Night mode is an automatic setting which takes advantage of the new wide-angle camera that's in the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro models. It's equipped with a larger sensor that is able to let in more light, allowing for brighter photos when the light is low.
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Some Developers Facing 'Several Problems' Porting iPad Apps to the Mac With Catalyst [Updated]
One of macOS Catalina's biggest new features for developers is Mac Catalyst—initially known as Project Catalyst—which Apple says makes porting iPad apps to the Mac as easy as checking a box in Xcode.
However, more work is required for the iPad apps to truly resemble native Mac apps, and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that some developers have encountered "several problems" with Catalyst so far.
For example, the report claims that James Thomson had to work harder than he expected to get his popular PCalc calculator app for iPad to run well on the Mac. Thomson said the Mac version initially "looked like an iPad app floating on a larger Mac screen," so he had to redesign much of the user interface.
Thomson added that some older Macs struggle to handle Catalyst-based apps that use Apple's high-level 3D graphics framework SceneKit.
Lukas Burgstaller, developer of the RSS reader Fiery Feeds for iPad, also "ran into all sorts of walls" trying to adapt the iPad app to the Mac interface using Catalyst, but the report does not mention any specific issues he faced.
On the consumer side of things, the report notes that Catalyst results in users paying twice for the same app across iOS and macOS.
"As a user, I don't want to pay again just to have the same app," well-known developer Steven Troughton-Smith told Bloomberg. "As a developer, I don't want my users to have to make that decision."
Troughton-Smith touched on some of the issues developers are facing with Catalyst, noting that Mac versions of some apps can't hide the mouse cursor while video is playing, or may have issues with video recording, two-finger scrolling, or using the keyboard and full-screen mode in video games.
The report adds that two upcoming Catalyst apps that had been featured on Apple's website since June were removed this week, including comic book app DC Universe and the racing game Asphalt 9. It is unclear if the Mac apps are no longer planned or delayed, or if any of the Catalyst issues reported were a factor.
DC Universe for Mac preview on Apple's website prior to being removed
Netflix also confirmed that it has no plans to develop a Mac app using Catalyst at this time, according to the report.
Despite all of this, Troughton-Smith believes Catalyst is the "future of Mac app development," and he is impressed with many of the first apps. There might just be a few growing pains along the way.
macOS Catalina was widely released on Monday.
Update: Gameloft says Asphalt 9 for Mac via Catalyst has been "slightly delayed" in order to "polish the experience" and that it will launch later this year, according to a follow-up tweet from Gurman.
However, more work is required for the iPad apps to truly resemble native Mac apps, and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that some developers have encountered "several problems" with Catalyst so far.
For example, the report claims that James Thomson had to work harder than he expected to get his popular PCalc calculator app for iPad to run well on the Mac. Thomson said the Mac version initially "looked like an iPad app floating on a larger Mac screen," so he had to redesign much of the user interface.
Thomson added that some older Macs struggle to handle Catalyst-based apps that use Apple's high-level 3D graphics framework SceneKit.
Lukas Burgstaller, developer of the RSS reader Fiery Feeds for iPad, also "ran into all sorts of walls" trying to adapt the iPad app to the Mac interface using Catalyst, but the report does not mention any specific issues he faced.
On the consumer side of things, the report notes that Catalyst results in users paying twice for the same app across iOS and macOS.
"As a user, I don't want to pay again just to have the same app," well-known developer Steven Troughton-Smith told Bloomberg. "As a developer, I don't want my users to have to make that decision."
Troughton-Smith touched on some of the issues developers are facing with Catalyst, noting that Mac versions of some apps can't hide the mouse cursor while video is playing, or may have issues with video recording, two-finger scrolling, or using the keyboard and full-screen mode in video games.
The report adds that two upcoming Catalyst apps that had been featured on Apple's website since June were removed this week, including comic book app DC Universe and the racing game Asphalt 9. It is unclear if the Mac apps are no longer planned or delayed, or if any of the Catalyst issues reported were a factor.
Netflix also confirmed that it has no plans to develop a Mac app using Catalyst at this time, according to the report.
Despite all of this, Troughton-Smith believes Catalyst is the "future of Mac app development," and he is impressed with many of the first apps. There might just be a few growing pains along the way.
macOS Catalina was widely released on Monday.
Update: Gameloft says Asphalt 9 for Mac via Catalyst has been "slightly delayed" in order to "polish the experience" and that it will launch later this year, according to a follow-up tweet from Gurman.
Tag: Project Catalyst
[ 97 comments ]
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6 weeks ago
Once again, I am baffled at Netflix' contempt for Mac users. Screw you, too!
6 weeks ago
Wait... let me get this straight... a framework in its infancy is having issues? Developers are thinking something would be easier than it really is?
This framework is about going forward. This means when designing a new iPad app, you can be ready for making it work on Macs too. Obviously, back porting is always harder because those weren't considerations.
This framework is about going forward. This means when designing a new iPad app, you can be ready for making it work on Macs too. Obviously, back porting is always harder because those weren't considerations.
6 weeks ago
Having an iPad app look like "an iPad app floating on a larger Mac screen" doesn't surprise me. Apple may have overpromised, but I think of it this way: You check a checkbox and your iPad app magically runs on macOS, for free, meaning without extra effort on your part. The basic conversions are done for you. Now, in most cases, you can (and probably need to) make other changes to optimize the look and feel.
I'm not surprised that only a limited set of apps turn out perfectly suited for macOS after the automatic conversion, and Apple will make adjustments to Mac Catalyst so that it'll meet the hype for more and more types of apps. I guess that makes me an optimistic realist.
I'm not surprised that only a limited set of apps turn out perfectly suited for macOS after the automatic conversion, and Apple will make adjustments to Mac Catalyst so that it'll meet the hype for more and more types of apps. I guess that makes me an optimistic realist.
6 weeks ago
Apple says makes porting iPad apps to the Mac as easy as checking a box in Xcode.
Enough said
Enough said
6 weeks ago
And yes, once again, the legend of the Holy Grail (of write once, deploy multiple) proves to be just that… a legend.
6 weeks ago
Speaking as an end user: if I’m having to pay again for the privilege of putting an app I’ve already purchased onto another device - in most cases I’m going to be skipping that app.
6 weeks ago
Apple says makes porting iPad apps to the Mac as easy as checking a box in Xcode.
Enough said
As for the quote that the future of macOS development is Catalyst, that’s just wrong. The future is SwiftUI. It makes creating UIs for each device easy, with core code running on all the different platforms.
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