Developers

Developers say Apple knew about Maps issues months ahead of launch

With all of the criticism and complaints Apple has received over its new Maps application in iOS 6, you have to wonder, how did it not know that it had all of these issues? Isn't that what the three month beta testing period was for?

Well apparently, Apple was aware of the problems. A number of developers have come forward this week saying they submitted several bug reports to the company regarding Maps issues in the months leading up to its launch...

Lodsys: more than 150 developers have licensed our patents

A little over a year ago, a patent licensing company by the name of Lodsys started going after app developers with its claimed in-app purchasing patents, threatening legal action if they didn't agree to licensing deals.

The company went on to file infringement suits against a handful of developers, and eventually Apple got involved. And we haven't really heard anything since then, until today, when Lodsys published a new blog post...

Apple asks devs to send taller App Store screenies

With less than 24 hours until tomorrow's official iPhone 5 launch at 8am, Apple issued a note to its registered iOS developers, asking them to upload taller screenshots to comply with iPhone 5 requirements.

This concerns only developers updating apps for the iPhone 5 and the fifth-generation iPod touch, which both feature a taller 1136-by-640 pixel Retina display. The new screenshots dimensions are...

Apple invites devs to update their apps for iOS 6

Following up on a series of product introductions from this morning, Apple is now emailing its registered developers to download the GM seed of the Xcode 4.5 developer tools and test their warez against the final iOS 6 code, which have both been released as part of today's announcement bonanza.

The company is putting emphasis on its own mapping solution and is asking programmers to enhance their iOS apps with the new vector based engine in MapKit. Other areas of interest to developers: new camera APIs, tickets, loyalty cards, and other passes with Passbook, integrated Facebook sharing capabilities and more...

Apple seeds iOS 6 GM to developers

Apple has seeded iOS 6 GM (Gold Master) to developers this afternoon. The GM version of software is typically the final beta release, used by devs to work out all the kinks before Apple pushes it out to the general public.

And if you happen to be a part of Apple's iOS developer program, you can find iOS 6 GM in the dev center. Apple has also posted Xcode 4.5 GM. We're downloading now, and will report back with anything noteworthy.

Apple expands Volume Purchase Program to 9 new countries

Last night, Apple posted a public notice to its dev center regarding the addition of 9 new countries to its Volume Purchase Program. The additions include France, Germany and the UK.

The Program, which was previously only available in the US, allows businesses and educational institutions to purchase and distribute apps and iBooks in bulk, at a significant discount...

Apple releases new app and iTunes copyright claims tools

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It seems that Apple is starting to take some major steps to cut down on the amount of copyright and content infringement found in iTunes, and more specifically, the App Store.

Yesterday, we noted that it had rejected an app because its icon looked too similar to that of another. And today we've learned that it's launched new copyright claims tools...

Devs say Doodle Jump still selling 300,000 copies per month

When the App Store first launched in 2008, it made a handful of developers extremely wealthy. Steve Demeter, for example, the creator of Trism, reportedly earned some $300,000 within a few months of the Store going live.

But since then, we haven't really heard much in the way of major developer success — other than high-profile acquisitions, and yet the dream of becoming a millionaire overnight with a hit app lives on. And this is why...

Apple seeds iOS 6 beta 4 to developers

Apple has seeded the fourth beta of its new iOS 6 software to developers this morning. The release comes just three weeks after the previous update.

As usual, the new beta is currently only available as an over-the-air update, but the full version should come up on the iOS developer center soon.

Update: iOS 6 beta 4 is now available in the dev center, and we have the full change log after the break...

Developer forced to make Android game free due to rampant piracy

We've complained, on more than one occasion, about the high rate of piracy on iOS. It's not uncommon to see pirated copies make up 90% or more of an app's total download numbers. It's bad.

But apparently, it's even worse on Android. Popular mobile developer Madfinger Games says it has decided to make its Dead Trigger title free due to rampant piracy on Google's platform...

Another iOS developer gets acquired as Facebook buys Acrylic Software

Add Acrylic Software on your list of iOS developers that got snatched up by rival platform providers (Sparrow, too!). As Acrylic excels at gorgeous user interfaces, no wonder they will be joining Facebook's design team.

The social networking giant was also called out for poaching former and current Apple engineers to allegedly work on a Facebook phone project. Just last month, for example, Facebook hired a former Apple UI designer Chris Weeldreyer. It's curious, to say the least, that Facebook is eyeing iOS developers and Apple engineers who have an impeccable eye for detail and UI design...

Facebook releases SDK 3.0 Beta with iOS 6 integration

As it promised a few weeks ago, Facebook today has released a major iOS SDK update for developers. SDK 3.0 Beta is chock-full of features that will enable iOS developers to start taking advantage of Apple's newfound relationship with the social network.

During its WWDC keynote last month, Apple announced system-level Facebook integration into both Mac OS X and iOS 6. Not only does this give users an additional outlet to share content, but it also means there will soon be no more need for OAuth...