FedericoTaskmator The popular TaskPaper client for iPhone and iPad received a major update to version 5.0 earlier this week, which has brought a variety of improvements for iOS and iPadOS 13. Taskmator now supports the system’s native dark mode, multiple windows on iPadOS, and external keyboard shortcuts. The app had already been updated to...
Google Celebrates 15 Years of Its Maps App with a New Design and Features
Google has announced that it is rolling out an update to its Google Maps app today that features a redesigned interface, new features, and a brand new icon. The company also says that new public transportation and augmented reality features are coming later.
Today’s update, which should show up throughout the day worldwide, features a new look for Maps. The app currently has just two tabs, Explore and Commute. The update will add Saved, Contribute, and Updates tabs as well. Saved collects all of the places you have saved in Google Maps in one place and includes functionality for finding and organizing new places. Contribute will allow users to notify Google about new details that they think should be added to Maps like new businesses, photos, and reviews. Finally, Updates is a curated feed of trending places in your area and content from third parties like The Infatuation.
The update comes with a new icon too, which Google says reflects Maps’ evolution from an app designed primarily to get you from point A to point B to one that also helps you discover new places to visit. Google’s blog post includes a short video showing the evolution of the icon from the early days of the app to the new icon, which is simply a multicolored map pin.
Google also revealed that in March, it will add new public transportation features to Maps. The additions include temperature and accessibility information, the availability of a women’s section and security, and, in Japan only, the number of carriages. Also, later this year, Google plans to expand its Live View feature by combining map data with the view of your surroundings, providing information like distance to your destination and direction.
Google Maps today is a much different app than it was fifteen years ago. Google’s strength lies in the years of data it has collected, and the company continues to use that to its advantage. Apple Maps has come a long way in a relatively short amount of time compared to Google Maps, and it remains my preferred map app. However, it’s difficult to imagine Apple Maps ever having the granularity of local data that Google has achieved.
AppStories, Episode 148 – The Elements of Modern iOS and iPadOS Apps→
This week on AppStories, we discuss the features and technologies that go into building a modern iOS or iPadOS app with examples of some of our favorite implementations.
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AppStories Episode 148 - The Elements of Modern iOS and iPadOS Apps
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Matt Birchler’s watchOS 7 Wish List→
Matt Birchler has made a tradition of publishing a watchOS wish list every year at BirchTree that is accompanied by concept art, showing how his ideas might be implemented. This year for watchOS 7, Birchler has a long list of excellent ideas that focus on virtually every aspect of the OS, including fitness tracking, communications, and battery life.
Like Birchler, I’d love to see more flexibility built into the Activity app. For example, he expects more ring options in watchOS 7:
I think this year not only will Apple let you customize these rings more than before, but they’ll also add more rings. Want to add sleep or mindfulness: go right ahead.
As he suggests, the ability to set custom metrics for each ring and edit workouts in the Activity app on the iPhone would be fantastic additions as well.
It’s also a little hard to believe that autocomplete hasn’t been added to the scribble keyboard on the Apple Watch. Perhaps that’s a technical limitation, but like Birchler, I think it would go a long way to making text input more tolerable on the Watch.
Those are just a couple of my favorite ideas from Birchler’s story this year. Be sure to check out the full post. There are some terrific ideas here, and the concept art looks wonderful as always.
The Elements of Modern iOS and iPadOS Apps
AppStories Episode 148 - The Elements of Modern iOS and iPadOS Apps
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48:31
48:31
This week, Federico and John discuss the features and technologies that go into building a modern iOS or iPadOS app with examples of some of their favorite implementations.
Overcast Refines Podcast Listening with AirPlay 2 Support and a New Version of Voice Boost
Overcast, Marco Arment’s iOS podcast player, received its first update of 2020 today, which enhances the listening experience with improvements focused on playback and audio quality.
Today’s update adds support for AirPlay 2, which means much faster switching between devices like an iPhone or iPad and a HomePod or another AirPlay 2 speaker or device. AirPlay 2 also buffers more audio than Apple’s original AirPlay technology. As a result, Overcast can continue playing a podcast episode even if you are temporarily out of range of the AirPlay 2 receiver.
I’m delighted that Overcast supports AirPlay 2 now. I often listen to podcasts as I’m doing things around my house. When I move to a room with one of my HomePods, the process of switching to the HomePod from my iPhone’s built-in speaker is much faster and smoother now, whether I use Control Center or tap my phone on the top of the HomePod. The delay with the original version of AirPlay wasn’t a deal-breaker, but it was a constant small annoyance that kept me from using AirPlay with Overcast most of the time. With AirPlay 2 baked into the app, I’m using my HomePods to listen to podcasts far more than ever before.
There’s a lot going on under the hood with Voice Boost 2, but you don’t need to understand the details to enjoy it.
The latest version of Overcast also adds Voice Boost 2. The feature has been rebuilt from the ground up, and the results are subtle but noticeable. The first time I played a podcast using Voice Boost 2 over my iPhone’s speaker in a noisy environment, I immediately sensed the difference. Where in the past, I would have to turn the volume up all the way to hear a podcast over constant, loud background noise like running water, now I can turn the volume down and still listen to what was said and with less distortion.
Over the weeks I’ve been testing the update to Overcast, Voice Boost 2’s volume and clarity improvements have become the ‘new normal,’ making the difference feel less pronounced than they were at first. However, that’s also why the update to the feature is so good. The change is so natural that you don’t notice it except side-by-side with the old version of the feature or another podcast player.
Under the hood, Voice Boost 2 has been entirely re-written and draws on Arment’s experience editing hundreds of podcast episodes. As he describes it in a post on Marco.org:
Voice Boost 2 is a mastering-quality audio-processing pipeline that applies broadcast-standard loudness normalization, light compression and EQ, and a true-peak lookahead limiter to your podcasts, in real time, without sacrificing quality or battery life.
You don’t need to understand what that means to appreciate Voice Boost 2, but Overcast is applying sophisticated, professional-grade audio processing techniques on the fly to generate audio that sounds more natural and is less jarring in contrast to system audio like Siri. Moreover, Overcast accomplishes this while using hardly any CPU resources (1% on an iPhone SE according to Arment), which means you get the benefits of Voice Boost 2 without paying a high price in battery drain. Voice Boost 2 is a remarkable technical accomplishment with practical, real-world benefits that make listening to podcasts more enjoyable.
According to Arment, Smart Speed has been updated to handle background noise better, too. The feature works the same way as it always has, but now it relies on dynamically changing based on Voice Boost’s loudness analysis. I haven’t noticed a difference here, but shows I listen to regularly don’t have a lot of background noise.
Overcast also includes a couple of other smaller features in this release too. First, you can set a number of seconds to skip at the beginning and end of an episode on a per-podcast basis, which allows you to skip a show’s intro and outro. The period can be set in five-second increments and is a nice addition for shows with long intros and outros that you’ve heard over and over and would prefer to skip, though it’s not a feature I expect to use personally.
Second, clip sharing and starring episodes are now available for private podcast feeds. I haven’t tried this feature because I don’t subscribe to any private feeds, but it’s good to see those features added to private feeds too.
The most significant changes to Overcast in this update are completely invisible to the user but have a considerable impact on how podcasts are enjoyed. With Voice Boost 2 and AirPlay 2 support, Overcast makes your favorite shows sound better, and they are easier to enjoy on more devices, which is a significant improvement for anyone who listens to podcasts in a lot of different environments and contexts.
Overcast 2020.1 is available on the App Store as a free update.
Super-Size It: Generating High-Res Stills from Low-Res Video
I don’t deal with low resolution video or photos very often these days. In fact, the issue is usually quite the opposite. Composited screenshots can be large, so it’s important to make sure they aren’t so big that they’ll slow down MacStories’ homepage. However, last weekend I ran into the exact opposite issue. I...
Concepts
Concepts is a drawing app unlike most others you’ll come across. It works on both iOS and iPadOS, though it’s best on an iPad with an Apple Pencil. What makes the app unique is its infinite canvas and toolset that radiates out in a circle from the side of the screen. It breaks a...
Home Screen: John Voorhees
I’m currently using a two Apple Watch setup. I don’t suggest anyone go out and buy two Apple Watches, but when I got my Series 5, I saw how little I’d get for trading in or selling my Series 4 that I decided to keep it for sleep tracking. The experience has been great,...