Federico Viticci

10863 posts on MacStories since April 2009

Federico is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of MacStories, where he writes about Apple with a focus on apps, developers, iPad, and iOS productivity. He founded MacStories in April 2009 and has been writing about Apple since. Federico is also the co-host of AppStories, a weekly podcast exploring the world of apps, Unwind, a fun exploration of media and more, and NPC: Next Portable Console, a show about portable gaming and the handheld revolution.
@[email protected]
@viticci.macstories.net
viticci@macstories.net

Apple Rolls Out App Analytics→

Almost a year after the original announcement at WWDC 2014, Apple has opened access to App Analytics in iTunes Connect today.

Sarah Perez, writing for TechCrunch:

Ahead of its annual WWDC developer conference in June, Apple has opened up beta access to a new mobile app analytics service aimed at iOS developers. Simply called “Apple’s App Analytics,” an announcement inviting developers to request early access to the service appeared today on the iTunes Connect developer portal. Those with an iTunes Connect account can also reach the sign-up page using the direct link analytics.itunes.apple.com.

App Analytics are available for devices running iOS 8 and above, and the usage data part is completely opt-in. Every time you set up a new iOS device (or upgrade to iOS 8), you’re asked if you want to share information with app developers to improve their apps through analytics. Other App Store metrics (views, installs, etc.) are returned for all users.

Based on the tweets I saw in my timeline today, first impressions seem positive. Apple can now give developers a level of insight that’s unprecedented for any other app analytic platform. Apple’s App Analytics can plug directly into the App Store and tell developers how customers find their apps, where traffic is coming from, and how many views an app gets on the Store.

After years of no data about customer behavior on the App Store, it seems like this will be a massive change for how apps are marketed, optimized for international App Stores, and presented to users.

Permalink

App Camp for Girls Quiz Compendium→

Jean MacDonald:

Today we released our very first App Camp app! The Quiz Compendium includes 15 personality quizzes created by camper project teams. You’ll learn so many things about yourself, such as what your superpower is, where you should go on vacation, and even what your breakfast choices say about your personality.

App Camp 4 Girls is an outstanding initiative. Their mission is important, and I was happy to see that Apple recognized them in the list of STEM organizations for this year’s WWDC.

App Camp 4 Girls now has an app on the Store, and it’s only $0.99. Learn more about App Camp 4 Girls here, then go buy the app, play around with it, and support this great cause.

Permalink

The Return of a Macintosh Shareware Classic→

In the heady days of Macintosh shareware gaming, Ray Dunakin was a star. His 1990 world-hopping adventure title Ray’s Maze puzzled and delighted Mac gamers the world over, despite it having been made with an early black-and-white Mac program called World Builder, and his later games Another Fine Mess, A Mess O’ Trouble, and Twisted! only added to his reputation. But fate conspired to force the games into oblivion as Apple moved the Mac into OS X and then over to Intel processors.

Until now. Marc Khadpe is Ray’s biggest fan. He’s been the proprietor of the Ray’s Maze Page since he created it in 1996. And he’s spent the past decade, on and off, rewriting the World Builder engine for OS X.

Over at US Gamer, Richard Moss tells the story of Ray Dunakin’s games, icons of Macintosh gaming in the early ’90s recently re-released with OS X compatibility on the Mac App Store.

Make sure to check out the original and restored games here, and if you’re into classic Macintosh gaming grab A Mess O’ Trouble from the Mac App Store at $4.99.

Permalink

Connected: Artisanal Emoji→

This week, they boys break down Apple’s Q2 results and walk with Myke as he spends a day with Apple Watch.

On this week’s Connected, I also share some thoughts on the iPad’s declining sales and its perception in the tech industry. You can listen to the episode here.

Sponsored by:

  • Casper: Because everyone deserves a great night sleep. Get $50 off with the code ‘CONNECTED’
  • Squarespace: Build it Beautiful. Use code WORLD for 10% off
  • Wealthfront: The automated investment service that makes it easy to invest your money the right way.
Permalink

Apple to Reject Watch Apps ‘Whose Primary Function Is Telling Time’→

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Apple updated their App Store Review Guidelines to state that Watch apps built primarily to tell time will be rejected.

In the past few weeks, I’ve heard about a few timezone apps primarily designed to show world clocks that were rejected for unknown reasons, with developers annoyed about the lack of official guidelines. Today’s change is better than approving and then rejecting an app, I guess, but maybe Apple could have shared this piece of information sooner. I don’t know if those timezone apps ended up being approved or not, and there could be other developers with a different experience from the ones I talked to.

From Apple’s standpoint, however, I can see why it makes sense to avoid confusion with apps that replicate a watch face UI – at least initially. It’s not too dissimilar from Apple’s stance on third-party apps that replicated native functionalities with the original iPhone App Store.

Permalink

Apple Q2 2015 Results: $58 Billion Revenue, 61.2 Million iPhones, 12.6 Million iPads Sold

Apple has published their Q2 2015 financial results for the quarter that ended in March 2015. The company posted revenue of $58 billion. The company sold 12.6 million iPads, 61.2 million iPhones, and 4.6 million Macs, earning a quarterly net profit of $13.6 billion.

“We are thrilled by the continued strength of iPhone, Mac and the App Store, which drove our best March quarter results ever,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re seeing a higher rate of people switching to iPhone than we’ve experienced in previous cycles, and we’re off to an exciting start to the June quarter with the launch of Apple Watch.”

Read more

SketchParty TV: The Fun, Fast Drawing and Guessing Game for Apple TV [Sponsor]

SketchParty TV is the fun, fast drawing and guessing game for Apple TV.

Using AirPlay Mirroring, you can turn your HDTV into a Wifi drawing canvas and a high-tech party game. It’s perfect for parties and family get-togethers, special occasions or impromptu game nights.

SketchParty TV is a drawing game for two teams of up to eight players per team that plays a bit like Pictionary. The standard gameplay settings give each player five words to draw in two minutes, and each player gets two of these two minute turns. With six total players, a full game can be played in about 30 minutes.

All you need is an Apple TV and an iPad or an iPhone.

Games can be customized to be as long or brief as you like, with options for the number of words to draw per turn and time limit to draw them, and word lists of varying difficulty. There’s even a word list for kids. There are thousands of words to draw in seven different languages, including French, German, Spanish, even English and Italian.

SketchParty TV is great for classrooms, too, with a built-in custom word list editor. Create your own vocabulary lists with ease. Regularly $9.99, now available for a limited time price of $4.99.

Critically acclaimed and enjoyed worldwide, SketchParty TV is available on the App Store or at SketchParty.tv

Our thanks to SketchParty TV for sponsoring MacStories this week.