Mothball Alert

Announcements

It occurred to me that I should perhaps communicate this to y’all, albeit a bit late: I’m out of the iOS Dev Game. For good. I’ve been renewing my membership until 2018, but when it came up again this year, I gave it a miss. $99 saved. I don’t have the hardware to develop anymore, and I’m involved in other projects I find more fulfilling.

While I’ve enjoyed the coding challenges over the years immensely, two factors have greatly contributed to this change of mind:

  • getting cancer in 2015, surviving it, and focussing on what really matters in life (which isn’t Xcode, Apple’s products or the way they treat developers), and
  • Apple’s continued push to re-write this year what they taught us last year. There’s never a moment in which you can “just write code” and be creative, without having to re-learn how to do it.

I’ll leave this site up for posterity and the occasional outdated tip from yesteryear, but I won’t wrote any more content here. Should I ever pick up another coding challenge (iOS or otherwise), I might do it on this domain. If you want to keep in touch, check out my current active projects here:

Have a wonderful Happy Holidays, do what you love, enjoy every moment, be true to your passion, and go out and be happy in 2020 and beyond 😍

Thanks for visiting!

What’s New in iOS 12.4

iOS Development,

iOS 12.4 introduces iPhone migration to directly transfer data from an old iPhone to a new iPhone, includes enhancements to Apple News+ and improves the security of your iPhone or iPad. This update:

iPhone migration

  • Introduces the ability to wirelessly transfer data and migrate directly from an old iPhone to a new iPhone during setup

Apple News

  • Makes downloaded issues accessible in the My Magazines section, both online and offline
  • Adds all publications in Apple News+, including newspapers, to the catalog at the top of the News+ feed
  • Adds the ability to clear downloaded magazine issues by selecting History > Clear > Clear All

Other improvements and fixes

  • Includes a security fix for the Walkie-Talkie app on Apple Watch and re-enables Walkie-Talkie functionality

This release also includes support for HomePod in Japan and Taiwan.

For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website:

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

What’s New in iOS 12.3.1

iOS Development

iOS 12.3.1 includes bug fixes for your iPhone and iPad. This update:

  • Fixes an issue that could prevent making or receiving VoLTE calls
  • Fixes issues in Messages that could cause messages from unknown senders to appear in your conversation list even though Filter Unknown Senders is enabled
  • Fixes an issue that could prevent the Report Junk link from appearing in Messages threads from unknown senders

For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website: 

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

What’s New in iOS 12.2

iOS Development

Taken straight from the all too fleeting Update Dialogue:

iOS 12.2 provides support for Apple News+, adds the ability for Siri to play videos from your iOS device to Apple TV, and includes four new Animoji. This update also includes bug fixes and improvements.

Apple News+

  • Apple News+ is a new subscription service that extends the Apple News experience with hundreds of magazines and top newspapers
  • Our editors handpick top articles and magazine issues, and you also get personalized recommendations on the topics most interesting to you
  • Automatic downloads make it easy to read magazine issues offline
  • Apple News is now available in Canada, with a free experience that includes handpicked Top Stories, a personalized Today feed, and support for both English and French
  • Apple News+ is available in the U.S. and in Canada, with dozens of additional Canadian magazines

Siri

  • Ask Siri on your iPhone or iPad to play any video, show, movie, sports game, or channel on Apple TV. For example, “Hey Siri, play Free Solo on my TV”

Animoji

  • Four new Animoji—owl, boar, giraffe and shark—are included for iPhone X and later, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) and iPad Pro 11-inch

AirPlay

  • Dedicated TV controls in Control Center and on the Lock Screen give you quick access to TV controls
  • AirPlay multitasking for video allows you to browse other apps, as well as play other short form audio and video files locally on your device without interrupting AirPlay
  • AirPlay destinations are now grouped by content type making it faster for you to find what device you want to play to

Apple Pay

  • Apple Pay Cash customers can now transfer money to their bank accounts instantly using their Visa debit cards
  • Wallet app now conveniently displays Apple Pay credit and debit transactions right below the card

Screen Time

  • Downtime can be configured with a different schedule for each day of the week
  • A new toggle enables easily turning app limits on or off temporarily

Safari

  • Website sign-in now occurs automatically after filling credentials with Password AutoFill
  • Warnings now appear when loading unencrypted webpages
  • Removes support for the expired Do Not Track standard to prevent potential use as a fingerprinting variable; Intelligent Tracking Prevention now protects against cross-site tracking by default
  • Smart Search Field queries can now be modified by tapping the arrow icon next to search suggestions

Apple Music

  • The Browse tab shows more editorial highlights on a single page making it easier to discover new music, playlists, and more

AirPods

  • Support for new AirPods (2nd generation)

This update also includes other improvements and bug fixes. This update:

  • Supports Air Quality Index in Maps for US, UK, and India
  • Includes information in Settings on how much time remains on your device’s warranty period
  • Supports real-time text (RTT) for phone calls made through a nearby iPhone on iPad and iPod Touch
  • Displays a “5G E” icon for iPhone 8 and later, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) or iPad Pro 11-inch indicating that users are in an area where AT&T’s 5G Evolution network is available
  • Improves quality of audio recordings in Messages
  • Improves stability and performance of Apple TV Remote on iOS
  • Fixes an issue that prevented some missed calls from appearing in Notification Center
  • Addresses an issue where a badge notification could appear on Settings even though no action is needed
  • Addresses an issue in Settings > General > iPhone Storage where the storage size of some large apps, the System category, and the Other category in the storage bar graph could be incorrect
  • Fixes an issue that could cause Voice Memos to automatically play back recordings after connecting to a car Bluetooth device
  • Resolves an issue that could cause Voice Memos to temporarily prevent renaming a recording

For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

What’s New in iOS 12.0.1

iOS Development, ,

Lew from Unbox Therapy says iOS 12.0.1 fixes that spurious random non-charging issue, appropriately dubbed ChargeGate. I’m glad the issue has been fixed, although Apple does not officially acknowledge that there even was a problem.

From the Upgrade Dialogue:

iOS 12.0.1 brings performance improvements and exciting new features to iPhone and iPad.

  • Photos introduces new features to help you rediscover and share the photos in your library
  • Memoji—a new, more customizable Animoji—make Messages more expressive and fun.
  • Screen Time helps you and your family understand and make the most of the time spent on devices
  • Siri Shortcuts deliver a faster way to get things done with the ability for any app to work with Siri
  • augmented reality becomes even more engaging with the ability for developers to create shared AR experiences
  • and new privacy features help protect you from being tracked on the web.

For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website:

ChargeGate: What’s going on with wired charging on iPhone XS?

Opinion,

Lew from Unbox Therapy posted a slightly shocking video a couple of days ago in which he examines what appears to be a random charging issue on the new iPhone XS models (both max and… well “non-max”). He’s appropriately dubbed it ChargeGate.

The issue was brought to the worlds attention by an Apple Forum Thread, in which user xMASTIFFSx observed that when his iPhone XS is in sleep mode (blank screen), it refuses to charge from a wired connection to a charger. However, if he wakes the phone up, then sometimes it starts to charge – at other times it does not.

Soon after the thread started, over hundred other iPhone XS users have responded that they had a similar problem. That’s never good when technology does that. We coders are used to boolean states. Random Booleans are not something we’re good at.

So Lew took out his 8 iPhones XS versions and put them all to the test. Watch the above video to see his staggering findings: MOST of the new iPhone models seem to behave in this strange way, refusing to charge when in sleep mode. But even when woken up, not all models start charging immediately. Some freeze, some start charging 10 minutes later, some never charge at all.

We can only assume at this time that Apple thoroughly tested the wireless charging option (which appears to work fine, whether the iPhone is asleep or awake), but it perhaps already hatching plans of removing that godforsaken final port on the “best iPhone ever” in the next iteration. Let’s be honest: why should they fix something if they could just REMOVE it instead? That plan worked so well with removing both the headphone jack and the home button.

This problem may or may not be related to Apple’s latest “software innovation” in iOS 12, in which a phone must be unlocked to start charging when connected to a Mac. Why they’ve implemented this ridiculous check is anyone’s guess. Security? Stupidity? We’ll never find out.

How’s your new iPhone XS doing? Does it start charging when you plug that lighting connector in?

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