Tag: iCloud

Sun is back here in Bay Area, weekend is probably going to be quite hot. And we've a lot to read – even couple of not-so-technical articles. Let's dive in.

• How to implement a UIViewController delegate when working with SwiftUI by Natascha Fadeeva covers Coordinator use in SwiftUI UIViewControllerRepresentable;
  
  
• Keith Harrison explains technical aspects of file access in Accessing Security Scoped Files;
  
  
• Christian Tietze shares a hint on how to open Safari on Mac regardless of default browser settings – Safari (for Mac) URL Scheme;
  
  
• How to Define Custom URL Actions for SwiftUI Text Views by Lee Kah Seng covers customization of URL opening handlers in SwiftUI;
  
  
• Antoine van der Lee explains Universal Links in iOS – Universal Links implementation on iOS;
  
  
• David Smith shares his design findings in Changing Corners and Designing a Step Goal Live Activity;
  
  
• Exploring Circular Paths: How to Create a Circular Text View in SwiftUI by Leonardo Maia Pugliese covers interesting use of Path with Text in SwiftUI;
  
  
• Jordan Morgan provides a beginner's guide to SwiftPM – Creating a Swift Package: Quick Start Gotchas;
  
  
• How to use AttributedString in UIKit by Sarun W. helps to simplify use of attributed strings in SwiftUI and UIKit;
  
  
• Majid Jabrayilov explains how to easily export and import data via files in SwiftUI – File importing and exporting in SwiftUI;
  
  
• And finishing up with couple of general engineering articles: Dive into People-First Leadership: A Key to Successful Dev Teams, The Hidden Costs of Not Upskilling: Why Developer Training Matters and Going Indie: building a foundation, finding clients, and negotiating rates.

Hope you have time to read these great articles and we'll meet again next Friday!

Just recently we announced Canopy, and now there is another library to sync data over CloudKit.

CloudSyncSession is a Swift library that builds on top of the CloudKit framework to make it easier to write sync-enabled, offline-capable apps.

CloudKitSession

In case of CloudSyncSession data is not persisted locally by the library. Overall, design principles are described in documentation:

1. Persistence-free. Data is not persisted to disk.
2. Testable. Code is structured in a way to maximize how much behavior can be tested.
3. Modular. To the extent that it makes sense, different behaviors are handled separately by different components.
4. Event-based. State is predictable, as it is updated based on the series of events that have previously occurred.
5. Resilient. Recoverable errors are gracefully handled using retries and backoffs. Non-recoverable errors halt further execution until the app signals that work should be resumed.
6. Inspectable. The current state of the session can be evaluated for troubleshooting and diagnostics.
7. Focused. This project aims to solve a particular use case and do it well.

GitHub: CloudSyncSession

Reference: CloudSyncSession

Tact developers released library to work with CloudKit as open source – Canopy.

Canopy helps you write better, more testable CloudKit apps. It isolates the CloudKit dependency so you can write fast and reliable tests for your CloudKit-related features, and implements standard CloudKit-related behaviors.

GitHub: Canopy (documentation)

Reference: CloudKit code from Tact is now available as Canopy open-source library

Apple plans to shut down iCloud and other Apple services for older OS releases according to @StellaFudge.

https://twitter.com/StellaFudge/status/1643410897635799042

iOS 11 – 11.2.6, macOS 10.13 – 10.13.3, watchOS 4 – 4.2.3 and tvOS 11 – 11.2.6 are expected to loose access to iCloud services later this year. No formal confirmation from Apple is yet issued though.

References:

• Apple Services Except iCloud to Stop Working on Some Older Software Versions
• Apple to shut down its online services for devices running older software

Weekend is coming with several great reads this time. Let's dive in!

• Point-Free Pointers finish their SwiftUI cycle – Modern SwiftUI: Parent-child communication, Modern SwiftUI: Identified arrays, Modern SwiftUI: State-driven navigation, Modern SwiftUI: Dependencies, Modern SwiftUI: Testing;
  
  
• Jaanus Kase covers aspects of iCloud encryption in CloudKit – What Advanced Data Protection for iCloud means for Tact and other apps that use CloudKit;
  
  
• David Smith is continuing his design series – DND 18: Creating Custom SF Symbols and DND 19: Designing for Smaller Dynamic Type Sizes;
  
  
• SwiftUI View's internals covered by Chris Eidhof – Variadic Views;
  
  
• Natalia Panferova covers ShareLink customizations in SwiftUI – Customize ShareLink appearance with view modifiers;
  
  
• Krzysztof Zabłocki continues his article on widget architecture – Widget Architecture - Part 2;
  
  
• A Less Evil NotificationCenter? by Jordan Morgan proposes an approach on better usage of NotificationCenter in SwiftUI;
  
  
• Natascha Fadeeva provides good guide on keychain – Developer guide on keychain for iOS;
  
  
• How To Speed Up Swift By Ordering Conformances by Noah Martin explains how Swift protocol conformances impact app launch time;
  
  
• Majid Jabrayilov continues his series on charts – Mastering charts in SwiftUI. Custom Marks.;
  
  
• Swift Package String Localization by Keith Harrison guides through details of providing localized resources in Swift packages;
  
  
• Leonardo Maia Pugliese explains how to deal with nested ObservableObject's in SwiftUI – The Nested Observables Problem in SwiftUI;
  
  
• Iterating over web socket messages with async / await in Swift by Donny Wals guides through structured concurrency usage with sockets;
  
  
• Two great articles by Marco Eidinger: minimizing device backup size – Prevent your app's files from being included in iCloud Backup and money-saving advice for GitHub Actions – Save money when using GitHub Actions for iOS CI/CD;
  
  
• New Scanning and Text Capabilities with VisionKit by Warren Burton covers on-device image recognition tools in VisionKit framework;
  
  
• Antoine van der Lee advices on how to simplify testing of push notifications – Testing push notifications on the iOS simulator;
  
  
• And finishing with two articles by Douglas Hill – NSPredicate: an old API with new surprises and Using JavaScript in a Swift app.

This is a lot for a weekend, so choose wisely. :)

Apple publishes updates to some of its operating systems. iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and macOS 13.2 get updates. tvOS and HomePod software are not yet updated. Also, no new Xcode is released.

This update also brings iCloud Advanced Data Protection to all users worldwide.

iOS 16.3

This update includes the following enhancements and bug fixes:

• New Unity wallpaper honors Black history and culture in celebration of Black History Month
• Security Keys for Apple ID allow users to strengthen the security of their account by requiring a physical security key as part of the two factor authentication sign in process on new devices
• Support for HomePod (2nd generation)
• Emergency SOS calls now require holding the side button with the up or down volume button and then releasing in order to prevent inadvertent emergency calls
• Fixes an issue in Freeform where some drawing strokes created with Apple Pencil or your finger may not appear on shared boards
• Addresses an issue where the wallpaper may appear black on the Lock Screen
• Fixes an issue where horizontal lines may temporarily appear while waking up iPhone 14 Pro Max
• Fixes an issue where the Home Lock Screen widget does not accurately display Home app status
• Addresses an issue where Siri may not respond properly to music requests
• Resolves issues where Siri requests in CarPlay may not be understood correctly

Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

iPadOS 16.3

This update includes the following enhancements and bug fixes:

• Security Keys for Apple ID allow users to strengthen the security of their account by requiring a physical security key as part of the two factor authentication sign in process on new devices
• Support for HomePod (2nd generation)
• Fixes an issue in Freeform where some drawing strokes created with Apple Pencil or your finger may not appear on shared boards
• Addresses an issue where Siri may not respond properly to music requests

Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

watchOS 9.3

watchOS 9.3 includes new features, improvements and bug fixes, including new Unity Mosaic watch face to honor Black history and culture in celebration of Black History Month.

For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

macOS Ventura 13.2

This update introduces Security Keys for Apple ID, and includes other enhancements and bug fixes for your Mac.

• Security Keys for Apple ID allow users to strengthen the security of their account by requiring a physical security key to sign in
• Fixes an issue in Freeform where some drawing strokes created with Apple Pencil or your finger may not appear on shared boards
• Fixes an issue where VoiceOver may stop offering audio feedback while you are typing

Some features may not be available for all regions, or on all Apple devices. For detailed information about the security content of this update, please visit: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

Updates to previous platforms

Apple also updates OS releases for devices which could be be updated to latest software. These updates were releases with security fixes:

• iOS 12.5.7
• iOS 15.7.3
• iPadOS 15.7.3
• macOS Big Sur 11.7.3
• macOS Monterey 12.6.3

References:

• Apple Releases watchOS 9.3 With New Watch Face, Bug Fixes
• Apple releases macOS 13.2 with support for Security Keys, 20 security fixes, and more
• Apple gives some older iPhones OS updates, going back to iPhone 5s
• iOS 16.3 Features: Everything New in iOS 16.3

iCloud was introduced many years ago, however, developers still see issues with syncing data in their apps using Core Data.

NetNewsWire, Overcast developers (as well as others) share their thoughts in couple of blog posts.

Most developers report long syncing time and overall unreliability of the service. Moreover, according to internal app statistics, it sees that about 10% of users do not have iCloud meaning that they did not entered their Apple ID in system settings.

Overall recommendation to developers who plan to use iCloud is to have an alternative by either having their own sync solutions (self-hosted or using some public cloud offering), or rely on third-party as data storage (NetNewsWire allows to use multiple RSS aggregators in addition to iCloud).

References:

• iCloud Syncing Limitations & Solutions
• Overcast Keeping Its Servers

One of the updates coming to upcoming release is availability of iCloud Advanced Data Protection for all users worldwide.

Reference: iOS 16.3 brings iCloud Advanced Data Protection feature to all users worldwide

Jordan Morgan has negotiated open-sourcing of his Spend Stack app. Source code of this app might be used for multiple features – CloudKit integration, animations and transitions.

There are several restrictions on reusing Spend Stack source code and naming, check the blog post for possible usages.

Code is mostly Objective-C, however, could be still relevant.

GitHub: Spend-Stack-Public

Reference: Spend Stack is Now Open Source

Following recent RC Apple now releases iOS/iPadOS 16.2, macOS 13.1 Ventura, watchOS 9.2 and tvOS 16.2. Xcode 14.2 is also released.

HomePodOS received corresponding update (which is required for Home updates and Matter support).

Apple also releases security bug fixes for previous OS releases - iOS 15 and macOS 11 Big Sur and macOS 12 Monterey.

This update brings several important updates:

• iCloud Advanced Data Protection;
• Support for Rapid Security Responses;
• Freeform application;
• Apple Music Sing;
• New Apple Watch workout modes;
• Apple Home reliability improvements;
• iPadOS external display support.

Apple Newsroom: Apple launches Freeform: a powerful new app designed for creative collaboration

References:

• iOS 16.2 rolling out today with Apple Music Sing, Freeform app, much more
• Apple Releases New HomePod 16.2 Software
• Apple Releases iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 With Freeform, Apple Music Sing, Advanced Data Protection and More
• Apple Releases watchOS 9.2 With Outdoor Workout Improvements, Crash Detection Optimizations, Noise App Tweaks and More
• Apple Releases tvOS 16.2 with Apple Music Sing, TV App Tweaks and More
• iPadOS 16.2 and Stage Manager for External Displays: Work in Progress, But Worth the Wait
• Apple Releases macOS Ventura 13.1 With Freeform, Advanced Data Protection, Find My Improvements and More
• Freeform Leverages the Freedom and Flexibility of a Blank Canvas
• Apple's Advanced Data Protection feature is here - what you need to know
• iPadOS 16.2 brings these improvements for Stage Manager, plus AirTag tracking alerts
• Hands on with Apple's Freeform collaborative brainstorming app
• watchOS 9.2 now available for Apple Watch; here’s everything new
• iOS 16.2 patches over a dozen security vulnerabilities, iOS 15.7.2 also available with fixes
• Apple Music launches collection of playlists with songs perfect for ‘Sing’ karaoke feature
• iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2
• macOS 13.1
• iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 Fix Over 30 Security Vulnerabilities
• Xcode 14.2 released with support for iOS 16.2, macOS Ventura 13.1
• Xcode 14.2 Release
• Apple Watch Ultra gains battery improvement with watchOS 9.2 and Multisport workouts
• New Apple Music Sing Playlists Now Available in iOS 16.2
• 9to5Mac Daily: December 13, 2022 – Everything new in iOS 16.2, macOS 13.1, and more
• iOS 16.2 Features: Everything New in iOS 16.2