With iOS 8, Apple is finally opening avenues to app developers that were previously restricted territory, allowing accessing to certain APIs like the system-wide extensions, Touch ID and keyboards, making it possible for apps to be better integrated throughout the system rather than remain in their isolated silos, and thus making possible an experience that’s similar to the freedom that you get on Android, iPhone’s largest competitor.
Many a developer have already shown off what their apps can do through beta versions of their popular offerings for iOS 8 beta, which include the likes of 1Password, health and fitness apps for HealthKit etc. Today, a relatively new app, Numerous, has shown off its plans to integrate number tracking in the new Today view in iOS 8 that will support third-party app widgets officially for the first time.
In an official blog post today, Numerous has showcased how it plans on taking advantage of iOS 8’s integration of app widgets in Today view to keep users abreast of the numbers that matter to them the most. On that note, in case you’ve never used this app, Numerous basically provides a clean dashboard for keeping track of different numbers in your life that matter to you, ranging from steps taken in a given time frame to stock prices to days till your anniversary – whatever you can imagine, pretty much.
It’s noteworthy that even though Apple is finally opening up Notification Center widgets to third-party app developers, they’re not intrusive; the user will still retain the ability to decide which apps are allowed to showcase their content in the new space, and disable any that they don’t like (pretty much like I do with the Stock widget on every iOS device I own). Hence, we don’t really have any complaints with respect to the new functionality – in all fairness, it’s all praise that we have.
iOS 8 has been heavily welcomed by the developer community for being friendlier than ever before, and for good reason. While Android offers great options that are otherwise unimaginable on an iPhone or iPad, Apple’s platform has better quality apps, and that’s probably going to get only better thanks to the new Swift coding platform. It will be interesting to see how other developers take advantage of such freedoms as iOS 8 becomes available this fall.
(Source: Numerous) (via: 9to5Mac)
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