Surprise! Apple launches iOS 14 today, and developers were given just 24 hours' notice Apple is expected to release the 14th version of its iOS mobile operating system later today, alongside major system updates for the iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. For iPhone users, iOS 14 brings improved multitasking and significant aesthetic changes. Incoming calls, for example, are now indicated in a small window, and no …
Some Japanese guy posts a tweet that only says "Apple really really hates developers." And Register uses this as absolute proof.
I won't say it is a trouble free relationship. Apple, like technology, moves fast. Personally, I have been caught a few times by this. But Apple do a whole lot to also support developers. One has been very successful – Microsoft. But they are also responsible for Apple's begin careful what they let out, because it is well known Gates took advantage of Apple's early openness.
Having spent months trying to jump through all the hoops required to get our org registered as an official developer I 100% agree with this statement. It's not that they're actually asking anything unusual, it's that they're impossible to communicate with. Oh, sorry, that person you were dealing with has moved department. Start over. Oh, you've moved official business address because you've moved to a new office? Start over. Because of covid we've changed the procedure. Start over. It's like they are actively looking for excuses not to talk to you at every step of the process.
"There goes Apple, inventing things that already exist again."
A bit more deep analysis needed here. Other companies compete with Apple. They get an idea (maybe because Apple is working on it), and rush a half-baked version to market.
Apple takes its time and gets it right. The Register article says:
"Meanwhile, the Picture-in-Picture feature allows users to watch videos and place voice calls while using other applications. Android devices have had this for some time and it must be implemented by developers on an app-by-app basis"
Note PiP is in Android because app developers have done it. Could be the same on iOS, but developers probably don't bother because they know Apple is doing it independent of apps.
Sony's Small apps have been with us for 8 years now. It's not a half-baked or rushed idea.
Perhaps, Apple could be playing catch-up? (especially against Sony again.. Considering when the iPhone initially came out it's main smart phone rival was the Sony W950/W960 Symbian based UIQ. Yes we know iOS was better, and that capacitive screens the way forward, but that doesn't mean Apple got there first or that others are ripping them off all the time).
So your "deep analysis" is stating that others create a "half-baked version" and "Apple takes its time and gets it right". To prove this point after doing "deep analysis" you point to the fact that on Android a developer needs to implement this in their app.
However your "deep analysis" failed to spot the context and the text after which I'll quote in full here "Android devices have had this for some time and it must be implemented by developers on an app-by-app basis. It's therefore conceivable that your preferred streaming service may not support it on launch. Obviously, both Safari and Apple TV will offer it from the get-go."
Which even with some "light analysis" is obviously talking about Apple developers needing to implement it on an app-by-app basis.
Therefore my conclusion is that you must actually now agree (maybe after some further analysis?) that Apple has actually released something half-baked?
"So your "deep analysis" is stating that others create a "half-baked version" and…"
Sorry DaLo, what you say in that post makes so little sense I don't even know where to start responding to it. What did you not understand that Android has PiP because it was provided in individual apps ""Android devices have had this for some time and it must be implemented by developers on an app-by-app basis" (so long as Register's reporting is correct).
"Which even with some "light analysis" is obviously talking about Apple developers needing to implement it on an app-by-app basis."
That is not what at least the Reg article suggested at all.
Yes, it is - Apple developers will need to implement the ability in their apps, that is what it is saying in the article. Why does my post not make any sense, maybe your analysis wasn't so "deep"? I presume having done"deep analysis" you have checked the iOS 14 developer documentation or just some articles as well to back this up?
I'll break down the paragraph for you:
""Android devices have had this for some time and the [Apple PiP feature] must be implemented by developers on an app-by-app basis. It's therefore conceivable that your preferred streaming service on [iOS 14] may not support it on launch. Obviously, both Safari and Apple TV [developed by Apple] will offer it from the get-go [but othe Apple apps will not as they have to develop it for their apps].""
DaLo "that is what it is saying in the article"
That is your interpretation. OK, the sentence in the article "Android devices have had this for some time and it must be implemented by developers on an app-by-app basis" is badly written, but it seems to only be referring to Android, not making a claim about Apple's PiP.
Regardless of this fact, my original point still stands – that often the competition rush out a half-baked version of things, and Apple takes time to get it right.
The GM is nearly identical to the last beta, and the betas have been available for months. The iPad this is being typed on got a beta back in March or April, probably April, and it was not one of the early betas. It had the last beta, and has the GM, and actual test shows very little difference between the two. In particular, several (as in about a dozen) of my favorite bugs are still in the GM. At least two of those bugs date back to iOS 6 or 7... Yes, the bugs have been reported to Apple. No, they’re not fixed, nor do I expect them to be fixed. Ever. The alleged new features work. Kinda. And have worked, kinda, for months. A dev with sense should have tested against the betas. Yes, it’s a moving target, but if the devs did that they would have something ready to roll inside of a few days of getting the GM. Certain apps had problems with the betas (CitiBank, I’m looking at _you_) but issued updates during the beta period which fixed the errors. Well, most of them, it’s Citi, there’s no way that they will ever fix all the problems... Apple itself had problems which were sorted out during the betas, notably with power management, especially on iPad Pros and iPhone 8s. (Guess how I know)
Good devs will have app updates close to ready. Bad devs will still be fixing in December. Very bad devs (Aspyr...) will take longer. There’s a reason why the the newest expansion packs for things like Civ 6 on iOS aren’t out yet, while having been available elsewhere, including Mac, for months. The Mac version of Civ 6 is perpetuated by... Aspyr. It’s not the first time that there has been significant lag on iOS... Perhaps they should hire better coders...
Please read the section of the article that discusses the issue. The problem isn't about testing. Some developers may do that wrong, but that's not what's being discussed. What is being discussed is that developers can't push apps using IOS 14 behavior to the store until the GM goes out. That was last night. Now it's available to users. Those apps haven't been approved yet. The devs are complaining about the speed with which Apple pushed out the release which caused the OS to be there before their reviews completed, not about difficulty testing. I don't care much; I wouldn't install an operating system on day one anyway so I could easily afford to wait for the apps and the OS, but at least understand the complaints before attacking developers about something not connected to what they're talking about.
"Surprise! Apple launches iOS 14 today, and developers were given just 24 hours' notice"
No, they have had the beta for at least several months since WWDC. Everyone has known iOS 14 has been imminent.
The last paragraph addresses this but relies on a couple of tweets by unknown people. The first:
"Apple announcing the iOS 14 release date 24 hours ahead of time as a summer ending gift to developers"
Well, that does not sound bad. If Apple said "well it will be available" next month people could be complaining. In fact, people are used to this kind of announcement. An expectation of release (at WWDC), then a sudden 'we have it'.
The reply tweet says "@KarlCheeseAji Apple really really hates developers"
That's it. So what? Maybe KarlCheeseAji is one of those people who trolls the net posting anti-Apple stuff.
It is not true anyway. But Register uses a single tweet as absolute proof. Poor journalism.
I won't say it is a trouble free relationship. Apple, like technology, moves fast. Personally, I have been caught a few times by this. But Apple do a whole lot to also support developers. One has been very successful – Microsoft. But they are also responsible for Apple's begin careful what they let out, because it is well known Gates took advantage of Apple's early openness.
Surely if apple are releasing a new OS and they want the developers to make sure their apps that target it and work with it are available, then they either need to allow apps to be reviewed and accepted before the release is generally available or allow more time from the GM to public release so that they can catch up with all the reviewing for their app store.
The users will blame the devs when their apps don't work and the devs are stating that Apple only care about their own apps (which they can obviously launch along with IOS 14) and don't car about third party apps - even making it difficult or impossible to get a release approved in time for the launch.
You can see why they may be a bit disgruntled, but Apple seems to regard third-party devs as a necessary inconvenience.
Arguably the biggest change is something called App Clips, which is faintly reminiscent of Huawei's Quick Apps. These are effectively pared-down applications designed to launch quickly and perform a limited set of tasks.
You mean Sony's small apps surely? (present since 2012... Yes, they still make android devices, stop sniggering at the back and yes, everyone now seems insistent on ripping off their good ideas, like battery life preservers, small apps, decent music apps, etc etc)
I consider myself a big cynic of Apple, especially their "magical and revolutionary" schtick, but the main reason I moved to iPhone from Android is what is spelled out in this article - a clear lifespan for a device and regular OS updates. None of this garbage where a carrier has to certify it first and then add their own crapware.
I know we have Android One etc and Nokia kept up to date quite well, but it was still patchy in terms of device support in at timely manner.
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