I'm going to spend the next few issues linking to the sessions that I am enjoying from this years WWDC. Last week it was tvOS and this week I'm going to highlight this session on making sure your animations are on point in your app. This is an incredible session that you might have skipped over from the title, but don't. Watch it now. 👍
Firebase seems to be taking over the world a bit, but before you commit to it for your next project read Andrew Bancroft's case for CloudKit. I still think if you're building something truly serious then rolling your own back end is probably the way to go, but I do like CloudKit too.
Convert Sketch designs into production code - automatically!
Supernova turns Sketch designs into clean, production-ready iOS code. Import any design, animate, set navigation and get clean Swift code for the entire app interface using UIKit elements, Auto Layout, Core Animation and more. Save dozens of hours on your next project!
Upcoming App Store Submission Requirements
You're probably already building against the iOS 12.1 SDK but just in case you're not, you'll need to change that if you want to submit next week. Oh and if you're writing something that uses Metal 🤘 then you'll also need to be aware of the changes to memory accounting.
We knew this was coming but it's going to be mandatory to notarise your Mac apps with the next point release of Mojave. If you're a Mac developer and have not yet automated the process, I linked to this article from Berk Çebi a while back that should help you out!
Review: Swift Playgrounds 3.0 for iPad
I must have missed the release of the new version of Swift Playgrounds, as reading this article by John Sundell it was news to me that it had even been updated. I wonder if we'll see some of the themes in this release echoed in next week's Xcode release?
I hope you’ll forgive me for skipping my commentary in today’s issue. I’ve been unwell the last few days, and while I’m feeling good enough to do the rest of the newsletter, I’m confident you wouldn’t want to read anything my fever-addled brain would produce today. I’ll be back with commentary next week.
I do have links for you, though!
I've linked to several tools to help create App Store screenshots over the years. Some are downloadable apps, and some are web-based. Some work in 2D, and some let you position device mockups in 3D. This one has a feature I've not seen before, 3D device mockups and ... hands! Whatever will they think of next? 😂
Seriously though, this looks good.
Create Live Activities With ActivityKit
The headline feature on Apple’s iOS 16 preview page is the Lock Screen. Is it because of some new hardware features? We’ll find out next week! One of the major enhancements is live activities, and if you’d like to add one to your app, check out Batikan Sosun’s advice on getting started.
It has been many years since I attended, but I continue to hear great things about NSSpain every year. There’s nothing quite like being in Logroño, but if you couldn’t make it this year, maybe these videos will tempt you for next year!