This morning at the WWDC keynote presentation in San Jose, Apple’s Vice President of Technology Kevin Lynch took the stage to announce the latest version of the company’s smartwatch operating system. watchOS 5 will ship this fall and include improvements to the Apple Watch fitness features, new methods of communication, Siri and notification enhancements, the introduction of web content, and more.
Over the coming months we’ll be diving deep into these new features and testing them thoroughly, but for now read on for an in-depth overview and some initial thoughts on everything new in watchOS 5.
Every year a major new version of iOS is released, adding a wealth of powerful improvements that transform the way we use some of our most important tools in life. In comparison to updates in recent years, iOS 12 – which Apple introduced at today’s WWDC keynote – doesn’t have as many flashy new features or major changes to system apps. When it gets in public hands this fall, lots of users may install it and not notice anything different. And that’s partly on purpose.
Apple spent a lot of time this year focusing on performance improvements that make iOS run better on a wide assortment of devices. In iOS 12, even though your iPhone or iPad may not be getting a major Home screen redesign or anything similarly noticeable, one change Apple hopes you will recognize is that your device runs better than ever before. In addition to being available on all the same hardware as iOS 11, iOS 12 claims to bring a Camera that opens up to 70 percent faster from the Lock screen, apps that launch up to twice as fast, smoother animations system-wide, a keyboard that loads up to 50 percent faster, and more response typing. These may not be the kind of details that make for great marketing campaigns, but they make the tasks we do every day better.
It’s not fair to call iOS 12 a release mainly focused on fixing bugs and improving performance, however. Apple has also put together an impressive assortment of features, big and small, which will empower you to do things with your device that wasn’t previously possible. There are impressive new automation capabilities integrated deeply with Siri, improved tools for monitoring how you use your devices, excellent new features for Messages, FaceTime, Photos, and more, and the arrival of ARKit 2.
Here’s an in-depth look at all that iOS 12 will bring when it launches this fall.
During the WWDC keynote today, Apple announced a redesigned Mac App Store, elements of which leaked this past Saturday in a 30-second Mac App Store preview video for Xcode 10.1 The video was discovered by Steve Troughton-Smith:
Unlike the iOS App Store, the Mac App Store has never included preview videos, which indicated additional Mac App Store improvements were likely.
Those suspicions were confirmed during the keynote this morning when Apple revealed an ambitious redesign of the Mac App Store. The update takes several cues from the iOS App Store, implementing lessons learned from that store’s successful update in iOS 11.
Transmit 5 by Panic takes the hassle out of managing files on a server and locally. For 20 years, Mac users have relied on Transmit for FTP and SFTP file transfers. That remains one of Transmit’s core strengths, but the app has evolved into much more.
Transmit’s power starts with its design. The clean, two-pane design makes it easy to understand which files are on your local drive and where they’re going. With version 5, Panic focused on every element, refining and modernizing its design, while remaining familiar to long-time users.
The app still works with FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, and S3, but it also works with Amazon Drive, Backblaze B2, Box.com, DreamObjects, Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and Azure, OpenStack Swift, Rackspace Cloud Files, and more, bringing a native Mac app experience to every service.
The new cloud support opens up all sorts of possibilities. For example, Transmit can see your entire Dropbox, even if you sync only a subset of your files to your Mac. That means if you’re short on storage space, you can turn off Dropbox sync for a folder full of large files with the peace of mind of knowing you can still access them with Transmit.
Transmit 5 has other great features too. It supports:
Panic Sync, which provides secure, encrypted sync of your data across all of the Panic products you use;
File Sync, which keeps your files in sync across local and remote computers, or even multiple local machines;
Batch file renaming; and
Yubikey devices and the Krypton iOS app for easy, secure password-less connections.
Transmit is also much, much faster than its predecessor.
Whether you’re managing a server, or even just local files across multiple drives, Transmit 5 is the tool with the flexibility and power you need to get the job done quickly, safely, and securely.
MacStories readers can purchase Transmit directly from Panic using this link to receive 20% off automatically at checkout through June 11, 2018. As announced earlier today, Transmit will be returning to the Mac App Store later this year as a subscription-based app. You will still be able to buy Transmit directly from Panic for an up-front payment, but whether you buy now or subscribe later, be sure to visit Panic’s website to learn more about Transmit 5.
During its WWDC keynote presentation today, Apple took the wraps off macOS 10.14, also known as Mojave, which will be released this fall. One of the marquee features of the update is a completely redesigned Mac App Store, which we will cover in a separate article. In addition to a previously-leaked Dark Mode, the update will also include Finder, screenshot, and Desktop updates, the addition of several apps previously-available only on iOS, which Apple ported to the Mac using new frameworks under development for release in late 2019, and other new features.
Apple has updated the WWDC app ahead of its annual developer conference that begins June 4, 2018 in San Jose, California. Unlike last year, when the app received a new design inspired by apps like Apple Music and Apple News, this year the app has remained largely unchanged. Other than a new icon, the main change with this update is that the schedule for 2018 conference sessions is now included.
The most noteworthy news tidbit from browsing the app’s updated schedule is that the Apple Design Awards are making a return to public form this year. At WWDC 2017, Apple decided to eschew its normal tradition of a public ceremony, and instead honored ADA winners in a private ceremony, followed by an updated website. This year marks a return to form, with the ADAs being held the evening of the conference’s first day.
Today Apple released iOS 11.4, likely the final major release for the operating system before its successor, iOS 12, reaches the public in September. The update includes two major features that were originally revealed last June as iOS 11 features, but were later delayed: AirPlay 2 and Messages in iCloud.
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Valve announced on May 9th that it would release a video game streaming app called Steam Link. According to Valve, that announcement was made after the app was approved by Apple’s App Review team. As we reported Friday, Valve says that App Review reversed its decision the next day, rejecting the app for what Valve describe as ‘business conflicts with app guidelines.’
Steam Link is an app designed to allow users to stream Steam games from a Mac or PC to an iOS device or Apple TV over fast WiFi or Ethernet. Valve appealed the rejection on the basis that it was similar to other LAN-based remote desktop apps available on the App Store, but the appeal was denied. That led some people to question whether Apple’s rejection was motivated by a desire to protect gaming on iOS devices and the Apple TV.
We now have a better idea of the reasons behind the Steam Link rejection thanks to an email message from Phil Schiller, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, to a MacStories reader, the authenticity of which we have verified.
The reader, who asked to remain anonymous, wrote to Schiller asking that Apple reconsider the rejection. In response Schiller said:
We care deeply about bringing great games to all of our users on the App Store. We would love for Valve’s games and services to be on iOS and AppleTV.
Unfortunately, the review team found that Valve’s Steam iOS app, as currently submitted, violates a number of guidelines around user generated content, in-app purchases, content codes, etc. We’ve discussed these issues with Valve and will continue to work with them to help bring the Steam experience to iOS and AppleTV in a way that complies with the store’s guidelines.
Without having tried the app, it’s impossible to know precisely what aspect of the App Review Guidelines Apple concluded Steam Link violated, but Guideline 1.2, requires apps with user-generated content to have a way to filter objectionable content and remove offensive material, for example. In-App Purchases are another area with specific guidelines, many of which apply to games, in-game currencies, loot boxes, level unlocking, and more. Guideline 3.1.4 also forbids apps from using their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality.
Although it’s disappointing that Steam Link was rejected, it appears from Schiller’s message to our reader that there was more going on in the app than just streaming games from a PC or Mac. The guidelines that Schiller says were violated are not new, but with only the Steam Mobile app on the App Store, Valve probably hasn’t had to address user-generated content or game-specific guidelines in the past. Hopefully, the two companies can find a way to resolve the issues that satisfies the guidelines and allows Valve to provide its users with a way to enjoy their Steam games on iOS and tvOS.
