Adobe is updating two of its mobile apps today with a few notable features including a welcomed Adobe Photoshop Mix update that brings support for importing from Creative Cloud Libraries and a new “Send to Lightroom” feature.
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Apple has changed its policy regarding permissions required to build and run apps on devices. Until now, Apple required users to pay $99/year to become a member of Apple’s Developer Program in order to run code on physical iPhone and iPads. As part of the new Developer Program, this is no longer required. Apps can be tested on devices, no purchase necessary.
However, this technically means that developers will be able to release apps outside of the App Store as long as they are open-sourced. Interested users could then open the code in Xcode, compile and run it on their own devices — avoiding the App Store completely.
The App Store has been around since iOS 2.0 (back when iOS was still called iPhone OS), and has undergone a variety of changes since it was launched. Aside from countless new features that have been added over time, the store has also seen several redesigns.
With iOS 9 set to be announced on Monday, let’s take a look at some ways Apple could simplify the App Store interface while making it more consistent with other apps and adding some much needed functionality tweaks.
Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference is about to kick off. On Monday, June 8th, company executives will take the stage at San Francisco’s Moscone Center to provide their annual roadmap for Apple’s software, services, and devices.
Traditionally, Apple has used the conference to introduce major upgrades to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch operating system iOS, as well as the Mac operating system OS X, along with new services. Of course, 2015 will be no different. Apple has been preparing a new version of iOS 9 codenamed “Monarch,” a release of OS X 10.11 codenamed “Gala,” a new streaming Apple Music service based on Beats Music, and updates for the Apple Watch.
Over the last several years, we have provided advance reports on the lion’s share of announcements that will be made at WWDC, as well as a comprehensive roundup ahead of the event. Read on for our roundup of what’s coming, along with fresh new details not found in our earlier reports.
Update 2 9:45PM ET: Users this evening again reported issues centered around iCloud. The outage affected all store services, according to Apple’s status page. It appears to have been resolved, however, with the exception of Game Center.
Update: After about an hour of downtime and still with no admission from Apple of anything ever having gone wrong, iCloud services seem to be coming back online now.
Despite being listed as fully functional on Apple’s status page, it seems iCloud is once again down for many users. Reports across Twitter and in our own experience here at 9to5Mac have verified that iCloud and the App Store (and possibly other Apple services) are currently down.
You may notice a new look on those digital receipts you get in your email inbox after you buy something from iTunes, iBooks, or the App Store. Apple has refreshed its invoices with a new design, friendlier subject line, and cover art images that are clearer on Retina displays. You can see the old and new designs below:
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Apple has curated a new App Store section today highlighting Global Accessibility Awareness Day, which is observed on May 21st each year with the goal of “raising the profile of and introducing the topic of digital (web, software, mobile app/device etc.) accessibility and people with different disabilities to the broadest audience possible.”
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Twitch announced today that its mobile application now supports video on demand content, a feature that has been requested by fans of the service for quite some time. While the app was previously limited to live streaming, users can now access “highlights and past broadcasts” from all Twitch partners and what Twitch says is a growing list of broadcasters whose videos are HTTP live streaming (HLS)-enabled.
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Nearly a month after the release of the first-generation Apple Watch with Watch OS 1.0, a proven source has disclosed a collection of upcoming Apple Watch software and hardware updates. Currently in development, the features seek to enhance Apple Watch security, connectivity with other Apple devices, health and fitness features, Wi-Fi capabilities, and integration with third-party applications. Additionally, Apple is also priming major updates for the Apple TV in both the hardware and software departments, including Apple Watch integration. Below, we detail what users can expect from Apple Watches and Apple TVs in the future…
Following the release of HBO’s new HBO Now app for its $14.99/month standalone streaming service, today the company updated its main HBO GO app with a similar, long-awaited redesign.
Here’s what HBO GO looked like prior to today’s update (left) next to the new design (right):
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Apple’s TestFlight-based App Analytics service is now available to all registered iOS developers through the iTunes Connect interface. Apple recently made App Analytics available to select developers upon request (which were fulfilled in a short amount of time), but starting today all developers can access the service without the need for requesting access.
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Sega announced in a post on its blog this evening that it is going to remove a number of games from its catalog on the App Store. Sega says that a several of its games on the App Store no longer meet its “high-quality” standards. Sega will also remove the unsupported games from the Google Play Store, the Samsung App Store and the Amazon App Store.
After beginning to invite developers to test an app analytics beta last week, giving devs that signed up access to new analytic data for their apps through iTunes Connect, today we get our first look at the feature…
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To celebrate Star Wars Day— yes, that’s why everyone keeps saying “May the 4th be with you” today— Apple is offering a number of discounts on apps and in-app purchase content from Disney, Konami, and others.
Below we’ve put together links for all of the Star Wars App Store content on sale today, including both Apple’s iOS collection and other iPhone, iPad, and Mac titles discounted for the occasion:
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As we reported would happen earlier this week, Apple this evening has updated its Apple Store app with support for Watch. From the app, users can get real-time order status updates, initiate the process of picking up an order, make and search for Genius Bar appointments, and discover events and workshops taking place in nearby Apple Stores.
Apple has started offering registered developers the chance to sign-up and test its upcoming App Analytics feature first announced last year at WWDC. Developers have been awaiting the service since it was announced following Apple’s acquisition of TestFlight (and FlightPath), a service which offered its own analytics features.
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The Apple Watch App Store dedicated to iPhone apps that include WatchKit apps is going live ahead of the new device’s launch tomorrow, BuzzFeed says. Apple first added the Apple Watch App Store in iOS 8.2 as part of the Apple Watch companion app, but until now the section has displayed a coming soon page. The Watch’s App Store is available now.
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The buggy code highlighted by arsTechnica
A bug in the way that 1,500 iOS apps establish secure connections to servers leaves them vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks, according to analytics company SourceDNA (via arsTechnica). The bug means anyone intercepting data from an iPhone or iPad could access logins and other sensitive information sent using the HTTPS protocol.
A man-in-the-middle attack allows a fake WiFi hotspot to intercept data from devices connecting to it. Usually, this wouldn’t work with secure connections, as the fake hotspot wouldn’t have the correct security certificate. However, the bug discovered by SourceDNA means that the vulnerable apps fail to check the certificate …
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After sharing its latest Environmental Responsibility report this morning, Apple this evening has added a new Earth Day 2015 section to the App Store. The section highlights content that contribute to environmental awareness, as well as apps that promote green living and going paperless.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eyazVwm0oY]
Microsoft Studios is today releasing a new top-down shooter set in the Halo universe for iPhones and iPads (in addition to Windows mobile devices and Steam for PC).
The game, developed by Microsoft Studios, 343 Industries, and Vanguard Games, is set during the timeline of Halo 2 and follows a Spartan supersolider on “30 challenging missions while leading UNSC troops through cities and jungles with an all new arsenal of weapons, abilities and vehicles.”
The company is also making Halo; Spartan Assault, the first top-down Halo shooter it developed, available on both iPad and iPhone today. It’s available in a $9.99 bundle with the new Halo: Spartan Strike title:
Also available on iPad, iPhone, and Steam is the Halo: Spartan Bundle. The bundle includes both Halo: Spartan Assault – the original Halo top-down shooter that plays through the historic first missions of the Spartan Ops program as Commander Palmer – and Halo: Spartan Strike for $9.99 ERP.
The iPhone and iPad version of the game is available for $5.99 on the App Store.
Snapseed, the excellent free photo editing application, today received its first major update since Google purchased developer Nik Software back in 2012. Version 2.0 arrived in the App Store with a brand new user interface and a huge collection of new features, most notably including spot healing, lens blur effects, perspective transformation, and a non-destructive editing system that can copy edits from one image to another. The app remains universal across iOS devices, and now has a minimalist UI with Material Design influence.
While Apple’s Photos application improved considerably with the release of iOS 8, Snapseed’s unique ability to selectively fix small parts of photos — such as improving the brightness level of one dark face in an otherwise bright image — has kept it relevant as a key iOS photo editing tool for years. Snapseed 2.0 expands upon that feature, letting you apply filters and brushes selectively with a brush tool. You can also go into individual layers and make adjustments to changes that were previously applied during the editing process.
Snapseed 2.0 is available for free from the App Store now. Additional details are after the break…
Instagram is adding a few new features to its iOS app this week including two new creative tools for editing photos and a new post notifications feature.
For the two new creative tools, the Fade feature offers “a quiet tone to your photos by softening colors,” while the Color tool allows you to apply a yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, blue, cyan or green tint to the shadows and highlights in your photos.
Also new in the updated Instagram app is a Post Notifications feature that allows you to receive notifications when people you follow post once enabled: You will see an option to “Turn on Post Notifications.
The updated Instagram app, version 6.10.0, will hit the App Store this week.
Apple often acquires small startup companies very quietly and without any formal announcement to bolster its own services, and a new report from TechCrunch claims that the company acquired Ottocat in late-2013. Ottocat was a startup that focused on developing a system to organize and discover apps based on increasingly specific subcategories. Apple currently uses this technology to power the “Explore” tab in the App Store, as seen above.
Apple’s<a href="http://9to5mac.com/2015/03/29/apple-store-revamp-for-apple-watch-revealed-magical-tables-demo-loops-sales-process/" target="_blank"> upcoming retail overhaul</a> for displaying the Watch
A lot of my techie friends are saying that the entry priced-Apple Watch Sport will be their pick next month, and not because of the exterior look. The theory is that Sport is the cheapest way to experience Apple’s new product category in 2015, and since the second-gen Apple Watch will inevitably be upgraded, why pay a premium this year for nicer materials such as stainless steel and sapphire glass?
Despite the Apple Watch’s desire to marry jewelry with technology, it hasn’t lost the baggage gadgets carry, namely the reality that they’ll be outdated and replaced in a relatively short period of time. If the Apple Watch evolves anything like the original iPad did when it became the iPad 2, the differences could be dramatic.
Personally, when I think about getting more perceived value out of a higher-priced stainless steel Apple Watch rather than testing the waters with the cheaper aluminum model, I’m more concerned with how soon the Apple Watch 2 will be announced rather than how much more functional the newer device could be. No matter what happens with the first-generation model, an Apple Watch 2 will come to market. How will Apple balance keeping the Apple Watch evolutionary momentum going with keeping the first-generation model “modern” for enough time to satisfy early adopters?