Yosemite | Mystic Media Blog

Apple recently released the long awaited OS X Yosemite. In Bite the Apple: Maximize iOS 8 to Vanquish Your Competition and Tilting the Playing Field: iPhone 6 Technology Expands Possibilities for iOS App Developers, we covered some of the highly-anticipated features in Yosemite, including a host of opportunities for cross-device Continuity. This week, we take an in-depth look at OS X Yosemite and what it means for developers.

AESTHETICS

You shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, but when it comes to operating systems, aesthetics matter (check out our article Impervious Appeal: How to Design Jaw-Dropping iOS Apps). Yosemite’s UI remains consistent with Apple aesthetics and makes an effort to push the concept of flat design further. It’s even more minimal; the icons are flatter; the windows are more translucent. A great example of the evolution from Mavericks to Yosemite is a comparison between their Calendar icons:

Mavericks Calender Icon

(left is Yosemite, right is Mavericks)

via Apple Developer Library

Whereas Mavericks had a more skeuomorphic design on its Calendar icon, Yosemite is flat. The texture seems impossibly smooth. There’s a minor depth and shadow, but no effort to enumerate the pages, nor a two-hole binder holding the pages together. The Yosemite icon represents the calendar as a digital block. The colors are brighter and the text is crisper and more symmetrical throughout the Yosemite UI. The font is an optimized version of Helvetica Neue used throughout Yosemite, a big switch over from Lucida Grande of the past. Developers, take note and utilize these aesthetics to create apps which integrate seamlessly into the Yosemite environment.

SWIFT

iOS 8 and the iPhone 6 arrived with Metal, a graphics layer for iOS development. Yosemite launches with Swift, a multi-paradigm, compiled programming language optimized for iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite app design. Swift has been in development over the past four years and may replace Objective-C as the main language for app design on Apple’s OS X and iOS platforms. Several apps have already been built with Swift, including LinkedIn and Yahoo Weather.

Programmers, learn more about Swift over at The Guardian.

CONTINUITY

OS X Yosemite begins Apple’s push toward complete device Continuity. The concept of Continuity entails one should be able to switch devices and complete the same tasks on any Apple device without hassle. So if I’m writing an email on my MacBook, I should be able to go into another room and seamlessly finish it on my iPad without having to save or close the message. One of the simpler, but more effective ways in which Apple introduces this concept is allowing users to answer calls on their MacBooks when their phones are within a certain radius.

Another major push for Continuity in Yosemite is the Instant Hotspot feature. Instant Hotspot allows MacBooks to connect with the cellular network on their iPhones when no other Wi-Fi network is available. It also conveniently shuts down inactive iPhones when in-use. The big advancement for Continuity, however, is the application Handoff.

Handoff is among the most exciting new features of Yosemite and the major aspect of Apple’s push for Continuity. Once you get through the confusing set-up, Handoff proves to be a practical application of the concept. When you’re working on a task on your MacBook, an icon appears on your iPhone/iPad lock screen which allows you to immediately pick up whatever task you were working on using the MacBook without losing a beat. It also works the other way, with the Handoff icon appearing to the left of the Dock on your MacBook when you’re switching over from an iPhone/iPad. With Continuity, devices are constantly communicating to better serve the user. Continuity represents a major advancement designed to get users completely consumed in the world of Apple devices. Although Handoff has its kinks, it effectively executes the Continuity concept and ultimately proves to be the biggest, most exciting advancement in OS X Yosemite.

CONCLUSION

Overall, OS X Yosemite is a major step forward for Apple products and aesthetics. It retains a cool look, intuitive functionality, and its steps toward complete device Continuity are clearly indicative of technology of the future. Apple has already put together a featured list on their App Store of Great Apps for OS X Yosemite, it will be exciting to see how app developers follow Apple’s lead and take advantage of the latest OS to enhance their apps.

Mystic Media is an app development and marketing firm specializing in both iOS & Android development, and more. Learn more by clicking here or by phone at 801.994.6815.

Apple touts iOS 8 as their biggest iOS release ever. Coming from the biggest, most innovative technology giant in the world, that’s a major statement. In our ASO series, we found the apps which exploit the latest technology are much more likely to get featured in the Apple App Store. iOS 8 represents a major opportunity for app developers to get ahead of their competition by both creating new apps, as well as revamping current apps to take full advantage of the latest technology. In order to do this, one needs to understand the ins and outs of the new platform. Thus, we’ve compiled a list of the latest features and what they mean to developers.

Device Continuity

Device Continuity is the future of Apple products, and Android will likely to follow suit. The idea is to allow users to seamlessly transition between devices without interrupting their current task. Imagine writing an email on your iPhone, putting it down, going into another room, and finishing it on your Macbook. Or playing a game on your iPhone, pausing it, going to the bathroom and continuing on your iPad. The possibilities are endless.

The concept of Device Continuity has been planted in iOS 8 and the device compatibility will be expanded in the upcoming release of OS X Yosemite. MacBooks and iPads will have all the functions of iPhones in the future: the ability to make receive calls and FaceTime in addition to the functions they already retain. Devices will be so seamlessly integrated, MacBooks will be able to connect to your iPhone’s personal hotspot for internet. When MacBooks are in use, iPhones will automatically shut off to conserve power.

App developers who are able to utilize device continuity both effectively and creatively will have a great chance at getting featured across the App Stores for iPhone, iPad, and Macbook.

iCloud Drive

While iCloud was used in iOS 7, Apple is now pushing the iCloud Drive (as it’s now titled) as it’s own cloud storage service like Box and Dropbox with data plans available for purchase. iCloud Drive allows for any type of file stored on computers and phones to be accessible from any device. iCloud Drive plays into Apple’s major conceptual push for device continuity and will be further explored with the release of OS X Yosemite this Fall.

Health App

In our previous article on iOS 8 rumors, one of the most talked about reports concerning iOS 8 was the “Healthbook App”. Sure enough, one of the major innovations in iOS 8 is the Health app, which can interact with other health-related apps on iPhone to create a one-stop dashboard of health data. The Health app can track the amount of steps you take, the distance you run, the amount of calories you consume, and more in conjunction with apps such as Fitbit and Jawbone. Unfortunately, many apps are currently unable to connect with Health due to a bug at the launch which Apple claims it will fix later this month. Despite the temporary road-block, the Health app is built to be compatible with other health-related apps and thus represents a great opportunity for iOS developers to find opportunities to capitalize with Health-compatible apps for iPhone and iPad users.

Family Sharing

Another major feature of iOS 8 is Family Sharing. Family Sharing allows for families of up to six people to share their digital purchases from iTunes, iBooks and the App Store without having to share one account on one credit card. When kids attempt to buy things in the App store, a notification goes to the parent and the purchase can only be complete pending the parent’s approval. Family Sharing could potentially make in-app purchases for kids games much more profitable.

Credit Card Scanning

Safari can now use the iPhone camera to scan credit card numbers when making online purchases, speeding up iPhone-based eCommerce. A savvy developer could certainly find a way to integrate this into their in-app purchases to simultaneously exploit the latest technology and make it easy for customers to spend more money on their apps.

Minor Improvements

The host of other minor improvements includes a Siri equipped with Shazam, allowing her to recognize songs when asked. Apple also followed Android’s lead in employing QuickType, which gives shortcuts to the words users may be writing based on their texting history and what’s being typed.

Another minor innovation is the ability to send mini-voice messages as texts. As we’ve previously explored, communications apps are big business. Developers could potentially ingrain themselves in these voice messages by finding an innovative way to make voice messaging more fun, perhaps through audio filters.

Concluding Thoughts

The Verge got it right when they said “We won’t see the full potential of iOS 8 for weeks or months after its release”. While Apple’s announcement and subsequent release of iOS 8 is big news for developers, until OS X Yosemite releases later this year, we won’t know its full potential. In the meantime, developers start your engines, the race to exploit the latest technology in iOS 8 has begun.

Mystic Media is one of the most versatile and elite software design agencies in the United States. With experts in iOS and Android software development and marketing, Mystic excels in all processes involved in both app and web development. Learn more by clicking here or call us at 801.994.6815

Tag Archives: Yosemite

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