Developments for Developers
WWDC: Come One, Come Few
04 MAY 2022 - Developers who want to try for some of the limited WWDC seating at Apple’s campus can do so next week. Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference is online-only this year, same as it’s been since the start of the pandemic. However, when the company announced this year’s dates, it did say that it was hosting “a special day for developers and students at Apple Park (…) to watch the keynote and State of the Union videos together…” The company promised that details on how to apply to attend would be provided “soon.” And now we can make that now.
9 to 5 Mac says Apple is opening submissions for in-person WWDC attendance next week. About the event, Apple says:
Attending (…) is free and open to members of the Apple Developer Program and Apple Developer Enterprise Program. Invitations will be allocated through a random selection process and are non-transferrable.
9 to 5 Mac says would-be attendees can submit their requests from Monday 9 May at 9:00 a.m. Pacific, through Wednesday 11 May at 9:00 a.m. Pacific. Folks will hear back the following day at 6:00 p.m. Pacific.
Best of luck to you all.
Developers Get Fourth Betas of Apple Operating Systems
As we move toward WWDC, work continues on Apple’s current operating systems. The Mac Observer says developers on Tuesday got access to the fourth round of betas for those. That’s beta number four of iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS 15.5, macOS Monterey 12.4, and watchOS 8.6. Nothing new spotted since last week’s betas, though work is continuing on webcam issues for Apple’s Studio Display.
Almost as soon as the first users activated their Apple Studio Displays, those users started complaining about the quality of the hardware’s built-in webcam. Apple said the problem would be fixed in a future software update. The first of those fixes hit with last week’s third round of betas, though it met with another round of disapproval. Now, a piece from 9 to 5 Mac says a second software fix for the Studio Display webcam has shown up in beta round four and things do seem to be improving.
More people should be able to see for themselves in the next 24 to 48 hours. The latest round will likely be out to Apple’s public beta program soon. More info on that at beta.apple.com.
Apple Offers Explanation, More Time Ahead of “Outdated App” Evictions
Last week we heard that Apple was kicking “outdated” apps out of the App Store in under a month. Now a piece from Engadget says Apple has given developers more of an explanation and - perhaps even better - more time. In a post to developers, Apple explains that:
…it will only send removal notices to developers whose apps haven't been updated in three years, as well as to devs whose apps have not “been downloaded at all or extremely few times during a rolling 12 month period.”
The reasons why stay the same: It’s a combination of making active apps more discoverable and making sure the apps users download have been tweaked for the latest devices and operating systems.
As for time to comply, that’s gone from the 30 days Apple originally stated to 90 days. The piece also points out that apps that still work will stay active on user devices, provided they’re downloaded before the cull.
