With 2014 drawing to a close, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) last week released its annual top apps lists. The three categories, Top 10 Paid Apps 2014, Top 10 Free Apps 2014 and Top 10 Highest Grossing Apps 2014, were topped by Heads Up!, Facebook Messenger and Clash of Clans respectively. Nine of the top ten highest grossing apps were "freemium" games, meaning they are free but offer in-app purchases.

According to the results of a Piper Jaffray survey that were released last week, demand for the iPhone 6 is higher now than it was pre-launch. Of the 1,004 consumers surveyed in December, 40 percent indicated that they were interested in purchasing the new iPhone. A similar survey conducted pre-launch showed 33 percent interest.

First and foremost, the iPhone 6s mini is currently a rumor. According to AppleInsider, analyst Timothy Arcuri believes Apple may launch a new 4-inch iPhone alongside the 4.7-inch iPhone 6s and 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus next year. The device would be named the iPhone 6s mini, presumably to match the upcoming iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

The refresh of the smaller-screen iPhone would keep one-handed usability in the lineup, which Apple always highlighted when marketing the iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 5c. One feature of the larger iPhones is Reachability, which uses software to make user interface elements reachable with one hand. The iPhone 5c would probably be replaced by the iPhone 6s mini next fall, but what kind of specifications can we expect on an updated 4-inch device?

The end of the year has arrived, and as usual Apple has released the top iPhone apps of 2014. Three categories include the most downloaded free apps, top paid apps, and the highest grossing apps of the past 12 months. Top billing in the free app list goes to Facebook Messenger, which separated messaging functionality from the main Facebook app. Both YouTube and Google Maps, which used to come pre-installed in earlier versions of iOS, also made the top 10 free apps.

The game Heads Up! beat out Minecraft - Pocket Edition for the top slot in paid apps. Cut the Rope 2 followed up on its predecessor with a showing in the top 10 as well. Finally, the top grossing category was lead by Clash of Clans. Like Clash of Clans, other popular titles such as Candy Crush Saga and Farm Heroes Saga are free, but made the top grossing list thanks to in-app purchases. Here are the top 10 iPhone apps in each category:

Despite holiday shopping being in full swing and the high demand for both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) supply appears to have caught up. According to AppleInsider, shipment time for the two devices has dropped to just one day as of last week. Additionally, the Retina 5K iMac ship time has dropped from one to two weeks to a couple of days.

Apple seeded iOS 8.2 beta 3 last Thursday. Though iOS 8.2 mostly deals with WatchKit and Apple Watch support, it also has added blood glucose tracking to the Health app. iOS 8.2 is expected to be released to the public at the same time as the Apple Watch launch, which will likely be sometime in February 2015.

The ability to add extensions to apps such as Photos and Safari is one of the new features of iOS 8 that everyone should take advantage of. In a nutshell, they let you add third party app features to your native apps so you don't have to waste time switching between apps. For example, you can add an extension from a photo editing app to your Photos app on your iPhone or iPad, and then access those editing tools directly from Photos. Below are a few free extendable apps for your Photos app. (If you aren't sure how to enable extensions you can find instructions here.)

1. Paper Camera

Paper Camera is a free app that lets you add a variety of filters to your photos and, with its extension, you can edit photos from within your Photos app with just a few taps. There are 14 filters to choose from including cartoon, sketch, neon, noir, comic book and halftone among others, and you can fine tune the contrast, brightness and lines on each. If you are so inclined, a $0.99 per month subscription will get you a new filter every month and half price print orders.