Report: Apple to support cross-platform apps that run on iPhone, iPad and Mac next year
Apple will add new developer tools that will enable developers to design and engineer a single application that runs on iPhone, iPad and Mac devices according to a report from Bloomberg. This will be a huge step for the Mac app ecosystem especially, as it should make it easier for third-party developers to maintain one app that runs on iOS and Macs.
The apps would be designed in such a way that they can work with a touchscreen, mouse and trackpad depending on which platform it is running. The new ability is scheduled to launch with iOS 12 and macOS 10.14 next year.
Apple to start off 2018 with a New Year’s Apple Watch Activity Challenge
For the second year in a row, Apple will launch an Apple Watch Activity Challenge to celebrate the New Year. Set to start showing up from the 28th December, the new activity challenge promotes fitness by asking users to complete their Activity rings (Move, Exercise, and Stand) for seven consecutive days in January 2018.
Apple Watch owners can earn a special iMessage sticker (pictured below) and achievement medal in the Activity app. The design of the rewards are the same as the 2017 challenge, with an updated number for the 2018 year.
Pokémon GO gaining iPhone exclusive AR+ mode powered by Apple’s ARKit
After first demoing improved augmented reality features for Pokémon GO back at Apple’s developer conference in June, Niantic has officially announced AR+ mode for the hit game. AR+ leverages Apple’s ARKit framework to make Pokémon appear hyper realistic.
Samsung reportedly hits 90% yield with iPhone X displays, Apple quadruples order
One of the initial constraints on supply of the iPhone X was poor yield rates on the Samsung-made OLED screens. Back in August, the yield rate was reported to be as low as 60% thanks to Apple’s exacting standards.
But Samsung appears to be getting into the swing of things, with a report out of Korea saying that the yield rate passed through 80% later in the year, and is now close to 90% …
Apple TV now on sale at Amazon following Prime Video app release, currently out of stock
It took almost six months since the initial murmurings, but Apple and Amazon have finally resolved their differences. The Apple TV 4K and fourth-generation Apple TV are available to buy from Amazon.com, following the launch of the Prime Video tvOS app earlier this month.
Amazon refuses to sell media devices that do not offer its content, which meant Apple TV was pulled from the biggest online storefront for more than 2 years. Just shy of Christmas, the device is listed again.
A look back at a decade of the iPhone making some companies rich, bankrupting others
The Nikkei Asian Review has an interesting piece looking back at the impact of a decade of iPhone production, examining how it made some companies rich, some considerably poorer – and even bankrupted one major supplier.
Foxconn is, it says, the obvious success story, but not the only one.
In 2006, Hon Hai Precision Industry was about to take on a major role in an epochal shift in consumer electronics, though few of the Taiwanese company’s employees could have imagined what was about to hit them […]
Over the next decade, the iPhone would help push Foxconn’s revenue from $38 billion to $145 billion and turn it into one of the world’s largest employers …
Early adopters of iPhone X rate it 4.64/5 in online reviews, citing three plus points
Developer explains the HomeKit vulnerability first demonstrated to 9to5Mac, expresses frustration
The developer who discovered a huge vulnerability in HomeKit, which allowed anyone unauthorized control of someone else’s devices, has explained how it worked. He has also expressed frustration at Apple’s failure to properly fix the bug until 9to5Mac intervened.
Khaos Tian handled his discovery responsibly, by reporting it to Apple on the day he discovered it, October 28. But he says the issue remained live throughout November, and the next iOS release actually made things worse …
Coinbase for iOS adding support for buying & selling Bitcoin Cash, sending BTC down 10%
As it still sits pretty near the top of the charts on the App Store, Coinbase today has added support for trading Bitcoin Cash – a Bitcoin fork originally created back in August. Abbreviated as BCH, the cryptocurrency was not supported by Coinbase when it originally launched a few months back…
Review: Bridge Constructor Portal brings the fun of Valve’s hit game to iOS in a clever way
In most circumstances, I’d be repelled by a chilling, robotic voice mocking me from inside of my phone. The one exception is if that voice belongs to GLaDOS, the sharp-witted, snide, and devilishly funny computer that provides background commentary for Portal and Portal 2, the hit puzzle games that became instant favorites of mine from the minute I picked them up.
Now, GLaDOS is back – and on the iPhone, in a new title that combines the story and visuals of the Portal franchise with the physics and gameplay of the popular line of Bridge Constructor games. Bridge Constructor Portal launches tomorrow on iOS, and we’ve been testing it out to see if it can live up to its name.