Four Major Headaches Apple Fixed Shows It’s Listening To Complaints For Once
When Tim Cook took to the stage at WWDC this week you could tell something was different. Usually the keynote is dedicated to showcasing all the front-end, user-centric features of the next iOS and OS X, with the new developer tools taking a backseat at private labs during the week. But this time Cook revealed that a full third of the keynote would be dedicated to showcasing the greatest features of the iOS 8 SDK–something Cook boasted was the “biggest release since the launch of the App Store.”
It turns out that wasn’t just hyperbole. As WWDC winds to a close here are what developers told us are four of the massive changes to the iOS SDK that will make coding for it better than ever. What’s most surprising? In an uncharacteristically sympathetic way for Apple, they seem correspond to the most prevalent developer complaints.
1. iOS 8 Is More Open Than Ever
“It appears that Apple really listened to a lot of the issues being raised by the app development community and has responded with a release that is focused on addressing our concerns, which is reflected in their claim of 4,000 APIs in the iOS 8 SDK,” says Kris Ramanathan, CEO and cofounder of Netomat, the company that makes the critically praisedSpotliter photo and video app for iOS.
Ramanathan’s assertion is something that I’m not used to hearing from developers, who always seem just a bit dissatisfied after each WWDC. However this year things seem different and virtually every developer I spoke with agrees with Ramanathan’s statement.