What an amazing week for Apple. Not only did their stock climb more than 4%, but even more exciting is that the iPad and Apple Watch are selling a lot better than they have in previous years. Great news for developers!
We also finally saw the retirement of two old classic iPod models, the nano and shuffle. A few days ago, Apple removed them from their site, and issued a statement that they were simplifying their iPod lineup down to just two models of iPod touch. Of course, this won't affect developers but I'm wondering if the days of the iPod touch are also numbered? 😦
Oh, and yes we've seen the likely design and UI implications of the next phone from the HomePod leak, but you all know we don't really do that kind of stuff here, no matter how exciting it is! 🙈
I'm going to do a full round-up of WWDC related links next week, but this one needs a bit of prep work, so you need to act now! Michie, the organiser of the WWDC Community events, had the idea to re-create the "wall of apps" from various WWDC events over the years. If you write a small or independent app, make sure you submit it!
My favourite "wall of apps" they ever did at WWDC was the one where they lined up a hundred or so iPad 1 devices so that apps scrolled from one end of this huge table to the other. Touching them caused a ripple effect to spread outwards, even onto other iPads. It was great! 🚀
Everyone learns in different ways. I primarily learn by reading, but you may prefer watching YouTube, listening to technical podcasts, or watching someone else write code. If that last one sounds like you, you’ll want to tune in to Martin Pilkington’s Twitch stream. He’s building the next release of his AppKit app, Coppice on stream, and this post talks about his setup and how he got started.
While I’m on the subject, I believe that Ben Scheirman is also streaming the development of swift-add (amongst other things) on Twitch.
I love that both of these streams are opportunities to watch people writing actual software, and that’s so valuable. YouTube tutorials and walkthroughs are valuable, too, but I wanted to make the distinction!
So, let's think about how you're going to persuade your boss to buy you that shiny new Apple Silicon laptop at some point in the next year. Maybe you'll take the argument of "But think about how much more productive I'll be if I don't need to wait for Xcode to build all day!" Wouldn't it be great if you could back that argument up with numbers? Buildwatch is what you need. I'm not sure there's a huge amount to be learned from the numbers it shows you, but they are interesting to look at.
For full disclosure, I was sent a promo code for a copy of this app so I could check it out before it launched.
macOS Platform Engineer @ Vectorworks – Super Bowl half-time shows, the World Trade Center Memorial, and the Oscar’s stage were designed using our 3D modeling software. With over 685,000 global users in the Entertainment, Architecture and Landscape industries, we are building a Vectorworks community who are influencing the next generation of design with our software on both Mac and Windows. Join us! – Columbia MD
iOS Engineer @ onX – onX is a pioneer in digital outdoor navigation, where we bring our outdoor passion to work every day with a singular goal–to awaken the adventurer in everyone. We do this by engineering industry-leading technology, and by crafting dynamic outdoor experiences. Come join a team that empowers millions of outdoor enthusiasts to explore the unknown! – Remote within the US
This week saw a little potential controversy as Apple started cracking down on some apps that use emojis in screenshots, and in the apps themselves. While Apple has every right to control what is on the App Store and how people use their emoji, I don't see how this decision is good for anyone, including Apple.
Emoji allow users to be more expressive and users absolutely ❤️them, and more and more developers were using them for the same reasons. By restricting the use of Emoji in apps to strictly user input, Apple is curbing creativity on its platform in a way that will make many apps worse for no clear benefit.
One of the original apps in question did eventually get through App Review, so it's still not clear if this is a policy change or a decision made by one reviewer which was later corrected. It'll be interesting to see how this situation evolves over the next few weeks/months.
Does filing a radar work? Certainly a radar will increase your chances of getting a bug fix or improvement implemented from 0% to some value very slightly above 0%. 😀But you know this already, so what's my point?
Back in Issue 323, James Dempsey's article caught our attention with his appeal to change Xcode's implementation of git blame
to not include the word blame. I liked the post, and I agreed with it but I must admit I never thought it would happen.
Then the betas of Xcode 9.3 started appearing in late January (yea, I know this news is a couple of weeks old now!) and sure enough the blame view is now "Authors View" and "Show Blame for Line" is now "Show Last Change for Line"! 🎉
So next time you find yourself complaining about something in Xcode, make sure you also file that radar at the same time. You never know what might happen!
Senior iOS Developer @ Doist – Joining Doist as an iOS developer means you'll be joining a diverse, ambitious, remote-first team of 70+ people who are distributed across 31 countries. You'll help create tools, like Todoist and Twist, that promote a calmer, more balanced, more fulfilling way to work and live. – Remote, anywhere!
iOS Engineer @ Karbon – Join our dedicated, all-remote agency and help us build amazing iOS apps for amazing clients. We've spent the past 10 years helping companies ship apps to millions of users—join us as we focus on the next 10 years. – Remote within US time zones
Senior iOS Developer @ WillyWeather – WillyWeather is a feature rich app that that beautifully delivers the most accurate local weather data from best in class data sources. This is a fantastic opportunity to have an immediate impact working on one of Australia’s most used apps. Work remotely alongside a collaborative and innovative team. – Remote within Asia Pacific time zones
iOS Engineer @ Karbon – Join our dedicated, all-remote agency and help us build amazing iOS apps for amazing clients. We've spent the past 10 years helping companies ship apps to millions of users—join us as we focus on the next 10 years. – Remote, or Portland OR
Senior iOS Engineer, Engagement @ VSCO – The Engagement team is looking for a Senior iOS Engineer to work on a product that impacts millions of people around the world. You'll be innovating and creating ideas through experimentation and learnings that will lead to significant changes in user acquisition, engagement and revenue, collaborating with other developers who have a similar passion for both our users and creativity. – California, New York, or Oregon
Senior iOS Developer @ Atomic Robot – Atomic Robot works with some of the most exciting companies and brands to help them bring their innovative projects to life! We have a highly collaborative team that is focused on high quality engineering and continuous learning – Remote, or Cincinnati OH
Software Engineer, iOS @ Lyft – Lyft is looking for iOS developers who want to own large projects and have a monumental technical impact in a 100% Swift codebase. Come join the ride and help us fulfill our mission of creating the real-time transportation network of the future! – San Francisco CA
iOS Engineer @ Karbon – Join our dedicated, all-remote agency and help us build amazing iOS apps for amazing clients. We've spent the past 10 years helping companies ship apps to millions of users—join us as we focus on the next 10 years. – Remote, or Portland OR