A new report by the Financial Times suggests that Apple is looking to change the 70/30 revenue share for certain types of App Store apps. The report claims that Apple wants to change the way revenue is distributed between developers and Apple for music, video and news apps.
The report is a bit circumspect as the timing of the change does not seem to be related to any particular incident, although potentially Apple is forced into cutting the share due to potential anticompetitive complaints with Apple Music, to be announced next week.
Apple has just released version 3.0 of its WWDC app for iPhone and iPad ahead of the big developer conference kicking off on June 8th. Notably, the updated version includes support for the Apple Watch for viewing conference info from the new device, including a WWDC glance: Expand Expanding Close
Apple has just released a new beta seed of the upcoming OS X 10.10.4 update. Users who are part of the company’s AppleSeed beta program and registered Mac developers can download the operating system from the Updates tab of the App Store or the Mac Developer Center.
This is the fourth developer seed that has been released. It comes with a build number of 14E26a. The previous build was released on May 11th with a build number of 14E17e.
Apple’s TestFlight-based App Analytics service is now available to all registered iOS developers through the iTunes Connect interface. Apple recently made App Analytics available to select developers upon request (which were fulfilled in a short amount of time), but starting today all developers can access the service without the need for requesting access. Expand Expanding Close
With its major developer conference scheduled to kick off in just over four weeks, Apple has started sending out WWDC scholarship notifications to winning applicants. Scholarship recipients avoid the limited lottery system for purchasing a ticket while the $1599 price of the ticket is waived. This year the scholarship program includes 350 slots for student developers and STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) organization members. In previous years, the scholarship program has been limited to 200 tickets. Apple will reveal the latest versions of iOS and OS X during the WWDC keynote. The conference begins June 8th. You can read the full email below:
Apple today has published a redesigned version of its Human Interface Guidelines website for Apple Watch WatchKit application development. The new website is far cleaner than the previous website, and introduces lengthier and more interactive descriptions of the different Apple Watch interface paradigms…
Apple has started offering registered developers the chance to sign-up and test its upcoming App Analytics feature first announced last year at WWDC. Developers have been awaiting the service since it was announced following Apple’s acquisition of TestFlight (and FlightPath), a service which offered its own analytics features. Expand Expanding Close
As promised two days ago, Apple is now contacting developers who applied for expedited Apple Watch shipments, notifying them that they’ve either won or lost the random selection process. Selected developers are now entitled “to place an expedited order for one (1) Apple Watch Sport that’s guaranteed to ship by April 28, 2015” paying full price for the Watch and, if chosen, AppleCare. Developers have until 5:00pm “local time” on April 27 to complete their orders.
Apple Developer Relations invited registered developers to the random drawing on April 21, enabling some of them to get faster access to Apple Watch hardware for testing purposes. The Apple Watch Sport being offered is a silver model with a blue band, and Apple promises that the orders will be shipped by April 28 regardless of the availability date listed on the Apple Online Store.
Developers who were not randomly selected received letters noting that “you can still order Apple Watch on the Apple Online Store and receive your order as it becomes available.” Both of the full emails are below…
Apple today seeded the first developer build of OS X 10.10.4 Yosemite to testers. The build is labeled 14E7f and follows today’s supplemental update of OS X 10.10.3 and the first developer beta of iOS 8.4 which includes a brand new Music app and iTunes Radio experience.
Today’s release appears to only be available to registered developers and AppleSeed testers; public beta versions of OS X tend to follow in subsequent build releases. For registered developers and AppleSeed members with the Configuration Utility installed, the pre-release software update should be available through the Mac App Store. Apple says the update focuses on “stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac.”
Three days after the last release, Apple has seeded an updated build of the OS X 10.10.3 software update for Mac. The new build ranks in at 14D130a, just a few steps above the 14D127 build released at the start of the week, for both developers and public beta testers. The update measures in at 1.52GB and highlights stability and security improvements.
The new version of OS X Yosemite includes the all-new Photos for Mac app, new and diverse emoji characters, improved login for Google accounts, and developer APIs for Force Touch on the new 12-inch MacBook and 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro. While Apple has not shared the exact release date for OS X 10.10.3, it describes the included Photos app as “coming this spring” meaning the public release is likely imminent. Expand Expanding Close
Apple has now opened the floodgates and is letting all developers submit Watch apps to the App Store. This means any of the 1.2 million apps can now submit updates including Watch apps (using the WatchKit framework), beyond the select partners Apple rolled out last week.
As a reminder, Watch apps come bundled as extensions inside normal iOS apps. This means customers can update the apps in the iPhone ready for the Watch’s release on the 24th. Apple is pointing developers to the submission reference guidelines for more information on this process.
Less than a week following the previous seed, Apple has released build 14D105 of the upcoming OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 to both developers and users of the Public Beta. Apple has not yet said when 10.10.3 will be released to all OS X Yosemite users, but the increase in seeds in recent weeks likely indicates that a wider launch is fast approaching. As we’ve previously detailed, 10.10.3 will include the all new iCloud-based Photos app for the Mac, developer APIs for the new Force Touch Trackpad on the MacBook and MacBook Pro with Retina display, and a new Emoji picker across the system.
Apple has asked developers who attended secretive Apple Watch app development workshops in Cupertino across January and February to hold off on announcing their applications, according to multiple high-profile developers. These people say that Apple has asked developers to not provide in-depth details, revealing screenshots and videos, or launch information about their applications until after the event at the very least. In some cases, Apple has even asked developers to wait until late March or early April to announce their applications…
After announcing its first dev con last December, Yahoo today kicked off its mobile developer conference in San Francisco where it unveiled five new products for mobile app makers. As suspected, Yahoo revealed the latest tools from Flurry, the mobile ad and analytics firm it acquired last July.
This includes Flurry Analytics Explorer, a new dashboard for the Flurry Analytics system which it says enables developers to discover more insights with than before, and Flurry Pulse, which lets app builders “share app signals with partners using their existing Flurry SDK implementations and the click of a button.” Expand Expanding Close
Apple has been working with several third-party App Store developers at its Cupertino, California offices to assist developers in finishing up applications for the upcoming Apple Watch. Development and design representatives from dozens of different development firms have visited Apple last week, or are coming to Cupertino this week, to work with Apple engineers to finish up WatchKit-based applications. One source claims that Apple is holding workshops for over 100 different developers across February. Apple also met with a smaller number of developers to assist with WatchKit development and discuss future plans in early January…
Apple today announced that it is increasing the size limit for apps submitted by developers to the App Store through its iTunes Connect service. Previously limited to 2GB, app packages can now be a maximum of 4GB in size. Apple made the announcement on its website for developers earlier today but some apps have been over the 2GB limit since at least January. Expand Expanding Close
Apple released a preview version of its new Photos for Mac app to testers today, and some developers noticed a new private framework used to build the iPhoto replacement called UXKit. While Apple often uses private frameworks that never become accessible to developers, the UXKit framework is notable as it appears to be a version of UIKit based on AppKit.
Mac developers have long wanted a version of UIKit, the framework upon which apps are constructed and managed including the user interface and app interactions, as it would offer app makers a powerful tool for creating software for the desktop just like it has on the smartphone and tablet.
While UXKit remains a private framework accessible only by developers within Apple, it’s possible UXKit could be a hint of how Apple will encourage iOS developers to create apps on the Mac as well making it much simpler to create apps for both iOS and Mac. Expand Expanding Close
Buying an app from the App Store is designed to be as easy as possible. A large button with a price tag sits as close to the app’s icon and name as possible, while additional details linger below. You’re not supposed to think or worry too much about each purchase — the transaction is impulse-driven when the price is low — and the implication is that the app will work when you get it, and keep working for a long time thereafter.
But what happens when an app — marketed as compatible with current iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches — is never updated for the latest version of iOS, and either stops working after an iOS upgrade, or never works at all on new devices? That’s the situation buyers of Square Enix’s $18 The World Ends with You: Solo Remix (and $20 iPad version) have found themselves in since iOS 8 was released. The game’s description claims that it “requires iOS 4.3 or later” and is compatible with devices that shipped with iOS 8, but it wasn’t actually iOS 8-compatible. Yesterday, Square Enix publicly flip-flopped on whether it would leave the game unplayable or fix it. Before changing its tune, the company told customers that they’d need to continue to keep using iOS 7 in order to play the game — an unrealistic alternative, though one that’s faced by users of numerous iOS apps that aren’t being updated by their developers.
By considering abandonment of the 69% of iOS users who are currently on iOS 8, Square Enix wasn’t just making a business choice; it was also spotlighting the risk App Store customers take every time they purchase an app. And it also revealed how long-unsolved App Store listing ambiguities are subjecting users, developers, and Apple itself to unnecessary problems.
iTunes Connect, Apple’s portal where developers manage software published on the App Store, is presenting many users with a widespread issue this morning. Several users are reporting logging in with their own credentials and being presented with both the name and apps of other iTunes Connect users, including upcoming, unreleased versions of apps. 9to5Mac has corroborated the errors with iTunes Connect. Expand Expanding Close
Adhering to government sanctions issued by the United States and European Commission in December, TechCrunch reports that Apple has started emailing notice of termination letters to registered developers in the Crimea region of Ukraine. Effective immediately, developers in the region cannot create or publish apps on the App Store and will be unable to access the developer portal, according to the reports. Expand Expanding Close
If you write iOSapps and wonder how your earnings compare against those of other developers – or you have an idea for an app, and are wondering whether it’s worth pursuing – it can be tough to find any hard information. We hear occasional stories about hugely successful apps like Flappy Bird making hundreds of thousands of dollars per day, and we know there are some apps with literally zero downloads to their name, but what about the middle ground?
Jared Sinclair, developer of the RSS reader Unread, decided last year to share both his earnings from the app, and the lessons he’d learned along the way. It’s taken six months, but several other developers started the new year by following his example, with numbers and lessons shared for podcast player Overcast, graphical game Monument Valley and developer aid Dash … Expand Expanding Close
A week ago, Apple introduced 14-day no-questions-asked refunds in the EU for iTunes Store and App Store content. This means that, without the need for a reason, any Apple customer in Europe can get their money back for (primarily) app purchases in 5-7 days time. That’s how it is described, at least.
This opens up some possibilities for abuse. For instance, if you complete a game within two weeks, then you can get your money back and end up paying nothing. As a developer, I tested this out myself. It turns out there is an even bigger problem. At least, right now, when the refund is processed, the app continues to work. You get the app for free, forever.
Way back in July, Apple registered FCC certification for a new piece of iBeacon Bluetooth hardware. Naturally, 9to5Mac covered the release of wireless certification documents for the hardware. It was unclear by those filings the nature of the product, whether it was targeted at use in Apple Stores, some form of developer testing equipment or something else entirely. The product was never made publicly available for purchase, for unknown reasons.
However, time has elapsed such that the rest of Apple’s submitted documents are now available to the public. Vitally, this includes a user manual which immediately signals that this iBeacon hardware was meant for developers, presumably to test iBeacon integration in their own apps. It’s unclear, though, if this is meant to be used ‘in the wild’. Read on for an exposition on the workings of this mysterious device.
