Since Apple announced and subsequently rolled out official support for third-party controllers, the vendors of said peripherals have been very much on their game. I mean, sure, the iOS device using community mightn't have taken to this new product group as keenly as Apple may have anticipated, but nevertheless, the constant flow of MFi controllers spawns at least one new model per week. Today, SteelSeries has taken the wraps off its new Stratus XL MFi controller, which, as you'll see in a moment, looks very much like the game pad of Microsoft's Xbox 360.
At last week's Worldwide Developers Conference, we half expected Apple to take the wraps off a fourth-gen Apple TV device. It would, according to reports and rumors, pack improved hardware and gaming support, but like the teased prospect of other new hardware being announced at WWDC, it did not materialize.
Apple's big iOS 8 reveal at WWDC brought with it one or two features that we never saw coming. One feature that's considerably less unexpected but perhaps one that has slipped under the radar, is the Camera app's new time-lapse mode.
Now that WWDC is over, we can get back to wondering what hardware Apple will announce this year. It's a given than the iPhone 6 will be brought to market towards the last quarter of 2014, but what it will contain and how it will look is still up for debate.
Apple's latest iOS software update has been well received by users, pundits and commentators, and one of the main reasons why it has been so heavily lauded can be attributed to the broader set of customization tools. Everywhere you look throughout iOS 8 beta 1 - if you've had the chance - you'll notice the increased scope for tailoring the experience beyond anything seen before with Apple's mobile software, and according to some murmurings on Twitter, Apple could be planning to offer users more jurisdiction over the Control Center.
We're still continuing to learn new bits of information all the time with regards to iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 Yosemite, and with communication being an integral part of both of Apple's main operating systems, it should come as little surprise that both iMessage and FaceTime look set for some healthy improvements.
HealthKit, as has already been established, will serve as a major component in the iOS 8 update, and we're also already aware that it will integrate with various third-party accessories for a better all-round experience. Now, it has been discovered that since HealthKit will offer the ability to hook up with accessories natively via Bluetooth, those behind said add-ons will not need to build and publish companion apps.
When releasing apps, developers are obligated to be transparent regarding what personal, geographical and device-based information is accessible to said app. It also helps that developers are made to explain why these apps must perpetually check our location, for instance. With iOS 8, Apple has given the user an even better insight into what goes on behind the various UI elements, and soon, apps will need permission to continue using your location data in the background.
Of the big announcements to come out of the WWDC opening keynote, Apple's decision to bring third-party keyboards to iOS was probably the most unexpected and yet, one of the most wished-for additions to a platform that has stubbornly stuck to the one keyboard for its entire life. Being able to install completely new keyboards can quite literally change the way we work.
With WWDC rolling along quite nicely, there's been a lot of talk about how developers would use some of the newly announced tools that were announced during the big opening keynote. One of those announcements was that Apple was going to open Touch ID for use by third-party developers in iOS 8, and that immediately got people thinking.
