Issue 413

Comment

App Store Screenshots with imperfect status bars have always annoyed me. How people can upload images intended to showcase their app that show two bars of signal and 4% battery remaining is beyond me. 😀

I felt so strongly about this that in 2012 I created an app to help people solve the problem. It drew a perfect status bar over the top of your screenshots which worked well until iOS 7 made the default status bar transparent. 😬 Luckily, Greg Spiers (who worked for me at the time) found UIStatusBarServer and we hacked around with it to create the same effect (full battery, time set to "9:41", etc…) for the simulator. No image processing or fake rendering needed! It's a much, much better way to achieve the same result. I removed Status Magic from sale and SimulatorStatusMagic was born. This project has been super successful over the years and I feel that between the original app, and this library, I've been involved in creating many perfect screenshots in the App Store. I really like that… 👍

Then, last night I learned that Apple had shipped simctl status_bar in beta 4 of Xcode 11! This new tool allows full control of the status bar in the simulator, just like SimulatorStatusMagic does. 🎉🎉🎉

But as I mentioned last week, it's a good thing when an open source project is sherlocked by Apple. SimulatorStatusMagic will go away, and everyone can still have perfect status bars. Either on real devices with QuickTime, or using simctl for the simulator.

I'll end my comment on this with something that made me laugh. When I learned about the new simctl feature I immediately launched the beta, ran the Simulator and looked at the status bar. Sure enough, it was perfect! "They even made it default!" I thought to myself "That's amazing." But no, they hadn't made it default. My simulator was just still operating with the SimulatorStatusMagic overrides applied. 😂

So, now I want to start a campaign to get this switched on by default so we can finally get rid of all the ugly screenshots in the App Store once and for all.

Tools

Better Storyboards with Xcode 11

I've been waiting for someone to write up @IBSegueAction since WWDC, and while it got a brief mention last week it had to wait for this week for Keith Harrison to give it the attention it deserves.

Continuous Integration

Soroush Khanlou on why CI is about so much more than just running your tests on a Mac mini in your airing cupboard. 😀

Code

Straighforward Data Snapshots

If your app deals with a lot of ever changing data, and let's face it that's most apps, then this technique from Krzysztof Zabłocki is going to be super useful to you. I really like the approach because it didn't need big architectural changes and it solves a real problem.

MovieSwiftUI

How far can SwiftUI (and Combine) go before you need to resort to UIViewRepresentable? Thomas Ricouard has been doing sterling work writing this open source app using only SwiftUI. He's also writing about his progress as he goes, so here's 1, 2, 3, and 4 articles on his journey so far.

Using UIViewRepresentable to wrap UIKit controls

In a perfect segue from the last article, here comes Evan Deaubl to explain exactly what to do when you get to the edges of SwiftUI and need a UIView or two.

So They've Signed in with Apple, Now What?

Here's Curtis Herbert with his experience transitioning Slopes from a basic login system where the username/password is stored in the keychain, to taking advantage of Sign in with Apple. It ended up triggering some changes in the app, and made a good story along the way.

Design

How Uber designed its Lite app for the rest of the world

This is a great article by Katharine Schwab on how the Uber app came to use a completely different UI in some regions. There are some fascinating design decisions here. Also, while we're on the subject of thinking about where your apps might get used… this. 😂

I'll save you some heartache and hassle though, don't try and read this page in anything other than the reader mode of your browser. The native rendering was so slow to scroll, and with such broken layout that I almost didn't link it.

Business and Marketing

Distributing Custom B2B iOS Apps privately

Ever needed to develop an app for sole use by a single company, that isn't your company? The way that I've seen this done before is for the company you're developing for to go and get an enterprise certificate, which you'd then develop with. Turns out there's another way, using the App Store, privately… Daniel Almeida explains.

Up to Speed

Map, FlatMap and CompactMap

Never get lost again with John Sundell's guide to all of the maps… ☺️

Did I link this just so I could make that pun? How dare you! 😂

Videos

Videos from Hacking with Swift Live

It's been just ten days since Hacking with Swift Live happened, and already we have all of the amazing videos from it. 👍

It's also incredible that this event raised $30,000 for charity. Amazing work from everyone involved.

Videos from ADDC 2019

There really are so many great conferences these days, it's hard to keep up. Next up this week is the ADD Conference and all of their wonderful talks from June this year. What lucky people you all are.

Jobs

Senior iOS Engineer @ CityMapper – Located in the heart of London, our small team of iOS developers helps make cities usable. Cities are complicated. We use the power of open data, mobile and payment technology to make transport sustainable and hassle free. Our award-winning transport app is built for the real world of commuters and their daily needs across 39 cities. Work on an app that you and your friends use every day. – London, UK but with Visa and Relocation offered

Swift Engineer @ WillowTree – At WillowTree, Senior Swift Engineers have the freedom to create products people love. You’ll collaborate with a cross-disciplinary team to build large-scale products for well-known brands. We look for team members who advocate for software engineering best practices and inspire their team to continuously learn and improve. – Charlottesville, VA

iOS Developer @ TransferWise – As an iOS Engineer at TransferWise, you’ll get the chance to build a product that is changing the lives of millions of people around the world and saving them £1bn in transaction fees every year. You’ll work in highly autonomous teams in close collaboration with Designers, Product Managers and fellow engineers as we change the way money moves in an increasingly borderless world! – London, UK

There's more great jobs over on iOS Dev Jobs of course. Or, are you looking for the perfect applicant for your open position?

And finally...

How to stop people installing beta iOS versions

This is perfect! 💡

Issue 413 July 19th 2019