iOS 14 is suffering from an old Windows problem - ZDNet

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One of the things that I hate about operating systems is when they go through that stage of making changes, but those changes haven't been adopted across the board.

I remember Windows going though that phase. One moment you were using a new user interface, and a couple of clicks later you would be using the old stuff.

It's a small thing, but consistency matters.

A lot of the time it feels like the problem comes down to making changes for the sake of making a change, rather than change being driven by a need to make things better.

iOS 14 is suffering from this.

Must read: iOS 14.0.1: The battery and connectivity woes continue

I first noticed this in the Clock app.

Rather than using the old scroll wheels for entering time, it's now done though a tiny "bubble." Sure, it's nice to have the option to enter times using the keypad, but adding a keypad option and deprecating the touch UI to something smaller and fiddlier is less user friendly.

I'll adjust, but I'm not sure why I need to adjust. It's not like the two things couldn't have been made to work side by side.

Another thing I'm noticing is a mix of old and new, especially in the Settings app. Some places it's clear Apple has put a lot of thought into offering good visuals that really help to explain what's going on.

A great example is View under Display Zoom (Settings > Display & Brightness).

Other places, you're just left to guess what something does.

It's weird.

Then there's the mess that Settings app has become. It reminds me of Windows Control Panel. To find anything you either need to go hunting for it, or use the search feature (which is patchy and only works if you know what you are looking for).

It's also chaotic. For example, why is Picture in Picture hidden in Settings > General, while Display & Brightness, Home Screen, and Wallpaper are under Settings? Why does Wallpaper get its own spot?

Why does Personal Hotspot get its own entry in Settings, but it's also accessible from Cellular?

There doesn't feel like there's any logic to the way things are organized, and the more that's added, the messier it all gets.

Why are so many entries just huge lists? Apple devs have tried to organise some things with headings, but it's again really inconsistent. Just look at this one screen shown below. Some thing are organized under headings, some are not. 

Why?

And it seems that the more apps you have installed, the messier everything gets.

I think a huge part of the problem is that, much like Control Panel in Windows or System Preferences on the Mac, the Settings app is like a cupboard where things are thrown into to give them a place. I remember when the Settings app was clear and easy to navigate, but I also remember thinking that one day I'd grow to hate it like Control Panel as mire stuff was tossed into it.

I was right.

It's time for a serious spring cleaning.

The Link Lonk


October 02, 2020 at 06:51PM
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iOS 14 is suffering from an old Windows problem - ZDNet

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iOS

Here are the email apps iOS 14 now lets you set as default - The Verge

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Apple’s iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 launched this week, introducing a ton of new features to the company’s smartphones and tablets — including the option to change your default browser and default email apps to services like Chrome or Outlook to handle links by default instead of Apple’s native Safari and Mail apps. Here’s a running list of available third-party browsers on iOS 14.

As for email, the available options are slowly building up. Third-party developers need to update their apps before they can be selected as a default option on iOS 14.

Due to the sensitive information in email communication, Apple has told developers that email apps “must meet specific functional criteria aimed at ensuring private and accurate access for users” because they’re a critical avenue for communication. While it’s unclear what that means, it suggests it may take some time for all third-party email app makers to configure their software to meet Apple’s requirements.

So far, here’s a list of alternative default email apps we can confirm:

It’s unclear when other email apps like Edison Mail and Yahoo will update their iPhone apps to support iOS 14’s new default option.

If you want to change your default mail app to one of the following alternatives, head into the Settings app of your iPhone or iPad, and then find the specific email app you wish to set as your default. Tap on the setting inside that reads “Default Mail App,” and then tap on the app of choice.

Regardless of which app’s settings you open up, other available email apps (at least ones that support iOS 14’s new default settings) will also appear as options. Occasionally, you’ll need to open the email app at least once after it’s been updated with support for the default setting before it will show up in the menu.

Last month, several users reported a bug in iOS 14 that resets your default browser and mail app to Safari and Apple Mail if you reboot your iPhone. But Apple has reportedly addressed the glitch with the iOS 14.0.1 update.

The Link Lonk


October 02, 2020 at 09:55PM
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Here are the email apps iOS 14 now lets you set as default - The Verge

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iOS

YouTube website’s picture-in-picture works again on iOS 14 - The Verge

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YouTube’s website now supports iOS 14’s picture-in-picture mode once again, after the functionality mysteriously disappeared last month. It can be enabled in both Safari as well as third-party browsers like Chrome or Firefox by expanding a video to play fullscreen, and then tapping the small picture-in-picture icon on the top-left of the interface. Then you’re free to minimize the browser and use other apps while the continuing to watch a video. You can also slide the PiP window to the side if you just want to hear music without the video obstructing the display.

OS-level picture-in-picture support was added as a new feature in iOS 14, but shortly afterwards stopped working on YouTube’s website for iPhone users. It continued to work for users who subscribe to YouTube Premium, perhaps unsurprisingly. It also works for iPad users.

While picture-in-picture now works in browsers, it is not available in the YouTube app itself, where MacRumors notes the feature has never been supported. Playing videos in the background is possible via the YouTube app, but only if you have a YouTube Premium subscription. 9to5Mac reports that the service recently tested a picture-in-picture mode in its iOS app, but no official announcements have been made.

The Link Lonk


October 02, 2020 at 03:01PM
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YouTube website’s picture-in-picture works again on iOS 14 - The Verge

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Apple Stops Signing iOS 14 After Releasing iOS 14.0.1 - MacRumors

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iOS 14.2 Beta 2 Adds New Emoji Characters like Ninja, Pinata, Bubble Tea, Polar Bear and More

The second beta of iOS 14.2 introduces the new Emoji 13 characters that Apple previewed earlier this year as part of World Emoji Day. New emoji options include ninja, people hugging, black cat, bison, fly, polar bear, blueberries, fondue, bubble tea, and more, with a list below. Faces - Smiling Face with Tear, Disguised Face People - Ninja, Person in Tuxedo, Woman in Tuxedo, Person...

The Link Lonk


October 02, 2020 at 02:27AM
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Apple Stops Signing iOS 14 After Releasing iOS 14.0.1 - MacRumors

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iOS

iOS 14: The worst release to date - ZDNet

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iOS 14 is out, and in keeping with the theme of 2020, things are rocky. 

Very rocky.

There are issues galore. From performance issues, battery problems, user interface lags, keyboard stutters, crashes, problems with apps, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity woes.

And it's not just iPhone issues. The iPad platform -- a platform that Apple promotes as a replacement for laptops -- is also plagued with similar issues (and more, such as charging problems).

It seems that Apple's plan for iOS and iPadOS is to disrupt the platform yearly, and then take months to bring the platform back to stability.

And each release seems to be rockier than the last. Perhaps this is true, but it's likely to be down to the size and scale of the iOS and iPadOS platform. Over a billion devices makes it a huge and diverse ecosystem.

Hundreds of millions of devices -- devices in the hands of people trying to get work done -- are being subject to a new release yearly, and it takes months to get back to stability.

And people get a few months of stability before being subjected to another shaky release. 

Quite possibly the worst.

Must read: iOS 14.0.1: The battery and connectivity woes continue

So, what's the solution?

Once upon a time, I'd have said that having an open beta would make a difference, but it's clear that this is not the solution -- at least not the single solution. Despite a long run of developer and public betas, the final release turns out shaky.

iOS 14 had problems. iOS 13 had problems. iOS 12 had problems… on and on.

I've watched this happen over the past years.

Perhaps a better solution would be for Apple to get rid of yearly monolithic releases, and focus on a slower development cycle. There should be a focus on stability and performance, and on giving developers a platform to build apps, and make new features secondary.

And while we're on the subject of developers, giving them more than 24 hours' notice that a new version of iOS is landing would be a good idea, because that would give those developers a chance to get their apps ready for the new release.

Another option might be for Apple to stagger releases, or give users an option to jump onto a fast cycle (along the lines that Microsoft does), and for Apple to support the older version of iOS for a few months alongside the new release.

This would give those wanting fast access the option, but at the same give delivering security patches and bug fixes to the users who want to sit back and wait for things to stabilize before moving to the new release.

The rush by Apple to get as many people -- or devices -- running the latest version means that bugs are being pushed to hundreds of millions of devices in record time.

This needs to change. While it might have once been seen as an achievement to get a new release onto as many devices as possible, when those releases are buggy, it's more a badge of shame rather than a medal of honor.

The Link Lonk


October 01, 2020 at 04:00PM
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iOS 14: The worst release to date - ZDNet

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iOS

Monochrome iOS 14 icon set nets designer six figures in six days - 9to5Mac

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If you’re looking to change up the look of your iPhone, using an iOS 14 icon set is a cool way to do it. You can replace all your favorite app icons with custom ones that have a consistent look and feel.

The popularity of this has taken many by surprise – including a designer who saw his quickly-created but beautiful set earn him a six-figure sum in just six days …

The designer, who goes by the name Traf, shared his experience in a blog post – including his advice to anyone else hoping to achieve something similar.

He is careful to preface things with the oft-heard adage that any ‘overnight success’ is actually years in the making; seven years in his case. His first icon set was created back in 2013 for the Cydia jailbreak store, and he says he made a total of about $17. This time, however, he made rather more.

 I saw some people sharing screenshots of their iPhones after discovering that iOS 14 now allows you to add custom icons to your home screen using the Siri Shortcuts app […]

As soon as I noticed the hype, I put together some icons in my own style, downloaded some widgets, and tried it all out. I thought it looked cool, so I shared a screenshot of it on Twitter. Right away, people started asking about the icons in the screenshot. So I quickly packaged them, uploaded them to Gumroad, and embedded them on a Notion site using Super. All of this took about two hours.

The next day, the tweet had hundreds of retweets, thousands of likes, and over 100k impressions. The day after that, almost a million. 

Then, MKBHD happened. He shared a video about all of this—using my icons for his setup, and linked them in the description. The next thing I knew, I was making $28 what felt like every 28 seconds. My phone turned into the ultimate dopamine dispenser (if it wasn’t already). I had to disable notifications.

The day after, sales jumped from $6k to about $40k, and during the time of this writing, sales are at $116,147 from 4,188 customers.

All from one. Single. Tweet.

One interesting decision was his pricing strategy: the set costs $28, significantly more than most are charging. He just had the confidence to charge a higher sum.

If I would have asked anyone what to price these at, most would have said $2, or maybe $5. One thing I knew for sure was that the people most likely to buy these were not the same people who were jailbreaking their iOS devices in the past. These are first time iOS customizers, so there’s no notion of what an iOS icon set should be priced at.

There’s of course an element of luck to all this, but the blog post is an inspiring read for anyone with the dream of creating something and making enough money from it to buy time to create more.

If you like the icons, you can buy them here, and you can read our illustrated how-to guide.

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The Link Lonk


October 01, 2020 at 07:33PM
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Monochrome iOS 14 icon set nets designer six figures in six days - 9to5Mac

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iOS

Ulysses 21 brings advanced grammar and style check to the iOS app - 9to5Mac

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Ulysses is one of the most popular writing and Markdown editor apps available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The iOS version of the app is about to get a major update with grammar and style check, which is already available in the Mac version.

The latest update of Ulysses for Mac has added a new Revision Mode and options to check the grammar and style of texts, and these features are coming this month to iPhone and iPad with Ulysses 21.

With the Revision Mode, users can hide unnecessary features and just focus on annotations and suggestions. As the name suggests, this mode is perfect for reviewing your texts with specific markings and comments.

However, the biggest change from this update is the addition of an advanced grammar and style checker. Ulysses can now offer suggestions and detect grammar errors such as capitalization, punctuation, semantics, redundancy, typography, and style. According to the developers behind the app, grammar suggestions work in over 20 languages.

Revision mode, with an advanced grammar and style check as a central element, was part of the Ulysses 20 release early this summer and was initially limited to the app’s Mac version. With Ulysses 21, it will become available on iPad and iPhone as well. Cross-platform feature parity is critical for us, and many of our users rely on the iPad as a full-fledged working machine. We wanted to come up with an iOS solution as soon as possible

The interface of Ulysses has also been revamped to match the style of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, which brings a new Mac-like sidebar and compact menus.

Ulysses 21 will be available for iPhone and iPad users beginning October 6. The app is free on the App Store, but it requires a subscription of $5.99 per month or $49.99 per year.

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The Link Lonk


October 01, 2020 at 07:33AM
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Ulysses 21 brings advanced grammar and style check to the iOS app - 9to5Mac

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