Apple Explains Why It Eliminated the Headphone Jack →

Apple seems to get that eliminating the headphone jack will be a tough sell in some quarters. In a packed keynote, Phil Schiller spent a fair amount of time laying out Apple’s case for why switching to the lightning connector for wired headphones and moving to wireless AirPods is the right thing to do. But Apple also spoke to BuzzFeed’s John Paczkowski to add context and the detail that couldn’t fit into the keynote.

Apple’s Dan Riccio explained the challenge this way:

”We’ve got this 50-year-old connector — just a hole filled with air — and it’s just sitting there taking up space, really valuable space,” he says.

Eliminating the headphone jack helped enable the iPhone 7’s new camera, waterproofing, and better battery life. As Paczkowski explains:

The 3.5-millimeter audio jack has been headed to its inevitable fate for some time now. If it wasn’t the iPhone 7, it might have been the iPhone 8 (or, for that matter, the iPhone 6). In the end, it was simple math that did the audio jack in, a cost-benefit analysis that sorely disfavored a single-purpose Very Old Port against a wireless audio future, some slick new cameras, and the kind of water resistance that anyone who has ever dropped an iPhone in the toilet has long wished for.

Anyone who has used Bluetooth headphones knows that they promise freedom, but at the price of friction – charging, spotty connectivity, and poor audio quality. Apple’s answer to those headaches comes in the form of its new W1 chip that adds a layer of ‘secret sauce’ to its newly announced wireless AirPods that promises to eliminate the pain points.

According to John Ternus, vice president of Mac, iPad, ecosystem, and audio engineering at Apple:

“As you can imagine, by developing our own Bluetooth chip and controlling both ends of the pairing process there’s a lot of magic we can do,”

I was sold on wireless headphones a long time ago despite their limitations. That said, I hope Apple’s secret sauce is every bit as magical as claimed because the issues with Bluetooth are real and fixing them is a challenge that no other headphone manufacturer has fully conquered.

You can also follow all of the MacStories coverage of today’s Apple’s keynote through our September 7 Keynote hub, or subscribe to the dedicated September 7 Keynote RSS feed.

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Nintendo Brings Mario to iOS

By John Voorhees

Apple kicked off its media event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium today with a big surprise. Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo took the stage to announce that Mario is coming to iOS in December, just in time for the holiday season.

The game, called Super Mario Run, is reminiscent of the classic Super Mario Bros. game on SNES. From Business Wire:

“We have created Super Mario Run to be perfect for playing on your iPhone,” said Mr. Miyamoto, who first devised the Mario character more than 35 years ago. “Super Mario has evolved whenever he has encountered a new platform, and for the first time ever, players will be able to enjoy a full-fledged Super Mario game with just one hand, giving them the freedom to play while riding the subway or my favorite, eating a hamburger.”

Super Mario Run has three play modes. The first is a single-player mode where Mario runs automatically to the right similar to other endless-runner, platformer games on iOS. Tapping the screen makes Mario jump to do things like reach platforms, collect coins, and avoid enemies. The longer you tap, the higher Mario jumps. The goal is to reach the flag at the end of the level before time runs out.

Second is a battle mode called Toad Rally where you play against the scores of friends or other players from around the world. Toad Rally does not have a flag at the end of each level. Instead, you race against the clock collecting coins and impressing toads to try to beat the score of the person you challenged.

The final mode is a building mode where you can create a Mushroom Kingdom. Using coins collected in the first two modes, you can decorate and customize your Mushroom Kingdom.

Miyamoto said that Super Mario Run will be paid up front, but the App Store entry for the game indicates that it offers in-app purchase. According to Business Wire:

iOS users will be able to download and enjoy a portion of Super Mario Run for free and will be able to enjoy all of the game content available in this release after paying a set purchase price.

Because Super Mario Run does not come out until December it is interesting that it has an App Store page at all. Instead of a ‘Buy’ button, the page has a ‘Notify’ button you can use to receive an alert when the game is available.

Finally, to tide over fans until December, Nintendo is releasing a Mario-themed sticker pack for Apple’s Messages app, which will be available when iOS 10 launches on September 13, 2016.

You can also follow all of the MacStories coverage of today’s Apple’s keynote through our September 7 Keynote hub, or subscribe to the dedicated September 7 Keynote RSS feed.

Apple Asks Developers to Submit Their iOS 10, tvOS 10, watchOS 3, and macOS Sierra Apps for Review

By John Voorhees

Ahead of the upcoming public release of iOS 10, tvOS 10, and watchOS 3 on September 13 and macOS Sierra on September 20, Apple has told developers via its developer website that App Store submissions are open.

From Apple’s developer news site:

You can now submit your apps that take advantage of exciting new features available in the next release of macOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS. And with the new App Store for iMessage, users will be able to download your iMessage apps and sticker packs directly within Messages.

Apple has added hundreds of new features to its OSs that developers can take advantage of to improve existing apps and create all-new apps that were impossible before the new APIs were introduced.

You can also follow all of the MacStories coverage of today’s Apple’s keynote through our September 7 Keynote hub, or subscribe to the dedicated September 7 Keynote RSS feed.

Apple Posts September 7, 2016 Keynote Video & New iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch Videos

By John Voorhees

If you didn’t follow the live stream or announcements as they unfolded today, Apple posted the video of its September 7th keynote held earlier today at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco along with advertisements for the products debuted on stage.

The keynote video can be streamed here and on the Apple TV, and a higher quality version should be made available in a few hours through iTunes (on the Apple Keynotes podcast). To avoid streaming errors, Safari is recommended for the best viewing experience.

Apple also posted new commercials and product reveal videos for the iPhone 7, AirPods, and Apple Watch on its YouTube channel. You can find all the videos below.

You can also follow all of the MacStories coverage of today’s Apple’s keynote through our September 7 Keynote hub, or subscribe to the dedicated September 7 Keynote RSS feed.

Apple Announces macOS Sierra to Launch on Tuesday, September 20

By John Voorhees

Today, Apple announced the official release date of macOS Sierra will be Tuesday, September 20th.

As detailed at WWDC in June, macOS Sierra features Siri integration with search results that can be pinned in Notification Center for easy access, the addition of Memories, intelligent search, and Places and People albums to Photos, Apple Pay in Safari, Apple Watch unlocking of your Mac, a universal clipboard that works across macOS and iOS, syncing of your Desktop and Documents folders via iCloud Drive, picture-in-picture video, among other things.

Apple hasn’t announced a Golden Master seed of macOS Sierra yet, but it should be released to developers soon. The GM seed gives developers a chance to prepare their apps for, and submit them to, the Mac App Store before the public launch of macOS.

You can also follow all of the MacStories coverage of today’s Apple’s keynote through our September 7 Keynote hub, or subscribe to the dedicated September 7 Keynote RSS feed.

Apple Announces iOS 10 to Launch on Tuesday, September 13

By John Voorhees

As widely expected, Apple confirmed the official release date of iOS 10 at a media event held today at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. iOS 10 will be released on Tuesday, September 13th.

Announced at WWDC in June, iOS 10 includes new and updated built-in apps with a major focus on the iPhone. With iOS 10, Apple has rethought widgets and notifications, created an entire new app ecosystem within Messages, which also supports stickers and other fun touches, redesigned the Music app, added a new Home app, let third-party developers into Apple apps like Maps, Messages, and Siri for the first time, added Memories and other enhancements to Photos, and made a myriad of other changes big and small.

Apple hasn’t announced a Golden Master seed of iOS 10 yet, but it will presumably be released to developers later today. Typically the last developer release before a public launch, the GM seed will allow developers to make final preparations to submit their iOS 10 apps to the App Store.

You can also follow all of the MacStories coverage of today’s Apple’s keynote through our September 7 Keynote hub, or subscribe to the dedicated September 7 Keynote RSS feed.

Apple Announces watchOS 3 to Launch on Tuesday, September 13

By John Voorhees

Apple confirmed the official release date of watchOS 3 at a media event held today at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. watchOS 3 will be released on Tuesday, September 13th.

Announced at WWDC in June, watchOS 3 features a new dock for faster launching of your favorite apps, new watch faces, fitness sharing and competition, a new Breathe app to help manage stress, HomeKit integration, stickers and some of the other features found in Messages for iOS, the ability to unlock your Mac, and more.

Apple hasn’t announced a Golden Master seed of watchOS 3 yet, but it will presumably be released to developers later today. Usually the last developer release before a public launch, the GM seed will allow developers to make finalize their watchOS 3 apps and submit them to the App Store.

You can also follow all of the MacStories coverage of today’s Apple’s keynote through our September 7 Keynote hub, or subscribe to the dedicated September 7 Keynote RSS feed.

Airmail Adds More Power User Features

By John Voorhees

It’s been a busy year for Italian indie studio Bloop. Airmail for OS X has been around for a while, but Airmail for iOS was introduced just seven months ago as an iPhone-only app. A couple months later, Bloop brought Airmail to the iPad with extensive keyboard support and great new features like smart folders and saved searches, which was enough for Federico to switch to Airmail full time. Today, Bloop released version 1.2 of Airmail for iOS, which picks up where version 1.1 left off with some great new functionality.

One of my favorite features of Airmail is its integration with other apps and services. Airmail makes it simple to get information out of my email and into the apps where I need it whether that’s sending an attachment to Dropbox or the text of an email to 2Do. Version 1.2 adds additional integrations including the ability to send attachments to iCloud Drive and emails to Day One or Ulysses. Bloop’s expansion of integrations into even more apps and services is smart and should make the app appeal to an even wider audience.

Notifications have also gained new functionality. You can now turn on ‘Do Not Disturb’ on an account-by-account basis, which should be a great help to people who manage multiple email accounts. Notifications can also be tied to a location. I can imagine this coming in handy if you’re on vacation and don’t want to get notifications until you get home. Email senders can be muted, which eliminates notifications from those senders. Blocking senders is similar, but in addition to muting the sender it automatically archives the email you receive.

In addition to the foregoing, Airmail 1.2 adds:

Undo send, a feature that already existed in Airmail for OS X and that can be set to delay the sending of an email 5 or 10 seconds to allow you to prevent its sending;
Email Label sync when your iOS device is connected to a power source;
An Apple Watch complication that launches Airmail’s Watch app from certain Apple Watch faces;
Dynamic Type support;
Preview support for EML and Win.dat email file formats; and
MDM server support to configure and manage Airmail for teams.

Bloop has covered a lot of ground since the beginning of 2016. After having seen so many free email alternatives come and go, it’s reassuring to see Bloop continue to innovate and refine Airmail on iOS and the Mac and charge a fair price for an excellent app.

Airmail 1.2 for iOS is available on the App Store for $4.99.

David Smith on Changing App Business Models →

Linked By John Voorhees

David Smith is an independent developer who launched his first iOS app in 2008. He’s seen a lot of change in the App Store since then, which he chronicles in an insightful post on his blog. Smith examines the revenue his apps have generated since 2012 and the pattern is unmistakable. Around 2013, the majority of his revenue flipped from being primarily from paid sales to advertising.

Looking back, Smith concludes that:

…the change is mostly been in the App Store market, rather than in my own attitudes. In many cases adding advertising to my apps has been something I’ve fought and resisted as long as possible. But in the end the pragmatic answer has been to not swim upstream and instead follow where my customers have moved to.

The market has been pulling me along towards advertising based apps, and I’ve found that the less I fight back with anachronistic ideas about how software “should” be sold, the more sustainable a business I have.

Smith readily acknowledges his experience is just one data point in a large App Store. If you’ve followed the fortunes of independent app developers over this period though, his conclusion rings true.

Be sure to visit Smith’s website to see the charts breaking down the components of his apps’ revenue. The short-term impact of app launches on overall revenue is an interesting footnote to the post’s main focus.

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