When the App Store opened for business on July 10, 2008, I was working at a physical eBay store after dropping out of university. I’m pretty sure I don’t even actually remember the exact day the App Store launched; I do remember that, at some point during the summer after finally buying my first iPhone, the App Store opened my eyes to a world that captured my interest like nothing had ever done before. I had no idea that, just a few months later, I would start writing a blog about Apple and apps that, nearly a decade later, is my full-time job. Something was immediately clear though: I wanted to learn everything I could about apps and the people who made them, and I wanted to try all the best ones I could find. I was hooked.
Celebrating the App Store’s 10th Anniversary with a Week of Special Coverage
OmniFocus 3: Accomplish More Every Day [Sponsor]
OmniFocus 3 for iOS is a fresh, major update to the app that’s been the trusted gold-standard to-do app for 10 years – since the very first day of the App Store. It’s the best OmniFocus ever!
Download it for free. Put it through its paces with a 14-day free trial, and then buy the Standard or Pro edition. Users of earlier versions of OmniFocus for iOS get a 50% discount.
Tags – new in OmniFocus 3 – add a powerful organizing tool. Create tags for person, energy level, priority, location, and more.
The Forecast view now shows your tasks and calendar events in order, so you can better see what’s coming up in your day and adjust if needed. With the Pro version you can also set a special tag so that items always show up today.
Enhanced repeating tasks are easier than ever to set up – and they work with real-world examples such as the first weekday of the month.
Batch editing, a feature we brought over from the Mac, lets you set due dates, tags, and other data for multiple tasks all at once.
Flexible inspectors now allow you to show only the features you use, and reorder them so your favorites are where you want them.
Get the most out of OmniFocus by reading our ever-growing list of articles and customer stories on Inside OmniFocus. And if you ever need help, contact our world-class support team via email – or even just call. We’re here to help you.
Download OmniFocus 3 today and accomplish more every day.
Our thanks to OmniFocus 3 for sponsoring MacStories this week.
The Decade-Long Road to Trism 2→
Variety has an in-depth profile of Steve Demeter, the former Wells Fargo software developer who created Trism, one of the App Store’s earliest hit games.
Demeter became the face of the App Store gold rush for many people. His game, Trism, was one of the 500 apps that debuted on the App Store 10 years ago next Tuesday. The game, which incorporated the iPhone’s accelerometer, earned $250,000 in its first two months. With 3 million lifetime downloads, many at $4.99 each, Demeter quit his job as a developer at Wells Fargo to work on a sequel, eventually pouring all of the original game’s earnings into the effort:
Lost in the shadow of his initial success and worrying about a sophomore slump, the development of “Trism 2” became a nightmare cycle of starting and restarting, creating and destroying.
Eventually, Trism’s earnings dried up and Demeter got a job at Storm8 and later, FoxNext Games. Now, 10 years after Trism’s release, Demeter is releasing its sequel, Trism 2 to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the App Store with the help of FoxNext.
After all these years, it’s great to see Trism 2 launch, and the tenth anniversary of the App Store feels like the perfect time given it’s unique spot in App Store history. We’ve got special coverage of the App Store’s 10th anniversary coming from the entire MacStories team next week, so be sure to check back then.
MacStories Weekly: Issue 135
Shortcuts App Beta Arriving through TestFlight Soon→
Today Apple updated the download page of its developer website with an option to request access to the TestFlight beta version of iOS 12’s Shortcuts app. This was first discovered by Steve Troughton-Smith:
https://twitter.com/stroughtonsmith/status/1014922461152993288?s=21
The release notes for beta 1 of Shortcuts confirm that Workflow users who install the new beta will have their existing workflows imported into Shortcuts, as Federico previously noted.
Up until now, the Shortcuts app has made no appearance in existing iOS 12 beta releases. This was unsurprising because Shortcuts is going to be released as an App Store download, but it was unclear whether beta testers would be given the chance to gain access to the Shortcuts app before its public release. Fortunately, if you’re an Apple developer, the answer is officially yes.
Apple Celebrates the App Store’s 10th Anniversary→
Next week the App Store turns 10. Ahead of that momentous date, Apple has published a new retrospective feature on what the last 10 years have been like:
When Apple introduced the App Store on July 10, 2008 with 500 apps, it ignited a cultural, social and economic phenomenon that changed how people work, play, meet, travel and so much more. Over the past decade, the App Store has created a safe place for users of all ages to get the very best apps and a vibrant app economy for developers of all sizes, from all over the world, to thrive. Today, customers in 155 countries are visiting the App Store more often, staying longer and downloading and using more apps than ever before.
While there have been many notable moments since apps first came to iPhone and later iPad, the milestones and testimonials below reflect some of the most significant over the past 10 years — defining how the App Store democratized software distribution and transformed how we live every day.
The article includes quotes from developers who have published their work on the App Store over the last 10 years, as well as from Apple executives, creators like Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, and more. These quotes are framed within the following 11 topics of the App Store’s impact:
I. The App Store Opens Doors for Developers, Puts an All New Experience in the Hands of Customers
II. Mobile-First Businesses Thrive
III. Gaming Takes Off, Reaches New Fans
IV. In-App Purchase, Subscriptions Unlock Experiences
V. Streaming Entertainment Takes Off
VI. Creativity, Productivity and Education Soar Beyond Office, Classroom Walls
VII. Health, Fitness and Wellness Apps Surge in Popularity
VIII. Accessibility Apps Empower Communities
IX. Coding Inspires Future Generations
X. New App Store Features Encourage Discovery
XI. The AR Revolution Awaits
10 is a landmark year, and the App Store has a particularly warm place in the hearts of the MacStories team. We have some special celebration plans coming next week, and can’t wait to share them with you.
CARROT Weather Adds Powerful New Weather Maps
Version 4.7 of CARROT Weather arrived on the App Store today. The update brings a variety of small improvements, such as a new hint feature for secret locations, but the tentpole feature is a complete revamp and upgrade of the app’s weather map features.
AppStories, Episode 62 – SiriKit Demystified→
On this week’s episode of AppStories, we clear up confusion about SiriKit and discuss the apps that support it.
Sponsored by:
- Linode - High performance SSD Linux servers for all of your infrastructure needs. Get a $20 credit with promo code ‘appstories2018’
Think Clearly with Standard Notes [Sponsor]
Standard Notes is a simple, safe place to access your notes wherever you are.
The app is available on iOS, Mac, the web, Android, and even Windows and Linux, making it universally available whatever mix of hardware and OSes you use. But just as important as being everywhere is security. That’s why Standard Notes uses state-of-the-art AES 256-bit end-to-end encryption to secure your notes from prying eyes. The app syncs across the web, but its encryption lets you rest easy knowing that no one can read your data.
Standard Notes features on-device security too. You can set up a passcode so if you are logged into your computer or mobile device, even people with physical access to your devices will not be able to access your encrypted notes.
All of these features are entirely free as are tagging, pinning, archiving, and locking notes. Even encrypted and decrypted backups of your notes are free.
Additional features like editors, which provide options like advanced Markdown and code editing, are available as are themes, version histories for your notes, two-factor authentication, and sync with popular cloud services such as Dropbox and Google Drive, for a reasonably-priced monthly or annual subscription.
Learn more and protect your privacy today with Standard Notes.
Our thanks to Standard Notes for sponsoring MacStories this week.