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The Bittersweet iOS Document Browser→

Thoughtful, well-researched analysis of the iOS document browser by Matej Bukovinski, one of the developers of PDF Viewer for iOS, which was among the first apps to support the feature back in 2017:

It’s been about a year and half since iOS 11 was released into the wild, and with it, the long-awaited system document browser. PDF Viewer was one of the first applications that truly went all in with this new component, and we did this by fully replacing our custom solution with it on devices that were upgraded to iOS 11. This move certainly got us a lot of attention and praise from power users, but it also caused a lot of frustration for others who were unlucky enough to stumble upon the bugs and limitations of this new component. From a developer’s point of view, it was a mixed bag as well. On one hand, it allowed us to stop developing our custom document browser, thereby saving ourselves a lot of valuable development time in the process. On the other hand, it forced us to make do with a system we did not own and couldn’t even “hack” around when there were problems.

PDF Viewer will drop support for iOS 10 shortly, which will get rid of the final remains of our custom document browser, so we thought it might be a good time to take a closer look at how its system replacement is doing and go over the good, the bad, and the ugly.

File management is one of the main sections of an in-depth iPad story I’m working on right now, and the document browser is a key functionality I’m going to describe in detail. Overall, I agree with Bukovinski’s take: the document browser has brought consistency and speed to a lot of document-based apps, and I’m happy to see fewer custom file managers in apps these days, but it could use more customization options for developers, and the reliability of third-party file provider extensions is still largely hit or miss.

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Connected, Episode 239: Pizza Trousers→

This week, in the absence of adult supervision, Myke and Federico discuss their new favorite time zone app and consider some recent iOS 13 rumors before Ticci talks about what arrived in his mailbox.

On this week’s Connected, in addition to CalZones and iPad keyboards, we talk about some recent iOS 13 rumors, including something I heard about mouse support on iPad a few months ago. You can listen here.

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AppStories, Episode 107 – Interview: Ten Years of MacStories with Federico Viticci→

On this week’s episode of AppStories, to mark MacStories’ 10th anniversary, John interviews Federico about how MacStories got started, what led to the MacStories that readers know today, and what’s in store for the site and other MacStories properties in the future.

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Connected, Episode 238: Weird Plex, But Okay→

Federico has discovered something terrible about his childhood, Stephen had an accident and Myke wants a new TV. After all of that is taken care of, the trio talk about a new iPad case that uses the Magic Keyboard and using macOS as an iPad app.

On this week’s episode of Connected, I share more details about my Luna Display setup and describe how I’ve been using the Touchtype Pro case. You can listen here.

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Mobile Video Production Spotlighted at the 2019 NAB Show→

Every year, the National Association of Broadcasters holds a trade show spotlighting advancements in technology in the media and entertainment industries. Jeff Benjamin, who produces much of 9to5Mac’s video content, was on hand for the show this week and reports that mobile video production was one of the highlights of the show:

The first thing that I noticed about this year’s show, is that some of the major players in the mobile video editing space planned their booths to be adjacent to one another. This was a smart move, as it created a stronger presence for mobile video editing than in years before.

I also noticed that there was a significant uptick in foot traffic than in the past. Some of this can be attributed to the way the booths were organized, but I feel like mobile video editing has gained more legitimacy as a whole as people come to grips with how powerful the available apps, tools, and hardware have become.

Benjamin’s story includes details on upcoming updates to LumaFusion and Filmic Pro that are in the works as well as a new app coming later this year from Filmic called Filmic Audio that allows one iOS device to be used as a remote audio recorder that will sync its recordings with video filmed using Filmic Pro on a second iOS device. Benjamin also previews an update coming to the Gnarbox, an outboard storage and backup solution, which is designed to be used by photographers and videographers wired or wirelessly with iOS devices, and the Movi Cinema Robot, an iPhone gimbal that is gaining Filmic Pro integration soon.

Mobile video production is one of the most interesting pro areas for which iOS devices are being used currently as was recently highlighted by Jonathan Morrison who has used apps like LumaFusion to produce YouTube videos. As Benjamin points out, mobile video production is clearly on Apple’s radar based on the company’s behind the scenes look at how it shot some of its recent iPad Pro ads. I too hope Apple’s interest foreshadows the arrival of new iOS 13 features that will simplify video and audio production.

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AppStories, Episode 106 – The Apps of Apple’s March 25 Services Event→

On this week’s episode of AppStories, we take a close look at the apps and services announced by Apple at its March 25th services event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino including the TV app, News, Apple Arcade, and Apple Card.

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Connected, Episode 237: All the Different Flavors of iCloud→

AirPower is dead, Powerbeats Pro are here, Federico is having a good week on Twitter and iCloud Drive deserves some attention from Apple.

A good episode of Connected this week – we talk about wireless chargers, new Beats headphones, and a whole list of suggestions on how to improve iCloud Drive. You can listen here.

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