{"id":1201980,"date":"2022-09-10T18:36:12","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T18:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/09\/10\/apples-event-brings-a-dynamic-island-new-widgets-and-ios-16\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T18:36:12","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T18:36:12","slug":"apples-event-brings-a-dynamic-island-new-widgets-and-ios-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/09\/10\/apples-event-brings-a-dynamic-island-new-widgets-and-ios-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple’s event brings a ‘dynamic Island,’ new widgets and iOS 16 \u2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy.<\/p>\n

Global app spending reached $65 billion in the first half of 2022, up only slightly from the $64.4 billion during the same period in 2021, as hypergrowth fueled by the pandemic has slowed down. But overall, the app economy is continuing to grow, having produced a record number of downloads and consumer spending across both the iOS and Google Play stores combined in 2021, according to the latest year-end reports. Global spending across iOS and Google Play last year was $133 billion, and consumers downloaded 143.6 billion apps.<\/p>\n

This Week in Apps offers a way to keep up with this fast-moving industry in one place with the latest from the world of apps, including news, updates, startup fundings, mergers and acquisitions, and much more.<\/p>\n

Do you want This Week in Apps in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here: techcrunch.com\/newsletters.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Want to attend Disrupt? Click\u00a0<\/i><\/b>here for 15% off passes<\/i><\/b>.<\/p>\n

Apple debuts new iPhones \u2014 and new ways for app developers to reach users<\/h3>\n

Like clockwork, Apple held its annual fall event this week to introduce the latest iPhones to the public. The iPhone 14 line brings some notable new features, like the always-on display for the Pro models, emergency satellite connectivity and the removal of the SIM tray in the U.S. in favor of eSIM support, along with other updated specs across the devices\u2019 camera systems, chips, sensors and more.<\/p>\n

But what will most intrigue app developers are a few other changes \u2014 both expected and unexpected.<\/p>\n

With the updated mobile operating system iOS 16, developers will have a way to reach their users directly from the phone\u2019s Lock Screen, thanks to the new widget platform. Announced at this year\u2019s WWDC, these new widgets join a larger Lock Screen makeover that now includes a built-in editor, wallpaper gallery, theming tools and a Live Activities feature for delivering real-time updates to this key iPhone real estate.<\/p>\n

With WidgetKit, developers will be able to build using the same code for both watchOS and the Lock Screen, Apple had explained at WWDC. On the iPhone\u2019s Lock Screen, they can choose from three widget designs: circular, rectangular and inline \u2014 the latter being a way to convey information with a small amount of text and SF Symbols above the Lock Screen\u2019s clock, instead of below it like the other two.<\/p>\n

Already, developers are coming up with clever ways to take advantage of this new screen space.<\/p>\n

In some cases, they see the Lock Screen widgets as the extension of their existing apps \u2014 like what Flighty is doing to convey flight status and other travel updates to users. Others see the widgets as part of a larger set of personalization offerings, allowing users to pin their favorite photos, motivational quotes or even favorite app shortcuts to their Lock Screen, as ScreenKit has done.<\/p>\n

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So Live Activities are cool right? And the Dynamic Island just makes them even better.
It was amazing to work on and god I\u2019m excited to see what you all build for it.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Patrick Metcalfe (@PatrickMetcalfe) September 7, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

For apps with real-time updates, the Live Activities feature will allow developers to display further information on the Lock Screen \u2014 like when a customer\u2019s pizza is arriving or when their Lyft is nearby, for example.<\/p>\n

But what really blew us away was when Apple surprised everyone with an extension of Live Activities that hadn\u2019t yet been leaked:<\/a>\u00a0the new Dynamic Island feature. Frankly, it was exciting to learn about a new feature for the first time during the keynote, instead of reading about it in the news \u2014 something that\u2019s become a much more common occurrence these days.<\/p>\n

A smart combination of hardware and software, the Dynamic Island turns the dreaded sensor \u201cnotch\u201d at the top of the device \u2014 now more compact in the latest iPhone models \u2014 into a feature. The pill-shaped cutout introduces a unique way to interact with activities, alerts and notifications, said Apple, underselling it a bit.<\/p>\n

This adaptive area can expand, contract and morph into different shapes and sizes as it delivers information to the end user through animations and transitions \u2014 taking advantage of the black space required by the notch, rather than trying to hide it.<\/p>\n

You can imagine keeping an eye on your Uber while you text a friend, watching a timer while you read the next steps in a recipe or getting turn-by-turn directions while in another app, among other things. It also works to deliver informational updates in a visually engaging way without interrupting what you\u2019re already doing on your phone. This could include things like confirming your AirPods are connected, muting, starting a charge, starting a FaceID, confirming your transit card was activated when tapping your iPhone in transit locations and more, Apple suggested.<\/p>\n

And it can show other background activity, like the music you\u2019re playing when you exit the music app \u2014 it even includes a tiny photo of the album art. When you want to access the \u201cnow playing\u201d controls again, you can then tap the Dynamic Island to see it expand into a larger, interactive floating widget of sorts with more options. (Will the selfie camera get dirty, we wonder?)<\/p>\n

The same goes for phone calls, where a tap can bring up a larger interface for tapping the mute button, speaker button, FaceTime option, the \u201cend call\u201d button and more.<\/p>\n