The App Store turns 10(apple.com)
apple.com
The App Store turns 10
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2018/07/app-store-turns-10/
114 comments
On the one hand, AppStore/Package Management models allow you to do that, on the other hand applications that aren't in the store/repo may as well not exist.
To me, part of what makes PCs "Personal Computers" is that I don't need to go through some third party to distribute or acquire software. I don't need anyone's blessing, and I don't need to jump through hoops rooting the device or compiling from source, I just do it because it's my computer.
If all Windows applications were PortableApps, all you'd have to do when getting a new computer is copy over the directories where your applications are stored. Installs are a copy, uninstalls are a delete.
To me, part of what makes PCs "Personal Computers" is that I don't need to go through some third party to distribute or acquire software. I don't need anyone's blessing, and I don't need to jump through hoops rooting the device or compiling from source, I just do it because it's my computer.
If all Windows applications were PortableApps, all you'd have to do when getting a new computer is copy over the directories where your applications are stored. Installs are a copy, uninstalls are a delete.
PortableApps are still not as good as mobile where I don't have to store backups of outdated apps personally.
Mobile apps are not as good as portable apps where I can actually go back to an older version if I want to.
I don't want to think about versions of apps. I just want to use the app.
If some app removed a function that you depended on in a newer version, you'd want to go back to the old version. At that point, you wouldn't be able to just use the app.
Then you'd have to spend your time waiting for the author of your walled-garden app to fix the problem or spend your time finding a different app to use and then spend more time transitioning to it.
In any case, I think that the trade-off needs to be acknowledged for what it is. You're trading your freedom for convenience. Of course this is the American way, what with all the overflowing amounts of freedom that we have.
Then you'd have to spend your time waiting for the author of your walled-garden app to fix the problem or spend your time finding a different app to use and then spend more time transitioning to it.
In any case, I think that the trade-off needs to be acknowledged for what it is. You're trading your freedom for convenience. Of course this is the American way, what with all the overflowing amounts of freedom that we have.
Please stop thinking like a developer. Firstly that very rarely happens in the apps that I use from the Play/App Store. Secondly, if an app has a dealbreaker, I'll just use another one.
Most people don't think "Oh man I love Instagram v50.1.2",they just use Instagram.
Most people don't think "Oh man I love Instagram v50.1.2",they just use Instagram.
Incorrect. It happens regularly and it certainly affects non-developers. I've seen it too many times. Look through any apps review history and you'll find people complaining about changes that they have no control over.
It's the same thing with the OS. There are always tons of complaints after a new release of iOS.
> ...I'll just use another one.
Yep. And you'll spend your time looking for another one and then you'll spend more time transitioning over to it.
> Most people don't think "Oh man I love Instagram v50.1.2",they just use Instagram.
Nope. Instead they think - "Oh man, Instagram sucks after that last update, but what can I do about it??" and then they give up.
It's the same thing with the OS. There are always tons of complaints after a new release of iOS.
> ...I'll just use another one.
Yep. And you'll spend your time looking for another one and then you'll spend more time transitioning over to it.
> Most people don't think "Oh man I love Instagram v50.1.2",they just use Instagram.
Nope. Instead they think - "Oh man, Instagram sucks after that last update, but what can I do about it??" and then they give up.
App reviews aren't really empirical. People write reviews for things they don't like much much more than for things which they're fine with.
If I really really hate an update, I don't spend more than a minute transitioning. I just look at the "Apps like this tab". Another feature that is not there natively in Windows/Linux and requires third parties to make subpar lists.
If new software was really so terrible, people would be abandoning apps, not complaining about them which is what happened with Linux and to a lesser extent, Windows.
If I really really hate an update, I don't spend more than a minute transitioning. I just look at the "Apps like this tab". Another feature that is not there natively in Windows/Linux and requires third parties to make subpar lists.
If new software was really so terrible, people would be abandoning apps, not complaining about them which is what happened with Linux and to a lesser extent, Windows.
> App reviews aren't really empirical.
Yes they are. The definition of empirical is that you can observe the evidence. This is easily observable.
What have you presented besides your own anecdotes?
> "Apps like this" on Windows/Linux
It's called Google. The same thing I use to find iOS apps because Apples app store search and recommendations are horrible. None of the app store searches are really any good and I'm pretty sure Google is the number one place that people usually search for things. I don't know anybody who opens up their app store to search for an app.
Anyway, argue all you want - you're wrong. People care about updates that mess up their stuff whether you can bring yourself to acknowledge that or not.
Yes they are. The definition of empirical is that you can observe the evidence. This is easily observable.
What have you presented besides your own anecdotes?
> "Apps like this" on Windows/Linux
It's called Google. The same thing I use to find iOS apps because Apples app store search and recommendations are horrible. None of the app store searches are really any good and I'm pretty sure Google is the number one place that people usually search for things. I don't know anybody who opens up their app store to search for an app.
Anyway, argue all you want - you're wrong. People care about updates that mess up their stuff whether you can bring yourself to acknowledge that or not.
Take any App on the store. Count the number of reviews. Then count the total number of installs.
The total reviews will be less than ten percent of the installs. The negative reviews are a fraction of that percentage.
As such you cannot observe via reviews what the majority of the users think of the app.
Then, by the definition you have just given, app reviews aren't empirical.
The total reviews will be less than ten percent of the installs. The negative reviews are a fraction of that percentage.
As such you cannot observe via reviews what the majority of the users think of the app.
Then, by the definition you have just given, app reviews aren't empirical.
Incorrect again. The fact that you can go onto any apps review history and see evidence that people are unhappy with updates that break their stuff is exactly the definition of empirical evidence.
Sorry, but none of your badly formed, hand-wavy reasoning has proven that wrong. Also, nobody is arguing that "the majority" think something - I'm arguing against your completely anecdotal and un-evidenced claim that it "rarely" happens.
What evidence do you have that it rarely happens? None that I can see so far...
Sorry, but none of your badly formed, hand-wavy reasoning has proven that wrong. Also, nobody is arguing that "the majority" think something - I'm arguing against your completely anecdotal and un-evidenced claim that it "rarely" happens.
What evidence do you have that it rarely happens? None that I can see so far...
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Then why do you use a Windows laptop? Get a Chromebook, or something else designed for people who don't actually want a personal computer.
I like to play and code video games.
>I feel that mobile got software distribution correct.
It's more like mobile got package management right.
Windows is terrible as an example to use for installing/removing software as it has extremely crude (almost non-existent) package management system (referring to Windows Installer here -- .msi files). [0]
I like to think of the App store (and equivalent) as a Linux command-line beautified by a GUI shell in a mobile form-factor.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Installer
It's more like mobile got package management right.
Windows is terrible as an example to use for installing/removing software as it has extremely crude (almost non-existent) package management system (referring to Windows Installer here -- .msi files). [0]
I like to think of the App store (and equivalent) as a Linux command-line beautified by a GUI shell in a mobile form-factor.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Installer
With Linux desktops I have to know command line stuff and risk having to debug initial wifi issues myself.
>debug initial wifi issues myself.
But doesn't that make you better at troubleshooting and fixing problems in Linux -- a useful skill to have?
But doesn't that make you better at troubleshooting and fixing problems in Linux -- a useful skill to have?
I don't use Linux.
This is what 'Click n run' was - one of the first app stores, created on the (ugly named) 'Lindows' Linux distribution.
Apt also gets package distribution right, and it predates the app store by many years.
When I get a new Debian box, I just sudo apt-get install a list of my most-common programs and I'm off to the races.
When I get a new Debian box, I just sudo apt-get install a list of my most-common programs and I'm off to the races.
With NixOS, I have my entire OS configuration and packages described in a small consistent set of files, which I can point the installer at.
Apt is so close. So close! The one feature that would make it so much better is to be able to export the list of packages that I’ve directly asked for (maybe you can do that?). On the other side, apt install could consume that. Being able to take a new machine running, say, Ubuntu 18.04 and get all of the stuff installed that I had on my old 14.04 box in a really easy way would be deadly.
Package names/dependencies change through releases, but you can kinda do what you want via dpkg.
Export the packages:
Export the packages:
dpkg --get-selections > list.txt
dpkg --set-selections < list.txt
apt-get -f installOhhhhhhh that's pretty cool!
Just looking through the list here though, that's going to dump out the list of all of the installed packages, not just the ones I've requested explicitly I think. That's the part that the App Store gets really right. I still want all of the dependencies for the packages that are getting installed, but a way shorter list of "these are the things you've explicitly asked for"
It seems like that is actually inside Apt somewhere too... since it does keep track of packages to auto-remove when their reverse dependencies go away.
Just looking through the list here though, that's going to dump out the list of all of the installed packages, not just the ones I've requested explicitly I think. That's the part that the App Store gets really right. I still want all of the dependencies for the packages that are getting installed, but a way shorter list of "these are the things you've explicitly asked for"
It seems like that is actually inside Apt somewhere too... since it does keep track of packages to auto-remove when their reverse dependencies go away.
Did you try scoop for windows.It is a command line installer and you can avoid all the annoying popups. https://github.com/lukesampson/scoop
How is this different from Chocolatey or its pseudo-wrapper PackageManagement(OneGet)?
Can it install Unreal Engine, Unity and Visual Studio?
I agree with you and I have often hypothesized to myself that the only reason the world wide web was ever a thing is because software distribution on Windows was such a terrible experience.
That being said, I'm sure Windows could have done some stuff better, but it came of age in a hardly connected era and you need omnipresent internet connections for the mobile software distribution model, so it's kinda hard to blame Microsoft too much for being able to see around the corner.
That being said, I'm sure Windows could have done some stuff better, but it came of age in a hardly connected era and you need omnipresent internet connections for the mobile software distribution model, so it's kinda hard to blame Microsoft too much for being able to see around the corner.
Can someone here explain how Forstall was critical to getting this correct?
Congrats Apple! Also, I have been struggling uploading my first iOS app to Apple store since last 10 days!
Nice thread, I'm trying to build a poor man's app store for the web at appshare.co , but true , you can't beat mobile apps for performance and native integration with your phone
I really like the animation at the start of the article. How was that likely created?
Edit: I know it’s a gif. I’d like to know what tool(s) Apple likely used to create the gif.
Edit: I know it’s a gif. I’d like to know what tool(s) Apple likely used to create the gif.
What animation tools they used?
Could be anything, but since there is a lot of 3D my bet would be on Cinema 4D with some cel shaders.
See this: http://www.eyedesyn.com/tutorials/using-cel-shader-to-cast-s...
Could be anything, but since there is a lot of 3D my bet would be on Cinema 4D with some cel shaders.
See this: http://www.eyedesyn.com/tutorials/using-cel-shader-to-cast-s...
I have no idea what tools Apple used to create this, but it would fairly easy to recreate it in something like Blender (blender.org).
You can probably do this with simple tools. It's all about the layers; If you observe closely, you can see all the objects in the frame have very simple movements.
The 3D effect is just an optical illusion coming from all these simple movements in 2D space.
Some creativity goes a long way!
The 3D effect is just an optical illusion coming from all these simple movements in 2D space.
Some creativity goes a long way!
I disagree. Look at the airplane, it's clearly made in 3D software.
Very possibly. But that would be easily reproducible with layers as well.
Look how there is no perspective change on the rising blocks and the shadow underneath. Blocks just move straight up and down and shadow just increases/decreases in size.
People movements are just tween animations.
Look how there is no perspective change on the rising blocks and the shadow underneath. Blocks just move straight up and down and shadow just increases/decreases in size.
People movements are just tween animations.
Its an orthographic rendering, that's why there are no perspective shifts.
I would like to know this too. Maybe 3d rendered.
Perhaps they used SceneKit.
On a semi-related note, can podcasts stop only giving links to itunes and asking me to rate their podcast on itunes? Thanks,
an Android user
Is there a unified library of podcasts and ratings on Android? As far as I know there's a number of apps that maintain their own libraries but nothing unified across the whole platform and built into the OS like iTunes.
It seems like everyone just uses Apple's podcast directory through their API. Since Apple doesn't host the podcasts themselves it's relatively easy to use.
Google Play Music has podcasts, that might be the closest thing.
Google just launched a dedicated Podcasts app.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.and...
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.and...
Huh. They brought back Listen...
Maybe next year they'll resurrect Reader :(
Maybe next year they'll resurrect Reader :(
If you purchase an App from the App store and then change your phone, I assume you should be able to carry over the paid app to your new phone.
Does anybody know if the App Store enforces this and what (if anything) they do to vendors who violate this?
It seems that there are numerous complaints on the review page of "word with friends" by people who paid for the Ad-free version but when they moved to a new device, they no longer have access to the Ad-free version
Does anybody know if the App Store enforces this and what (if anything) they do to vendors who violate this?
It seems that there are numerous complaints on the review page of "word with friends" by people who paid for the Ad-free version but when they moved to a new device, they no longer have access to the Ad-free version
This can happen, when non-scrupulous devs 'deprecate' an older version of their app in favor of the 'new' version. e.g., you buy 'CoolApp' and in-app purchase features for it. But oh no, 'CoolApp2' has come out and 'CoolApp' is no longer updated for newer devices, so sorry.
Otherwise, an app, and its in-app purchase set remain available via a user's iTunes account indefinitely as far as I can tell.
Otherwise, an app, and its in-app purchase set remain available via a user's iTunes account indefinitely as far as I can tell.
Why is it "non-scrupulous" for a dev to charge for a new version of piece of software? Are they suppose to update an app forever without further compensation?
Here's a realistic scenario. I pay for CoolApp. It works fine even though CoolApp2 is live on the store. I get a new phone. I go to download CoolApp, but it's no longer available. If I want to use CoolApp, I must use CoolApp2.
I'm not expecting CoolApp to be forever supported. CoolApp works fine for my use case, so I planned on continually using CoolApp until it made sense for me to upgrade. But now that CoolApp2 is the only version available, I have to buy the newer version alongside my new device. If I turn on my old phone, I can still use CoolApp without skipping a beat. I think that's what the other commenter was getting at.
I'm not expecting CoolApp to be forever supported. CoolApp works fine for my use case, so I planned on continually using CoolApp until it made sense for me to upgrade. But now that CoolApp2 is the only version available, I have to buy the newer version alongside my new device. If I turn on my old phone, I can still use CoolApp without skipping a beat. I think that's what the other commenter was getting at.
But that's not the case (at least not on iOS). Even if CoolApp has been removed from sale, you can download it on your new phone from your purchase history. The only exceptions to this are technical limitations on the old app that render it incompatible with the new phone such as 32 vs 64 bit, deprecated APIs, etc.
Even better if CoolApp 1.0 has been continuously updated for new OS’s and the newest version isn’t compatible with a device stuck on an older OS, you can download the “last compatible version”. I was able to download and use Netflix, Crackle, Plex, Hulu, Spotify and Google Drive on my 2010 first gen iPad that was officially abandoned in 2012.
I reset it and downloaded older versions of apps last year.
I reset it and downloaded older versions of apps last year.
I have never owned an iPhone, thus I didn't know if that was possible. I suppose there's nothing to worry about.
Except that's not correct. If you've purchased CoolApp you can always re-install it via the previous purchases section of the App Store, even if the developer has removed it from sale. So you can continue using CoolApp as long as it continues to work on your iOS version and device.
That's the scenario I was thinking of. I think most of the debate on this thread is my use of 'non-scrupulous' to describe that scenario. Which is fair.
If CoolApp was a 32 bit app. You wouldn't be able to use it post iOS 10.
I personally think devs cross from scrupulous to non-scrupulous somewhere between 'this new version has no new features, but we changed the name of it so buy it again' and' 'we charge in-app for feature x, thanks for buying, but that payment is not enough to justify a free update'
Unfortunately, part of the blame is Apple's for not having a clean upgrade pricing solution. You can do it with app bundles but it's a hack.
Actually, even apps that have been removed from sale by the developer can still be installed by the customer through the previous purchases section of the App Store. (Assuming it's still compatible with the device and version of iOS you're trying to install on.)
Right, I was thinking specifically of a number of apps that were never updated and won't run on newer devices.
Well if an app has been abandoned then it's abandoned and there's nothing anyone can do. But if makers of 'CoolApp' release 'CoolApp2' with support for newer devices then I think that's entirely reasonable to remove the original version and ask users to pay for the upgrade.
Even on a mobile platform, I think that's okay if it's a major iteration or if the software is designed for power users. e.g. the OmniGroup and their line of apps. I've happily paid for 2 iterations of their omnifocus app now.
I fail to see how that's unscrupulous, as that's a new version of the app, and that's how software was sold for decades.
I mean, that's a fair point that I completely support, but I was thinking of the cases where the 'new' version has no new features other than a name change.
If you have an actual example of this happening, send a support email to Apple. They generally take this kind of thing fairly seriously (caveat: provided that the app has a large enough audience). It won't help you immediately, but they may better scrutinize later updates from this developer. And they certainly will take categorical action if they find enough bad actors doing something to screw up the App Store as an environment.
Purchases are tied to an Apple ID, so using the same Apple ID on the new device should allow this. I’ve never had problems here even with in app purchases. (There is often an option to “Restore Purchases” for in app specifically to enable a previously purchased item on a new device.)
restore purchase is actually required in all apps which have in-app purchases.
Sounds like an issue with the app. Usually, apps have a 'redeem' button somewhere, that checks with the App Store to see if you did the purchase before, exactly for this scenario. (e.g. Monument Valley does this, and also some apps on macOS.)
I believe you can link maybe 5 devices to one account?
I believe you can link maybe 5 devices to one account?
Most likely an issue with the app. App Store guidelines require you to have a "restore my purchase" option.
The only reason this should happen is if the Ad-free version was pulled from the App Store.
Your logic sounds right, which takes me back to my original question - is there an App Store policy that Developers have to maintain that Ad-free version or provide some form of compensation to those who paid if the developer decides to pull the Ad-free version
I’ve only seen that happen once and the app wasn’t pulled just not updated. The originsl version of Tetris that was never updated passed the iPhone 4 and then EA introduced a new ad supported version.
The App Store is great, but the App Store interface sucks. It was bad enough even when there were only a couple thousand apps in the store, but 10 years and hundreds of thousands of apps later and discoverability is abysmal. Unless you are a big player can advertise your app otherwise, having an app 'hit' is about a scientific a process as making viral videos.
I feel like good search is to Apple as good taste is to Microsoft. It's like it's against their DNA or something.
With the huge exception of Spotlight on Mac OS
Spotlight is absolutely horrendous?
I think it works slightly better than search in Windows 10, and importantly, Apple was first to the punch to bundle an indexing search engine into the OS. Microsoft followed with Windows Vista.
It's no different than any other type of marketplace whether it be for music, books, video, etc.
I strongly disagree. Finding a product on Amazon is significantly easier than finding something in the App Store. Sometimes even if you know the exact name of the app you literally cannot access it unless you have the URL. Their search is awful and forget browsing with the amount of content.
Well, unless you're talking about the Kindle Fire App Store- which is magnitudes worse than the App Store.
The Play Store (other than the horrific naming) strikes a decent balance, but isn't particularly great either.
Don't know why app stores seem to be so challenging for all the players in the space.
The Play Store (other than the horrific naming) strikes a decent balance, but isn't particularly great either.
Don't know why app stores seem to be so challenging for all the players in the space.
Probably because for apps there isn't a rich interconnected web of linked content to tell an algorithm what it needs to know in order to provide a good search experience. Google kinda got lucky in the sense that the discussion about the web happens on the web.
Can confirm this experience
To stretch this a bit, I feel like "search" in general is a weak spot for Apple. For example, I think the search in Apple Mail and searching my Macbook are both very bad, especially the one for Apple Mail.
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The article was a trip down the memory lane.
Cannot believe how quickly a decade has passed since the debut of the first-gen iPhone and subsequent launch of the App store. I still have faint memories of watching a recap of the launch event keynote by Mr. Jobs on a local news channel (though my preteen brain didn't grasp its significance), while being completely oblivious (not that I was unique) to the revolution it was about to unleash in the lives of MILLIONS of developers in every nook and cranny of the planet -- with Google following suit, of course.
Think of the innumerable industries that have been born, millions (billions?) of lives that have been changed, trillions of dollars of value generated, all as a result of this tectonic shift in software distribution.
Cannot believe how quickly a decade has passed since the debut of the first-gen iPhone and subsequent launch of the App store. I still have faint memories of watching a recap of the launch event keynote by Mr. Jobs on a local news channel (though my preteen brain didn't grasp its significance), while being completely oblivious (not that I was unique) to the revolution it was about to unleash in the lives of MILLIONS of developers in every nook and cranny of the planet -- with Google following suit, of course.
Think of the innumerable industries that have been born, millions (billions?) of lives that have been changed, trillions of dollars of value generated, all as a result of this tectonic shift in software distribution.
Google followed, but Android and Andy Rubin have their roots at Danger, who created very popular white label Internet smartphones for teenagers like the Sidekick years before the iPhone.
I heard once that Steve and Co. early on envisioned the iPhone to work mostly with web apps through the browser, but when it became clear the tech wasn't going to be there they went the app store route?
Anyone have anything that backs that up or hear the same thing? It's interesting that 10 years later we're still there ;)
Anyone have anything that backs that up or hear the same thing? It's interesting that 10 years later we're still there ;)
It was Apple's official "sweet solution" for app development on the iPhone.
https://daringfireball.net/2007/06/wwdc_2007_keynote
https://daringfireball.net/2007/06/wwdc_2007_keynote
Thank you very much. My how things have changed ... and still haven't caught up. Granted as another user says, Apple has no reason to push apps off the store to the web now considering the insane cash flow.
Also the fact is that mobile web apps are still terrible.
In almost all cases they still resemble HTML pages rather than feeling like a native app.
In almost all cases they still resemble HTML pages rather than feeling like a native app.
I'll stick my neck out and say we're REALLY close to getting web apps ... close, at least for productivity (not so much pretty graphics) apps.
But People thought that not long ago too... ;)
But People thought that not long ago too... ;)
For games, multimedia, editors, graphics heavy, etc it's a non starter and will probably always be. If not in absolute terms, then compared to the native equivalent.
Even for simple apps (like productivity) they eat battery like crazy.
Slack does less than what ICQ could do 20 years ago, and wastes 1000 times the resources.
Even for simple apps (like productivity) they eat battery like crazy.
Slack does less than what ICQ could do 20 years ago, and wastes 1000 times the resources.
Most of the apps on the app store that make money are in app purchases for games and to a lesser extent the streaming media apps. I doubt that either of these categories would go web anytime soon.
There are no in app purchases for most of the apps that people are claiming that could be PWA's
There are no in app purchases for most of the apps that people are claiming that could be PWA's
Flash games were absolutely huge. Web games on mobiles could absolutely work.
Platform owners don’t want that for obvious rea$on$.
Platform owners don’t want that for obvious rea$on$.
Flash games weren't using standard HTML technology. They were basically running in a cross platform VM that worked horribly on mobile. Adobe claimed back in 2007 that they could get Flash working well on the original iPhone if Apple would have allowed it. The original iPhone had a 400Mhz processor and 128MB of RAM. When Adobe finally brought Flash to Android it required a 1Ghz processor and I believe 512MB - 1GB RAM. That didn't become standard on the iPhone until the iPhone 5 in 2011.
Besides, what was the monetization strategy? People weren't going to give their credit card information out to dozens of websites.
Besides, what was the monetization strategy? People weren't going to give their credit card information out to dozens of websites.
Flash was always wonky though, on mobile and even desktop at times....
Maybe it could have been made to work but I wasn't sad to see it go...
Maybe it could have been made to work but I wasn't sad to see it go...
Despite initial plans, that ship has long sailed. Apple's all about exerting control over the app store, and purposefully breaking the open web on their platform, to drive users and devs to the app store.
Non exhaustive list of web APIs broken on iOS Safari:
1. WebRTC Data channel
2. WebGl 2
3. Limiting WebApp storage to 50MB, just because. Oh, and purging it at random, just because
4. Web push notifications
5. Disallowing 3rd party browser engines (Every browser on iOS is a wrapper around iOS's WebKit)
......
Non exhaustive list of web APIs broken on iOS Safari:
1. WebRTC Data channel
2. WebGl 2
3. Limiting WebApp storage to 50MB, just because. Oh, and purging it at random, just because
4. Web push notifications
5. Disallowing 3rd party browser engines (Every browser on iOS is a wrapper around iOS's WebKit)
......
Oh I don't doubt it, they're not interested in going back. I just thought it was an interesting fact if true about their perspective early on.
Heck I'm just getting into web development and honestly... web apps seem to be JUST barely now getting there when it comes to app quality, polish.
Heck I'm just getting into web development and honestly... web apps seem to be JUST barely now getting there when it comes to app quality, polish.
Yep, 20 years trying to beat native and now the browsers are turning into general purpose VMs.
> web apps seem to be JUST barely now getting there when it comes to app quality, polish.
True. And this is the time for Apple to support and reach parity with other browser vendors on emerging Web features. Unless their true intent is to unfairly drive devs and users to the app store,
True. And this is the time for Apple to support and reach parity with other browser vendors on emerging Web features. Unless their true intent is to unfairly drive devs and users to the app store,
This was at the height of the Web 2.0 phase and many platforms were preparing to go the HTML/JS/CSS route for applications. At the time, it seemed like the trajectory application development was heading.
Palm's WebOS put web technology first on its platform, and sought to compete with the existing mobile platforms.
Palm's WebOS put web technology first on its platform, and sought to compete with the existing mobile platforms.
There are lots of different points of view, Jobs wanted HTML 5 only iPhone while Apple Internally, Scott Forstall wanted to open SDK to developers, and the Jailbreaking communities shown the concept of an App Store.
So it really is a combination of things.
And of course once Jobs saw the App Store model, there is no turning back.
So it really is a combination of things.
And of course once Jobs saw the App Store model, there is no turning back.
Steve looking to HTML 5 would seem to "somewhat" confirm it, at least in a sense he was expecting more from the web and the app store largely filled / took that gap.
I'm still curious, where can one get a comprehensive list of Apps published in the app store, date uploaded, number of downloads, etc?
They don't publish an API for that, and companies that have created one (like AppAnnie) seem to reserve that info for paying customers, AFAIK.
That said, they do offer a search API which should be (slowly) crawlable over time: https://itunes.apple.com/search?country=us&entity=software&t...
That said, they do offer a search API which should be (slowly) crawlable over time: https://itunes.apple.com/search?country=us&entity=software&t...
Oh man, that takes me back. I remember Cro-mag rally and Super Monkey Ball so well. I wonder if they're still around...
Quick edit: Cro-mag is still alive and kicking, looks like it just got iPhone x support too. Crazy.
Quick edit: Cro-mag is still alive and kicking, looks like it just got iPhone x support too. Crazy.
Cro-mag’s developer Pangea Software has been an excellent Apple platform developer for a long time now. If you ever played Mighty Mike/Power Pete, Nanosaur, Bugdom, or Otto-Matic on the Mac that’s them as well.
I wish they offered a proper rental model in the App Store, I know you can do it with in-app purchase but that all feels a little underhand, I'd rather use something baked into the store.
I can just leave a new phone next to the router. With windows, I have to sit and monitor a lot of things for those four hours along with hunting down the most updated executables and setup files.
I feel that mobile got software distribution correct. Thanks a ton, Scott Forstall.