time you don’t get it right. You’ll have to watch your death count go up a few digits and live with yourself seeing an adorable mythical animal die. Case in point: I’ve unconsciously learned to apologize out loud when Cat Bird dies.

More crowns, more bragging rights

Platformers are more than just getting from point A to point B. If you’re a messed-up completionist like I am, you’ll want to collect every item or earn every achievement that exists in the game. For Cat Bird, you’ve got crowns purposefully placed in the toughest places. The crowns are even sometimes hidden. Finishing the game may be fun, but being able to collect all crowns gives you bragging rights.

Makes me miss buttons

Surprise, surprise. I come up with a strange and ominous excuse as to why I cannot stop dying: buttons. Of course, Leez, buttons! I can’t help but miss the feeling of clicking buttons when playing this game. I play platformers with a controller and playing it on my phone feels like the first time I moved from phones with buttons to a touchscreen smartphone.

Am I making excuses for writing this section? Hell yes. Petty? Pretty much. Can we just toss my irrational defensiveness to the upsetting reality that I can’t keep watching this poor thing die over and over?

At least you get checkpoints

You re-spawn from the very beginning of every stage. You don’t get to save your progress anywhere. When I say it hurts to watch Cat Bird die again and again, it’s mostly because once I get pretty far into the obstacles, I slip up, die, and have to do it all over again. Luckily, some stages have checkpoints that show up as cute little flags so when you die after reaching them, you re-spawn there, instead.

**Should you be playing Cat Bird?**

Looking for a nice mobile game that’s free-to-play and offline is a bit of a challenge — let alone finding one that’s of great quality. Although most games settle to be either offline or free-to-play, Cat Bird is both. If you miss more familiar platformers like Mario, Sonic, and Crash Bandicoot, definitely give this game a try.

This might be the game to take you back to the more familiar or nostalgic platformers. It may get challenging but that adds to the appeal of playing it. Trust me, I’ve almost completed the game despite sitting through so many deaths.

Cat Bird is available on iOS and Android for free.

Related Topics:Cat Bird Raiyumi Adventure

Apps

Disney+ launches a TikTok-coded vertical feed called Verts

Published

March 13, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

TikTok has changed how we consume media. Everything is now vertical. Even the most established streaming services, often a bastion for traditionally horizontal content, is adopting the different format. Now, Disney+ is getting a vertical feed called Verts.

Like its contemporaries, Verts presents a continuous feed of content but tailored to show the plethora of titles from the Disney+ library. This might include the first scenes of shows or notable highlights. The hope, of course, is to direct users to the longform content.

Directly from the Verts feed, users can easily add the respective title to their watchlist or go straight to the title’s page. In turn, the feed is accessible from the homepage since it has its own tab.

According to Disney, early experiments with the feature have driven engagement to available content. Right now, the feed is mostly for clipping enticing content from shows. However, the platform will experiment further with the format for new ways to tell stories.

Though Verts surely stands for “verticals” in this case, “adverts” might fit better as its full government name. Still, it might be a useful tool if you’re figuring out what to watch for the night.

Currently, Verts is available for Disney+ subscribers in the United States. Disney also has plans to expand the feature to ESPN for sports-related content.

Apps

Google Maps is finally getting a 3D mode

The app will also have a Gemini chatbot baked inside.

Published

March 13, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Some of today’s navigation apps are living in the future. Instead of a two-dimensional map, these apps render the user’s surroundings in 3D. It’s a nifty upgrade that helps drivers more accurately visualize directions on the fly. Finally, Google Maps is getting a much-needed upgrade and will take navigation to the third dimension.

In a new update rolling out today, the new Immersive Navigation feature will bring your surroundings to life. The 3D view creates a render of the surrounding buildings, overpasses, and terrain around the car. It takes the guesswork out of navigation by showing precisely where to turn and what landmarks to look out for.

In the same vein, you can now use Street View to preview your destination before you arrive. Google Maps will also highlight your destination’s entrance, side of the street, and nearby parking.

Outside of how the map is visualized, Google Maps is also infusing its service with Gemini. The new Ask Maps feature will let you engage with the app in a conversational manner. For example, if you’re in the middle of a long drive, you can now ask Maps where the best place is to stop over and have a coffee break. Ask Maps will provide directions, a potential itinerary, and even helpful links to book a reservation ahead of time.

Now, availability for both of these features is still a bit limited. Immersive View is rolling out today to compatible devices and vehicles in the United States. Further, availability will expand over the coming months.

Meanwhile, Ask Maps is available now in the United States and India for Android and iOS. A desktop version is coming soon.

Apps

Apple Music, TikTok launch Play Full Song, a new music discovery experience

Rolling out worldwide exclusively through Apple Music

Published

March 12, 2026

GadgetMatch

Ever came across a viral 15 or 30-second music snippet on TikTok that instantly became your jam on repeat?

For years, TikTok has been a regular source of songs that have become part of our playlists. And together with Apple Music, listening to the music you discover has just gotten even easier.

That’s through Play Full Song, a new music discovery experience, which launches exclusively though Apple Music.

With the new feature, Apple Music subscribers can now enjoy full-length tracks that they discover on TikTok. That’s without ever leaving that popular streaming app.

Fans who discover a song that they love on their For You or Sound Detail page can simply tap the Play Full Song button to open up an Apple Music player and enjoy the song in its entirety.

From there, subscribers can continue listening to a personalized stream of recommended songs. That means no more need to switch apps and search separately.

The new Play Full Song experience helps music fans move seamlessly from the moment of discovery to deeper listening. It’s also designed to be instant and all within the same environment.

Moreover, users can also save their favorite songs to Your Music and add them directly to their Apple Music playlists.

Built using Apple’s MusicKit, full-length song playback takes place on Apple Music. This way, streams are paid within the Apple Music service, supporting artists and rights holders while giving fans a smooth, uninterrupted experience.

Listening Party also launched

The feature builds on the success of TikTok’s Add to Music App. This was previously launched to help artists and fans convert discovery on TikTok to a playlist save in Apple Music and other streaming services.

To cap the announcement, TikTok and Apple Music are also introducing Listening Party. This new feature is designed to bring artists and fans together around music.

It creates a shared environment where fans can listen to songs from their favorite artists in real time, interact with each her, and engage directly with the artist during the session.