Category: Platforms

Apple publishes beta 3 for iOS/iPadOS 16.4, macOS Ventura 13.3, watchOS 9.4 and tvOS 16.4. No corresponding Xcode beta is published.

Apple now addresses question raised by developers on how to use developer Apple ID to get beta on the device. Users could pick separate Apple ID to install beta software on the device.

Apple also now warns users that Rapid Security Response might be incompatible with some applications.

Researches also noticed that future Car Key implementations could solely rely on UWB and drop support for NFC.

watchOS 9.4 beta addresses issue on Apple Watch Series 6 (44mm model) incorrectly estimating total battery capacity.

Beta download: Operating Systems

Release notes:

• iOS & iPadOS 16.4 Beta 3 Release Notes
• macOS Ventura 13.3 Beta 3 Release Notes
• watchOS 9.4 Beta 3 Release Notes
• tvOS 16.4 Beta 3 Release Notes

References:

• iOS 16.4 Will Let You Specify an Apple ID to Use for Beta Access
• Apple Continues Building Out Rapid Security Response Feature in iOS 16.4 Beta
• iOS 16.4 beta hints at Car Key feature dropping NFC support in the future
• Everything new in iOS 16.4 beta 3

Apple continues to test Rapid Security Response mechanism on iOS and macOS.

As in previous case, there are no details on actual content of this update. Most likely, this update is just a test for the delivery system itself.

Reference: Apple Releases Second Rapid Security Response Updates for iOS 16.4 and macOS 13.3 Ventura Beta Users

Apple releases update to tvOS to address issues with Siri Remote.

This update fixes an issue where the Siri Remote can become unresponsive on Apple TV 4K (3rd generation).

Apple

No other changes are reported to this update.

Reference: Apple Releases tvOS 16.3.3 With Fix for Siri Remote on Latest Apple TV

Spring is coming, and we're continuing our tradition of weekend reads. Let's see what we've got for this week.

• Matej Bukovinski goes through SDK development with Swift – Swift's Approach to SPI;
  
  
• Couple of great articles from David Smith – some trigonometry in Learning from my Mistakes, review of apps and tools for developers – Indispensable Tools and approach to accessibility – Accessibility: Try, then Listen;
  
  
• Automate debugging SwiftUI and UIKit with dataTile by Marin Todorov explains view debugging techniques with new dataTile tool;
  
  
• Sarun W. covers new approach to manage subscriptions – Allow users to manage In-App Subscription in SwiftUI;
  
  
• New passkeys are explained in Developer guide on passkeys for iOS by Natascha Fadeeva;
  
  
• John Sundell helps to distinguish views and view modifiers in SwiftUI – SwiftUI views versus modifiers;
  
  
• Interestingly, similar topic is covered in View Composition using ViewModifiers in SwiftUI by Antoine van der Lee;
  
  
• Improve code documentation with The visual reference guide for documenting your Swift code by Marco Eidinger;
  
  
• Good hint on error pattern matching by Ole Begemann – Pattern matching on error codes;
  
  
• Majid Jabrayilov continues series on charts in SwiftUI with accessibility – Mastering charts in SwiftUI. Accessibility.;
  
  
• Lee Kah Seng dives into configurable widgets in How to Create Configurable Widgets With Dynamic Options?;
  
  
• Setting Up Different Environments in SwiftUI: Command Line Arguments and Build Configurations by Leonardo Maia Pugliese explains work with various build and execution options in SwiftUI;
  
  
• Michael Tsai comments on new way to wire outlets – NSViewController.ViewLoading.

And that is it for today. Have some rest and get back next week.

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 Seemingly Restricting Generative AI Apps to 17+ or Older App Store Rating
• Apple blocked ChatGPT-powered email app BlueMail; requires 17+ age restriction
• Apple Blocks Update of ChatGPT-Powered App, as Concerns Grow Over AI’s Potential Harm

Apple seemingly continues testing Rapid Security Response mechanisms on its operating systems releasing updates to iOS 16.4 and macOS 13.3 beta.

No known details of the contents of said updates.

References:

• Apple Releases Rapid Security Response Update for iOS 16.4 Beta Users
• Apple pushes Rapid Security Response update for iOS 16.4 beta, may just be a test
• Apple Releases Rapid Security Response Update for macOS Ventura 13.3 Beta

Developers now could compare their app performance with similar apps on App Store. App Store Connect is updated to provide these metrics.

Similar apps are determined by category, business model, and number of downloads.

Metrics include conversion rate, retention rate on various durations, crash rate, and app proceedings.

Apple Developer:

• Peer group benchmarks now available in App Analytics
• View peer group benchmarks
• Take action on insights from benchmarks

References:

• Apple Introduces New Peer Group Benchmarks for Developers
• App Store Connect now lets developers use peer group benchmarks for metrics
• New App Store benchmarks let devs compare app performance to peers

Homebrew is popular Mac package manager and software distribution platform. Project team updates it to 4.0.0 focusing on performance gains.

Developers are welcome to contribute into Homebrew development by testing beta features or by directly contributing to sources.

GitHub: brew

Homebrew: 4.0.0

Reference: Mac package installer Homebrew updated with speed enhancements & more

Apple shares beta 2 for iOS/iPadOS 16.4, macOS Ventura 13.3, watchOS 9.4 and tvOS 16.4. Xcode 13.4 beta 2 is also available.

No significant updates reported for this round of beta versions.

Beta download: Operating Systems

Release notes:

• iOS & iPadOS 16.4 Beta Release Notes
• macOS Ventura 13.3 Beta Release Notes
• watchOS 9.4 Beta Release Notes
• tvOS 16.4 Beta Release Notes
• Xcode 14.3 Beta Release Notes

It's winter here in Bay Area today (it even snows somewhere here), so let's grab some warm beverage and get going.

• Let's start with some old articles on C++ interoperability – How to create a Swift Package from a C++ library and Getting started with Swift-C++ interop by Konstantin Semianov;
  
  
• And couple articles on how to make use of layout system in SwiftUI by the same author – Building a wrapping HStack with the SwiftUI Layout protocol and Building a hexagonal grid with the SwiftUI Layout protocol;
  
  
• Ricky Mondello shares security considerations on Twitter's 2FA changes – Twitter’s Decision to Limit SMS 2FA is Dangerous;
  
  
• Show chart annotations on hover in Swift Charts by Natalia Panferova covers adding interactions to charts;
  
  
• Majid Jabrayilov continues his series on charts – Mastering charts in SwiftUI. Legends.;
  
  
• Leonardo Maia Pugliese provides guide on view mask usage in SwiftUI – Creating Animations with SwiftUI’s Mask View Modifier;
  
  
• The Composable Architecture best practices by Krzysztof Zabłocki – The Composable Architecture - Best Practices;
  
  
• Arbitrary SwiftUI Linear Gradient Rotation by David Smith goes through gradients in SwiftUI;
  
  
• And another take by him on how to use randomness in the apps – Finding Beauty in Randomness and Nature;
  
  
• Jordan Morgan covers important aspects of accessibility – Building For Voice Control;
  
  
• Speeding Up Scanner in Swift by Michael Tsai collects information on text parsing improvements in Swift;
  
  
• And couple of articles by Jesse Squires – How to find and fix premature view controller loading on iOS and Xcode tip: sharing breakpoints across projects.

Let's finish with interesting video on design process by David Smith.

https://youtu.be/BLEOBu2PaeA

And that is it for today. See you next week!