Developers

Google I/O 2016 is kicking off on Wednesday: keep tabs on it with official iPhone app

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 16, 2016

Google I/O, the search giant's version of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, is kicking off this year on Wednesday, May 18, at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California and what better way to keep up with the conference than an iPhone app from Google.

The official Google I/O 2016 app, like Apple's own WWDC for iPhone app, lets you follow conference news, explore tracks and speakers, watch session videos, enjoy a live stream of the keynote and more, right on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.

App Store review times shortened to 2 days

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Apple's oft-criticized review process for app submissions, which normally takes about a week or more, now takes as little as two days, according to developers who reported seeing dramatically faster App Store review times on submissions.

AppReviewTimes.com, a website that tracks average App Store review times using crowdsourced data, has confirmed that Apple's review process now takes an average of two days to approve an app, based on 332 reviews in the last 14 days.

Apple begins notifying WWDC 2016 scholarship winners

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 21, 2016

Apple on Monday began notifying recipients of this year's WWDC scholarship winners. A number of developers have taken to Twitter to announce they've received word from the company that they've been awarded a scholarship, and are invited to the conference.

Applicants were required to submit an app demonstrating "creative use of Apple technologies," as well as an essay about their coding process. In all, 350 scholarships will be given out to students and STEM members, and 125 to developers with financial limitations.

Apple seeds iOS 9.3.2 beta 3 to developers

Cody Lee ∙ April 26, 2016

Apple on Tuesday seeded the third beta of iOS 9.3.2 to developers. The update is available to registered developers either via an over-the-air update, or as a standalone download through Apple’s online developer center.

Today's release comes just one week after beta 2, suggesting 9.3.2 may soon be ready for launch. From what we've seen so far, the update will bring about various under-the-hood improvements, but few user-facing changes.

Apple warns developers that all new Apple Watch apps must be native beginning June 1

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 22, 2016

Apple on Friday issued an advisory on its portal for developers about an important upcoming requirement for watchOS apps. According to a one-sentence post, “starting June 1, 2016, all new watchOS apps submitted to the App Store must be native apps built with the watchOS 2 SDK or later.”

Apple is scheduled to hold its annual pilgrimage for developers, WWDC, from June 13 through June 17, 2016, or two weeks after the requirement to develop strictly native apps kicks in.

Second betas of iOS 9.3.2 and OS X 10.11.5 now available to public testers

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS and OS X updates to public testers. Folks in the Beta Software Program can now install iOS 9.3.2 via OTA on their iOS devices, and OS X 10.11.5 via the App Store Software Update mechanism.

These are the same betas that Apple pushed out to developers yesterday, along with updates for watchOS and tvOS. They arrive about a month after the public releases of iOS 9.3 and OS X 10.11.4, which brought about several user-facing changes.

Apple seeds tvOS 9.2.1 beta 2 to developers

Cody Lee ∙ April 21, 2016

Apple on Thursday released the second beta for tvOS 9.2.1 to developers. To update, you’ll have to connect your Apple TV 4 to a computer via a USB-C cable, and install the software through iTunes or Apple Configurator.

Todays release comes a month after Apple pushed out tvOS 9.2 to the public. That was a significant update, bringing about new user-facing features such as support for Home screen app folders and Bluetooth keyboards.

New watchOS 2.2.1 and OS X 10.11.5 betas have dropped, too

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 20, 2016

After seeding iOS 9.3.2 beta 2 to its registered developers this morning, Apple has also released new betas for its other forthcoming operating system updates: watchOS 2.2.1 and OS X 10.11.5 El Capitan. You can download watchOS 2.2.1 beta 2 (build 13V420) and OS X 10.11.5 beta 2 (build 15F24b) through Apple's Developer Center, which requires a paid account for full access, or apply them on the devices themselves through the Software Update mechanism on devices running a beta OS.

Apple seeds iOS 9.3.2 beta 2 to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 7, 2017

Two weeks after Apple released the first beta of iOS 9.3.2 to its registered developers, the company today released iOS 9.3.2 beta 2 to members of the Apple Developer Program. The new beta has a build number and can be applied over-the-air on devices running an iOS 9 beta in Settings → General → Software Update or you can download the full installer from the Apple Developer Center, which requires a paid membership in the Apple Developer Program for full access.

New App Store resources help developers find success on Apple platforms

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 19, 2016

In addition to formally announcing that it will be kicking off the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference with a keynote on Monday, June 13 in San Francisco, Apple yesterday quietly refreshed its portal for developers with a brand new section dedicated to helpful App Store resources which Apple has created to make it easier for its developers to find success on the App Store.

“Take advantage of new articles and videos designed to help you grow your business on the App Store and engage users worldwide,” said the company on the new “Making Great Apps for the App Store” webpage.

Apple Maps web app may be in the works

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

Latest checks indicate that Apple is getting ready to make the Maps service available to everyone on the web through a desktop web application which will permit you to embed an Apple Maps view into your own webpage, blog and more.

Look no further than Apple's own WWDC 2016 webpage, which appears to take advantage of what seems to be an interactive, embedded Maps view. This is the first time Apple has used an embeddable Maps view on the web.

Apple opens registration for WWDC ticket lottery

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple on Monday confirmed Siri's claim that WWDC will take place June 13-17 this year, and opened registration for its WWDC ticket lottery. The company's annual conference has become so popular that it has to randomly issue tickets to registered developers.

Registration will be available from April 18, to Friday April 22nd. You must be a member of Apple's developer program (having joined prior to today's announcement) to qualify for the lottery, and if you are lucky enough to be selected, tickets are priced at $1,599.