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Apple made a questionable design decision and people didn't want to play ball. Now they're trying to keep their customers happy (who paid $1k for a phone) by fo

Apple made a questionable design decision and people didn't want to play ball. Now they're trying to keep their customers happy (who paid $1k for a phone) by forcing everyone to design for it. Sounds like Apple.

prions 9y ago
iOS Developers have well known that in order to develop apps for Apple, you play by their rules. Why is this a surprise to anyone?
ardit33 9y ago
They always have done this. When the larger screens came out (from 3.5 to 4' to 4.7'), new apps had to support them as well. Also, when iOS 7 was released it introduced major changes to the full screen layouts, and manny apps had to deal with it. (in order support both iOS 6, and 7). So, nothing new
- woofyman 9y ago
  >So, nothing new The notched screen and rounded corners makes it a different beast.
  - SirensOfTitan 9y ago
    I don’t really get this? If you’re using a sane library for layouting, updating your app to support the new frame isn’t too much of a struggle.
    - LukaAl 9y ago
      Having overseen the update of an app to support the new layout I disagree with you. The main issues we found is the virtual home button that could fall in the locations where you have buttons (allegedly is not a problem with built-ins like navbars, but still an issue on some screens). Another issue we found is support for the overflow when hiding the top bar on scroll and other minor issues that I have no time to tell. But the real problem is that you need to test and test all screens, something difficult in a complex app. Especially since the X was released in late November and difficult to find for some time. That does not mean that having a compatible app by April, 6 months later is a hard requirement. But updating the support requires a good amount of work, it is not trivial and could consume a good chunk of time to do that.
      - JiNCMG 9y ago
        What app are you testing? Most of the UI can be perfectly tested on the simulator. In fact the iOS UI guys on my project never see the app on native hardware until release.
- yorby 9y ago
  That's pretty much what he said: "So, nothing new" VS "Sounds like Apple."
oneplane 9y ago
The alternative is one-shot set-and-forget developers that just dump software on a marketplace/store somewhere and ignore whatever happens next. (i.e. Android)
- stormbeta 9y ago
  And yet my Android apps have often stayed working long past when they stopped being supported, and rarely seem to suffer from the quantity of layout problems iOS does since Android has always had to deal with devices of variable sizes and ratios. I'll grant the low end of Android apps is probably much worse than the low end of iOS apps, but I generally don't use those apps in the first place.
majormajor 9y ago
Seems like that's actually unclear, from the article: > The email didn't clarify exactly what support for the iPhone X's "Super Retina" screen means—does it just mean the resolution and aspect ratio must be supported, or do developers also have to update their apps to respect the rounded corners, sensor array (which many people call "the notch"), and the home indicator? Requiring support for the aspect ratio and resolution alone would hardly be unreasonable. It's their flagship device and a taller aspect ratio is becoming common everywhere. Sounds like the "home indicator" is the trickiest thing for some full screen apps? Without having an iPhone X it's hard to know for sure, but is that similar to how Android apps have to respect that swiping up on the lower portion of the screen on a Pixel or such is interpreted by the OS as bringing up the on-screen buttons instead of going through to the app? Does anyone have more concrete info on what "supporting" means for the X?
- krzat 9y ago
  It's supported by default. You just need to hook up your buttons correctly. Games may have a problem though.
soziawa 9y ago
This was always done like this. It's even the same timeframe. Absolutely no surprises for anyone who has been on the Apple platform for more than two years.
SpikeDad 9y ago
If you sell 15 million of something (or whatever the actual number is - I've seen anywhere from 11 to 20 million) then where is the evidence that they made a questionable design decision? My iPhone X is the best phone I've every used and the notch is a nothing burger except for folks that can only knock Apple. Naturally they want software to play ball - what company doesn't want software to work well with their hardware? Sounds like someone that has an agenda. And Ars' use of "DICTATE" is a loaded word they obviously used to boost click-ability. There are plenty of other words like requires, updates standards, etc that don't have the connotation of dictates.
- jjeaff 9y ago
  The fact that they have sold so many phones may simply indicate that the other perceived benefits outweigh the poor notch decision. Plus, lots of mass market products are terribly designed. They sold over 3 million Ford Pintos.
  - empath75 9y ago
    I have an iPhone X. I barely ever notice the notch. And the screen looks amazing.
    - stormbeta 9y ago
      That's not actually an argument against saying the notch was a bad design decision. Just because people can tolerate it in order to get access to an iPhone with an OLED screen (or other X features) doesn't make it a feature that users see as a positive. I've never seen anyone say they like the notch, only tolerate / ignore it.
      - empath75 9y ago
        You will find people who say they like Face ID, though, and there’s no way to have that without the notch. It’s not like apple woke up one day and said fuck it let’s take a notch out of the screen for no reason.
thought_alarm 9y ago
No, it's just Software Engineering 101. Really basic and mundane stuff, actually.
tinus_hn 9y ago
Things change and developers are lazy. Apple gave them quite some time and now time’s up. Sounds like what I’d do.
bocklund 9y ago
Apple is forcing devs to support their customers. I wish more companies were like Apple.
imron 9y ago
> Now they're trying to keep their customers happy (who paid $1k for a phone) by forcing everyone to design for it. Sounds like Apple It does, because this is not a new phenomenon. Apple regularly enforces that Apps are built to support the latest versions of its phones and OSes.
- JiNCMG 9y ago
  It's how we got 64-bit apps!

prions 9y ago

iOS Developers have well known that in order to develop apps for Apple, you play by their rules. Why is this a surprise to anyone?

ardit33 9y ago

They always have done this. When the larger screens came out (from 3.5 to 4' to 4.7'), new apps had to support them as well. Also, when iOS 7 was released it introduced major changes to the full screen layouts, and manny apps had to deal with it. (in order support both iOS 6, and 7). So, nothing new

woofyman 9y ago
>So, nothing new The notched screen and rounded corners makes it a different beast.
- SirensOfTitan 9y ago
  I don’t really get this? If you’re using a sane library for layouting, updating your app to support the new frame isn’t too much of a struggle.
  - LukaAl 9y ago
    Having overseen the update of an app to support the new layout I disagree with you. The main issues we found is the virtual home button that could fall in the locations where you have buttons (allegedly is not a problem with built-ins like navbars, but still an issue on some screens). Another issue we found is support for the overflow when hiding the top bar on scroll and other minor issues that I have no time to tell. But the real problem is that you need to test and test all screens, something difficult in a complex app. Especially since the X was released in late November and difficult to find for some time. That does not mean that having a compatible app by April, 6 months later is a hard requirement. But updating the support requires a good amount of work, it is not trivial and could consume a good chunk of time to do that.
    - JiNCMG 9y ago
      What app are you testing? Most of the UI can be perfectly tested on the simulator. In fact the iOS UI guys on my project never see the app on native hardware until release.
yorby 9y ago
That's pretty much what he said: "So, nothing new" VS "Sounds like Apple."

oneplane 9y ago

The alternative is one-shot set-and-forget developers that just dump software on a marketplace/store somewhere and ignore whatever happens next. (i.e. Android)

stormbeta 9y ago
And yet my Android apps have often stayed working long past when they stopped being supported, and rarely seem to suffer from the quantity of layout problems iOS does since Android has always had to deal with devices of variable sizes and ratios. I'll grant the low end of Android apps is probably much worse than the low end of iOS apps, but I generally don't use those apps in the first place.

majormajor 9y ago

Seems like that's actually unclear, from the article: > The email didn't clarify exactly what support for the iPhone X's "Super Retina" screen means—does it just mean the resolution and aspect ratio must be supported, or do developers also have to update their apps to respect the rounded corners, sensor array (which many people call "the notch"), and the home indicator? Requiring support for the aspect ratio and resolution alone would hardly be unreasonable. It's their flagship device and a taller aspect ratio is becoming common everywhere. Sounds like the "home indicator" is the trickiest thing for some full screen apps? Without having an iPhone X it's hard to know for sure, but is that similar to how Android apps have to respect that swiping up on the lower portion of the screen on a Pixel or such is interpreted by the OS as bringing up the on-screen buttons instead of going through to the app? Does anyone have more concrete info on what "supporting" means for the X?

krzat 9y ago
It's supported by default. You just need to hook up your buttons correctly. Games may have a problem though.

soziawa 9y ago

This was always done like this. It's even the same timeframe. Absolutely no surprises for anyone who has been on the Apple platform for more than two years.

SpikeDad 9y ago

If you sell 15 million of something (or whatever the actual number is - I've seen anywhere from 11 to 20 million) then where is the evidence that they made a questionable design decision? My iPhone X is the best phone I've every used and the notch is a nothing burger except for folks that can only knock Apple. Naturally they want software to play ball - what company doesn't want software to work well with their hardware? Sounds like someone that has an agenda. And Ars' use of "DICTATE" is a loaded word they obviously used to boost click-ability. There are plenty of other words like requires, updates standards, etc that don't have the connotation of dictates.

jjeaff 9y ago
The fact that they have sold so many phones may simply indicate that the other perceived benefits outweigh the poor notch decision. Plus, lots of mass market products are terribly designed. They sold over 3 million Ford Pintos.
- empath75 9y ago
  I have an iPhone X. I barely ever notice the notch. And the screen looks amazing.
  - stormbeta 9y ago
    That's not actually an argument against saying the notch was a bad design decision. Just because people can tolerate it in order to get access to an iPhone with an OLED screen (or other X features) doesn't make it a feature that users see as a positive. I've never seen anyone say they like the notch, only tolerate / ignore it.
    - empath75 9y ago
      You will find people who say they like Face ID, though, and there’s no way to have that without the notch. It’s not like apple woke up one day and said fuck it let’s take a notch out of the screen for no reason.

thought_alarm 9y ago

No, it's just Software Engineering 101. Really basic and mundane stuff, actually.

tinus_hn 9y ago

Things change and developers are lazy. Apple gave them quite some time and now time’s up. Sounds like what I’d do.

bocklund 9y ago

Apple is forcing devs to support their customers. I wish more companies were like Apple.

imron 9y ago

> Now they're trying to keep their customers happy (who paid $1k for a phone) by forcing everyone to design for it. Sounds like Apple It does, because this is not a new phenomenon. Apple regularly enforces that Apps are built to support the latest versions of its phones and OSes.

JiNCMG 9y ago
It's how we got 64-bit apps!