On this week’s episode of AppStories, we revisit subscription pricing models in the wake of Ulysses’ switch to subscriptions and discuss what Apple’s transition from 32-bit to 64-bit apps means for the App Store and consumers.
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YouTube today introduced a new logo and announced a host of improvements to its service across mobile and web platforms – some of which launch today, while others are coming soon.
After testing with limited groups for a time, YouTube’s Material Design web update is now being rolled out to all users. With it comes the exciting addition of a Dark Theme – a feature I hope makes its way to the service’s mobile apps soon.
YouTube’s iOS app received a minor update today that brought two primary changes: a redesigned header dominated by white space and the new logo, and new playback speed controls. Playback speed can be set as slow as 0.25x or as fast as 2x, with several options in-between. You’ll find the controls in a video’s settings menu, which can be accessed from the top-right corner of the screen.
Perhaps more exciting than the new features launching today are those coming in the near future, such as adaptive video:
Soon, the YouTube player will seamlessly change shape to match the video format you’re watching, such as vertical, square or horizontal. That means you’ll always get the best viewing experience automatically – including vertical videos with no black bars on the sides!
A new gesture to switch videos with a single swipe is also coming soon, and lastly a revamped area below the video player for improved browsing.
Adding to its collection of HomeKit-supported devices, Elgato today introduced five new devices that are coming soon, each of which serves different areas of the home.
Besides the Eve Thermo, every other new Eve device is currently without a shipping date.
It’s always good to see more devices enter the HomeKit ecosystem, especially now that Apple will soon have HomePod, a voice-powered HomeKit hub, on the market. Hopefully the combination of HomePod’s launch and the changes Apple has in store for HomeKit in iOS 11 will lead to a renewed enthusiasm for Apple’s ecosystem among smart device makers.
Today The Sweet Setup launched a new ‘Learn Ulysses’ course that’s designed to help users get the most out of the powerful writing app.
The meat of Learn Ulysses is its seven video guides that walk through key aspects of the app in detail. Videos cover the following topics:
Each video can be either streamed or downloaded, and they are all accompanied by full transcripts. The videos I’ve seen are of the highest quality; the team at The Sweet Setup has handled well the difficult task of going deep into Ulysses while still making everything easy to understand.
In addition to the seven main videos, Learn Ulysses includes bonus content such as a quick reference cheat sheet of additional features and keyboard shortcuts for the app. My personal favorite bonus is the included series of setup interviews, where different writers share exactly how they use Ulysses in their daily workflows. Some of these are in video form, while others are written. I always love hearing how others use a powerful app, as it helps me find new practices to adopt.
The regular price for Learn Ulysses is $29, but during launch week it’s available at 20% off for a discounted rate of $23. You can purchase the course here.
Ulysses is a powerful text editor carefully hidden beneath a distraction-free writing environment. It’s a design that allows you to concentrate on your writing with the confidence that when you need them, Ulysses’ pro-level tools are just a click or tap away.
Ulysses, which won an Apple Design Award in 2016, is available on macOS and iOS and its documents sync via iCloud, so the app and your documents are available whenever and wherever you need them. Ulysses helps you keep track of everything too by organizing your writing into groups comprised of sheets. Each group, which can be nested inside other groups, can be assigned a name and icon and the sheets inside it can be sorted manually, by title, by modification date, or by creation date.
But Ulysses goes even further to help you manage your writing. You can set writing goals and attach notes, keywords, and images to sheets. Then, when you’re looking for something you wrote, you can create filters based on keywords, search terms, and dates that are stored in the sidebar with your groups. When you’re finished, you can export to a bunch of different formats including Markdown, plain-text, HTML, ePub, PDF, and DOCX and easily publish to WordPress blogs and Medium.
Ulysses is a free download on the App Store and Mac App Store. Normally you can try the app for 14 days before deciding whether to subscribe for $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year. Students can subscribe for six months at a time for $10.99. However, Ulysses has a special deal for MacStories readers. Use this link for a full 1-month trial on all your devices.
Our thanks to Ulysses for sponsoring MacStories this week.
Today, Ridiculous Fishing, the classic 8-bit style fishing game from Vlambeer was updated with support for 64-bit chip architectures ensuring that its fans will still be able to play the game when they update to iOS 11. Apps that only support 32-bit chip architectures will be left behind by iOS 11 rendering them unusable on devices running Apple’s latest OS. The switch was first telegraphed by Apple in 2014, so developers have had three years to prepare, but the transition will nonetheless leave some apps behind, many of them games. According to Fast Company, AppFigures estimates that as many as 470,000 apps may no longer work on iOS 11.
At the same time, however, a recent flurry of updates means that some iOS classics will survive, including Ridiculous Fishing. Released in 2010 as a collaboration among Vlambeer, Zach Gage, and Greg Wohlwend, Ridiculous Fishing follows Billy as he fishes with items like guns, chainsaws, and toasters. The game won an Apple Design Award in 2013 and still has a loyal following. In addition to adding 64-bit support, the update adds haptic feedback and two speedrun leaderboards.
Although there will undoubtedly be some apps and games that fall by the wayside in the 64-bit transition, my hope is that early iOS classics like Ridiculous Fishing, Canabalt, and Bumpy Road, which have all received recent 64-bit updates, are discovered by a new generation of iOS users.
Star Wars merchandise is a big deal in the retail world, especially when it coincides with a new film in the main saga. Two years ago, Disney held the first ‘Force Friday’ to kickoff the launch of Star Wars toys and other products tied to The Force Awakens. Now the Mouse House has set September 1 as ‘Force Friday II.’ And this time around, there’s an AR experience tied to the launch called Find the Force, which Apple will be involved in hosting.
Beginning on Force Friday II, Apple Stores, along with other popular retailers like Wal-Mart and Target, will begin selling Star Wars: The Last Jedi merchandise and play host to Find the Force, which lasts through September 3. During that time, shoppers can use the Star Wars iOS app to scan in-store displays as part of an AR treasure hunt. When the display is scanned, it will reveal a Star Wars character who appears through AR in the store. In total there are 15 characters to find over the three-day window. If you plan to participate in Find the Force, it’s best to download the Star Wars app now and launch the feature ahead of time, as it requires a substantial in-app download before you’re up and running.
With the launch of iOS 11 and ARKit-powered apps later in the month, September is shaping up to be a big month for augmented reality.
On this week’s episode of AppStories, we interview Dermot Daly, founder of Tapadoo, a Dublin-based app development studio, about how he got started in mobile development, the Tapadoo origin story, what it’s like to develop apps in the regulated medical field, the challenges of working for clients and that iOS developers face today, and more.
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In June, I sat in the crowded lobby of the San Jose Marriott hotel just across from the convention center where WWDC was being held. The lobby was crammed full of developers and other people tapping away on Macs and iOS devices connected to the hotel’s WiFi. I sat down with the Astro HQ team for a demonstration of an upcoming hardware product called the Luna Display, a tiny dongle that turns an iPad into a wireless second display for a Mac.
Hotel WiFi is notoriously bad and the Marriott’s, which was ambushed by thousands of WWDC attendees, was holding up, but spotty. The Astro HQ team pulled out a tiny nubbin and connected it to a MacBook Pro’s USB-C port. After starting the Luna Display software on the Mac and an iPad, they were up and running with the iPad acting as a second display. Despite the shaky connection, the iPad performed admirably. It felt like magic.
