Michal Ždanský Appearance, functionality, intuitiveness or price, these are the most common criteria by which users evaluate applications and play the biggest role in deciding to buy them. At a time when there are over a million apps in the App Store, everyone has a plethora of software to choose from in every category imaginable, on the other hand, developers have to struggle a lot and have a bit of luck in order to stand out in the face of tough competition and in the harsh application market, they won't make it at all.
iOS 7 brought an imaginary reboot for applications, at least as far as the user interface is concerned. The new rules of aesthetics and the new philosophy forced most developers to start from scratch in the form of a graphical interface, and thus everyone got a fresh opportunity to shine with a new look and possibly use this situation to release a new application instead of a free update. iOS 8 is then the next phase of the reboot, which after appearance will affect the functions of the application itself to such an extent that it will quite possibly completely change the rules of the game, or in many cases, transfer the game to a completely different field.
[do action=”citation”]Most of the information can easily fit into one widget in the notification center.[/do]
We are talking about extensions, one of the biggest news for developers in the mobile operating system. These allow the integration of third-party applications into other applications or the placement of a widget in the notification center. Android users may be shaking their heads now that they've had these options on their devices for years. That's true of course, but when two do the same thing, it's not the same thing, and Apple's approach is quite different from Android in some ways and will bring more options in some places, but above all, it's a very secure implementation method with a standardized and consistent user interface.
Widgets, which allow you to interact with applications without having to open them, bring completely new possibilities to stand out from the crowd and in some cases could even replace the primary interface of the application. A good example would be weather apps. Most of the information that users really care about, such as temperature, showers, humidity, or the forecast for the next five days, can easily fit into one widget in the notification center. It will be possible to launch the application for more details, say - say a weather map - but the primary interface will be the widget itself. The application that brings the best-looking and most informative widget will win with users.
It can be similar with IM applications. A widget with recent conversations combined with interactive notifications can practically replace the main interface of WhatsApp or IM+ for some. Of course, it will be more and more convenient to start a new conversation from the main application, however, for already ongoing conversations, it will not be necessary to launch the application at all.
However, widgets do not always completely replace the main application, instead they can bring a major competitive advantage. For example, to-do lists or calendar applications can benefit greatly from widgets. Until now, only Apple applications, i.e. Reminders and Calendar, had the privilege of displaying interactive widgets. This option is now in the hands of the developers and it is up to them and only them to allow interaction with their main app in the notification center. Task lists and calendars can, for example, display your agenda for today and the coming days, or allow you to reschedule meetings or mark tasks as completed. And what about Google Now, which could practically work the same as on Android.
[do action=”quote”]A large part of photo editing applications more or less become empty boxes located in the depths of a folder somewhere.[/do]
Other extensions that will greatly change how applications work are those that allow for system-wide functionality integration. Photo editing extensions have a very prominent position here. Apple has released a special API for this category of applications, which will allow you to open the application editor in Photos, for example. The user will no longer have to switch between applications to achieve the desired effect or complex photo editing. He just needs to open a photo in the pre-installed application, launch the extension from the menu and he can start working. Much of the photo editing applications will thus more or less become empty boxes located somewhere in the depths of the folder, serving only the purpose of expanding the capabilities of the Photos application. After all, that's exactly how Apple plans to replace Aperture's features in the upcoming Photos app for OS X. For many users, the extension options will surpass the user interface of a separate app, as it will become completely irrelevant.
Another special case are keyboards. To install third-party keyboards, you also need to install a classic application, the extension of which is the keyboard integrating into the system. The application itself will be practically unused, except perhaps for a one-time function setting, its real interface will be the keyboard visible in all other applications.
Eventually, we will probably see a category of applications where extensions will not be the heart and face of the entire application, but rather an inherent part of it, by which it will be primarily judged. Examples include applications such as 1Password or LastPass, which allow you to use saved passwords and log in to web services or directly to applications without having to write out all your login information.
Of course, extensions will become an integral part of those applications whose main benefit will not change significantly in iOS 8, but many times, thanks to extensions, some unnecessary steps that led to juggling between applications will be eliminated. Despite the fact that in many cases the extension replaces popular URL schemes among geeks.
Notification center widgets, third-party app integration through extensions, and interactive notifications are powerful tools that give developers more freedom than ever before without compromising system security. Not only will it significantly expand the capabilities of existing applications, but it will give rise to completely new applications that would not have been possible in previous versions of the system.
We will cover the extension in detail in a separate thematic article, however, the potential of future applications can be perceived even without a detailed analysis. For the first time since the opening of the App Store, apps will move beyond the edge of their sandboxes, and it will be fascinating to see how developers can use the new possibilities to attract new users.
thanks for the nice article! :)
Perfect article that sums it up nicely, thanks :)
I miss the like button on this FB page, I would like to somehow rate an article that I like.
On the contrary, it is good that she is not here!
Aren't Widgets actually what WM already uses?
nice article!
I don't know if it will already be in iOS 8, but actually when I have a weather app that I will never open in my life because as an ordinary user a widget will be enough for me, but then Apple could allow me to hide the icon of some applications :) because Apple is a perfectionist and when I imagine that on my ipad/iphone, I have a whole page full of such useless apps, so it's annoying to hide them in one folder with the word "trash" :D it would just be stupid to hide it after every such app, so they could allow some apps to be hidden, let them not be on the desktop... if it's already in iOS 8, then nothing :)
Well, it certainly won't be like that. Imagine that you have thirty applications stored somewhere that you don't actually open, but the notification center will advise you of those thirty applications. Sure, there are notifications that need some life, but in the meantime, the widget will probably stay there for a while. As soon as 5 such widgets are needed, there will be no room for more (without the possibility of any forced scrolling)
so I definitely don't think that "Most photo editing apps will more or less become empty boxes located in the depths of a folder somewhere."
Thanks for the article. Personally, I'm a bit concerned that this will lead to even more confusion for iOS. The fact that my 7-year-old daughter returned the iPhone to me, that she does not know how to find and play her favorite song on it, is a testament to where ios9 has moved in terms of intuitive control. (Unlike the Lumia he has.) And honestly – I have a problem with the music player too :-)
the control is always identical to that on <=iOS6
Obscurity :D you have everything on 2-3 pages and you don't have to search how de*il in Android.
if he can't play the song.. I don't know what to think about it... I think it turns on everywhere the same :D
I have a Lumia 630 and it's great...
Basically, this was exactly the one thing that turned me off Android. A person buys a new phone and after starting it is full of apps that do practically nothing when you click on the icon, but are important for the system to function. On the PC, there was a "program files" folder, but this is the main area of the system, where I want to keep order! I don't like this and hope ios9 will fix this.
I think there won't be any unnecessary extra icons :)
And even if there were some extra icons, just put them in one folder, which you can call "Program files", or not?
I think this way of third-party apps interacting with other apps will put a lot of strain on our batteries.
I have an iPhone 5 myself and its battery life is not very good. Imagining that this feature will be added, I don't know how the durability will be. Anyway, the interaction of third-party applications with the others is one of the things that I often missed when working on the iPhone/iPad. With the iPhone 6, perhaps Apple will have treated it better with a longer-lasting battery. And in addition, if we get an iPhone with 5,5″, then the increase in the display will also require something ;)
I don't understand what battery life has to do with it
Our devices will need to work with all third-party applications at all times.
they certainly won't