Apple App Store getting developer bundles and video previews
As Tim Cook embarked on the developer section of the keynote at WWDC, it might be easy for end users to disconnect. But, if you did, you’d have missed out on two fairly solid updates: developer app bundles and (finally) video previews. Now, developers can combo their apps and sell the for a discounted price should they choose. Likewise, previews allow developers to give us a better taste before we buy. If you happen to dabble in developing yourself, then you might also be relieved to hear that TestFlight is now officially part of Apple’s developer set-up, too.
Apple’s iOS 8 supports widgets in Notification Center
It’s been a long time coming, but Apple is finally adding support for widgets to iOS. On stage at its Worldwide Developers Conference, the company’s senior VP of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, revealed that devs can now start building widgets within the Notification Center on iOS 8. Unlike Google’s take on widgets with Android, Apple’s equivalent won’t have them living on the home screen of your smartphone or tablet. Instead, iOS widgets will share the drop-down hub with app notifications. Still, there’s a lot of potential here, as it’s going to let those of you with an iOS device have more interactivity and quick access to your favorite applications. iOS 8 will be available this fall.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Apple
Apple will finally support third-party keyboards in iOS 8
After years of waiting, Apple has finally brought support for third-party keyboards to iOS. Inside iOS 8, keyboards like Swiftkey and Swype, which have enjoyed huge usage on Android, will have system-wide access to all apps and services on your iPhone and iPad. Swiftkey has confirmed it’s on board, but if you don’t fancy that, you’ll still able to enjoy Apple’s new QuickType keyboard. The company says the improved keyboard learns from the way you type and text, offering a pick of suggestions for your next word based on the content of your message or the person you’re conversing with. Planning a meal with your friend or loved one? The keyboard will auto-populate words like “dinner” or “eat” as you type. At launch, QuickType will support 14 regions including the US, UK, Canada and Australian English, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese (that includes Hong Kong and Taiwan), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Thai.
Apple’s smart home initiative is called HomeKit
We heard it was coming, and here it is: Apple’s smart home platform. Taking the stage in sunny San Francisco, Apple’s Craig Federighi announced HomeKit: Cupertino’s solution for the connected home. Don’t expect to pick up a unified automation system at your local Apple Store, though — the firm’s foray into the field a communication standard, not a product. Federighi describes HomeKit as a “common network protocol with secure networking to ensure only your iPhone can open your garage door or unlock your door.”
The wireless protocol is designed to securely pair individual or group devices with your mobile device — and it works with Siri, too. “You could say things like ‘get ready for bed,’” Federighi explains, and HomeKit will automatically dim your lights, lock your doors and lower the thermostat. Apple says it’s working with “leaders” in home automation to make HomeKit a secure and robust wireless protocol. Hopefully, we’ll hear more about the platform soon.
Siri in iOS 8 will let you identify songs and buy from iTunes
Siri is going to learn a few new tricks in iOS 8. As rumored, the voice assistant will now identify songs using Shazam; if you want to find out the name of a catchy track, you don’t have to fire up a separate app. You’ll also have the option of buying iTunes content. The speech recognition system is smarter, to boot — it now shows what you’re saying in real time, and you can start commands by speaking “hey, Siri” (much like Android KitKat’s “OK Google”) instead of holding down the home button. There’s no mention of integration with third-party apps so far, but this is still a big step forward for iOS users who prefer voice dictation for all their tasks.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Apple
Apple will let you log into other apps with TouchID
Guess what folks! With iOS 8 Touch ID will finally be useful for something besides unlocking your phone and buying apps. During the big keynote at WWDC 2014 Apple announced the debut of an API for TouchID. That means other apps will be able to use the fingerprint scanner on your iPhone for authentication. Your actual fingerprint data is still stored securely on the hardware, and is never actually exposed to developers. That means you could quickly and easily order a bombproof case for your precious phone just by holding your thumb across the home button and never worry that a bug in the Amazon app could expose your fingerprint to nefarious actors. That should relive some of the pain associated with keeping all your various accounts secure — which, as you’ve been told countless times, should all have unique passwords with a mixture of letters, numbers and special characters. Android users may have in-app access to LastPass, but simply scanning your thumbprint seems that much easier.
iOS 8 apps can share data, features with each other
Apple’s annual developer conference is well underway, and it just revealed what could be a seismic shift in the iOS world: third party apps will soon be able talk to each other. Historically, applications on iOS have lived in their own silos, without being able to share data and features, but that’s set to change in iOS 8. Apple has given developers “Extensibility” tools — a suite of APIs, if you want to get technical — that they can wield to let their apps share everything from documents to translation services. A demo onstage showed a Bing extension for Safari doing inline translation of a Japanese website, and using Pinterest to share a photo from a website in just a few taps.
Of course, info sharing is bound to be a boon for third-party Twitter apps and other social networking services. This kind of interaction between apps has existed on other platforms like Android, and of course the best examples are support for third-party keyboards and widgets in notifications. Both features will be in the new iOS, but the implementation goes deeper. Apps can also select a default storage location that’s accessible by other apps — it’s not exactly a traditional file browser but it sounds close. As a security measure, iOS 8 will act as a middleman when it comes to sending data between apps, rather than letting applications chat directly with each other.
Picture-taking apps can also embed their filters and photo editing tools directly into the new Photos app, letting users make adjustments without bringing the images to yet another app. Finally, devs can create custom buttons for the action sheet (the popup menu that looks the same in every iOS app and lets you choose what to do next, shown above from iOS 7) so users can add watermarks, translate documents, or do anything else. We’ll have to wait and see how developers make use of the new tools, but there should be a mix of existing services and features ported over from Android, plus some entirely new takes on sharing.
Filed under: Software, Mobile, Apple
Source: Apple iOS 8 Developer site
Apple’s Swift is a new programming language with a focus on speed and ease of use
Apple’s used Objective-C as its programming language of choice for right around twenty years now, but it’s brought something new to its yearly developer conference: Swift, a new tongue of its own making. Apple describes its new lingua franca as “Objective-C without the C,” but it keeps (and improves on) the speed of its progenitors. In other words, iOS and OS X apps built with Swift should run even smoother and faster than counterparts made with the tried and true Objective-C. According to Cupertino, Swift can be used to craft anything from social networking apps to 3D games.
The proverbial baby isn’t going out with the bath water, however, as Swift code can run alongside Objective-C and C in the same application. Swift may also make life easier for developers in a number of ways, one of which is a “playground” feature that provides a preview of what’s being programmed. For example, Cook. and Co. demoed how a developer could visualize a flight path of an in-game blimp (in realtime, no less) just by tweaking a few lines of code.
If you’re raring to get into the nitty gritty of the language, you can read up on its finer points thanks to a free e-book Apple’s just released. Developers itching to get their hands dirty with Swift can download the XCode 6 Beta and get coding. However, submitting an app written with Swift to the App Store will have to wait until iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite arrive this fall.
Filed under: Apple
Source: Apple
Dyson developed a Google Glass-like headset ten years ago
Dyson is near-synonymous with household electronics like vacuums and fans these days, but we’re learning that it could have gone in a very different direction. The company tells The Next Web that it had been developing a Google Glass-like augmented reality headset, the Halo, between 2001 and 2004. The wearable projected visual cues, took voice commands and even sported a virtual keyboard that let you type on any flat surface. Dyson had a prototype, but ultimately canned the design to focus on both its core products and US expansion plans.
That wasn’t even the half of the company’s early efforts. Dyson spent three years researching the usefulness of its signature motors in fuel cells, and it considered implementing the cyclone technology of its vacuum cleaners in eco-friendly diesel engines. All these would-be products are now water under the bridge, of course, but Dyson notes that it’s “exploring other possibilities” for the use of its motor — that big R&D expansion may produce more than just better home appliances.
[Image credit: Rob Bennett/AP Images for Dyson]
Filed under: Household, Transportation, Wearables
Source: The Next Web
ASUS’ new Fonepads are solid tablets, but still awkward for making calls
ASUS’ new Fonepad 7 and 8 are sleek, well-built Android tablets equipped with 3G connectivity and dual SIM slots, along with a speaker and mic. Whether making calls on a gigantic slate is something you’re into is another question, but if you’re at all interested in a tablet that can pull double duty as your handset, ASUS’ products are the best ones you could ask for. And they work quite well as tablets, too.
Announced at Computex in Taiwan earlier today, the Fonepad 7 and 8 are updates to last year’s Fonepad 7 — both sport 64-bit Intel processors for improved power efficiency and speed. It’s impossible to draw conclusions about a tablet’s performance based on a few minutes of use, but basic Android 4.4 (KitKat) navigation on both Fonepads felt a smooth as you’d expect. On the 1,280 x 800 IPS display, colors are extremely crisp and vivid as well.
The larger Fonepad 8 is definitely the more premium of the two, with a dimpled texture on the back as opposed to the Fonepad 7′s simple rubberized finish. The bezels are extremely narrow, which makes gripping the tabs with one hand relatively easy. At a show full of run-of-the-mill Android tablets, these two definitely stand out.
While both devices are quite thin and light, there’s no getting around it: holding a 7- or 8-inch slab up to your face to make calls will never feel natural. If you mostly communicate via text — or if you’re content to use the speakerphone — this won’t be a huge problem, but the Fonepads’ size is definitely not ideal for lengthy calls.
Fortunately, both tablets have much more going for them than just the phone functionality; they’re attractive, with premium specs to boot, and dual front speakers make them ideal for streaming music and watching movies. ASUS is the master of multifunctional devices — seriously, check out this phone-laptop hybrid also unveiled at the show — and the Fonepads are high-quality, if unexciting, Android tablets.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, ASUS
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