Posts in Linked

Metal for OS X→

I worried that “Metal” had become Apple’s version of “Blast Processing,” a catch phrase in the 90s for the Sega Genesis. In commercials, Sega would gloat that only the Genesis had “Blast processing.” The only problem was, Blast Processing didn’t really do anything that mattered.

But it turns out, I was wrong.

Metal for OS X is huge — and it’s going to be a much bigger deal on the Mac than it is on your iPhone or iPad. If you use a Mac to produce professional content, chances are, Metal is about to drastically speed up the professional apps you use like Adobe Illustrator and Autodesk Maya.

Writing for iMore, Brianna Wu explains why Metal for OS X – announced at WWDC 2015 – will be a big deal for games and professional apps on the Mac. It was great to see Campo Santo in Apple’s slides, too.

Permalink

iOS 9 Bringing Changes to URL Schemes→

Agile Tortoise’s Greg Pierce has an explanation of the changes coming to iOS 9 for apps that want to launch URL schemes:

There are two URL-related methods available to apps on iOS that are effected: canOpenURL and openURL. These are not new methods and the methods themselves are not changing. As you might expect from the names, “canOpenURL” returns a yes or no answer after checking if there is any apps installed on the device that know how to handle a given URL. “openURL” is used to actually launch the URL, which will typically leave the app and open the URL in another app.

Up until iOS 9, apps have been able to call these methods on any arbitrary URLs. Starting on iOS 9, apps will have to declare what URL schemes they would like to be able to check for and open in the configuration files of the app as it is submitted to Apple. This is essentially a whitelist that can only be changed or added to by submitting an update to Apple. It appears that certain common URLs handled by system apps, like “http”, “https”, do not need to be explicitly whitelisted.

In short, Apple wants to prevent apps from being able to scan a user’s device and know which apps are installed. Notably, this change comes a few months after Twitter started scanning user devices to see installed apps and deliver “a more personal Twitter experience”.

As Greg notes, Apple is doing this to protect customers’ privacy. Companies like Twitter had found a loophole to gather data about user devices that iOS doesn’t normally expose, and it makes sense for Apple to prevent this from happening in the future. The problem is that this system based on whitelists and limited number of URLs could be a serious threat to automation apps like Launch Center Pro and Launcher, which depend on launching any URL.

Since last year, various iOS teams have made an effort to obviate the need for URL schemes through extensions. This year, they’re going one step further. I agree with the underlying privacy concerns and I also believe that more developers should embrace extensions – how ironic that Twitter still doesn’t support them and they’re likely causing this change – but it’s important to note that some automation apps are based on the idea of launching URLs, not showing share sheets for extensions.

As Greg notes, there’s some confusion in this first beta of iOS 9. Hopefully Apple and developers will be able to work out a decent compromise by the final release.

Permalink

App Thinning and iOS 9→

Apple already talked in the keynote about how it had reduced the amount of space required the iOS 9 OTA update from around 4.6GB to 1.3GB, but a more transformative technology only got a passing mention: App Thinning. In short, apps in iOS 9 will leave your phone or tablet with more free space in the first place.

Say you have an iPhone 5C, which uses a 32-bit CPU and a GPU that doesn’t support the Metal API. Download a modern universal game, and that binary includes 64-bit code, iPad and “3x” iPhone 6 Plus assets, and Metal API code that it doesn’t need. It only needs the 32-bit code, “2x” iPhone-sized assets, and the OpenGL graphics code. App Slices will let your device download just the chunks your device needs.

Andrew Cunningham has a good overview of the developer features powering App Thinning, Apple’s effort to reduce app sizes in iOS 9.

I forgot that I had a similar idea in 2012, when Apple was rumored to introduce a Retina iPad that would increase app sizes going forward (as it did). I wrote:

I see two solutions. Either Apple gets the carriers to agree to larger download sizes, establishing a new “average” that should work for most apps (let’s say 60 MB as Panzarino suggests), or they rebuild the download mechanism completely by allowing devices to “ignore” resources they don’t need. The second solution would be a “cleaner” approach, in that it would address the root of this likely scenario – that is, devices downloading apps containing all kinds of images and resources for Retina and non-Retina displays.

By “localizing” images in a way languages are localized on the OS, Apple could find a way to know if an image is destined to an iPad or not. And if so, if it’s also destined to a Retina iPad, or old-generation iPad. Furthermore, in theory, this would also allow Apple to differentiate between images used by an iPhone and iPad which, right now, are always downloaded within the same, single .app package.

App Thinning – and the three core features behind it – sound promising, but we’ll have to assess their effects in practice and wait to see how many developers start supporting them. Apple doesn’t seem to be willing to discontinue lower capacity iOS devices, but at least they’re trying to save space in other ways.

Permalink

iOS 9 Search and Universal Links→

iOS 9 puts a big focus on getting into apps faster and returning to where you left off quickly. As I wrote last night:

To achieve such new level of contextual interactions between Siri and apps, Apple is relying on deep linking, a feature that’s been available on other OSes or through third-party frameworks and that will be enabled by default on iOS 9. Deep linking refers to the ability to return to a specific area of an app at any given time. In Siri’s case, a deep link will let you return from Reminders to a message, but the technology will also power other areas of iOS to allow users to easily get back to where they left off in an app. For example, deep linking will be used to index content within apps for search. To make the process of moving between apps faster, Apple has built a new back button that will be displayed in the top left of the screen to return to the previous app with one tap.

Besides blurring the line between app and OS, seamless transitions between the web and apps will also be a fundamental theme of iOS 9. The implications are profound – especially for Google.

Apple is taking a dual approach with deep linking: they’re making it easy for users to navigate across apps (not to just launch them) and they’re building new technologies to expose app content locally and link webpages to apps.

Apple calls deep links to native apps Universal Links, and they work by specifying the path to sections of an app with a JSON file on a website.

In iOS 9, your app can register to open web links (using https or http) directly, bypassing Safari. This connection between your app and website helps Apple surface your app content in search results.

Universal Links fall under the bigger initiative of Search in iOS 9, which encompasses the web, Siri, local apps, and even apps that aren’t installed on a device.

App Search in iOS 9 gives users great new ways to access information inside of your app, even when it isn’t installed. When you adopt iOS 9 Search, users can access activities and content deep within your app through Handoff, Siri Reminders, and Search results.

As Apple elaborates:

For an example of how this works, imagine that your app helps users handle minor medical conditions, such as a sunburn or a sprained ankle. When you adopt iOS 9 Search, users searching their devices for “sprained ankle” can get results for your app even when they don’t have your app installed. When users tap on a result for your app, they get the opportunity to download your app.

If this sounds similar to what Google announced in April, it’s because the underlying idea is very similar.

Upon skimming through iOS 9’s documentation, my first impression is that Apple wants to further cut out Google from search on iOS not by removing traditional web searches, but by building a superior user experience. In theory, looking for content from an integrated search box and having results seamlessly transition to native apps or prompt to install new apps seems better than asking users to go to google.com. The new back button, Universal Links, and app/web indexing technologies are aimed at finding information quickly, navigating between apps easily, and connecting webpages to apps directly.

It remains to be seen if Apple’s solution will be widely adopted and if it’ll actually be better than Google search. I have many thoughts, but I’ll save them for the future.

Permalink

Apple’s Tim Cook Talks Diversity, Women→

Cook doesn’t subscribe to the idea that women just don’t want to be involved in tech — calling that argument a “cop-out.”

“I think it’s our fault — ‘our’ meaning the whole tech community,” he says. “I think in general we haven’t done enough to reach out and show young women that it’s cool to do it and how much fun it can be.”

Christina Warren interviewed Tim Cook about Apple’s diversity efforts, women and app development, and gender/racial equality in tech. As Cook suggests, it sounds like women will be on stage at Apple’s WWDC keynote today – a “finally” is appropriate in this case.

I asked Cook about the lack of women at WWDC keynotes. he smiled. “Look tomorrow,” he said. “Look tomorrow and let me know what you think.

Speaking of which, Jean MacDonald is currently running a crowdfunding campaign for App Camp For Girls 3.0. This is an important mission and you can show your support here.

​

Permalink

TestFlight, One Year Later→

Nick Arnott has taken a look at TestFlight a year after its relaunch and I agree with his overall take. I write about apps for a living (I currently have 74 betas in my TestFlight), and the simplicity of Apple’s system is unparalleled. I just need to give developers my email and that’s it.

I also agree with Nick’s comments on frustrations with using TestFlight. I hope that Apple will continue tweaking these aspects going forward.

I’ve experienced a few minor frustrations with as a user though. For example, I can’t accept an invitation from my computer — I have to accept an invitation from the device I want to test on. Also, TestFlight emails don’t contain any release notes. With other services like HockeyApp, developer release notes are included in the email, so you can decide from the email if you care about the update or not. Lack of these release notes from TestFlight means you’ll have to tap through to the app and view on your testing device to see if you want the update or not.

Permalink

“Laughing and Crying My Way Through the New Google Photos”→

My first watch of this video hit me emotionally in a way that’s hard to articulate. The film itself is a new kind of uncanny valley for digital artifacts: Assistant and its algorithms combined these clips in a way that no reasonable person would attempt. Ever. The result is surreal, random, creepy, sad, and oddly funny. It had to be a coincidence of timing that I had only just returned from visiting Grumpy on his deathbed. But partly because of that timing, this video present came at a moment when I was primed to appreciate it. Maybe it won’t be long before services try (and fail) to do this sort of thing on purpose, offering us narratives that highlight timely memories, or videos designed to fill anticipated emotional needs. My photos are still uploading.

Ryan Gantz has shared a personal story about photos he took at family events and how Google Photos put them all together automatically. The result is indeed funny and weird at the same time, but Ryan ended up appreciating it anyway.

There have been some interesting discussions about privacy and the value of Google Photos over the past week. So far, I agree completely with Manton Reece:

My family photos are the most important files I have on my computer, and I very rarely share any photos of my kids publicly. But ironically I’m willing to overlook some of the privacy concerns around this exactly because the photos are so valuable to me. I want multiple copies in the cloud, and I want the power of search that Google has built.

“Kind of creepy but I appreciate it” seems to be a common theme around Google Photos.

Permalink

Connected: Intellectual Ambiguity→

This week, Stephen and Myke talk to Russell Ivanovic about Google Photos and then go on to make their WWDC predictions.

I couldn’t join Myke and Stephen this week, and, as usual, they did a great job at covering Google’s announcements and predictions for WWDC 2015. You can listen to the episode here.

Sponsored by:

  • lynda.com: An easy and affordable way to help individuals and organizations learn. Free 10-day trial.
  • OmniFocus from The Omni Group: Now on the Apple Watch.
  • Hover: Simplified Domain Management. Use code ‘DUBDUB’ for 10% off your first purchase.
Permalink

What Twitter Can Be→

Chris Sacca’s essay on what Twitter can become is worth a read if you’re interested in the future of the company. The piece contains several interesting ideas for enhancements to Twitter’s curation, discovery, and timeline design – this bit on Nuzzel in particular:

A third way to organize content from Twitter is to highlighting what the Tweets are linking to. If you’ve used Nuzzel (disclosure: one of our portfolio companies) you know exactly what I mean and how simple yet magical that experience can be. If you haven’t used it, try it. Nuzzel makes Twitter better.

Want to know what are the most popular articles linked to on Twitter? That should be a channel. What are the most popular sites linked among the people we follow or people that our friends follow? Great channel. Which books are people Tweeting about? Channel. Which videos are garnering the most attention? Channel. Any particular .gifs blowing up? Channel.

I use Nuzzel every day, and I love it. As I argued last year, I’m a fan of Twitter’s experiments with the timeline on iOS, but I also believe they should experiment more and break free of old ideas about Twitter. I disagree with some of Sacca’s proposals, but the entire piece is spot-on.

Permalink