'Marble' Project Actually Xcode 4?
In January 2009, both
MacRumors and
Daring Fireball's John Gruber began
hearing rumors that Apple was working on a project code-named "Marble" that was believed to be an overhaul of the Mac OS X interface set to appear with Snow Leopard later that year.
As time went by, however, Gruber noted that "Marble" was unlikely to appear in Mac OS X Snow Leopard, and indeed the new operating system did not carry the significant overhaul many had been hoping for, leading to speculation that it could still appear in Mac OS X 10.7 whenever that sees the light of day.
Yesterday, Gruber revealed that "Marble" actually appears not to be a Mac OS X interface revamp but an overhaul of Xcode, Apple's developer tools for Mac OS X and iOS. A beta version of Xcode 4 was previewed at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference earlier this month, but with the sessions covered by non-disclosure agreements, it was taken some time for details on the update to come out. One of the major changes in Xcode 4 is the integration of Interface Builder into the larger Xcode application, creating a unified interface that comprises the "Marble" project.
Xcode 4 is still in beta, Apple doesn't have screenshots available, and what was shown at WWDC 2010 is covered by NDA. But if you have a developer account, you can get a tour of the new interface by watching the Developer Tools State of the Union session. It is, to say the least, a major overhaul - primarily focused on doing more within a single window, even going so far as to bake Interface Builder into Xcode itself. According to several informed sources at WWDC, that's the "Marble" project.
It is unknown when Xcode 4 will make its official debut, but it appears to promise a significantly enhanced development environment for creating and testing applications.
Popular Stories
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...
Apple is planning to release at least one iPhone 17 model next year with mechanical aperture, according to a report published today by The Information. The mechanical system would allow users to adjust the size of the iPhone 17's aperture, which refers to the opening of the camera lens through which light enters. All existing iPhone camera lenses have fixed apertures, but some Android...
