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Adapt, Episode 18: Fixing Multitasking→

On this week’s episode of Adapt:

Multitasking is key to using the iPad as a primary computer, but the current drag and drop-centric system is flawed. Ryan shares his idea for a new approach, then Federico details his email app discoveries.

You can listen below (and find the show notes here), and don’t forget to send us questions using #AskAdapt and by tagging our Twitter account.

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Adapt, Episode 18

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Connected, Episode 280: Peanut Butterpeanut Butterpeanut Butter→

On this week’s episode of Connected:

This week, most of the show document got shredded as a bunch of breaking news took place during recording. iOS 13.4 is bringing a bunch of changes, Mac Catalyst could become more useful and universal apps are coming to the Mac. When not breaking news, Federico shares a sad story, Myke reads a tweet about bread and Stephen struggles with how to edit the episode.

You can listen below (and find the show notes here).

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Connected, Episode 280

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A Fix for iPad Multitasking

Concept by Silvia Gatta.

Concept by Silvia Gatta.

The iPad’s primary appeal the last 10 years has been its resemblance to the iPhone. If you can use an iPhone, you can use an iPad – at least in most respects. Where that’s no longer true is multitasking.

I love the functionality enabled by iPad multitasking, but the current system is unnecessarily complex. I don’t believe the iPad should revert to its origins as a one-app-at-a-time device, but I know there’s a better way forward for multitasking.

My proposal for a new multitasking system employs a UI mechanic that already exists across both iPhone and iPad. Without losing any of iPadOS 13’s current functionality, it brings the iPad closer to its iPhone roots again and makes multitasking accessible for the masses.

Context menus are the key to a better multitasking system.

When you long-press an app icon in iOS and iPadOS 13, a context menu appears and provides various options. These menus, I believe, are the perfect home for multitasking controls.

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Google Celebrates 15 Years of Its Maps App with a New Design and Features

Source: Google

Source: Google

Google has announced that it is rolling out an update to its Google Maps app today that features a redesigned interface, new features, and a brand new icon. The company also says that new public transportation and augmented reality features are coming later.

Today’s update, which should show up throughout the day worldwide, features a new look for Maps. The app currently has just two tabs, Explore and Commute. The update will add Saved, Contribute, and Updates tabs as well. Saved collects all of the places you have saved in Google Maps in one place and includes functionality for finding and organizing new places. Contribute will allow users to notify Google about new details that they think should be added to Maps like new businesses, photos, and reviews. Finally, Updates is a curated feed of trending places in your area and content from third parties like The Infatuation.

Source: Google

Source: Google

The update comes with a new icon too, which Google says reflects Maps’ evolution from an app designed primarily to get you from point A to point B to one that also helps you discover new places to visit. Google’s blog post includes a short video showing the evolution of the icon from the early days of the app to the new icon, which is simply a multicolored map pin.

Google also revealed that in March, it will add new public transportation features to Maps. The additions include temperature and accessibility information, the availability of a women’s section and security, and, in Japan only, the number of carriages. Also, later this year, Google plans to expand its Live View feature by combining map data with the view of your surroundings, providing information like distance to your destination and direction.

Google Maps today is a much different app than it was fifteen years ago. Google’s strength lies in the years of data it has collected, and the company continues to use that to its advantage. Apple Maps has come a long way in a relatively short amount of time compared to Google Maps, and it remains my preferred map app. However, it’s difficult to imagine Apple Maps ever having the granularity of local data that Google has achieved.

macOS Will Soon Support Universal Apps, Enabling a Single Purchase for Mac, iPhone, and iPad Apps

As first spotted by Steve Troughton-Smith, release notes for the latest beta build of Xcode include a major development: Mac apps can soon be included as universal purchases with their iPhone and iPad companions.

Universal apps currently enable you to make a single purchase to gain access to both iPhone and iPad versions of an app. Nearly all cross-platform developers default to this option, though some still sell separate iPhone and iPad apps. macOS has never been included as part of universal apps though, even after Mac Catalyst launched last year. That sounds like it’s going to change when the latest OS updates – iOS and iPadOS 13.4 and macOS 10.15.4 – arrive this spring.

With universal app support, developers will be able to charge users a single time to grant access to Mac, iPhone, and iPad versions of their app. As Apple’s release notes state, this option in Xcode will be on by default for apps built with Catalyst, but it will also be available to non-Catalyst apps that are offered on the Mac App Store. While this change won’t be the best option for all developers, especially considering the different business dynamics of Mac and iOS apps, it makes sense for iPad developers who bring their apps to the Mac with Catalyst and don’t want to deal with the complication of a separate purchase system.

AppStories, Episode 148 – The Elements of Modern iOS and iPadOS Apps→

This week on AppStories, we discuss the features and technologies that go into building a modern iOS or iPadOS app with examples of some of our favorite implementations.

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Matt Birchler’s watchOS 7 Wish List→

Matt Birchler has made a tradition of publishing a watchOS wish list every year at BirchTree that is accompanied by concept art, showing how his ideas might be implemented. This year for watchOS 7, Birchler has a long list of excellent ideas that focus on virtually every aspect of the OS, including fitness tracking, communications, and battery life.

Like Birchler, I’d love to see more flexibility built into the Activity app. For example, he expects more ring options in watchOS 7:

I think this year not only will Apple let you customize these rings more than before, but they’ll also add more rings. Want to add sleep or mindfulness: go right ahead.

As he suggests, the ability to set custom metrics for each ring and edit workouts in the Activity app on the iPhone would be fantastic additions as well.

It’s also a little hard to believe that autocomplete hasn’t been added to the scribble keyboard on the Apple Watch. Perhaps that’s a technical limitation, but like Birchler, I think it would go a long way to making text input more tolerable on the Watch.

Those are just a couple of my favorite ideas from Birchler’s story this year. Be sure to check out the full post. There are some terrific ideas here, and the concept art looks wonderful as always.

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Book Track Review: A Modern, iOS-Friendly Library Manager

The App Store contains millions of apps, yet for some app categories there can be a real scarcity of quality options. Book tracking, for example, features a few solid choices that are still actively developed, but largely this category receives less developer attention than I’d hope. One new option that debuted recently is Book Track, an app designed to provide key library management features in a clean and simple interface. When it comes to utilities like book trackers, I prefer that apps keep complication to a minimum while still providing the key functionality I need. Book Track, with a few exceptions, largely succeeds at that.

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Jason Snell’s 2019 Apple Report Card→

Jason Snell, writing at Six Colors:

It’s time for our annual look back on Apple’s performance during the past year, as seen through the eyes of writers, editors, developers, podcasters, and other people who spend an awful lot of time thinking about Apple.

This is the fifth year that I’ve presented this survey to a hand-selected group. They were prompted with 12 different Apple-related subjects, and asked to rate them on a scale from 1 to 5 and optionally provide text commentary per category.

It’s always a pleasure to share my thoughts about Apple’s past year in Snell’s annual report. Not only is it a great read – at this point, it’s also a fantastic historical resource collecting years of commentary about Apple.

You can read Snell’s complete report card here. For context, I’ve included my full responses to Snell’s questionnaire below.

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