Xcode 9.3 Beta Includes New Tools to Help Developers Detect Apps Using Too Much Battery

Along with the first beta of iOS 11.3, Apple today also seeded the first beta of a new Xcode 9.3 update to developers. Xcode 9.3 introduces a new Energy organizer that’s designed to help developers detect when an app or app extension is using up too much battery life on a user’s device.

The Energy organizer will display logs that are generated when an app exceeds a “reasonable CPU threshold” when running in either the foreground or the background, making it easier for developers to pinpoint and fix bugs.

Xcode 9.3’s release notes also mention a new 64-bit testing mode in macOS 10.13.4 that will allow developers to test software for 64-bit compatibility as Apple prepares to begin phasing out 32-bit Mac apps. In macOS 10.13.4, end users will see a notification when launching a 32-bit app, which warns them that 32-bit apps will not “run without compromise” in future versions of macOS.

Additionally, 32-bit is not offered as an option in Xcode’s build settings UI, and the build system will emit a warning when building for macOS for the 32-bit architecture.

Xcode has also been designed to run more Swift build tasks in parallel with other commands, improving build times for Swift projects. It may, however, also result in increased memory usage during the build.

Xcode 9.3 requires a Mac running macOS 10.13.2 or later, which means the software will no longer run on Macs that continue to use older operating systems like Sierra.

Developers can download Xcode 9.3 from the Developer Center.

Tag: Xcode
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Apple Releases Swift Playgrounds 2.0 With New Gallery, Subscription Feature for Following Content Creators

Alongside new iOS 11.3, macOS 10.13.4, and tvOS 11.3 betas, Apple today released a major update for Swift Playgrounds, the iPad app that’s designed to teach students how to code.

Swift Playgrounds 2.0 introduces a new feature that lets users subscribe to playgrounds from third-party creators, browse and download their content, and get alerts when new playgrounds are made available from content creators.

The update also includes support for new robots like IBM’s TJBot and the Mekamon, accessible via the Add Subscriptions button, and a new gallery view will show all playgrounds including third-party subscriptions in one easy-to-see single view.

A new Locations button is designed to let users open playgrounds from the Files app on the iPad, and documentation for iOS features and commands is now available from the Help button and the tools menu.

The latest version of Swift Playgrounds includes new features to make it easier to discover even more content. Now you can subscribe to playgrounds from your favorite third-party creators, then browse and download their content directly within Swift Playgrounds. You’ll automatically see new and updated playgrounds in your subscriptions, a content gallery that shows all playgrounds in a single view, new robots, and much more.

Swift Playgrounds 2.0 can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
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Safari 11.1 in macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 and iOS 11.3 Introduces New Features and Optimizations

Both macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 and iOS 11.3 ship with an updated version of Safari, Safari 11.1. Safari 11.1 incorporates many new features that have been in testing in Apple’s Safari Preview browser, introducing new web APIs, security improvements, media changes, and more.

Details on the Safari 11.1 update were shared by Apple’s Ricky Mondello, and a full change log is available from Apple’s developer website.

Animated GIFs can be replaced with silent videos in Safari 11.1 to result in smaller downloads, more available colors, and better decoding performance.

In iOS 11.3, Password AutoFill for apps works in web views within apps, which will make it easier to log into a site without having to copy and paste your password each time. Web apps that are saved to the Home screen on iOS devices and web pages in SFSafariViewController can also now use the camera to capture images.

A new security change provides a “Website Not Secure” warning when a user clicks a credit card field or password entry box on an insecure page, and

Intelligent Tracking Prevention, which prevents websites from tracking you around the web, has been improved in Safari 11.1, and there’s a new improved Safari Reader extraction engine to improve the Safari Reader experience.

Service Workers, new in Safari 11, are designed to allow background scripts to power offline web applications, and there are several other new APIs including Payment Request API, Directory Upload, Beacon API, HTMLImageElement.decode(), and an updated Clipboard API.

Safari 11.1 is bundled in to iOS 11.3 and macOS High Sierra 10.13.4, both of which are available for developers starting today. Apple plans to release iOS 11.3 and macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 public betas in the near future.

Tag: Safari
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