What the Winners of Apple"s Design Awards Thought About WWDC - Webmaster News

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Tim

SAN FRANCISCO — They stood on stage beaming like parents, many holding hefty metallic squares with glowing Apple logos. They were the developers of the 12 apps that had just won coveted Apple Design Awards at the company’s 25th annual World Wide Developers Conference on Monday.

The choices were compelling, but what I really wanted to know was what the award-winning developers thought of Apple’s keynote and fire hose of announcements. So as the decorated developers milled about the stage, we asked a few of the award winners about their products and WWDC perceptions — where Apple delivered and where it disappointed.

The app icons for the 12 Apple Design Award winners.

Image: Mashable, Lance Ulanoff

One of the winners, Storehouse, is a visually compelling iPad app that lets anyone turn their photos into image-driven, interactive stories (the company has secured $7 million in funding). Founders Tim Donnelly (formerly of The Daily) and Mark Kawano (formerly of Apple) said they spent roughly a year making a “publishing app for the post-PC world.” The two developers started work in January 2013, and since then, the team has grown to 13 people.

Donnelly and Kawano said they were quite pleased with Apple’s updates and saw immediate opportunities in some of the upcoming iOS 8 updates. “Being able to have access to your photos all the time will empower our users to tell stories,” Kawano said, referring to the iCloud update that will give ubiquitous access to all cloud-based photos from all devices.

However, the cofounders didn’t view iOS 8′s camera functionality updates as new features, but rather access to existing ones.

Senri founder and software engineer Shahrouz Zolfaghari.

Image: Mashable, Lance Ulanoff

Senri’s platform adventure game Leo’s Fortune won an Apple Design Award as much for its attractive design as it did for its on-screen guidance. Senri founder and developer Shahrouz Zolfaghari said Apple’s powerful new API, Metal, is the most exciting thing to come out of the WWDC keynote.

“It will enable us to make games more like console games,” Zolfaghari said. “It will really improve the latency of actions. It opens up the opportunity to make games that are more interactive.” He even believes Metal could make future games more energy efficient.

Zolfaghari expects that while he may use Metal to update Leo’s Fortune, it’s more likely he’ll build new games with the API. “I think [Metal] will open up the possibility to make new genres of games for iOS,” he said.

But one thing was missing from Tim Cook’s keynote, according to Zolfaghari: hardware. “I’d like to see stuff that works on the TV,” he said, noting that iOS could work well as a gaming platform for large screen TVs.

USTWO senior games developer Manesh Mistry (L) and USTWO executive games producer Dan Gray show off their Apple Design Award.

Image: Mashable, Lance Ulanoff

Monument Valley is the game M. C. Escher would have built if he were an app developer. In fact, the game’s developers, Manesh Mistry and Dan Gray, admitted that Escher’s mind-bending optical illusion art was an inspiration.

This is often the first thing people notice when they see screenshots of the game, Gray said. “I think it’s really nice to hit that inspiration with younger people who might not know who Escher is,” he added. Mistry said that the Escher-like design is a natural extension of working in an “isometric perspective,” or the representation of 3D in a 2D drawing.

Mistry said the two biggest WWDC announcements in their eyes were Swift, Apple’s new programming language, and Metal.

“[Swift is] really incredible, I need to dig into that,” Mistry said. “To think that you could have scripting power that’s faster than native is just — it’s blowing my mind.”

The developers echoed the hope for hardware, but Mistry said the fact that Apple announced so much software made up for it. “I felt fairly overwhelmed and satisfied after the keynote,” he said.

Gray laughed. “We always want more hardware announcements,” he said. “Every single week we want more.”

Surely others wanted more, too. But among this small group of app developers who figured out how to please Apple, it seems as though Apple pleased them, too.

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Source: http://mashable.com/2014/06/03/apple-design-awards-wwdc/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss

How to Watch Apple"s WWDC Live Stream: The Debut of iOS 8, OS X 10.1 - Webmaster News

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Apple

Apple is expected to unveil its next-generation operating systems on Monday, and we’ll finally get a glimpse of all the new bells and whistles coming to iPhone, iPad and desktop in the near future.

The company is once again kicking off its WorldWide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) with a keynote presentation, where CEO Tim Cook will likely play master of ceremonies. The main announcement is said to focus on the new OS X 10.1 software for Mac computers and iOS 8 for mobile.

You’ll be able to watch it all go down live if — and only if — you’re running an Apple device.

For those running a Safari browser on an Apple device, you can access the live stream by clicking here.

Live streaming video requires Safari 4 or later on OS X v10.6 or later; Safari on iOS 4.2 or later; or second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 5.0.2 or later.

The event held at the Moscone West center in San Francisco begins at 10:00 a.m. PT/1:00 p.m. on Monday, June 2.

The fact that Apple is live streaming the event means that something big is coming — the company usually offers this broadcast option for product launches when the news is especially noteworthy.

The center has already been decorated with banners that feature “X” (for the OS X release) and “8″ (for the iOS 8 release). Appearing behind the “X” banner is a well-known rock face called El Capitan in Yosemite, sparking rumors that OS X could be named after either. El Cap might sound like a silly name for an operating system, but Apple has reportedly trademarked that name (along with Yosemite), so it could be fair game.

Meanwhile, iOS 8 will have a strong focus on fitness and health. In fact, a program called Healthbook is said to record steps taken, heart rate, hydration, nutrition, blood-sugar level and other factors.

Other updates include a Maps app refresh, split screen capabilities for iPad and Siri improvements. We might also see a smart home announcement and maybe even one related to the much-anticipated iWatch, although the latter is unlikely at this time.

Mashable will be reporting live from the event, so be sure to fire up the live stream and our live blog for real-time analysis too.

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Source: http://mashable.com/2014/06/02/how-to-watch-apple-wwdc-keynote/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss

How Apple"s New iCloud Pricing Stacks Up to the Competition - Webmaster News

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Along with updates to its Mac OS X and iOS operating systems, Apple unveiled a new file-storage system called iCloud Drive, as well as new prices to make its cloud solution even more competitive.

But figuring out which features appeal to cloud-storage customers is like hitting a moving target, so we’ve put together an updated comparison list of the competition to show exactly where Apple’s new cloud offering stands. Check it out, below:

Apple iCloud update

5GB – free

20GB – $0.99 per month

200GB – $3.99 per month

Tiers available up to 1TB

Microsoft OneDrive

7GB – free

50GB – $25 annually

100GB – $50 annually

200GB – $100 annually

1TB (available soon) – $2.50 per user per month with an annual commitment

Google Drive

15GB – free

100GB – $1.99

1TB – $9.99

10TB and up – $99.00

Dropbox

2GB and up – free

100GB and up – $9.99

Box.net

10GB – free

100GB – $5

Unlimited – $15

The prices and options — as currently listed by each service — for large amounts of cloud storage have become fairly competitive, but vary widely. Some of the intangibles baked into each include uptime reliability, integration with each company’s larger software suite, and of course, trustworthiness when it comes to protecting your personal data.

A look at Apple’s new iCloud Drive control panel during Apple senior vice-president of software engineering Craig Federighi’s presentation at WWDC.

While each company offers an attractive free tier of service, their other options are too different to be compared directly to each other. Regardless, Apple’s new iCloud pricing plan puts it in a relatively good competitive position when compared to some other options on the market.

Although Apple’s operating-system updates have been slated for a fall release, the company did not specify when the new iCloud prices would be available, nor did it divulge sizes or prices for the announced up-to-1TB tiers.

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Source: http://mashable.com/2014/06/02/apple-icloud-pricing/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss

Apple"s Smart Home Initiative Is Probably Just a Certification Program - Webmaster News

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As you were, Apple clever house hopefuls.

Contrary to reports released in the Financial Times that arised earlier this week that Apple will be presenting its own home automation technology, it appears that the Cupertino business will instead be making sure that existing products adhere to a standard, much like exactly what Made for iPhone provides for devices, depending a report from GigaOm.

SEE LIKEWISE: The 25 Finest Free iPad Apps

At first, it was believed that Apple would provide an iOS-powered wise home system, creating a platform for designers to improve. That method, those designers could more quickly offer products that do thoughts such as instantly switching on house lights at the detection of the property owner’s iPhone. However, it now appears that Apple is working toward certifying smart house devices that with iOS support, such as the Nest thermostat, which Google got in January.

Apple was anticipated to debut its brand-new wise home system at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference beginning June 2 in San Francisco. WWDC will apparently see the launch of Healthbook, an app devoted to tracking health-related information, including blood pressure rates, workout time and hours of sleep per night. In addition, the conference will also most likely preview iOS 8 and the latest OSX.

Apple representatives did not right away reply to a demand for remark.

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Source: http://mashable.com/2014/05/30/apple-smart-home-initiative/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss

Eddy Cue: Apple"s Upcoming Product Pipeline Is the Best in 25 Years - Webmaster News

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Apple just bought Beats, but that doesn’t mean it’s not carefully planning the launch of its own products, and according to Apple SVP Eddy Cue, the company has some very exciting ones in the works.

“We’ve got the best product pipeline that I’ve seen in my 25 years at Apple,” Cue told Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg Wednesday at the Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

No specifics were given, and it could just be Apple’s standard pre-launch hype. However, 2014 really could be an interesting year for Apple.

We know that the company’s upcoming product lineup includes an iPhone — the question is, how many iPhones, and what will be their screen sizes? A rumor from May claimed the iPhone 6 might have a 4.7-inch screen and a very thin profile, and we’ve also heard talk about Apple launching more than one iPhone this year.

We can also expect Mac upgrades on all fronts (an ultrathin 12-inch MacBook Air is one of the most exciting rumors we’ve heard), and probably a new iPad Air and iPad mini.

Most importantly, we’ve heard talk about several completely new product categories, including a smartwatch and a smart home system.

We’ll know a little bit more about Apple’s plans at this year’s WWDC conference, which runs from June 2 – 6 at Moscone West in San Francisco. For the rest, we’ll probably have to wait until August or September.

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Source: http://mashable.com/2014/05/29/apple-upcoming-products-best-in-25-years/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss

Apple"s iWatch Could Have a Round Face - Webmaster News

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As Apple season kicks into high gear, so do more frequent reports about the mythical iWatch.

The most recent report has nothing to do with release date, price or specific functionality, but it does have to do with a key component of any wearable device: design.

According to Brian Blair, an analyst at Rosenblatt Securities, the iWatch will have a round face. Business Insider shared Blair’s findings, which the analyst got from “supply chain sources” during a recent trip to Taiwan.

Blair’s sources say that like the Moto 360, the iWatch will have a round face — thus looking more like a regular watch. Apparently, however, the design will be “slimmer” than the approach Motorola is taking with its Android Wear-based smartwatch.

Motorola said that one of the reasons it went for a round design, as opposed to square, was the extra usable surface area a sphere offers on a wrist. The biggest factor preventing most smartwatch makers from doing rounded screens already has largely been about the design of the screen and other components. Apple, more than any other company, is adroit at fitting components into a specific design profile, so the idea that the company might go in that direction isn’t surprising.

Blair says there will be various “models” of the iWatch, which could mean distinct versions for men and women. His sources also reportedly tell him the watch is supposed to go into production in July/August. If true, that could mean the iWatch could debut as early as late-September or early-October.

Of course, all of this is just conjecture from unnamed supply chain sources and we should take all of it with very large grains of salt. Apple deals with hundreds of component makers and, as a result, most supply-chain rumors are notoriously inaccurate.

Still, when it comes to Apple — smoke often does indicate fire. Frankly, the last time we can remember such sustained buzz for an unannounced Apple product was with the original iPad.

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Source: http://mashable.com/2014/05/28/iwatch-round-face-rumor/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss