Apple is working on a Tile-like Bluetooth tracking device that's designed to be attached to items like keys and wallets for tracking purposes, letting you find them right in the Find My app.
A new DevMate survey recently polled around 700 Mac developers to get responses on how they feel working on OS X, and the lack of app visibility on Apple's Mac App Store. As The Next Web reports, the developers' responses highlight a stark difference in the iOS and OS X platforms, with a majority of DevMate's surveyed developers dissatisfied with Apple's 30/70 revenue split and poor distribution policies.
When asked, "How do you distribute your Mac applications?" nearly 35 percent of the quizzed developers preferred to specifically share and market their apps outside of the Mac App Store, on their own third-party websites. About 23 percent stick solely to Apple's Mac App Store for distribution, while 42 percent are straddling the line and working with both. Sources of revenue for the developers in the dual-distribution approach are said to be "split almost evenly."
All the same, those in the weeds of the Mac App Store say they would advise another developer against selling their app within Apple's OS X storefront. Of those 35 percent of developers living exclusively outside the Mac App Store, "a whopping 97 percent say they’d try to talk someone out of using Apple’s official App Store."
Another section of the survey asked if developers believed Apple's 30 percent revenue cut was worth all of the features gained from using the Mac App Store, with 62 percent responding with "no." Problems arise from the developers' inability to address and communicate with reviewers directly, or offer trial periods for apps.
Apple's OS X App Store has been a pale comparison to its iOS relative since its launch five years ago. Rumors swirling around a possible rebrand of OS X to "macOS" have led to hopeful speculation that changes could also come to Apple's lackluster desktop App Store, but the company has yet to comment on any of these reports. With a software-heavy WWDC predicted for next week, it's possible that Apple will address some OS X-related concerns during its keynote speech.
Rather than bolstering the security in OS X or designing some sort of proper low level system that could be made compatible with all existing applications, we get this tacked on dog turd that essentially assumes all applications are glorified word processors. It takes a special kind of stupid to design a system so badly thought out that your developers literally need to sell two versions of their apps- one on the Mac App Store (intentionally crippled to play well inside the sandbox system), and another direct download from the developers that is fully enabled and genuinely useful.
Personally, I won't buy anything from the MAS because of this ****. I refuse to support Apple's brain dead security system not only because it cripples most applications, but because I don't want them considering it a success and making it mandatory in the future.
It is, by far, one of the most harmful technologies present in OS X, and has only served to dampen the inertia of the MAS and damage developer <-> consumer relationships by forcing developers to sell intentionally broken versions of their applications.
As a consumer, not a developer, the only things I like about the MAS is a one-stop-shop collection of apps to search through, and that there is a reasonable level of security and safety in getting apps there as opposed to elsewhere and risking getting malware of some type.
With that said, I actually rarely ever get an app from the MAS or elsewhere, I just don't get many apps and already have what I need/want for now. But the appeal of getting apps not in the MAS like trial periods and discounts is what will drive me to look for them outside of the Apple ecosystem.
And it's only going to get worse when apple rolls out new desktop computers based on the A10 processor and ONLY apps sold through the app store will be allowed to be installed on the desktops and no third party apps. Just like the App Store is now for the phone.
Highly unlikely that Mac OS will ever become a completely closed ecosystem as it would be a sad day and a fool's errand to go that way, but on that day I'll finally stop buying Mac computers.
Partly due to high prices, removed multiplayer options, a gruelling refund process, compatibility issues, poor ports, and lack of updates from developers, I wouldn't consider anything other than Steam or GOG to buy games for OS X.
My biggest complaint from a consumer perspective revolves around upgrade discounts.
On the one hand, I don't think that buying a piece of software once should entitle me to lifetime upgrades. On the other hand, I resent having to pay full price for each major upgrade (3.0 -> 4.0 for example). For most of my decades-long computer experience, the discounted upgrade path seemed most fair – a loyalty reward but continued revenue for the developer.
Last I knew, this was virtually impossible on the MAS, and so I buy from dev sites directly whenever possible.
Best example: anything from the Omni Group ('https://www.omnigroup.com').
Based on how the geniuses in charge of the current App Store think, the solution to this dissatisfaction issue is nothing other than... Free Apple Watch bands! Free bands for everyone!
Apple today released iOS and iPadOS 13.4, the latest major updates to the iOS 13 operating system that was released in September. iOS and iPadOS 13.4 come two months after the release of iOS and iPadOS 13.3.1 with Screen Time Communication Limits.
The iOS and iPadOS 13.4 updates are available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the updates, go to...
Tuesday March 24, 2020 10:21 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today released macOS Catalina 10.15.4, the fourth update to the macOS Catalina operating system that was released in October. macOS Catalina 10.15.4 comes a couple of months after the release of macOS Catalina 10.15.3.
macOS Catalina 10.15.4 can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for free using the Update feature in the System Preferences app.
The macOS Catalina 10.15.4 update...
Tuesday March 24, 2020 12:38 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple last week introduced new 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models, which are set to arrive in the hands of customers starting this week. Apple introduced a nifty new Magic Keyboard with trackpad alongside the new iPad Pro models that's coming in May, but it also debuted a new Smart Keyboard Folio, which is available now.
We picked up the Smart Keyboard Folio for the designed for the 2020 iPad...
Wednesday March 25, 2020 10:25 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple over the weekend announced plans to donate millions of N95 masks to hospitals in the United States and Europe, and according to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Apple has been able to source more than 10 million N95 masks in the U.S. and millions more in Europe.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said on Saturday that Apple was aiming to donate supplies to healthcare providers fighting COVID-19, and clarified...
Wednesday March 25, 2020 12:51 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple is preparing to delay the launch of the 2020 iPhones expected to be equipped with 5G technology, according to sources with knowledge of Apple's plans that spoke to Japanese news site Nikkei.
Apple has reportedly held internal discussions about the possibility of delaying the launch "by months" over fears of how well iPhones would sell in the current situation, and supply chain sources...
Apple last week introduced new iPad Pro models with an similar performing A12Z Bionic chip, an Ultra Wide camera for 0.5x zoom, and a LiDAR Scanner for enhanced augmented reality. The new iPad Pro models will begin arriving to customers and go on sale at select stores starting tomorrow, and ahead of time, the first unboxing videos have surfaced.
The new iPad Pro models will be compatible with A...
Wednesday March 25, 2020 2:10 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple last week announced new 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models, and as of today, the new iPads are arriving to customers. We picked up one of the new 12.9-inch models and checked it out to see just what's new and whether it's worth buying.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. When it comes to design, the new iPad Pro models are identical to the 2018 iPad Pro models, but ...
iPhone users in several countries who disconnect from WiFi on their devices will see a "Stay Home" message at the top of the Control Center where cellular network information is displayed. Image via Matt Navarra According to reports on Twitter, the status bar messages are showing up in countries that include Germany, Belgium, United Arab Emirates, Peru, Turkey, India, Luxembourg, Romania,...
Apple today released tvOS 13.4, the third major update to the tvOS operating system that runs on the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models. tvOS 13.4 comes a couple of months after the release of tvOS 13.3.1.
tvOS 13.4, a free update, can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the Apple TV by going to System > Software Update. Apple TV owners who have automatic software ...
One of the new 2020 iPad Pro models equipped with an A12Z chip arrived early to a Reddit user, who did some benchmarking tests to see how it performs.
In a Geekbench 5 test, the 11-inch 2020 iPad Pro earned a single-core score of 1114 and a multi-core score of 4654, which is close to the Geekbench scores of the 11-inch iPad Pro from 2018.
The 11-inch iPad Pro has an aggregate single-core G...
Top Rated Comments
(View all)Rather than bolstering the security in OS X or designing some sort of proper low level system that could be made compatible with all existing applications, we get this tacked on dog turd that essentially assumes all applications are glorified word processors. It takes a special kind of stupid to design a system so badly thought out that your developers literally need to sell two versions of their apps- one on the Mac App Store (intentionally crippled to play well inside the sandbox system), and another direct download from the developers that is fully enabled and genuinely useful.
Personally, I won't buy anything from the MAS because of this ****. I refuse to support Apple's brain dead security system not only because it cripples most applications, but because I don't want them considering it a success and making it mandatory in the future.
It is, by far, one of the most harmful technologies present in OS X, and has only served to dampen the inertia of the MAS and damage developer <-> consumer relationships by forcing developers to sell intentionally broken versions of their applications.
-SC
With that said, I actually rarely ever get an app from the MAS or elsewhere, I just don't get many apps and already have what I need/want for now. But the appeal of getting apps not in the MAS like trial periods and discounts is what will drive me to look for them outside of the Apple ecosystem.
And it's only going to get worse when apple rolls out new desktop computers based on the A10 processor and ONLY apps sold through the app store will be allowed to be installed on the desktops and no third party apps. Just like the App Store is now for the phone.
Highly unlikely that Mac OS will ever become a completely closed ecosystem as it would be a sad day and a fool's errand to go that way, but on that day I'll finally stop buying Mac computers.
Partly due to high prices, removed multiplayer options, a gruelling refund process, compatibility issues, poor ports, and lack of updates from developers, I wouldn't consider anything other than Steam or GOG to buy games for OS X.
On the one hand, I don't think that buying a piece of software once should entitle me to lifetime upgrades. On the other hand, I resent having to pay full price for each major upgrade (3.0 -> 4.0 for example). For most of my decades-long computer experience, the discounted upgrade path seemed most fair – a loyalty reward but continued revenue for the developer.
Last I knew, this was virtually impossible on the MAS, and so I buy from dev sites directly whenever possible.
Best example: anything from the Omni Group ('https://www.omnigroup.com').