One of the more fascinating trends to observe in the evolution of Apple’s Shortcuts app is its progressive integration with other devices in the company’s ecosystem. In addition to actions that control apps for iPhone and iPad, Apple has been slowly but steadily adding support for performing specific actions on devices that are not...
What is Great App Design?
John
App Debuts
Toolbox Pro The powerful Shortcuts companion utility developed by Alex Hay received a major update earlier this week that introduces deep integration with the Files framework. Like Scriptable, Toolbox can now create file and folder bookmarks to gain persistent access to individual documents or folders in the iOS and iPadOS filesystem. Unlike Scriptable, however,...
Tidbits from the iOS 14 Review
Every year when working on my iOS reviews, I come across a variety of tidbits and hidden details in Apple’s latest OS that most people would (rightfully so, since this isn’t their job) accidentally discover months later when using their devices. Sometimes these smaller features aren’t discovered at all because they’re quite hidden, which is...
Pick Two: Castro and Grammarly
AppStories Episode 176 - Pick Two: Castro and Grammarly
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44:37
44:37
This week Federico and John bring back an AppStories classic: Pick 2, an in-depth look at two apps. In this installment, Federico explains why he has been revisiting Castro for listening to podcasts, and John covers the evolution of Grammarly into a terrific grammar and spell-checking app for writers.
Viewing Reminders on the Home Screen with Compact UI
As I demonstrated in Issue 231 of MacStories Weekly a couple weeks ago, one of the highlights of Shortcuts in iOS and iPadOS 14 is the ability to interact with actions directly from the Home screen or Search without losing the context of what you’re doing. For today’s shortcut, I’ll be taking a look...
Relay FM’s Approach to Apps with Myke Hurley
AppStories Episode 175 - Relay FM’s Approach to Apps with Myke Hurley
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51:42
51:42
This week John is joined by Relay FM co-founder Myke Hurley to talk about the apps he uses to stay in touch with the hosts of the network’s shows and manage sponsorship sales, show research, episode production, and more.
Two Weeks with iPadOS 14: Redefining the Modern iPad Experience
For the past two weeks, I’ve been using the developer beta of iPadOS 14 on my 2018 12.9” iPad Pro – my main computer and production machine. Although I feel like it’s too early for me to offer a definitive assessment of iPadOS 14, I figured it’d be interesting to share some initial thoughts on the evolution of the iPad platform now that iPadOS 14 is available as a public beta as well. These are just some of the key takeaways and “core themes” I’ve been mulling over since WWDC; I plan to dig deeper into every aspect of iPadOS 14 in my annual iOS and iPadOS review in the fall.
Conversations with 2020 Apple Design Award Winners
AppStories Episode 174 - Conversations with 2020 Apple Design Award Winners
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01:10:32
This week Federico and John interview the creators of three 2020 Apple Design Award winning apps and games: Majd Taby of Darkroom, Sam Rosenthal of Where Cards Fall, and Jenova Chen of Sky: Children of the Light.