What's new in the app

Version 5.4.0

iPad: the whole app is now scaled up evenly, so text, buttons, the board and cards keep their iPhone proportions, also in Split View and Stage Manager.

In landscape on iPad, Home uses two columns, the tutorial, lessons and replays put the board beside the text, and Daily Streak, the Daily Challenge and onboarding fit the wide screen.

iPhone Duo: both screens are supported, and on the outer screen the game toolbar moves into the status bar strip at the side.

If you close a hint before its answer, it isn't lost: until you enter or erase a number, tapping Hint reopens the same hint at the step you were on, without using another hint.

Hint card buttons and other small controls are easier to tap. On small phones, the 3×3 Grid pad keeps its keys easy to tap and the board gets a little smaller. Sudoku Terms has a Back to top button, and the win screen says when hints or mistakes keep a win from being ranked.

When a toolbar change turns off Color Marks or Corner + Center notes, a message now says so and how to turn it back on. Sudoku Terms has a clearer Pool example and fuller definitions of Wing, Deadly pattern and Fin.

Version 5.3.0

Corner + Center notes: a second layer of notes, the way experienced solvers use them, free for everyone. Center notes say what a cell can be, and corner notes say where a number can go in its box. Choose Corner + Center in Settings › Game Settings › Note Style, and a Corner button is added to the toolbar. Classic notes stay the default.

Sound: optional game sounds, off until you turn them on in Settings › Game Settings › Sound. Choose a pack (Soft, Clear, or Flow, where every digit plays its own note) and one of its four instruments. The first instrument in each pack is free, and the other three come with Pro. Pick which moments make a sound and how loud. Your own music keeps playing, and game sounds stay quiet while your iPhone is on silent.

Tap to Pick Up: with Number First Mode on, tap a number key to pick it up instead of long-pressing it. Tap another number to switch, or the same one to put it down. With Multi-Select on or several cells selected, a tap still enters the number into the selected cells. Turn it on in Settings › Game Settings, right under Number First Mode. While it is on, the tutorial and the How to Play demos work the same way.

Customize your toolbar: choose a ready-made layout (Standard, Intermediate or Advanced) or build your own in Settings › Game Settings › Advanced › Toolbar, or touch and hold the toolbar during a game. Fill Notes (Pro), Clear Notes, Color and Multi-Select can each have a button of their own, and in note mode the Hint button now stays Hint.

Game Recap: when a mistake looks like a guess, Show the sure move (Pro) shows you, step by step on your own board, the sure move that was waiting in another cell.

Hints and lessons: many hint steps now name the row, column or box they use, and what they highlight matches the explanation more closely. Sudoku Terms has a Contents list at the top. Hints open faster. With several cells selected, a number is no longer entered when two of the cells it would go into share a row, column or box, and no mistake is counted. Notes work as before.

In the Daily Challenge, the pause screen shows the technique the puzzle requires, with a link to its lesson, and the win screen names it too. Subscribers can manage or cancel their plan from Settings. With animations off, the moments that would animate (a finished row, column, box or digit) now give a short vibration instead.