The Inside Story of Apple’s New iMacs→

Steven Levy got access to Apple’s Input Design Lab for today’s iMac updates, and he published a story about the details Apple paid attention to when designing the new computers and accessories (make sure to read through the end). I liked this bit from Phil Schiller on Apple’s lineup:

Schiller, in fact, has a grand philosophical theory of the Apple product line that puts all products on a continuum. Ideally, you should be using the smallest possible gadget to do as much as possible before going to the next largest gizmo in line.

“They are all computers,” he says. “Each one is offering computers something unique and each is made with a simple form that is pretty eternal. The job of the watch is to do more and more things on your wrist so that you don’t need to pick up your phone as often. The job of the phone is to do more and more things such that maybe you don’t need your iPad, and it should be always trying and striving to do that. The job of the iPad should be to be so powerful and capable that you never need a notebook. Like, Why do I need a notebook? I can add a keyboard! I can do all these things! The job of the notebook is to make it so you never need a desktop, right? It’s been doing this for a decade. So that leaves the poor desktop at the end of the line, What’s its job?”

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OneNote for iPad Gets Pencil by FiftyThree Support→

Tom Warren, writing for The Verge:

Microsoft might be backing Apple’s new Pencil for the iPad Pro in its iOS apps, but the software giant is also supporting third-party options. One of the most popular is Pencil by FiftyThree, and Microsoft is updating its OneNote for iPad app today to support the stylus. If you’re not interested in buying the larger iPad Pro for stylus support, then FiftyThree’s Pencil starts at $39.95 (much less than Apple’s $99 Pencil). You’ll be able to use the stylus to write notes and comments in OneNote books.

Also in the latest update: keyboard shortcuts on iPad, and improvements to the app’s share extension when used in Split View. I like how Microsoft continues to blend into the iOS ecosystem, though I’m perfectly satisfied with Apple’s new Notes app.

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Apple Introduces 4K 21.5-inch iMac, Force Touch Magic Trackpad, and Refreshed 5K 27-inch iMac

Apple today introduced a new 21.5-inch iMac with Retina 4K display, plus a new Magic Trackpad 2, Magic Mouse 2 and a Magic Keyboard. In addition, the existing iMac line was also refreshed, from the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display to the bottom of the line 21.5-inch iMac.

“From the first iMac to today, the spirit of iMac has never wavered — deliver the ultimate desktop experience with the latest technologies, gorgeous displays and cutting-edge designs,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “These are the most stunning iMacs we’ve ever made. With our gorgeous new Retina displays, more powerful processors and graphics and all-new Magic accessories, the new iMac continues to redefine the ultimate desktop experience.”

https://twitter.com/pschiller/status/653916602975387648

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App Store Prices Increasing This Week in Australia, Indonesia and Sweden

AUD/USD from 4 April 2014 (when App Store prices were last adjusted in Australia) to 13 October 2015.

AUD/USD from 4 April 2014 (when App Store prices were last adjusted in Australia) to 13 October 2015.

As reported by 9to5Mac, Apple is set to increase the prices of apps in Australia, Indonesia and Sweden within the next 3 days. The new prices will affect all paid apps, In-App Purchases and In-App Subscriptions. As an example, in Australia, the App Store pricing Tier 1 will be increasing from $1.29 to $1.49.

In an email to developers, Apple explained that the price increases are a result of changing foreign exchange rates. In the case of Australia, the above chart shows how the Australian dollar has depreciated in value against the US dollar since the last pricing change in April 2014.

Source: 9to5Mac

Source: 9to5Mac

Apple is also introducing the Alternative Tier A and Alternative Tier B pricing tiers to Australia. Apps sold at these price tiers will cost Australian App Store customers AU$0.99. These tiers have previously been used by Apple to enable developers to sell their apps at very low prices in some developing countries such as China where Alternative Tier A (¥1) is equivalent to US$0.16.

If you want to know a bit more about App Store Pricing Tiers, I wrote an article about them which has more information on how they operate and why Apple needs to adjust them occasionally.

‘Why I Unfollowed You on Instagram’→

Thought-provoking post by Ian Rogers, former Beats Music CEO and Apple Music director, on Instagram, social networks, and using popular online services for what they’re best at:

Of all the apps discussed here, Facebook is the only “Social Network”. Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram are more valuable as Interest Feeds, LinkedIn is a network of people from your professional life, and Snapchat is a Communication Tool (aspiring to be an Interest Feed). Yet the fact that my “friends” on Pinterest will get a notification when I start a board about “Skateboarding” (even if they have no interest) is an example of how these tools were built with “social” features that actually detract from what they’re great at.

We would do ourselves a favor to stop lumping all these tools together and calling them “Social Networks” or “Social Media” and instead note what makes each service uniquely great and push these companies to improve what they’re best at. What they all are is “distribution”, ways of building direct connections between people and each other or brands. Person -> Person, Brand -> Person, Person -> Brand.

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The “Swiftest” Way From No Programming Experience To Being An iOS App Developer [Sponsor]

There is literally a world of opportunity waiting for anyone with the skills to build for iOS. But like any journey to success, there is a path you have to take, and the question is, what’s the quickest (or shall we say “Swiftest?”) way from Point A to Point B? To answer that, let’s consider the beginning and end of the journey.

At Point A, you’re computer competent. You know your uploads from your downloads, and you set up your new phone yourself when it arrived. At Point B, you’re an iOS App Developer. You’re impacting lives on a global scale with the apps you build. Now, how long is the distance between these points?

That depends on a number of variables. The most critical is the question of whether you have programming experience. Traditionally this can be a real barrier, and that’s understandable. When you’re standing on the wrong side of the water from where the programmers are, it can seem really, really difficult to get across. To continue the water metaphor, you need stepping stones.

It’s that need that drove Udacity to create the Beginning iOS App Development Nanodegree program (BIOS NDP). A lack of programming experience shouldn’t be a barrier, and if you know iOS is where you want to be, then the opportunity to learn Swift (Apple’s custom programming language designed specifically for building iOS and OS X apps) is the first stepping stone you need.

Any stage of the journey has the potential to be difficult, but there is something unique to the early days; to succeed you need a really special degree of mentoring, support, and instruction. The suite of resources built into all Nanodegree programs becomes particularly important for those taking their first steps into programming. All Nanodegree programs feature:

  • An innovative online model that is accessible, affordable and inclusive.
  • A focus that is outcome-based and project-oriented
  • Intensive coursework, expert instructors, and cutting-edge curriculum
  • A compact and flexible model that allows for structured self-pacing
  • One-on-one coaching and facilitated peer interaction
  • Best-in-class project review that is both rigorous and timely
  • Empowering and informative career support

Combine all this with an explicit focus on transforming pre-programming students into adept coders with solid programming foundations, direct experience working in Xcode, and a growing facility with Swift, and suddenly there exists a very clear path forward to that next big stepping stone, the iOS Developer Nanodegree program (INDP). Think of the this as the advanced, career-track portion of the learning journey.

When you emerge from the INDP with a Nanodegree credential, you are genuinely ready to begin a career as an iOS Developer.

Our thanks to Udacity for sponsoring MacStories this week.

Google’s App Indexing Adding Support for iOS 9 Universal Links→

Google Developers, on surprisingly-it’s-still-around Google Plus:

Getting your app content found on Google just got easier. App Indexing is now compatible with HTTP deep link standards for iOS 9, as it has been on Android from the beginning. That means that you can start getting your app content into the Search results page on Safari in iOS, simply by adding Universal Links to your iOS app, then integrating with our SDK. With this improvement, we will no longer support new integrations on iOS 7 and iOS 8. Users will start seeing your app content in Safari on iOS at the end of October.

Google has additional documentation here. I’m glad they’re adding support for this relatively soon.

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