Tag: Guidelines

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

by Danis Tazetdinov

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

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Apple publishes first App Store Transparency Report

by Danis Tazetdinov

Apple first App Store Transparency Report explaining app rejections, government requests, etc.

Report claims that 1,679,694 of 6,101,913 app submissions were rejected.

App submission rejections by App Store Review Guidelines section:

  • Safety: 92,598
  • Performance: 1,018,415 
  • Business: 152,391
  • Design: 212,464
  • Legal: 441,972
  • Other: 79,736

Also report includes number of terminated user accounts – 282,036,628.

Apple declares number of total number of developers – 36,974,015 and number of developer accounts terminated – 428,487.

Apple Legal: 2022 App Store Transparency Report (PDF)

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Apple restricts generative AI app age rating to 17+

by Danis Tazetdinov

Apple requires BlueMail app developers to set its rating to 17+ due to use of generative AI models which potentially could provide responses not suitable for children.

This rule could be then extended to all apps working with generative models, especially GPT models which are getting traction recently.

References:

Apple starts enforcing App Store rules regarding NFT and In-app purchases

by Danis Tazetdinov

Apple blocks Coinbase Wallet app from App Store due to NFT trading without use of In-app purchases.

Recent App Store Review Guidelines update forces apps to use Apple's mechanisms and treats NFTs as any other digital goods. Coinbase also could not update their NFT trading to use In-app purchases for now.

App Store: App Store Review Guidelines

Reference: Coinbase Wallet NFT Transfers Blocked From App Store

Apple updates App Store Review Guidelines

by Danis Tazetdinov

Apple publishes updates to App Store Review Guidelines. This time updates cover multiple areas:

  • Clarify how to provide access to app features for review;
  • Add details on prohibited apps;
  • Clarify Matter support requirements;
  • Clarify NFT and cryptocurrency usage;
  • Allow advertisement management apps not to use In-app purchases;
  • Clarify Apple Music usage within apps.

Apple also notified developers of these changes via email.

Apple Developer:

Apple updates Human Interface Guidelines

by Danis Tazetdinov

Apple revamps Human Interface Guidelines website. Now guidelines are provided as united documents for all platforms.

Document is easier to navigate and understand, pages now contain links to appropriate development resources.

Apple Developer:

Reference: Apple Updates Its Human Interface Guidelines

Apple starts WWDC22 with many great announcements for developers

by Danis Tazetdinov

WWDC22 is here! Apple's annual conference started with Special Event day, Keynote, State of the Union and Apple Design Awards.

Apple Developer Center

It actually started on Sunday June 5th. Apple presented its new Apple Developer Center to public. Center provides an opportunity to development teams to participate in workshops hosted by Apple and meet Apple teams while working on interesting projects. Overall, Apple Developer Center brings Apple Store aesthetics to developer-focused venue.

Apple did not provide any announcements on how often it would invite developers to visit Developer Center, but general recommendation is to monitor for emails and news in Developer app.

Keynote

Before going into OS updates, let's mention Apple M2 announcement which is iterates over success of M1. New chip is presented in new MacBook Air with design following recent MacBook Pro principles. New MacBook Air is fan-less and provides full day battery life.

M2 MacBook Pro 13" is also announced with no body changes.

iOS 16

iOS 16 brings many new features including:

  • Personalizable Lock Screen with widgets based on WidgetKit;
  • Live Activities which extends notifications on Lock Screen with realtime updates;
  • Focus mode API for developers – Focus Filters;
  • Live Text API;
  • Shared With You API;
  • Collaboration API to allow easy collaboration start via Messages app;
  • Improvements in Apple Pay, Apple Pay Later, Apple Pay Order Tracking;
  • SharePlay in Messages;
  • Developer mode should now be explicitly enabled on devices to allow debugging or UI automation testing;
  • Simpler way of integrating Siri support – App Intents.

iPadOS 16

iPadOS gets more desktop-like features:

  • M1 iPads will now be able to use Stage Manager – display up to four applications per screen (totaling with 8 apps when connected to external display) at the same time, and resize app windows;
  • Finally iPad gets its own Weather app.

watchOS 9

watchOS 9 brings many features focused on fitness and health including:

  • AFib constant monitoring will help people to monitor their condition and check how their behavior affects it;
  • New monitoring features will help better understand the quality of the workouts and overall fitness progress.

macOS 13 Ventura

macOS also gets attention this year:

  • Continuity camera now allows using iPhone in video conferencing;
  • Also FaceTime calls could be handed off to Mac easily;
  • Stage Manager is here to help with window clutter.

Xcode 14

Xcode 14 focuses on developer performance and adds multiple useful features for developers. Xcode Previews were rebuilt and are expected to run more smoothly.

Frameworks

As always, many existing frameworks get important updates:

  • SwiftUI gets new charts library, new approach for navigation and navigation views;
  • Metal 3 focuses on performance for resources and shaders;
  • Nearby Communications (UWB) improvements;
  • MapKit brings Maps features including Look Around to third-party apps;
  • WeatherKit for weather apps;
  • And many more...

App Store Review Guidelines are updated

2.5.4: Deleted requirement that apps using location background mode include a reminder that doing so may dramatically decrease battery life.
4.2.3: Deleted requirement to include sufficient content in the binary for the app to function at launch.
4.7: Deleted restriction on lotteries or charitable donations in code that is not embedded in the binary.
5.2.5: If your app displays Apple Weather data, it should follow the attribution requirements provided in the WeatherKit documentation.
5.3.3: Deleted restriction on purchasing lottery or raffle tickets or initiating fund transfers in the app.

Apple Developer

New Human Interface Guidelines are published

New Apple Human Interface Guidelines are now unified across platforms, provide links to relevant talks and design resources.

Apple Newsroom:

Apple Developer:

Apple updates App Store Review Guidelines allowing ‘reader’ apps to have link for account registration

by Danis Tazetdinov

Apple made an update for App Store Review Guidelines allowing 'reader' apps to link to website for account registration.

Last year, Apple announced an update coming to the App Store in early 2022 that would allow developers of “reader” apps to include an in-app link to their website for account creation and management purposes. Starting today, with the update of App Store Review guideline 3.1.3(a), developers of reader apps can now request access to the External Link Account Entitlement. This entitlement lets reader apps link to a website that is owned or maintained by the developer, so that users can create or manage their account outside of the app. Reader apps are apps that provide one or more of the following digital content types — magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, or video — as the primary functionality of the app.

Apple Developer

At the same time, Apple also made new change for external payment processing for dating apps in Netherlands. Now apps do not require to have separate binary to use external payment processing.

This proposal is yet to be accepted by ACM.

Apple Developer:

Reference:

App Store Small Business program no longer prohibits app transfers

by Danis Tazetdinov

When App Store Small Business program was announced, there were submission rejections related to app transfers made by developers. Apple is now informing developers regarding the change in guidelines essentially allowing app transfers.

Reference:

Authority for Consumers and Markets of Netherlands did not approve Apple’s approach for dating apps external payments support

by Danis Tazetdinov

ACM did not approve Apple's proposal on support of external payment methods for dating apps. ACM now fines Apple €5m a week, with total fine of €50m.

Apple must adjust its conditions for access to the Dutch App Store for dating-app providers. In the App Store, dating-app providers must also be able to use payment systems other than Apple’s payment system. In addition, dating-app providers must have the ability to refer to payment systems outside of the app. This had been laid down in an order subject to periodic penalty payments that ACM imposed on Apple in August 2021. On December 24, 2021, the court ruled that this part of the order could be published.

ACM

It is not clear what conditions are to be changed, so more communication from Apple is expected soon.

ACM Press Release: Apple fails to satisfy requirements set by ACM

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