Weekend good reads for Apple developers #2023/23

WWDC23 edition of weekend good reads is here. Surely, there are still sessions you want to watch or re-watch, but there are already great articles that go well with WWDC content.

And... Apple Treats team reviews WWDC23 announcements in next episode – Spatial Computing! on June 14, 2023 at 9:00am PDT. Join us with your thoughts and impressions! See you on the live stream and come back next week for more great articles!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ-4ClIvf7U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ-4ClIvf7U

Some details on hardware of Vision Pro

No details are provided by Apple on actual hardware specifications of Vision Pro so far. Some information is gathered through WWDC sessions, interviews, responses.

Sensors

Apple announced 12 cameras, 5 sensors on the headset. LiDAR, and 3D imaging cameras are installed. Apple mentioned that only some of these cameras and sensors will be available for developers, while others will be used for face scanning and gesture recognition. Four cameras with LED illumnatio will be tracking eye movements.

Physical controls

Headset features Digital Crown (which also acts as a button) and separate button which could trigger photo capture or video recording. No controllers are required to work with Vision Pro. There are multiple "standard" hand gestures which are detected by the system and custom gestures could be implemented by application developers.

Gestures

Notably, Vision Pro support direct touch manipulation and "indirect" subtle finger gestures like pinches. Eye glance is used to highlight element which will be responding to gesture.

Graphics

Internal displays are made using micro-OLED technology and have total of 23 million pixels. It is reported that Vision Pro runs on 90Hz refresh rate with boosts to 96 Hz to display 24 FPS video content properly.

Chips

Vision Pro is powered by M2 and R1 chips. M2 acts as CPU/GPU engine for the headset while R1 is focused on signal processing to accumulate and analyze information coming from cameras and sensors.

Power

Headset could be used plugged in or via external battery. Vision Pro should have 2h battery life.

References:

Couple of notable features announced during Keynote and Platform State of the Union

First day of WWDC23 was packed with announcements. Here is a list of announcements captured by media.

Optic ID

Apple Vision Pro will have its own biometric authentication based on iris. iOS and iPadOS apps running on headset which use Face ID or Touch ID for authentication will automatically switch to Optic ID for seamless experience.

Siri

Siri now drops "Hey" part of activation phrase. Moreover, you can now do follow-up requests to speed up interaction.

Vision Pro

Apple to provide developers with Development Kit later this year.

Headset will have support for prescription lenses, not all prescriptions will be supported though.

Safari

Safari gains extensive support for web apps in macOS 14 Sonoma. Safari also brings support for spatial computing with <model> tag providing easy way of displaying 3D content alongside with web page.

Health

Follow up notifications to take medications are added. Mental health and vision control features are also built in. Device will now notify users if they're holding device too close to their face.

Various enhancements

  • Autocorrect and predictive text were significantly improved in iOS/iPadOS 17.
  • iPadOS 17 adds support to external webcams, not just those which are embedded into display.
  • AirTags now could be shared between multiple users.
  • Used SMS verification codes could be automatically removed.
  • App Store Review Guidelines now target fake and "bad" apps.
  • Optimized charging comes to more Apple Watch models.
  • Developers without paid membership now could install developer betas.
  • Stickers in Messages now could be created from photos.
  • Video conferencing features with presenter overlay would be available to different applications.
  • iOS Photos will recognize pets.

Apple Newsroom: Apple previews new features coming to Apple services this fall

References:

Winners of Apple Design Awards are announced

During first day of WWDC23 Apple announced winners of annual Apple Design Awards.

This year has six nominations both in apps and games:

Apple Developer: Apple Design Awards 2023 winners and finalists

Apple Newsroom: Apple announces winners of the 2023 Apple Design Awards

New OSes will drop support for some of the hardware

New releases will support less hardware than current ones.

iOS 17 will be supported on these devices (and, obviously next models):

  • iPhone XS and XS Max and newer
  • iPhone XR
  • iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd gen)

iPadOS 17 will be available:

  • iPad mini (5th generation and later)
  • iPad (6th generation and later)
  • iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
  • iPad Pro (all models except 1st-gen 12.9-inch)

watchOS 10 will be land on these watches:

  • Apple Watch Series 4
  • Apple Watch Series 5
  • Apple Watch Series 6
  • Apple Watch SE (1st and 2nd gen)
  • Apple Watch Series 7
  • Apple Watch Series 8
  • Apple Watch Ultra

macOS 14 will be supported on these Macs:

  • iMac: 2019 and later
  • iMac Pro: 2017
  • MacBook Air: 2018 and later
  • MacBook Pro: 2018 and later
  • Mac Pro: 2019 and later
  • Mac Studio: 2022 and later
  • Mac mini: 2018 and later

References:

Apple starts WWDC23 with huge announcements

Apple started its annual developer conference with Keynote and Platform State of the Union. First day of WWDC is packed with announcements.

Mac hardware

Apple unveils MacBook Air 15" with M2, and M2 Ultra powered Mac Studio and Mac Pro. The new ‌MacBook Air‌ starts at $1,299. Prices for the second generation Mac Studio start at $1,999. Mac Pro starts at $6999.

MacBook Air 13" with M2 chip is now starting at $999.

iOS / iPadOS 17

iOS 17 gets new features focusing on communications and sharing. Contacts app is revamped with emphasis on photos and typography. Standby view is added for iPhone.

iPadOS has more customization for Lock Screen. Widgets now could be interacted with.

Also, AirDrop now has new experience when users hold their phones close to each other.

macOS 14 Sonoma

macOS 14 Sonoma now has "Game Mode" which improves performance for games, minimizes delays. macOS also gets interactive widgets that could be placed everywhere.

Safari gets a lot of privacy and security improvements. Improved support for web apps is announced.

watchOS 10

watchOS 10 brings support for widgets. New design language is introduced.

tvOS 17

tvOS 17 gets support for Continuity Camera hinting on new tvOS-powered devices with camera hardware.

Vision Pro and visionOS

Apple unveils Vision Pro mixed reality headset. Price is starting with $3,499, US sales are expected to start early next year. Other countries to follow later.

Device has 12 cameras, 6 microphone and many other sensors. Also, device has external display that could show user’s eyes (feature is called EyeSight). During FaceTime calls device will show face by using trained ML model and device cameras.

Vision Pro will be able to run iOS and iPadOS apps in windowed mode. Also, headset supports direct 3D experiences built using RealityKit, ARKit. Unity is also supported as development framework.

Windowed apps could be powered by SwiftUI which is updated to better support depth.

Apple to host labs in multiple cities for developers to try their apps on real device before public launch. Simulator is available as a part of development tools.

visionOS SDK is to be available later this month.

Agreements update

The App Store Review Guidelines, the Apple Developer Program License Agreement, and the Apple Developer Agreement have been updated to support updated policies and upcoming features, and to provide clarification. Please review the changes below and accept the updated terms as needed.

App Store Review Guidelines
  • Added to 2.5.18: “Apps that contain ads must also include the ability for users to report any inappropriate or age-inappropriate ads.”
  • Revised bullet point 11 of 3.1.2(a): “Cellular carrier apps may include auto-renewing music and video subscriptions when purchased in bundles with new cellular data plans, with prior approval by Apple. Other auto-renewing subscriptions may also be included in bundles when purchased with new cellular data plans, with prior approval by Apple, if the cellular carrier apps support in-app purchase for users. Such subscriptions cannot include access to or discounts on consumable items, and the subscriptions must terminate coincident with the cellular data plan.”
  • Added to 4.1: “Submitting apps which impersonate other apps or services is considered a violation of the Developer Code of Conduct and may result in removal from the Apple Developer Program.”
  • Revised 4.4: “Apps hosting or containing extensions must comply with the App Extension Programming Guide, the Safari App Extensions Guide, or the Safari Web Extensions documentation and should include some functionality, such as help screens and settings interfaces where possible.”
  • Revised 4.4.2: “Safari extensions must run on the current version of Safari on the relevant Apple operating system.”
Developer Program License Agreement
  • Purpose; Definitions; Sections 2.6, 3.2, 3.3.4, 3.3.38, 3.3.63, 5.1, 6.3, 6.6, 7, 7.3, 7.5, 7.6, 14.2; Attachment 7: Specified requirements and functionality for apps on visionOS.
  • Definitions: Updated requirements for Corresponding Products.
  • Definitions; Section 3.1: Specified requirements for universities and their Authorized Student Developers.
  • Definitions; Section 3.3.62: Specified requirements for use of the Tap to Present ID API.
  • Definitions; Sections 3.3.40, 3.3.64, 5.1, 10; Attachment 10: Specified requirements for use of mobile device management (MDM).
  • Definitions; Section 3.3.65: Specified requirements for use of the iWork Document Exporting API.
  • Definitions; Section 3.3.67: Specified requirements for use of the Sensitive Content Analysis Framework.
  • Definitions; Attachment 3: Updated requirements for development of Passes.
  • Section 3.3.9: Added requirements for use of third-party SDKs and certain APIs, clarified restrictions on use of data derived from a device.
  • Section 3.3.42: Added requirements for use of certain Apple Pay APIs.
  • Section 3.3.63: Specified requirements for providing a partially immersive experience in an app.
  • Section 3.3.66: Specified requirements for the use of the Shallow Depth and Pressure feature.
  • Section 6.7: Added information on App Analytics.
  • Attachment 2: Clarified requirements for use of the In-App Purchase API.
Apple Developer Agreement
  • Sections 4, 6: Updated requirements for access to and use of pre-release materials.

Beta download: Operating Systems

Apple Developer:

Apple Newsroom:

References:

Weekend good reads for Apple developers #2023/22

Okay, I get it, it's weekend before the show. But why would you drop your routine? Let's go through some great technical and one fun article.

And, as promised, fun one – refresh your Apple history knowledge with WWDC 2023: The Pregame Quiz by Jordan Morgan.

Get ready for WWDC23 – next week will be definitely packed with new stuff we'll be learning the whole summer!