Apple today has pushed the golden master build of Xcode 7.3.1 to developers. The update carries the build number 7D1012 and focuses primarily on bug fixes ahead of its upcoming release to the general public.
Not soon after the news of Apple potentially opening MapKit as a web API, creative developer Tim Broddin has gone ahead and developed a proof of concept showing what that experience might look like in the future. Fruity Maps mimics a very basic Apple Maps view similar to what you’ve likely encountered with embedded web versions of Google Maps. While it’s missing most features that would make it fully usable (such as pins and searching), it gives us a very nice idea of the extent that Apple Maps might be utilized by developers on a desktop experience.
We’ve previously reported that the Samsung Gear S2 would be gaining support for iOS later this year, and it looks like that support is coming soon. A member of the XDA-Developers forums has shared a link to a potentially early version of a Samsung Gear S2 specific app that would allows iOS to pair with the device. While the app appears to be in the early stages (indications of the app’s creation dates back to March 2nd), it could potentially show us what the final app will look like.
Based on discussions in the forum, users looking to attempt the pair the devices may have to restore their S2 to factory settings before having it pair with the leaked iOS application. This may require having another Android device on hand, but the results seem to be mixed at this point. Some forum members are also indicating that they are able to receive notifications pushed from iOS, but have no way to reply.
The Samsung Gear S2 Lite iOS application can be installed through iTunes, or by side-loading through Xcode. Before launching the application, a Samsung specific enterprise profile must be accepted through settings. We cannot stress this enough, installing applications from unverified sources is not guaranteed safe. Proceed with extreme caution.
The Samsung Gear S2 is available refurbished from Best Buy for $159.99, or new from Amazon at $249.
Apple has released its first update and second release to its Safari Technology Preview browser. The browser puts an emphasis on releasing stable, technology preview ready builds. With updates coming every two weeks, Apple is showing a commitment to bringing stability to developers on the cutting edge of web technologies.
Facebook held its annual F8 developer’s conference today that laid out the foundation for what the company plans to accomplish as far out as the next ten years. Today’s keynote presentation focused more on what the next year at Facebook and its products would look like for customers. Putting a heavy emphasis on Messenger and Facebook Live, it’s fair to say that you’ll be seeing a lot of these changes coming to mobile very soon.
Periodically, Apple updates App Store prices in certain regions to account for global changes in exchange rates. Today, Apple has notified developers that it will be raising app prices for customers in Norway in response to currency fluctuations.
Apple’s recently open-sourced programming language, Swift, may be seeing itself get adopted into Google’s Android platform in the future. Sources have told The Next Web that Google is “considering making Swift a ‘first class’ language for Android”.
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It looks like Apple’s Developer Center is getting a visual refresh as the developer center account page has been updated today with some notable changes. The main view after signing in has gone through a reorganization, making accessing various sections much easier. Moving primary links into a left sidebar view, developer’s can now quickly access their CloudKit Dashboard, Documentation, and even the Bug Reporter.
In a blog post announcing their launch of an embeddable web and native app VR viewer, Google also introduced the official launch of their Cardboard SDK for iOS. The SDK allows iOS developers to embed virtual reality content within their own apps to then be viewed using a viewer like Google’s own Cardboard.
Apple has released Xcode 7.3 for developers, following a lengthy beta period, with several new features, enhancements and bug fixes. First and foremost, Xcode 7.3 includes the latest SDKs for iOS 9.3, watchOS 2.2, OS X 10.11.4. It also bundles the latest release of Swift version 2.2.
Xcode 7.3 include several new features, including more intelligent code completion so developers can more quickly write their programs. It also lets developers more easily handle developing for Apple Watch, with quick switching between paired Watches. The debugger now automatically evaluates framework code, a big pain point for developers to date. The static analyzer has been upgraded to detect more potential issues related to pointer nullability.
With Apple’s iPhone SE press event scheduled for this upcoming Monday, March 21st, it’s no surprise that our reports surrounding what to expect at the event make up most of our top stories this week.
We detailed new info about the much anticipated 4-inch iPhone SE’s design and camera specs, pricing for a 9.7-inch iPad Pro to be unveiled at the event, and also gave you the rundown on the new Apple Watch models that Apple is planning to show off.
Stack Overflow reports that more developers now use OS X than Linux as their primary OS, and that if the trend continues, fewer than half of all developers will be using Windows next year.
In addition to releasing the seventh beta of iOS 9.3 yesterday, Apple today has released OS X 10.11.4 beta 7 to developers and public beta testers. Beta 7 comes just a week after beta 6 was released.
Apple is adding a convenient new feature for developers today in iTunes Connect. Following a refresh to the Payments and Financial Reports pages a fortnight ago, Apple is now letting developers opt-in to a weekly summary report email of their apps. The email will summarize important business metrics for the developer’s apps, including information on App Store views, unit sales, sessions and crash rates. The email will also show the comparisons of these statistics to the previous seven-day period.
Just ahead of its expected release later this month, Apple has released the sixth OS X 10.11.4 developer beta for Mac users to test. The update to OS X El Capitan so far has included improvements to Messages, Notes, and other system apps.
Signs of change are beginning to surface on the App Store after December 17th’s notable leadership changes involving Apple’s Worldwide Marketing SVP Phil Schiller. That move happened after growing discontent from Mac App Store developers, who noted communication breakdowns and overall frustration with the direction that the Mac App Store was headed in.
Schiller is now in charge of all App Stores, taking over responsibilities from Eddy Cue, which most prominently include the iOS App Store and the Mac App Store.
It’s been less than three months since the move occurred, but we’re already beginning to see a change in the way the App Store operates. For example, we’re now seeing more regular updates of the Best New Apps section at the top of the App Store’s Featured page. In a tweet today, Schiller acknowledged the changes and indicated that more changes were on the way.
Just nine days after the last developer beta, Apple has released iOS 9.3 beta 5 to registered developers and public beta users for testing. This beta version is expected to restore full Apple Pencil support for scrolling and navigation on iPad Pros after earlier betas removed that function. We’ll check out the latest release and update below with changes.
One week after the last public beta and 9 days after the last developer beta, Apple has released OS X 10.11.4 beta 5 for both developers and public beta testers. The update is said to improve Mac stability, compatibility, and security. Focus areas mentioned include iBooks, Messages, Notes, and Photos.
Apple is rolling out a small but useful improvement to developers today. It has overhauled the Payments and Financial Reports section of iTunes Connect with a modern interface and new design that combines all relevant financial numbers into one table. This screen was long overdue for a redesign, until today featuring ugly iOS 5 era buttons and textured backgrounds. The new look reflects Apple’s modern design philosophy: flat, white and clean.
Apple today has shared a collection of Apple TV Tech Talks in which Apple experts demonstrate to developers how to design and develop apps and games for the company’s fourth-generation Apple TV. Apple announced the availability of these talks on its Developer Portal.
Fabric, a subsidiary of Twitter, has today expanded its comprehensive platform for developers by releasing an iPhone app, Fabric for iPhone. The app lets developers monitor various analytics and diagnostics about their applications while on the go. Stats like current active users and crash rates are instantly visible from the dashboard.
Most notably, the app features push notifications for realtime updates about major issues. For instance, developers will get a push alert if their app suddenly starts crashing for a new reason.
Apple is currently testing a change in how the Siri Remote interacts with the new Apple TV. The change is available on the latest tvOS 9.2 beta, which is expected to be released around next month’s March 15th event. Starting with tvOS 9.2 beta 4, Apple has changed how you scrub through video during playback. Why does that matter? Two reasons:
Apple has released the fourth OS X 10.11.4 preview for registered developers to test ahead of its expected release next month. The software update to the Mac will likely be released around next month’s March 15th event and is expected to coincide with a new version of iTunes. For Mac users, the latest version of OS X El Capitan adds enhancements like being able to view and share Live Photos originally taken on the iPhone 6s or 6s Plus as well as the ability to lock notes behind a secure password. We’re check out the latest beta and update with any changes.
tvOS 9.2 beta 4 for the fourth-generation Apple TV is now available as an over-the-air software update for registered developers testing the pre-release version. Apple TV gains several new abilities with the upcoming release including iOS-style app folders, a redesigned app switcher user interface, voice dictation input for search and username/password entry, complete iCloud Photo Library support, and much more. We’ll check out the latest beta version of the upcoming release and highlight any changes below.
