WWDC has always been a developer-focused event, but it is especially true this year. It’s completely focused on software this time around – with no new hardware to speak of – and there are quite a number of interesting features both developers and consumers will enjoy.
To get an idea on how iOS 12 and macOS Mojave will impact developers, we sat with the founder of Apptivity Lab – a Malaysian-based company specialising in developing bespoke apps for various entities – Jason Khong, as well as one of the Malaysian scholars who was invited to WWDC 2018, Brenda Lau.
In our brief interview, one of the most talked about changes in iOS 12 is the improvement in performance. There were a lot of things that were done under the hood to make this possible, and it’s something developers don’t really have to implement either. Essentially, apps will generally run better in iOS 12 – that’s a great thing for both developers and consumers.
Aside from that, we also discussed how ARKit 2 can be implemented in more than just games. While shared AR experiences add another dimension to games, Khong mentioned other ways ARKit 2 can be beneficial. Take our previous government’s attempt at releasing an app to complain about poor road conditions – using AR, consumers can measure accurately how severe road issues are.
Lau also chimed in on how useful Siri Shortcuts can be. With a single phrase, Siri can perform a series of tasks, making it much easier to do certain things. Accessibility is something Lau’s particularly interested it: those who are not very tech-savvy can save a lot of headache with Siri Shortcuts.
Naturally, we talked about macOS Mojave as well, and Dark Mode is especially useful to developers who spend countless hours looking at codes. Xcode – a collection of software development tools – already has a dark theme of sorts, but having a dedicated, system-wide Dark Mode in Mojave is definitely a much better experience. After all, almost every UI element of macOS is darkened in this mode, and it will reduce eye strain to an extent.
Last but certainly not least is the ability to port iOS apps to macOS. While it still remains to be seen how this will affect macOS’ selection of apps – the feature will only be available to developers in 2019 – Khong believe it will be beneficial to everyone. Developers can reach a wider audience by offering their mobile apps to macOS users, and this, in turn, will further boost the Mac App Store.
Jason Khong and Brenda Lau.
It goes without saying iOS 12 and macOS Mojave bring a slew of new tools and features. Now, it is up to developers to take advantage of these changes and improvements. At the end of the day, consumers will benefit the most out of all these.
