Apps

The fine print of deleting stock apps on iOS 10

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 16, 2016

In an effort to address one of the longest standing customer pain points with iOS, Apple has officially confirmed that a bunch of first-party apps can be removed from iOS 10 devices. But as it turns out, deleting a stock app won't do what you'd expect.

Apple execs Phil Schiller and Craig Federighi shed more light on the topic on Daring Fireball editor John Gruber’s podcast, “The Talk Show”.

They've confirmed that deleting a stock iOS 10 app only removes its icon from the Home screen and deletes user data associated with the app, leaving actual app binaries intact on your device. Here's why this isn't such a big deal as it might sound and how removing specific first-party Apple apps might affect iOS 10's functionality.

Facebook launches new Home tab in Messenger

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 16, 2016

Facebook is trying to “reinvent the inbox” with Home, a new tab in the mobile Messenger app designed to make it easier to start conversations with the service's more than 900 million unique mostly users. David Marcus, Facebook's Messenger boss, said on Thursday that with the new Home tab his company is aiming to make Messenger simpler to use by presenting more relevant information.

Opinion: Dark Mode? Apple’s been testing dark interfaces on iOS for years now

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 16, 2016

My colleague Andrew first broke news yesterday that Dark Mode resources have been found within iOS 10's Messages app. Now, Dark Mode was expected to make an official appearance in iOS 10, but the WWDC keynote came and went without any mention of this feature.

Now Mac Aficionados tweeted out screenshots depicting a dark interface in other iOS 10 stock apps, including an automatic dark mode in iBooks, in addition to the Clock app, Safari and the iTunes Store.

As it turns out, dark interfaces in these apps (sans Clock) have been present for years, indicating Apple's been testing how users might accept a Dark Mode option on iOS.

CloudClip: Universal Clipboard for your Mac right now

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 16, 2016

Apple's newly-announced macOS Sierra is set to release to the public this Fall as the company revealed at WWDC 2016 this week, and it includes a variety of improvements that will make using your Mac even better than ever.

One of those improvements is Universal Clipboard, which is a Continuity feature that lets you share your clipboard between your iOS device(s) and your Mac.

But what if we told you that you didn't have to wait until the public release of macOS Sierra to enjoy a similar feature on your Mac?

iOS 10 preview: your new Lock screen with Raise to Wake, widgets, interactive notifications & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 5, 2016

Having taken a closer look at a much improved Messages app, which delivers more expressive and animated ways to message friends and family, our preview of big new features in iOS 10 continues with a detailed overview of an all-new Lock screen. Wait, the Lock screen in iOS 10 warrants an article?

As you know, the Lock screen has remained virtually unchanged since the iPhone's inception. With iOS 10, however, it's undergone some major improvements in the form of a refined look and feel, including vastly redesigned widgets, and new features such as interactive notifications, Raise to Wake and expanded use of 3D Touch shortcuts.

We think that many folks are going to appreciate how iOS 10 makes their device's Lock and Home screens way more functional than before, so here's a detailed walkthrough of all the goodies included in iOS 10's freshened up Lock screen experience.

iOS 10 preview: Messages does stickers, apps, animations & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 20, 2016

Apple's iMessage system has officially become a chat platform in its own right as Messages in iOS 10 now supports third-party apps, stickers and more. In addition, Messages on iOS 10 brings out a number of useful improvements, including animated chat bubbles and full-screen motion backgrounds.

But we're just getting started: Messages on iOS 10 supports inline media previews, sports a redesigned built-in camera, provides downloadable stickers and apps, includes handwriting recognition, Digital Touch for your media and more.

Here's our walkthrough showing off every new feature in iOS 10 Messages.

Netflix app now supports Picture in Picture on compatible iPads

Cody Lee ∙ June 14, 2016

Netflix on Tuesday pushed out an update for its iOS app, brining the client to version 8.7. It's a minor release, with just a few items mentioned in the change log, but there's one significant new feature that's going to really please iPad fans: Picture in Picture support.

That's right, folks with a compatible iPad can now watch Netflix in a floating, resizable window while continuing to perform tasks like checking email or browsing Safari. Netflix says you'll have to be on iOS 9.3.2 or later, and of course you'll need an iPad Air or later.

Apple TV games are no longer required to support Siri Remote

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 14, 2016

Apple has dropped the requirement for tvOS games to use the Siri Remote, according to a refreshed version of the official Game Controller Programming Guide. With this change in place, games for the fourth-generation Apple TV are now permitted to require a 'Made for iOS' (MFi) controller without needing to also support the Siri Remote.

2016 Apple Design Award winners: Streaks, djay Pro, Lara Croft GO, and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 17, 2019

Following its WWDC keynote on Monday, Apple held a smaller event to announce the winners of its Apple Design Awards. This is an annual undertaking for the company, and the awards are highly coveted by developers.

Apple grants the awards to high quality apps and games, with unique and compelling designs that set them apart from other offerings. Winners get featured in the App Store, a trophy, and an assortment of Apple products.

Apple News gets simpler design, subscriptions and more in iOS 10

Cody Lee ∙ June 13, 2016

Among the new things Apple announced 10 today is a redesigned News application. This is a standalone news aggregation app, first introduced in iOS 9 last summer, and it's getting some significant improvements in the upcoming iOS 10 update.

These start with what Apple is calling an "all-new design." In the 'For You' tab, your stories are now broken up into clear sections like Top Stories, Trending—which shows you the top stories right now, and topics you follow, like cars or sports.

You can delete stock Apple apps in iOS 10

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Several stock iOS apps turned up in the App Store this morning, inciting speculation that you will soon be allowed to delete them. Apple didn't mention anything about this during the keynote, but after installing the initial iOS 10 beta, we can confirm that many stock apps are deletable in Wiggle mode.

These apps include Calendar, Weather, Maps, Videos, Notes, Reminders, Stocks, iTunes Store, Home, FaceTime and others that currently come pre-installed on iOS devices, and are not eligible to be deleted or even hidden. We're guessing important apps like Phone and Messages are still mandatory.

Swift Playgrounds: Apple’s new iPad app to teach you how to code

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

In wrapping up Apple's WWDC keynote this morning, Tim Cook announced a new iPad app called Swift Playgrounds for teaching people how to code. Cook specifically says "the best way to teach everyone to code," but it definitely looks like it was built with kids in mind.

The app looks a lot like other learn-to-code apps (Hopscotch!), but it's cool that Apple is using its scale to get such a tool into the hands of more people. The company says the app "combines the powerful Swift programming language and the powerful capabilities of iPad."