Comment Now that Apple is running the primarily online but one-day on-site version of WWDC that we’re about to enjoy for the second time, it finally feels like we can look at what a modern WWDC looks like. As someone lucky enough to enjoy many on-site WWDCs in the past, that “one-day” event felt a little disappointing compared to what happened pre-COVID. All the people I met and friends I made over the years, those events were fun and hugely beneficial. I don’t regret a penny of the … well, let’s not think about how much I spent on them over eleven years of attending in person. ? But as I was ..read more

Comment When I made this comment in last week’s issue, I didn’t think I’d be following up on it this week: Why do I keep linking to David Smith’s posts on app design? Partially because he’s one of the few people blogging on this topic… But David also couldn’t think of many people either, and Chris Clark, who also runs a great TikTok channel covering design and SwiftUI coding, made a good point that the subjective nature of the work means that most design writing is mostly thought leadership or case studies. My favourite articles are subjective, though, and not just with design topics. I lear ..read more

Comment When Hursh Agrawal published this video six months ago, he made a bold claim. He said they planned to create the Windows version of their Arc Web Browser using Swift, and it would have a native look and feel in terms of Windows UI and controls. It was an ambitious plan, but it also made me want to watch what they were doing. It all made more sense when I learned that Saleem Abdulrasool had joined their company, presumably to lead this effort. In case you’re not aware, Saleem is a Swift core team member and the driving force behind Swift on Windows and other efforts like SwiftWinRT and ..read more

Comment Did you catch Felix Krause’s announcement of his new Context SDK last week? It’s a library that helps an app determine the best time to present an upsell, purchasing decision, or any call to action to a user based on what they are doing and how likely they are to be receptive to it. It advocates presenting fewer upgrade prompts for better conversion rates. How does it know when to suggest good times for an upgrade prompt? iOS devices have a vast amount of information on what we are doing, and the library combines data from some of the sensors with CoreML to figure out what users are do ..read more

Comment At the start of last year, the rumours of an Apple AR/VR/MR headset were so prevalent that I opened the first issue of 2022 with a comment about them. I guessed that no announcements were imminent. It’s not just about correctly predicting whether Apple will or won’t announce something, though. I just re-read what I wrote, and I believe my reasoning still makes sense today. I don’t think VR/MR is any more compelling for Apple today than it was 15 months ago, mainly because of how people will perceive whatever is possible with today’s technology. But if the rumbling was deafening at the ..read more

Comment Did you catch this week’s announcement from Google or the follow-up from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) group? It’s the news that Google will start allowing developers to build support for alternate payment systems into apps that sell through the Play Store in the UK. Google is proposing a 3% reduction in their cut (in line with credit card processing fees) for developers who want to build alternate in-app payment mechanisms. I’m not at all surprised by that, as it’s the same solution Apple came up with when they reduced their fee to 27% in the Netherlands for dating ..read more

Comment I recently found this Copilot X plugin for Xcode from Shx Guo, and it set me thinking about my concerns about open-source licensing in AI-generated code again. Before I get into it, I’ll clarify the problem. It relates to the implications of using code licensed under “copyleft” and GPL-style licenses in the training data for tools like CoPilot and other software based on OpenAI Codex. While successful prosecutions of GPL violations are rare, they are not unheard of, and the implications can be serious. This case may set a precedent if it proceeds, but right now, nothing is clear. I’m n ..read more

Comment Congratulations if you received a golden ticket to the show! I’d have loved to be there this year, but again decided not to put my name in the hat for a ticket. I’ll certainly miss meeting old friends, making new ones, and finally getting a glimpse inside the ring at Apple Park! It’s just a very long way to travel for a single-day event, and the sensible side of my brain won out for once. ? I think this format for WWDC is great, and I wouldn’t change it back. Having a primarily virtual conference makes perfect sense, and I’m glad Apple shows no signs of returning to a fully in-person e ..read more

Comment This week’s announcement of WWDC snuck up on me a bit. Is it that time of year already? Yes, it is, and as I am sure you’re well aware by now, you can drop your name in a hat any time before next Tuesday for the chance for a ticket to a single-day, in-person event at Apple Park. If that’s not for you, the plan for the week sounds similar to the last few years. I can’t see any significant changes, but I’m not sure anyone was looking for a shake-up of the format that has been so well received over the last couple of years. ? The only other announced event is the annual Swift Student Chal ..read more

Comment Note: Before starting this week’s intro, I want to emphasise that I am not an impartial observer of today’s news. I would have covered this announcement no matter what the open-source project was, but I am directly involved in everything announced today, and my bias is unavoidable. Everything I write here is always my opinion, but I hope you’ll agree that this is hugely important news, regardless of my involvement! You may have already seen the latest post on the official Swift blog, where Apple announced their support for the Swift Package Index. They announced both public and financi ..read more