It feels really good to be able to talk about the new Apple TV instead of just speculating about what we'd like to see from and update to the little set top box. The new iPhones, iPads, and Watch stuff is just icing on the cake. Delicious, delicious icing.
Destroying Apple's Legacy →
I was surprised to see this garbage linked in the usually fabulous iOS Dev Weekly.
I can't believe people are still complaining about this stuff. Anybody who's used an iPhone for more than a day can figure out all the interactions on this screen just by looking at it. Others can tap around a little bit and should be able to figure everything out in 5 seconds. We're way past the point where we should be designing for the least technically-savvy of our users.
Other examples listed later in the post - that buttons don't react immediately to user interaction, that pickers are finicky, etc - are legitimate concerns that Apple needs to address. But they are a separate issue from the aesthetic direction that Apple has been pushing since iOS 7.
The Value of a Start Up Idea →
What's the protocol for linking to comics you like on a blog? I feel like this has gotten me in trouble before.
Anyway, great Dilbert strip today. Only part that's missing is Pointy Haired Boss making his employee sign an NDA before they have their discussion.
Linguamancy →
I think Live Photos look really cool, and agree that they are different from typical video, but I think it's disingenuous for Apple to say they aren't videos. Which is fertile soil for satire.
First Impressions of the New Apple TV from The Verge
Starting at the 1:22 mark:
The universal search works across iTunes, HBO, Showtime, Netflix, and Hulu right now, with support for additional services coming. Apple's not saying whether Apple will add the support or whether 3rd party developers can add the support.
Looks Apple might be going with the approach that I called "unsustainable" earlier today.
tvOS App Programming Guide CliffNotes →
Client-server apps sounds an awful lot like "web apps" to me:
Apple TV also makes it easier to create client-server apps with custom user interfaces that are consistent across multiple apps. You build these client-server apps using web technologies such as HTTPS, XMLHTTPRequest, DOM, and JavaScript. You use Apple’s custom markup language, TVML, to create interfaces, and you specify app behaviors in a TVML document using JavaScript.
UIImageView now supports parallax effects (I'd imagine this also applies to iOS apps):
Your parallax images are going to be created by your designers. But how do you get them into your app? The UIImageView class has been modified to support parallax images, so in most cases you only need to make minimal coding changes.
No persistent local storage is kind of amazing. Wonder how long until we see this rule spread to iOS apps:
There is no persistent local storage for apps on Apple TV. This means that every app developed for the new Apple TV must be able to store data in iCloud and retrieve it in a way that provides a great customer experience.
Along with the lack of local storage, the maximum size of an Apple TV app is limited to 200MB.
tvOS
iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and OS X. One of these things is not like the other. How long until we get macOS?
Reminds me of this exchange between John Gruber and Phil Schiller 3 months ago:
Gruber: Alright. What I think [I had] next was Apple Watch. [pauses] watchOS, with a lower-case "w". Are you trying to kill me?
Schiller: [laughs] It's, um... I think it works really well. I think it's nice, it's ownable, it's special...
I think, you'll see. Give us time, we've been through many fun naming things. This is an easy one. There have been many fun naming things through the years—some very emotional, some very easy—and most of the time, when all's said and done, you look back years later, people say 'Yeah, you guys were right, it all made sense together.'
"Who wants a stylus?" →
Steve Jobs, introducing the first iPhone back in 2007:
"Hey Siri, give us an API"
The more I think about it, the more I think it makes sense that we're going to be seeing the introduction of some Siri APIs at today's Apple event. Let's consider the evidence, and you let me know if you think I'm crazy.
First off, there's the invitations to the event, which references Siri both in the "Hey Siri, give us a hint" text, and the new iOS 9 Siri interface design. That's pretty weak evidence, admittedly, but Apple does have a history of hiding little clues in these invitations.
Second, we can all just assume at this point that we're going to be seeing new Apple TVs at this event, yeah? And that we're going to be able to play games on it? There seems to be little doubt at this point. And if that's true, that means new developer tools. At the very least, we'll need a way of simulating on the new device, deploying builds to it, and distributing to the public. Some new TV-centered APIs definitely wouldn't seem out of the question if this is the case.
Next, another rumor very popular rumor is that the new Apple TV is going to come with a new remote with a built-in microphone, and support for "Universal Search" of content. So say you're a developer at Netflix, and you're building the Netflix Apple TV app, how would you have your content shows up in Apple TV's Universal Search without an API? Same goes for Hulu, and Amazon, and YouTube, and Plex, and ESPN, and HBO, and so on and so forth.
Is Apple going to open this feature up to only a select few partners? I don't think so. That would be unmaintainable for what I would imagine is going to be a very popular new platform. Better to build an API that works for anybody who wants to use it.
And finally, Apple likes to roll out entirely new APIs in a limited fashion. It's how we got things like background processes and app extensions, and I believe that it's how we'll get Siri APIs. A Universal Search API would give Apple the ability to dip their toe into the world of letting developers get their hooks into Siri without jumping in all at once.
So, I don't know. This is all obviously speculation and maybe I'm reaching a bit. But it's fun to let yourself get carried away with these things and see where your imagination takes you. Especially for an event that we know so much about already.
9 to 5 Mac's "Hey Siri" Event Roundup →
New iPhones, new watch bands, introduction of an iPad Pro, new iPad Mini, and, of course, new Apple TV. Seems a packed event. I wonder how much this is going to wind up costing me.