One of the many announcements from Apple’s last week was Metal, a new low-level framework for creating GPU-accelerated advanced 3D graphics while reducing CPU overhead. In short, Metal is a technology that will grant game developers bare-to-the-metal access to squeeze maximum performance out of the A7 processor for better graphics.
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Apple Airs New “Strength” iPhone 5s Commercial
A new ad called “Strength” aired by Apple today shows off the iPhone as a fitness and health-tracking companion device capable of interacting with apps and accessories from third-party developers and hardware makers. Read more
OS X Yosemite Will Feature Option to Record Real-Time Footage of iOS Apps
Apple will provide an easier and integrated way to create screencasts for iOS apps with the upcoming iOS 8 and Yosemite software updates, using a Lightning cable and QuickTime Player on OS X. As reported by Benjamin Mayo at 9to5Mac, the feature is primarily meant to let developers create App Previews for the improved App Store launching with iOS 8, but it’ll also come in handy for users willing to capture videos of iOS apps for screencasts, reviews, and other video content.
Swype, Fleksy, and SwiftKey Working on Custom Keyboards for iOS 8
The 2014 Apple Design Award Winners
The Apple Design Awards recognize state of the art iOS and OS X apps and games that demonstrate technical excellence, innovation and outstanding design to provide an immersive, fun, and compelling experience. These apps raise the bar in design, technology and innovation with rich functionality and high performance; every year, Apple celebrates developers and their outstanding work by awarding them an Apple Design Award trophy and other special prizes. This year, winners received one of every Apple device (from the Mac Pro to iPhone) and the Apple Design Award trophy.
After evaluating the broadest set of apps possible from the App Store and Mac App Store, Apple has picked this year’s winners with a dedicated event at Moscone West on WWDC 2014 opening day. We have compiled the full list of 2014 Apple Design Award Winners below. Read more
OS X Yosemite Overview
Apple today unveiled OS X Yosemite, the next major version of their Mac operating system. Introduced by Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, Yosemite brings a big new redesign to the Mac that is reminiscent of last year’s iOS 7 redesign. Continuity between OS X and iOS is also a huge aspect to the Yosemite release, including a so-called ‘Handoff’ feature, instant hotspots, and support for making phone calls and sending text messages from a Mac. Beyond that, Notification Center now includes the ‘Today’ view from iOS (with support for widgets), a brand new ‘Spotlight’ and big improvements to Mail, Safari and the new iCloud Drive.
“Yosemite is the future of OS X with its incredible new design and amazing new apps, all engineered to work beautifully with iOS,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “We engineer our platforms, services and devices together, so we are able to create a seamless experience for our users across all our products that is unparalleled in the industry. It’s something only Apple can deliver.”
Apple Posts WWDC 2014 Keynote, “Apps We Can’t Live Without” Videos
For those who didn’t follow the live stream or news as it unfolded on Twitter and blogs, Apple has now posted the video of its WWDC 2014 keynote held earlier today in San Francisco. The video can be streamed here, and a higher quality version should be made available in a few hours through iTunes (on the Apple Keynotes podcast). To avoid streaming errors, Safari is recommended for the best viewing experience.
Apple has also posted the “Apps We Can’t Live Without” short film that was aired at the beginning of the keynote. The video shows how “developers — and the iOS apps they create — have changed the way we all interact, learn, entertain, work, and live”, and it’s available here.
For more coverage, check out our WWDC 2014 news hub and follow @macstoriesnet on Twitter.
The Numbers From Apple’s WWDC 2014 Keynote
Apple CEO Tim Cook walked on stage today and kicked off the company’s 25th Worldwide Developers Conference with his usual opening remarks and “state of the business” facts and numbers. From the number of attendees to iOS devices sold and OS X stats, these numbers are interesting as they’re typically shared throughout the year in dedicated events or press releases; at WWDC, Apple can provide a mid-year overview before switching gears to talk about iOS or OS X.
We’ve compiled the most important numbers from Apple’s WWDC 2014 keynote below. Read more
Apple Events Channel Now Available on Apple TV to Stream Today’s Keynote
Apple has just made their ‘Apple Events’ channel accessible again from any Apple TV (2nd or 3rd generation), ahead of today’s WWDC keynote. The channel will allow users to stream the WWDC keynote from 10am, San Francisco time, as Apple previously announced. The channel also allows users to stream past Apple events, just in case you have some time to kill whilst you wait for today’s event.