iMovie for Mac Adds App Preview Creation for the iPhone X and Additional iPad Sizes

Developers can use iMovie for Mac to create the App Preview videos that you see in the App Store. It isn’t a new feature, but until version 10.1.9 was released today, the feature did not support the iPhone X or certain iPad sizes.

Other video editing apps can be used to create App Previews, but iMovie is convenient because it automatically configures export settings to meet the requirements of App Previews. The trouble is, releasing an update to support the iPhone X that was released five months ago is too late. To make the feature useful to Apple’s best developers who support new hardware as soon as it’s released, these sorts of updates should coincide the debut of new iOS devices.

Version 10.1.9 of iMovie also includes numerous bug fixes.

Microsoft Office and the Files App Finally Play Nice Together

Today Microsoft updated its Office suite for iOS, with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint all reaching version 2.12. Office updates rarely receive detailed release notes, and today was no exception, but user Teddy Svoronos discovered that the updates brought ‘Open In’ capabilities to the share sheet, which previously only enabled making a copy of an Office document. The ‘Copy to’ option has now been removed, replaced by the more convenient ‘Open in.’

After seeing Teddy’s tweet, I did a little playing around in the Files app and discovered that, while Excel and PowerPoint documents accessed in Files will load Quick Look previews and require tapping ‘Open in’ from the share sheet, the experience is even better with .docx files. Those Word-associated documents open directly in the Word app with just a single tap from the Files interface – no need to open the share sheet first.

It’s possible this disparity in behaviors between file types only exists because I view Word documents far more regularly than Excel or PowerPoint files. Perhaps heavy Excel or PowerPoint users will see a different behavior because the Files app has enough data to know which app you want to open certain file types in. It’s also possible, though, that the behavior I’ve seen is true for everyone, and Microsoft simply made a somewhat perplexing design decision.

In any case though, whether a Files document opens in its correct app with a single tap, or you use the share sheet and ‘Open in’ first, this is still a huge improvement for Office users. Previously any documents stored in Files would need to be accessed by going to either Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, tapping the ‘More’ button in the ‘Open’ menu, then locating the file from there. Now, iOS users can go straight to the Files app, locate the appropriate document, and open it directly with only a tap or two.

Update: One of the developers working on Office has confirmed my suspicions: the reason Word files open for me with a single tap while Excel and PowerPoint files do not is that I haven’t opened those files enough for iOS to know that I would prefer to bypass the share sheet.

In theory, a system where iOS knows what you want every time could be great, but in reality, I sure would like having the option to set default apps per document type.

Inko: A Collaborative Whiteboard for iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV [Sponsor]

Inko is a collaborative whiteboard that lets several people draw together using multiple iPads or iPhones, and even interact on Apple TV. Ideal for teams of coworkers in a brainstorming session, for a creative classroom project, or for an interactive meeting between a graphic designer and their client.

Creating a group and starting to drawing together is easy. There’s no complex network setup, or even any network at all, thanks to nearby connectivity. With peer-to-peer connections, you can work wherever you are, be it in a bar or on the beach. Your drawings can also be displayed on the big screen, thanks to the free companion app for Apple TV. The app instantly connects and interacts with all devices in the room, making it a great alternative to those bulky and expensive interactive boards.

Even though Inko is both simple and intuitive, it’s also backed with sophisticated, advanced features like vibrant colors and beautiful pixel-free drawing display that stays sharp when zooming in. Inko also offers precise Apple Pencil support for an amazing lag-free, undo-capable, real-time drawing experience, as well as hi-res PDF exports to share with your group when you’re finished.

Inko’s Collaboration Pack is 20% OFF ($15.99 instead of $19.99) this week only. Hint: the discounted Collaboration Pack also entitles you to the introductory subscription price.

Our thanks to Inko for sponsoring MacStories this week.

Apple Announces iPhone 8 and 8 Plus (PRODUCT)RED Models

Today, Apple introduced a (PRODUCT)RED version of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. Following in the footsteps of last year’s (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, Apple has introduced a special edition of its latest iPhone 8 to benefit the charity (RED). A portion of the profits generated by the new iPhone will be donated to (RED) to help fight AIDS.

The new iPhones, which were leaked via an internal Virgin Mobile memorandum, have a red back like the iPhone 7 did, but this year, the bezel of the (PRODUCT)RED iPhone is black instead of white. The new phone comes in 64GB and 256GB storage configurations and goes on sale online tomorrow, April 10, 2018 starting at $699 and will be available in stores Friday. In addition, Apple will release a new PRODUCT(RED) Leather Folio tomorrow for $99.

Twitter Delays Transition to New API That Threatens Third-Party Clients

Last April, Twitter announced that it would deprecate parts of its API that third-party Twitter clients rely on for their apps. Originally, Twitter planned to replace the functionality with a new Account Activity API on June 19, 2018. The trouble is, Twitter hasn’t provided third-party developers with access to the new API, which jeopardizes core functionality of those apps.

With the API transition looming, the makers of Twitterrific, Tweetbot, Talon, and Tweetings created a website to alert their users about the impact the changes to third-party Twitter clients:

After June 19th, 2018, “streaming services” at Twitter will be removed. This means two things for third-party apps:

  1. Push notifications will no longer arrive
  2. Timelines won’t refresh automatically

If you use an app like Talon, Tweetbot, Tweetings, or Twitterrific, there is no way for its developer to fix these issues.

We are incredibly eager to update our apps. However, despite many requests for clarification and guidance, Twitter has not provided a way for us to recreate the lost functionality. We’ve been waiting for more than a year.

The site encourages users to express their feelings about the situation to Twitter’s developer account with the hashtag #BreakingMyTwitter.

The response from unhappy Twitter users was swift. By the end of the day, Twitter announced that it would delay the API transition to an unspecified date in the future and provide at least 90 days notice to third parties before shutting down the old APIs.

Although it is good news that Twitter’s transition to the Accounts API has been put off, it doesn’t solve the issues that it raises for third-party developers.

Tension between Twitter and third-party developers isn’t new. Still, when Jack Dorsey returned to Twitter as CEO in 2015, he said he wanted to repair relationships with developers. It’s impossible to know if this latest episode represents a strategic shift for Twitter or mere indifference toward third-party developers. Either way, it’s a shame to see third-party Twitter clients, which pioneered many features that users love, under threat yet again.

Snapchat Debuts Exclusive iPhone X Lens Filters→

At last September’s iPhone event at Apple Park, Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of software engineering, used Snapchat to show how the iPhone X’s True Depth camera and ARKit could create realistic camera filters. Today, those filters finally launched with an update to Snapchat’s iOS app, which is featured in the Today section of the App Store.

Craig Federighi demonstrating Snapchat Lens filters in September 2017

Craig Federighi demonstrating Snapchat Lens filters in September 2017

The update includes the two filters demoed by Federighi during the keynote, as well as a masquerade ball Lens. The advantage of using the True Depth camera and ARKit is that the filters can track your face better than other Snapchat Lenses and account for the lighting in the room, providing realistic highlights and shadows.

The new filters are available now without updating Snapchat’s app. If you long press the screen with the selfie camera enabled, the new lenses are currently the first three listed.

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The Mac Pro Is Coming in 2019, Shaped by Apple’s New Pro Workflow Team→

In a follow up of sorts to last year’s Mac roundtable, Matthew Panazarino of TechCrunch was invited back to Apple HQ for an update on the long-awaited Mac Pro, which Apple shared will not launch until 2019:

“We want to be transparent and communicate openly with our pro community so we want them to know that the Mac Pro is a 2019 product. It’s not something for this year.”

Other than the 2019 date, the lone detail about the new Mac Pro was confirmation that it will be a modular system. Though what exactly that means, we still don’t know.

The other main interesting note from Panzarino’s report is that Apple has assembled a new internal Pro Workflow Team (not to be confused with the iOS app Workflow) which aims to guide and improve Apple’s pro-targeted products. The team is under the oversight of John Ternus, Apple’s VP of Hardware Engineering, and a great deal of its focus is learning the workflows of real pro users so it can optimize its hardware and software to make those workflows better. Panzarino writes:

To do that, Ternus says, they want their architects sitting with real customers to understand their actual flow and to see what they’re doing in real time. The challenge with that, unfortunately, is that though customers are typically very responsive when Apple comes calling, it’s not always easy to get what they want because they may be using proprietary content. John Powell, for instance, is a long-time logic user and he’s doing the new Star Wars Han Solo standalone flick. As you can imagine, taking those unreleased and highly secret compositions to Apple to play with them on their machines can be a sticking point.

So Apple decided to go a step further and just begin hiring these creatives directly into Apple. Some of them on a contract basis but many full time as well. These are award-winning artists and technicians that are brought in to shoot real projects (I saw a bunch of them walking by in Apple park toting kit for an outdoor shoot on premises while walking). They then put the hardware and software through their paces and point out sticking points that could cause frustration and friction among pro users.

This work has started in the specific areas of visual effects, video editing, 3D animation, and music production, and Apple plans to expand it out from there.

The efforts of the Pro Workflow Team serve to benefit all of Apple’s pro-related hardware and software, and even popular third-party software as well. It’s one way Apple is showing its commitment to serving professional users.

In the last year, Apple’s output for pro users seems to have made a complete turnaround. Back then we were wondering if the company had become content focusing on the average consumer and letting pros leave for other platforms. That’s certainly not the story anymore. With the iMac Pro, continued updates to Apple’s pro software, and now the forthcoming Mac Pro and the ongoing investment of the Pro Workflow Team, Apple is positioning itself again as a company committed to serving the pro market.

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The Shrinking App Store→

Sarah Perez, reporting for TechCrunch:

The App Store shrank for the first time in 2017, according to a new report from Appfigures. The report found the App Store lost 5 percent of its total apps over the course of the year, dropping from 2.2 million published iOS apps in the beginning of the year to 2.1 million by year-end.
…
Appfigures speculated the changes had to do with a combination of factors, including stricter enforcement of Apple’s review guidelines, along with a technical change requiring app developers to update their apps to the 64-bit architecture.

With the previously announced App Store cleanup and iOS 11’s 32-bit purge, it’s no surprise at all that the App Store shrank during the year. To the average user though, a store with 2.1 million apps is no different than one with 2.2 million. Plus, in theory the apps that remain are of a higher overall quality than what was removed, so this should turn out to be a net gain for users.

Another way users benefit: the App Store’s search engine has long had a reputation for being ineffective, so a smaller App Store should mean it’s easier to find what you’re looking for.

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Finances for iOS Adds Invoice Scanning Powered by iOS 11’s Vision Framework→

Matthias Hochgatterer, in a blog post detailing the invoice scanning feature he brought to Finances for iOS with an update released today:

I’ve just recently worked on invoice scanning for Finances. It lets you scan invoices on iPhone or iPad and add them as a PDF document to transactions. In this post I will show you how I’ve implemented that feature using the frameworks available on iOS.

Let’s start by looking at the final result. You can see the invoice scanning in the Finances trailer. The user interface looks very similar to the document scanning UI in Apple’s Notes app on iOS 11. That’s not a coincident. I’ve reimplemented the exact same user interface, because most iOS users are already familiar with it. Also I found it an interesting challenge to implement it myself.

I’ve been considering Finances (which is available both on Mac and iOS and is on sale for both platforms today) as a replacement for the system I built in Numbers last year, which isn’t scaling anymore (my accountant now wants me to upload PDF receipts to a Trello board, and traditional spreadsheets do not support inline file attachments). I’m intrigued by the cross-platform nature of Finances, its double-entry bookkeeping system, and this new Notes-like scanning mode built using Vision technologies in iOS 11. I haven’t seen other apps publicly advertise scanning functionalities built using Vision and the implementation in Finances looks extremely well done.

I will be playing around with Finances over the weekend (I know; usually, this isn’t what I do with my weekends but I also need to keep my accountant happy). You can take a look at Finances’ new trailer below.

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