iOS 8.2 includes support for the WatchKit SDK, paving the way for developers to create and test apps for Apple’s upcoming Apple Watch. The exact release date for iOS 8.2 is still unknown however, it may be made available publicly few weeks ahead of the Apple Watch launch.

Apple’s new wearable device will work in sync with the iPhone. Using WatchKit SDK app developers can add support to their apps to enable notifications and glances on the Apple Watch.

iOS 8 upgrades haven’t gone very well for users recently as after upgrading users complained about WiFi, battery life and bluetooth issues. With increased use of devices’ storage capacity many users were unable to install over-the-air update and had to resort to installing the update by connecting to iTunes. All these problems combined resulted in slower adoption rate initially when compared with last years release of iOS 7.

Apple touted iOS 8 as the “biggest iOS release ever”. It brought many new features for users and new possibilities for iOS app developers. Notable enhancements included all new Messages app, continuity, added features to camera app, third party keyboards, iCloud Drive, Health app and much more.

The App Store over the years has won customer trust for secure apps since each app goes through an approval process. However, in the recent past there have been many cases where users’ data has been compromised due to the app developers server being hacked or not using enough security measures.

It was recently revealed that the popular Starbucks app for iOS stores user names, email address and passwords in clear text. This valuable information could easily be accessed by connecting your smartphone with the app installed to a computer. While this is not the same as recent Snapchat security breach that happened last week. It does raise some concerns over app developers commitment to keep their users’ data secure.

Starbucks spokeswoman in a statement to PCMag said, “While we are aware of this report, there is no known impact to our customers,”. Customers who often buy from Starbucks enjoy the connivence of customising their order and paying online through the application.

According to a report, Starbucks mobile app is the most used mobile payment application in the U.S. While it does provide ease of use, customers have repeatedly complained about the app not remembering passwords and often losing all information of gift cards.

Apple has set a number of guidelines for app developer to follow to have their apps approved for sale on the App Store. The recent security breaches and inadequate measures for protecting users data may soon become a huge concern for Apple.

In coming months it won’t be surprising for Apple to start rejecting applications that don’t comply with strict security measures for apps that store sensitive user information. It will be interesting to see if Apple improves its guidelines for developers to develop more secure apps for its audience.

The App Store has been a huge success for Apple’s iOS devices. The availability of high quality apps and games on the App Store is responsible for a thriving ecosystem of iPhone and iPad apps. The exposure and profitability of having apps on Apple’s app store has attracted both, established and indie developers to offer unique apps and games.

Having a large number of apps on the store and delivering the most relevant search results or even top app rankings is a complex task. Apple has repeatedly tried to experiment with the search results in the past. According to a new report Apple may be altering the algorithm for the top app charts.

The report published by TechCrunch refers to studies by app store chart analysing services. It appears that in late July the App Store started ranking apps with 4 or 5 stars higher even thought these apps didn’t see significant rise in download numbers according to Fiksu.

Apple has until now ranked apps in the top app charts according to the download numbers and how fast these are downloaded. So, if an app sees a large number of downloads in short period of time it could quickly rise on the charts. However, now it is being reported that  instead of using 15 minute refresh intervals now three hour window is used to update the App Store ranking. This would allow Apple to verify if the downloads are legit and not being driven by some automated software.

We suspect they are adding a ‘buffer’ period to prevent rank manipulation through short download bursts often associated with robotic downloads and other actions not in the best interests of the app ecosystem. Three hours allows enough time to identify anomalies and remove apps before they suddenly appear at the top of the rankings.

Another factor affecting the ranking could be user engagement according to Niren Hiro of SearchMan. Factors like how often user opens the app and how much time is being spent could also play a role in the top app ranking.

App discovery, improving relevance of search and appropriate top charts these are increasingly becoming crucial aspects and Apple continues to invest and research to enhance its performance.

{via MacRumors}

Apple’s App Store is about to hit yet another milestone as the company has updated its website with a countdown to 50 billion downloads. Apple will also be giving away US$ 10,000 App Store Gift Card to the user who downloads the 50 billionth app. The next 50 users who download apps from the App Store could win $500 App Store Gift Cards.

No purchase is necessary in order to be a part of this giveaway. All users in supported countries are automatically entered as they download free or paid apps. Additionally, you can also visit the official promotion page here to fill out a form (limited to 25 entries per person per day) and enter the giveaway.

In January this year Apple announced the App Store had crossed 40 billion downloads and has added another 10 billion in just under 5 months.

The App Store today offers some of the best apps and games created for smartphones and tablets. It changed the way people thought about apps on a mobile device and continues to revolutionise what we can accomplish with them.

Even as the App Store is about to hit 50 billion downloads it’s worth remembering that Steve Jobs was opposed to the idea of having third party apps on the App Store as he was concerned “his team did not have the bandwidth to figure out all the complexities that would be involved in policing third-party app developers.”

Today Apple continues to dominate the mobile app market with high quality of apps available in the App Store and the amount of revenue developers generate from it.

Adam Bell, a jailbreak developer, has now released an iOS jailbreak tweak that brings Facebook chat heads to iOS systemwide. The new jailbreak tweak is called ‘Message Box’.

Facebook recently announced Facebook Home for Android that offers deep integration of the social media giant’s services into the operating system. One of the features highlighted on Facebook Home was the ability to have “chat heads” systemwide no matter which app you were using.

Facebook chat heads on homescreen and floating on top of other apps allows users to always stay connected with their friends and continue the conversation without the need to switch apps. Facebook recently updated it’s iPhone, iPad app and brought chat heads to its native app however, the feature is limited to being just inside the Facebook app for iOS.

Message Box for iPhone / iPad allows users to float the active chat heads and access the messages on the homescreen or any other app. The jailbreak tweak is known to be stable however, a few stability issues have been reported on the web.

If you find yourself using Facebook chat a lot then this jailbreak tweak could be a must have for you. The tweak is available for free on the developers GitHub page and will also be made available on on BigBoss Cydia repo.

On Wednesday, Apple scheduled its WWDC 2013 conference for June 10-14 and noted that tickets would go on sale early Thursday morning. When tickets went on sale at 10:00am on Thursday, it took only two minutes for the tickets to sell out. During ticket sales of WWDC 2012, it took two hours and Apple scheduled a separate date for sales in order to make sure that all developers have a fair chance of purchasing tickets.

However, Apple has set a new record of two minutes which will likely cause employees over at Apple to rethink how to issue tickets to developers for next year’s WWDC. WWDC tickets have sold very quickly for the past few years, with the company’s products becoming more and more popular. It is likely that tickets sold out so quickly because there has been pent up demand for Apple’s next versions of iOS and OS X, with iOS 6 facing intense scrutiny since its release.

This is the sixth straight year that Apple has had WWDC tickets sell out, with WWDC 2010 selling out in eight days, 2011 selling out in under 12 hours, and 2012 in 2 hours. Apple has been called on to increase the size of the conference but is restricted by the number of engineers that it has available to assist developers with their applications. This raises new concerns about future WWDC events and brings into question if Apple will be willing to hire more engineers with the increasing number of developers attending each year.

{Via MacRumors}

On Wednesday, Apple announced that annual WWDC conference is officially scheduled for the week of June 10-14. The WWDC 2013 conference will be held in the Moscone West convention center in San Francisco where the Cupertino, California based company held all of their other previous conferences. Apple has priced tickets for the conference at $1599 for each developer that attends. The company is also reportedly giving away 150 free WWDC tickets to student developers. Apple is calling the student promotion the WWDC 2013 Student Scholarship.

We look forward to gathering at WWDC 2013 with the incredible community of iOS and OS X developers,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Our developers have had the most prolific and profitable year ever, and we’re excited to show them the latest advances in software technologies and developer tools to help them create innovative new apps. We can’t wait to get new versions of iOS and OS X into their hands at WWDC.

Last year, for WWDC 2012, Apple posted up the sale of tickets alongside of its announcement which caused all of the tickets to sell out within two hours. As a result, the company is putting some time between the announcement and sale of the tickets and is giving all developers an equal chance of purchasing tickets. Developers who are “underage”, meaning between the ages of 13 and 17 must have their tickets purchased by a parent or guardian who must also a member.

Apple is limiting the tickets to one per person and five per organization. There is no doubt that the tickets will sell out once again, due to pent up demand for the company’s new products. However, Apple has created a more leveled and fair purchasing process by selling the tickets one day after it announces the date for the event. Developers who do not attend the event or are not able to purchase a ticket will be able to watch the session videos, which became free last year. Apple will be posting the session videos as the event is happening to ensure that all developers get a chance to watch as WWDC is carried out.

{Via MacRumors}

Google appears to be getting back at Apple for introducing its own Maps application and removing Google’s data from the iPhone. Following major issues with Apple’s Maps application for iOS, Google introduced its own application for the iPhone. Now, Google has updated the Maps for iOS SDK, which allows developers to replace Apple’s Maps app in their own apps. Google updated the SDK, and added ground overlay support.

The update also made API keys available to all developers through the Google API Console, which operates differently than before. Previously, developers had to wait for access to the keys, which are now openly available. With the keys now readily available, developers can easily switch from Apple’s Maps and add Google Maps into their applications.

Some developers are allowing users to choose, however, it is likely that many developers are much more comfortable with Google Maps particularly because it was native to iOS in the past. Developers who have not fully grasped the use of API keys can download a sample application included in the SDK as well as a video (above) which highlights some of the features.

{Via MacRumors}

Earlier this week, Apple released iOS 6.1.2 which addressed an Exchange Calendar issue. Apple recently released a beta for iOS 6.1.3 which did not address a Passcode lock bug which has been plaguing users for some time.

According to 9to5Mac, Apple released the second beta of iOS 6.1.3, addressing the passcode lock bug. After several iOS updates which addressed issues individually, the original iOS 6.1.1 beta has now been renamed to iOS 6.1.3, which suggests that Apple addressed each of the issues with a separate iOS update. Originally, all of the bug fixes were intended for one single iOS update.

Release notes for the iOS 6.1.1 mentioned that it had Maps improvements for Japan, but this latest beta addresses only the passcode bug, meaning another update, likely iOS 6.1.4 will carry the Maps updates for Japan. Apple has been releasing a number of updates for iOS 6, stabilizing the software prior to the next major release of iOS 7, which is expected for this summer or later this Fall.

Issues with iOS 6, particularly Siri and Maps as well as internal conflicts among executives led to the ousting of iOS chief Scott Forstall. With the second beta of iOS 6.1.3 now in the hands of developers, it is only a matter of time before the final update is released to the public. Apple will only delay the release of updates if it causes other issues in iOS or if developers report that it is not operating properly.

{Via MacRumors}

Apple released several beta versions of iOS 6.1 to developers and is now set to release it to the public. The company was reportedly testing a new beta of 6.1, the Golden Master version, which usually remains unchanged with the public release. According to German site, iFun, Apple is going to release the GM version to developers very soon.

The site cited a ‘reliable source’ and also mentioned that the update had gone through “extensive internal testing”. It is no surprise that Apple is now being extremely thorough with its iOS updates, after the ousting of iOS chief Scott Forstall who led failed projects such as Siri and Maps.

The final version of iOS 6.1 is slated for release next Friday or the following Monday, although there will not be many end user features included in the update. iOS 6.1 will include features for developers to include new features into their applications to integrate iOS Maps, as well as fixes for boarding passes in Passbook and changes in Safari. Users will see some changes in Siri, most notably the ability to purchase Fandango tickets via voice command and a feature that asks security questions when setting up a new device.

Apple normally releases two to three betas prior to releasing iOS updates to the public, and considering that three betas have already come to fruition, this may be the last and final release. The iOS 6.1 update, upon public release will be compatible with the iPhone 5/4S/4/3GS as well as the second, third and fourth generation iPad, iPad mini, and the fourth and fifth generation iPod touch.

{Via AppleInsider}

Earlier this month, Apple seeded the first beta of iOS 6.1 to developers that included new features allowing developers to integrate iOS Maps into their applications, as well as fixes for boarding passes in Passbook as well as changes in Safari. Now, Apple has seeded a second beta of iOS 6.1 to developers with a build number of 10B5105c, as opposed to the build number of 10B5095f for the first beta of iOS 6.1. it is unclear what changes the second beta has brought to the update.

It is likely stability improvements for the iOS Maps and Passbook features. It is unclear exactly when Apple will release iOS 6.1 to the public but Apple will likely identify other bugs and include them in the final update, perhaps even releasing another beta before finally releasing it.

Alongside the second beta of iOS 6.1, Apple also released a beta of the Apple TV software, as well as Xcode 4.6 Developer Preview 2. Developers who are registered to receive these updates can go and download the beta software through Apple’s Developer page.

{Via MacRumors}

On Wednesday, Apple Inc. (AAPL) acquired HTML5 web app company, Particle. AAPL has acquired other companies in the past in order to develop a key part of one of their projects or create an entirely new one. CNET initially reported that Apple acquired the San Francisco based startup and that they acquired the company for its talents in the industry as opposed to any specific project that they were working on.

The company has done HTML5 work for Google, Motorola, Amazon, Yahoo, Sony, and Apple. The group has also created some “labs” projects including Intervue.me, an asynchronous video interviewing project. […]

The deal went through late last month, though not all its less than a dozen employees stayed on to work at Apple. Those who did are listed as “creative technologists” as well as one “user interface engineer,” according to their public LinkedIn profiles.

The report goes on to mention that Apple’s new employees will be put to work specifically on projects such as Apple’s website, iAd, and iCloud.com. Apple may also utilize the company for other projects, such as bringing more of the iTunes software over to the web, similar to iTunes Preview.

It appears Apple has already brought a few employees from Particle onboard already, with TechCrunch noting that several Particle employees have changed their employees on LinkedIn as early as September.

{Via MacRumors}

Sprint has already confirmed that they will not charge extra and will continue unlimited data and Verizon is stilll unsure what to charge. However, AT&T announced on Friday that customers will need a new Mobile Share plan in order to enjoy FaceTime over cellular. Although the company did not initially mention anything about the change, they are now publicly addressing the new plans:

AT&T will offer FaceTime over Cellular as an added benefit of our new Mobile Share data plans, which were created to meet customers’ growing data needs at a great value. With Mobile Share, the more data you use, the more you save. FaceTime will continue to be available over Wi-Fi for all our customers.

With almost every carrier except Sprint introducing tiered data plans, there is no doubt that FaceTime would use up incredible amounts of data, more than some networks can handle. Some iOS developers have noted that when trying to use the service in the beta, they were urged to call and activate it.

AT&T is forcing its customers to purchase the new Mobile Share in order to use the new feature, while Sprint is already laid out. Verizon is now the only carrier yet to introduce any pricing, although it may be waiting to see a response from both Sprint and AT&T customers before introducing anything.

{via iMore}

Apple released OS X Mountain Lion late last month after announcing the software update during the company’s annual WWDC conference. On Friday, reports on the web revealed that Apple seeded the first beta of 10.8 to developers, labeled as 10.8.1, and build number 12B13. The update is available from the Mac Developer Portal and according to Apple does not have any known issues.

According to 9to5Mac, Apple requested that developers focus on testing Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange in Mail, PAC Proxies in Safari, SMB, USB, and WiFi and Audio for the Thunderbolt Display. The download is only 38.54 MB and takes up 36.4MB of space on a Mac running Mountain Lion.

According to the report and developers, Facebook integration has yet to be included in OS X Mountain Lion with this update. As Apple works out the kinks in OS X Mountain Lion with each update, the company will likely begin to work on 10.8.2 as developers begin to report new issues with the update.

Apple recently released iOS 6 Beta 4 to developers, adding several new features in settings and to existing apps. Following the release, the developer community began to notice a major change in the update, noting that the dedicated YouTube app on iOS was no longer included.

The YouTube app has been a part of iOS since 2007 and was introduced alongside the iPod touch. The latest beta arrived as an OTA update at first, followed by release online in the Developer Center. As with all betas in the past, the latest version, with Build 10A5376e arrives just three weeks after the last Build 10A5355d.

Developers have noticed several changes in the update, including a new “Wi-Fi Plus Cellular” feature in Settings which allows the iPhone to fall back on cellular data when WiFi does not work properly. Other features include an update to the Passbook app, giving it a dedicated section in the App Store and displaying apps compatible with Passbook. A new “Bluetooth Sharing” feature also allows users to determine which devices can share data via Bluetooth.

With all of these updated features, as well as the removal of YouTube, Apple appears to be cleansing iOS of technology from other companies. Apple commented on the removal of the YouTube app to The Verge, saying the following:

Our license to include the YouTube app in iOS has ended, customers can use YouTube in the Safari browser and Google is working on a new YouTube app to be on the App Store.

YouTube also commented on the removal:

We are working with Apple to make sure we have the best possible YouTube experience for iOS users.

Google’s presence in iOS is now very limited and will be transferred to individual apps on the App Store as opposed to being integrated into the OS itself. This first began when Apple replaced Google with Baidu as the default search engine, followed by the removal of Google Maps in iOS, and now the removal of YouTube. iOS 6 is expected to be released later this Fall in the September / October timeframe alongside the next generation iPhone 5.

{via MacRumors}

Google Inc. (GOOG) has gone ahead to acquired yet another company to wind into its web of online companies and lab tests. The search giants latest acquisition is popular Mac OS X and iOS email client, Sparrow. Sparrow was introduced in February of 2011, and brought a simplified email application to users, looking for a simple, yet powerful application to handle rich HTML emails. Sparrow currently offers a number of features such as Gmail support as well as other iMAP email services.

The app also has, Dropbox support for uploading attachments, drag and drop attachments and even Growl support. Google’s Gmail labels are also already part of the application and will likely take on many more features from the the search giant’s massive cache of acquired companies and services. Google currently has over 43.1 billion dollars in cash to spend on acquisitions and is likely doing this to improve Gmail.

According to a Google spokeswoman, the company is reportedly acquiring Sparrow for a “new Gmail project” but will not disturb the team or app and will keep it running as usual. Google currently does not offer a desktop application on PC or Mac, and has a very simple web based application for Gmail on iOS. With the acquisition of Sparrow, Google would be bringing a team of developers who have developed for both the Mac OS X and iOS platforms, and know how to create a solid application.

At this point, it is unclear exactly what Google plans to do with Sparrow, however, with the company being a massive search giant, and controlling one of the biggest email clients in the world, acquiring Sparrow is a very smart move. In a report from CNN Money, Sparrow CEO commented, saying the following:

Now we’re joining the Gmail team to accomplish a bigger vision — one that we think we can better achieve with Google.

Google has acquired other companies in the past, such as Aardvark, and decided to incorporate the company into Google+ and then shut down the company. It is very likely that Sparrow may also be eliminated after Sparrow is thoroughly integrated into Google’s Gmail.

According to a report from 9to5Mac published late last week, Apple is looking to patch up the In-App purchase hack in iOS 6 and has issued best practices to developers in an email as well as a temporary solution. This will allow developers to temporarily fix the issue until a proper fix can be released in the update. The purchase issue was originally created by a Russian hacker who created a hack allowing users to illegally download in-app purchases for free.

This is a serious issue for developers who are losing lots of revenue, as some in-app purchases can range anywhere from $0.99 to $99.99. The hack can be done in three steps and works from iOS 3 to the current version of iOS 5.The hack is creating a major security issue, especially with users attaching the hack to iOS devices with personal information, such as email accounts, Facebook, and credit card info which is susceptible to being stolen through the hack itself.

Apple is now reportedly cracking down on the hack by providing developers with best practices in order to use on their apps, to ensure that their apps are not affected. In the same email as the best practices, Apple also included a web document, giving developers a background on the hack and solutions to fix it. Apple has confirmed that a fix is coming in iOS 6, to be released later this fall.

A vulnerability has been discovered in iOS 5.1 and earlier related to validating in-app purchase receipts by connecting to the App Store server directly from an iOS device. An attacker can alter the DNS table to redirect these requests to a server controlled by the attacker. Using a certificate authority controlled by the attacker and installed on the device by the user, the attacker can issue a SSL certificate that fraudulently identifies the attacker’s server as an App Store server. When this fraudulent server is asked to validate an invalid receipt, it responds as if the receipt were valid. iOS 6 will address this vulnerability. If your app follows the best practices described below then it is not affected by this attack.

This is an issue that Apple is taking seriously as it not only affects the revenue stream for both the Cupertino company developer community, but also affects the users who are risking their personal information on their devices by installing the hack. Although Apple’s temporary fix will hold off the hack for some time, iOS 6 will ultimately fix the issue for both developers and patch it up for users. iOS 6 is expected to be released in October, alongside new iPhone 5 and new iPad hardware.

Apple announced iOS 6 during the company’s annual WWDC conference, and showcased some of the main features of the new update including a revamped Maps application and Siri improvements. The Cupertino company released an initial beta to developers directly after the conference, allowing developers to test the new features on the their devices and then released iOS 6 beta 2 in late June.

On Monday, Apple released iOS 6 beta 3 to developers, fixing bugs and adding a number of new features. This latest beta comes comes as Build 10A5355d, about three weeks after the last with Build 10A5338d. Some of the features of iOS 6 beta 3 include:

• Roadwork and traffic accidents showing up in Maps app
• Answer and Decline buttons for FaceTime calls have returned
• iMessage on iPad now accepting phone number as valid contact info
• Greater 3D Flyover coverage in Maps
• Glyphs for bookmarks, Reading List, and history in Safari
• Auto-brightness changes gradually

One of the other main features noticed was a change under the Navigation settings, giving users the option to measure distance in kilometers or meters, adjust the volume of the navigation voice, and providing map labels in either normal or large that can display in a local language or strictly English.

Apple’s iOS 6 betas continue to improve with each release and give developers the chance to test each feature and use it with their own apps. Apple is expected to release several more betas before the final public release, which is expected during the September / October timeframe. It is also likely that the public version of iOS 6 will release alongside the next generation iPhone 5 which is also expected during the same timeframe.

{via MacRumors — Image Credit: 9to5Mac}

Earlier this month, MacStories reported that Apple was setting up to add a new ‘Food & Drink’ app category to the App Store. The site mentioned that existing iOS developers were alerted by Apple that such as category was going to be added.

According to Apple, the new category will include “apps that help users cook and bake, mix drinks, manage recipes, find new restaurants and bars, and learn what their friends like to eat and drink”. Food & Drink won’t include diet, grocery shopping, coupon clipping, or food-related game apps.

On Thursday, the report was proven to be true when Apple added in the category and boasted that there were 2,800 paid apps and 4,000 free apps for iPhone as well as 1200 Paid and 1000 Free apps in the iPad. Apple has only contacted developers who have Food and Drink apps being placed within the section.

As a result, customers will be able to browse the App Store more easily for food and drink related applications, and download other similar apps. Apps that are relevant to the category will gradually be brought over to the new category, which were previously placed under the ‘Lifestyle’ section for lack of a better description.

{via MacRumors}

On Wednesday, Amazon announced its own gaming service for game developers called GameCircle. By creating this new experience, Amazon appears to be competing directly with Apple Inc. (AAPL) Game Center, putting scores, competition and social gaming into one service and offering it to developers and users alike.

On the Amazon Mobile App Distribution blog, the company describes what GameCircle is all about, calling it a “new set of services designed to make it easier for you to create more engaging gaming experiences and grow your business on Kindle Fire”.

GameCircle will make achievements, leaderboards and sync APIs accessible, simple and quick for you to integrate, and will give gamers a more seamless and entertaining in-game experience.

Although it focuses mainly on developers creating an ecosystem for their apps, the end user features are very similar to Game Center, Apple’s own online multiplayer social gaming network. It allows users to “ track all earned trophies, treasures, badges, awards, and more without leaving the gaming experience”.

Other features include giving users the ability to invite friends, start multiplayer games, track achievements, and compare scores on a leaderboard. With GameCircle, Amazon’s Kindle Fire enters the social gaming market that other companies such as Apple and Google are currently dominating. GameCircle will allow Amazon to offer tailored services to its Kindle Users and with the new SDK can also offer users apps made specifically for their device.

With GameCircle, Amazon is preparing to get a leg up on the competition and make the Kindle Fire one of the more sought after devices in the market. Amazon’s Kindle Fire 2 is rumored to be unveiled next summer, and will likely take advantage of GameCircle and the company’s numerous other services.

Apple’s Game Center Video

Amazon GameCircle Video

{Via 9to5Mac}

On Monday, Apple seeded the Golden Master (GM) version of OS X Mountain Lion to developers and is now accepting app submissions for the Mac App Store. The apps are to be tailored for OS X Mountain Lion and will ensure that both new and old apps run seamlessly on Mac computers after they are downloaded from the App Store.

Apple sent out an email to all developers, reminding them that they can now download the Golden Master seed on the Mac Dev Center and that they can now submit apps to take advantage of the new features in the update. The email from Apple to registered developers in part, went as follows:

Make sure your apps take advantage of the great new features in OS X Mountain Lion when the world’s most advanced operating system ships to millions of customers worldwide. Download OS X Mountain Lion GM seed and Xcode 4.4 GM seed, now available on the Mac Dev Center. Build your apps with these latest seeds, then test and submit for review.

You can also submit iOS apps that take advantage of the new cross-platform Game Center Groups, so they’ll be available when OS X Mountain Lion ships.

Although the Golden Master version is only available to developers now, the final version will be available in the Mac App Store later this July for only $19.99, down from the $29.99 Apple charged for Mac OS X Lion.

{via MacRumors}

Apple’s iOS 6 was announced during the company’s WWDC conference early last month, and registered iOS developers received a beta version of OS. Registered developers typically pay $99/year for the registration, however, the betas have shown up on numerous sites, other than Apple’s developer portal.

In late June, Wired reported on websites illegally selling developer betas to the public, prior to an official launch. Developers registered to receive the betas are allowed 100 device slots which is being sold on these websites. After the 100 device slots are sold, the person simply opens up another account with Apple to acquire another 100 device slots.

Behind the scenes, each service uses the same simple backdoor: Registered iOS developers can activate up to 100 unique device IDs (or UDIDs) for their account, an essential tool for testing apps on multiple devices. Once registered with Apple, the activated device is also able to run pre-release versions of iOS, though developers are forbidden from sharing pre-release software outside their own team.

This went under the radar for quite some time, without any action from Apple. However, as the issue becomes more widespread and more copies of the betas get out, Apple is beginning to crack down on these websites selling the betas. MacStories contacted the owner of one of the websites who revealed that the website was pulled following a complaint for copyright infringement from Apple.

While most of our emails bounced, we heard back from one of the site owners (who asked to remain anonymous), who confirmed his hosting provider took down the site after a complaint for copyright infringement by Apple. Similarly, the CEO of Fused tweeted in a reply to Andy Baio that Apple had been “fairly heavy-handed” with DMCA requests to UDID-selling sites hosted on their network.

The owner reportedly made $75,000 from such service since the beta release of iOS 6 in June. Apple is likely cracking down in order to prevent this issue from spreading to the OS X Lion platform as well as future iOS betas. It is unclear at this point what other websites have received a claim of copyright infringement, as Apple’s actions are fairly recent. iOS 6 is expected to be released in October, alongside the next generation iPhone 5 and the rumored iPad Mini.

{via MacRumors}

iOS 6 beta 2 is noted to have a build number of 10A5338d, and is a 322 megabyte download for iPhone 4S users. The update came from a source called AppleInternal which is specified for releasing the OS on a limited basis straight from the engineers at Apple.

The new update is also reported to have fixed issues that caused the SpringBoard to crash, another where the screen turned black after the user plugged in headphones or turned on speakerphone while using the phone, and an issue where the SpringBoard would crash if an iCloud account was created in the initial setup of an iPhone.

This is only the second beta release since the initial beta of iOS 6 was released by Apple about two weeks ago for developers to test and adjust their apps.The iOS 6 beta 2 is compatible with the new iPad 3, iPad 2, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 and the 4th generation iPod touch.

The beta is available for download in the Settings application and comes with a new animation, where the icon with gears is now animated. The beta is accessible in Settings as an OTA update, and through iTunes via USB. Apple will likely release several more betas before releasing the Golden Master and then final version of iOS 6.

{via AppleInsider}

This allows Apple to not only gain more worldwide revenue, but it allows them to gain a bigger base of developers that can now develop and sell their applications in their own country. Although Apple has been focusing mainly on the United States as well as Asia, the company is now reaching out to other nations, including a few in Africa and parts of South America. The full list of countries that recently received the App Store is as follows:

Albania, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Fiji, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Palau, Papua New Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Zimbabwe.

By adding in these new countries, Apple is offering their over 600,000 applications, 200,000 tailored for the iPad to millions of new customers, who will likely push the Cupertino company’s 30 billion downloads to a far greater success.

{via AppleInsider}

Apple now has over 300,000 apps in the iOS App Store and over 100,000 in the Mac App Store. It’s almost impossible to fathom just how successful both App Stores have been and how much more potential it has, to become even a bigger part of our everyday lives.

Late last week, Apple introduced a new promotion in both the Mac App Store and the iOS App Store, called Free App of the Week as well as Editor’s Choice. The Free App of the Week is self explanatory based on the name and builds on Apple’s past app giveaways via retail outlets such as Starbucks which began to offer select apps and even iBooks every week via promotional codes.

This week’s Free App of the Week is the normally priced 99 cents, Cut The Rope: Experiments app which is currently posted on the front page of the iTunes App Store. Apple has also added Editor’s Choice, with certain apps gettting a separate distinction than others in the App Store and posted to the front page alongside the Free App of the Week. These apps are likely judged on their usability, development, and popularity.

For this past week, the chosen apps were Deus X Human Revolution and Cobook in the Mac App Store. The iOS App Store’s Editor’s Choice apps were Extreme Skater and as expected, Facebook Camera. Apple continues to build on its App Store for both iOS products and the Mac and gives developers all of the spotlight.

This latest promotional addition will give app developers a chance to showcase the hard work and effort that they put into developing credible and fun apps for Apple’s App Store.

{via: TUAW — Image Credit: Arstechnica}