Developers aren’t happy with Apple’s surprise release of iOS 14

Turns out developers want more of a heads up before a major OS update is pushed to over one and a half billion users.

Apple’s event yesterday was focused on launching shiny new watches and tablets. The only major announcement for developers was the bombshell that iOS 14 is launching today:

https://twitter.com/JPEGuin/status/1305934894036647941

Ok, so granted there’ve been eight public betas of iOS 14. Most developers probably knew a final release was imminent....

16 September 2020 | Developer

New developer tools boost Google Assistant’s capabilities

Google has launched new tools for developers which are designed to boost Assistant's capabilities when responding to user requests.

The virtual assistant is regularly found to handle general queries better than its closest competitors, but too often you can think it would just be quicker to do a task yourself. We're still far off from the sci-fi visions of AI assistants like HAL and JARVIS.

Google Assistant, and its rivals, have made large strides in improving areas such...

18 June 2020 | Android

Google further opens Maps to developers, enables Pokemon Go-like games

Google has improved the access developers have to Maps, providing the ability to build things such as games which offer alternate versions of the real world.

The most obvious example of such a game is Niantic's Pokémon Go which, while not quite as viral as it once was, remains popular today.

Niantic was once a startup within Google – back when it was known for its less commercially-successful but still groundbreaking AR game, Ingress. The company offers a toolkit for...

16 June 2020 | Android

GitHub makes its core tools free for all development teams

GitHub has given developers a welcome helping hand during these difficult times by making its core tools free.

Organisations can now make private repositories without paying any fees. Previously, even small teams would’ve had to pay for a premium membership starting from $7/month.

Last year, GitHub made private repositories available for free users but with restrictions in areas such as the number of collaborators; which hindered teams. Unlimited collaborators and...

15 April 2020 | Development Tools