When it comes to technology, maintenance is always better than repair. This is especially true with iPhone app development; failing to stay up-to-date means you risk losing your user base and becoming obsolete.

On the other hand, updating your mobile app pays off in spades. By delivering a faster, optimized experience, you’ll keep your audience coming back for more and future-proof your initial investment so more users can discover your product.

Apple recently released iOS 13 for iPhone and iPod touch. With a plethora of new features and capabilities, this iOS update has something to offer everyone, whether they’re a consumer or enterprise. Read on to see why you should upgrade to iOS 13 as soon as possible.

iOS 13 Is Already Taking Over the World

If there’s one thing to know about iOS users, it’s that they love embracing new technology. Each iOS update sees faster adoption rates than the previous iteration. Case in point: By September 3rd, 2018, 85% of active Apple devices were using iOS 11. Less than a year later, on August 6th, 2019, Apple revealed that 88% of users were running iOS 12.

iOS 13 is no exception to this rule. Although it was only released on September 19th this year, it has taken over the lion’s share of iPhone users: 50% of all iPhone devices are already using iOS 13!

While this ratio is certainly impressive, it’s really just the beginning for iOS 13. This update is compatible with 15 Apple devices (iPhone 6S or iPhone SE or newer). On top of this, Apple’s reach has been consistently growing across both consumers and enterprise organizations. So you can expect to see iOS 13’s adoption metrics grow rapidly over the next few months.

New Features, Limitless Possibilities

We’ve been tinkering with iOS 13’s new features at our Los Angeles-based development HQ for quite some time leading up to its release. Here are some of our favorite features!

Faster Speed, Better Battery Life

Perhaps the first thing you’ll notice after installing iOS 13 is how fast it is. Apps should launch approximately twice as fast as before! That’s due to app downloads and updates being optimized to become 50% and 60% smaller, respectively.

Unlocking with Face ID is also roughly 30% faster and more seamless. This feature’s field of view is now wider, so you can even unlock your iPhone while it’s on your desk without ever having to lift it up.

Because the new iOS 13 platform is smarter at charging (it curtails power input at the right times), you should also notice better battery life for your phone.

“Picture Perfect” Is the Standard for iOS 13

Apple’s Camera and Photos apps both received a ton of new features in iOS 13.

Portrait mode in the Camera app now offers more customizable lighting effects so you can increase or decrease lighting intensity. There’s also a new “High Key Mono” mode available.

The Photos app upgrade brings a mix of robust editing tools that allow you to tweak aspects like contrast, noise reduction, and shadows. These editing capabilities also work for video (which you can now rotate!), and you can even edit photos without replacing or destroying your Live Photo properties.

iOS 13 makes it easier to navigate through your photos. By leveraging machine learning, the Photos app can automatically declutter your photos and remove duplicates. The Photos app also has a new “Photos” tab which gives you a new way to browse your images. You can scrub by years, months, and days to find thumbnails of your images and videos organized by events and time.

iOS 13 is Easy on the Eyes with Dark Mode

Dark Mode has finally arrived with iOS 13. By inverting white and light colors for black and dark grays, it’s much less eye-straining than the standard presentation. Dynamic Dark Mode allows you to change between light and dark in accordance with the sun rising and setting.

Not only can dynamic wallpapers change according to the time of day, but widgets do as well. Native iOS apps like Messages, Photos, and Notes all come with built-in support for this new feature.

Reminders Gets a Revamp

Reminders received a huge overhaul with iOS 13. Now, as you type reminders, it will try to guess when to remind you. Siri will also try to identify which words you want to make actionable. If your reminders contain any names, it will remind you about these in Messages. Lastly, Reminders now allows for attachments and can sort much better than before.

Prioritizing Privacy and Rock-Solid Security

Numerous new privacy and security features come with iOS 13. Users with the new update can now employ system-wide location tracking protection. You also now have the capability to give an app permission to use location “just once.” Alternatively, if you permit an app to always use location, iOS will now provide detailed reports on this activity.

Apple also added “Sign in with Apple,” which utilizes Face ID to start a new account with revealing personal information. You can now hide information like email thanks to this feature. Apple will create a random email that forwards any received messages to your actual email address. Of course, you can always disable these random emails if need be.

Shortcuts to Automation

Instead of having you download the Shortcuts app, it now comes built-in to every device running iOS 13. The Shortcuts app now has an Automation tab which allows you to create both personal and home automation sequences based on triggers. For example, you can set up an Automation to tell you the day’s weather when you turn off your alarm after waking up.

Adapt and Get Ahead With iOS 13

We hope you’ve enjoyed this rundown of some of our favorite iOS 13 features. Don’t let your app languish and fall behind. Business is all about adaptability. At Dogtown Media, we pride ourselves on building the mobile future. Work with us to make your iOS app a part of it!

This list of new features barely scratches the surface of iOS 13’s potential — covering all of the new capabilities ranging from a smoother-sounding Siri to new Memojis would take quite a few more blog posts. If you have questions about specific aspects or benefits, contact our team of hardened techies today for a free consultation!

Siri is steadily becoming more prominent each day, meaning iPhone app developers will want to keep Siri in mind when developing their apps. By doing so, developers can potentially increase their app’s retention and discoverability. Two ways of doing this are through Siri Shortcuts and deep linking.

1. Siri Shortcuts & SiriKit
2. Deep Linking
3. Getting Started with Siri Shortcuts & Deep Linking

Siri Shortcuts & SiriKit

Included in the iOS 12 release was Siri Shortcuts, which gives users the ability to create custom Siri voice commands. Siri Shortcuts present a slew of new opportunities for developers that can lead to increased retention, usage and rediscovery. With Siri Shortcuts, users can speed up common tasks like searching for music, booking an Uber and ordering a custom Starbucks coffee.

Using SiriKit, developers can build an extension within their app that integrates with the Shortcuts App, enabling custom shortcut capabilities. This is key for developers, as shortcuts increase ease of app usage and creates an overall better user experience. If they receive an improved experience, users are more likely to continue using an app. Finally, once a shortcut is enabled, users have the ability to quickly and constantly come back to the app by simply saying “Hey Siri…”

By integrating SiriKit and enabling Siri Shortcuts, developers can strengthen their app’s use. In addition to using Siri to grow an app’s usage, developers can also work with Siri to increase their app’s discoverability through deep linking.

Deep Linking, Spotlight Search & App Packs

Deep linking is the process of specifying keywords within an app’s content. When users are searching via Siri Search Suggestions (Spotlight), links to relevant apps appear. For example, searching “coupon” yields apps that are targeting “coupon” in their build. Apps already installed on users’ phones containing relevant deep linked keywords appear as well.

In addition to this, deep linked apps can also appear in Google Search within App Packs, which is a content block containing apps relevant to the search query in Google’s online search results.

This is important to note because when users are searching via Siri, it provides both an opportunity to discover and rediscover your app. To ensure that developers are maximizing their discoverability potential and App Store Optimization strategy, deep linking is highly recommended.

Getting Started with Siri Shortcuts & Deep Linking

As Siri becomes further prominent in the Apple ecosystem, so will it in users’ lives. It is important that developers take this into consideration when developing their apps, as Siri can potentially increase app discoverability and usage. With Siri Shortcuts, developers are able to create extensions that make their app’s functions easier to navigate via Siri. Additionally, by deep linking searchable keywords in an app’s build, they are made easier to discover via Siri. Overall, iOS 12 and Apple present new methods for developers to create better experiences for their users. By taking advantage of Siri’s integration, developers will be increasing their user retention and discoverability.

For information on how Dogtown Media can help with designing and developing your app, talk with their mobile app development team. To learn more about app store optimization and Gummicube visit https://www.gummicube.com.

In this fourth and final feature of our special series about Apple’s broadest iOS update yet, we’ll talk about why enterprises everywhere should update to iOS 12.

Why Does it Matter?

Apple’s iOS 12 update is coming to 23 Apple devices, making it the most backward-compatible upgrade yet. This means you’ll be able to reach more users than ever before. Updating to the newest API and removing deprecated code will make your app bug-free and faster.

If you still haven’t updated from iOS 10 to iOS 11, your app may not work anymore when iOS 12 rolls around. iOS 11 required an update from 32-bit to 64-bit apps, and if you put this on hold, you can’t afford to wait any longer! Any app still running on iOS 10 code desperately needs a codebase update, and it will certainly eventually lead to user count stagnating or decreasing.

Keeping code quality optimized and up-to-date with industry and Apple standards is the best measure your enterprise can take to remain trustworthy to consumers. Keep your initial investment working for you; update your app’s code ASAP to avoid Apple threatening to retire your app.

If your app uses augmented reality, machine learning, or artificial intelligence, you’ll especially want to upgrade your codebase because Apple is giving those development toolkits some serious revamping.

Users Adopt Quickly

Users take only a few months to reach high adoption rates for the newest iOS version, so updating your app to comply with iOS 12 code will avoid any hiccups and keep things running smoothly. For example, here are Apple’s official stats of iOS distributions in December 2017:

And here it is again in May 2018:

In less than half a year, the number of iOS 11 users grew by nearly 25%!

In 2016, of 300 IT professionals interviewed, 91% said their organization is using Macs, and 99% said their organization uses iPhones or iPads. In Q1 of 2017, 72% of all enterprise smartphones activated were iPhones, and iPads were activated in 81% of all enterprise tablet activations.

Apple’s reach is undoubtedly huge across consumers and enterprises alike, and you’ll increase your app’s reach when you take care to upgrade to iOS 12.

Maintenance Is Better Than Repair!

Prioritize maintenance over repair; don’t let your app have any downtime, risking user loss or customer frustration. It’s a similar situation to car maintenance. If you don’t update to iOS 12, will your car still run? Probably. But will it run with the highest efficiency and performance? Definitely not. And it will eventually stop working if it’s not taken care of!

If you wouldn’t skimp out on improving operations, updating cybersecurity protocols, or investing in salesmen, why miss a huge opportunity to grow your user base, reach more consumers, and deliver a superior user experience?

Don’t fall behind. Business is all about adaptability. We want you to be more than ready when September rolls around. Reach out to Dogtown Media today through this link for a free tech consultation! Our main iPhone app development HQ is in Los Angeles, but we’ve got offices in NYC, Toronto, Dallas, and even London — wherever you are, let’s make your app dreams come true by partnering with one of the top enterprise software development companies worldwide!

Want to know how to update your app to iOS 12? Click here for a Free Consultation.

Due to the seamless convenience they offer, we often take smartphones for granted. But you can’t deny this fact: the device you pick up and use dozens of times a day is one of the most sophisticated pieces of technology that’s ever graced human hands.

The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT), also known as the App Association, just released the sixth edition of their “State of the App Economy” Report; it sheds new insight on just how transformative mobile app development has been for humanity. We gathered together some of our favorite takeaways, just for you.

Endless Innovation

The report succinctly summarizes the impact of smartphones in its very first sentence: “Smartphones have become the single most rapidly adopted technology in human history, outpacing innovations like the printing press and the steam engine.”

This may be hard to fathom, but when you think of all the ways that smartphones have integrated with society, it makes sense. By being at the forefront of modern computing technology, the global app ecosystem has grown to a value of $950 billion.

Enterprise & IoT

Previous reports on the app economy by ACT mainly focused on consumer technology, but this can no longer be the case. As ACT predicted in last year’s report, enterprise apps and the Internet of Things have added billions of dollars of value to the app economy in terms of productivity, connectivity, efficiency, and data usage.

Yes, consumer downloads reached a new value of 175 billion last year. But, per a 2016 Adobe report, two out of three businesses utilize enterprise apps for a variety of purposes (employee training, communication, etc.). That’s a huge ratio, and it was back in 2016. It’s most likely only grown, given the advancements in IoT development.

ACT estimates that there are already 28 billion app-enabled IoT devices embedded in systems worldwide. And this is just the beginning — BCG predicts that companies will spend at least $276 billion on IoT tech by 2020. After that, IoT spending will experience hockey-stick growth over the next ten years!

Employment Opportunity Defines an Economy

In light of these amazing statistics, ACT also emphasized possible hurdles that the app economy could face in the near future. The report also discussed how tackling these obstacles could help sustain this incredible growth in the app industry. Employment was one such pivotal aspect.

With a $950 billion valuation and more than 3.4 billion smartphone users globally, it should come as no surprise that the app economy offers ample opportunity for job creation and growth. Currently, 4.7 million Americans work in the app economy. Jobs range from software engineers and developers to teachers and system managers. The average salary for a worker in the app economy is $86,000 — almost double $48,000, the national average.

By 2024, ACT estimates that the app industry will create 440,000 new job opportunities in the United States. This sounds like good news, but because we’re not prepared, it could end up being problematic. While the United States is leading the app economy, only about 59,000 U.S. college graduates got a computer science degree last year. There are 503,000 computing jobs across the country. That means only one out of every eight computing jobs is getting filled.

The U.S. isn’t producing enough graduates to fulfill its app economy’s demands. And traditional education doesn’t seem to offer the solution. Only one in five high schools are teaching modern computer science skills. For K-12 schools, this number doubles to 40 percent, but that still leaves room for improvement. ACT believes the answer could be found in apprenticeships. The on-the-job training that these positions offer could bolster the number of Americans ready to tackle the needs of the future app economy.

Can Encryption Protect the App Economy?

Another area that could tip the app economy in either direction is cybersecurity. Currently, the app industry is in need of 285,000 more cybersecurity professionals. With mostly sub-standard security protocols in place, the app economy is in serious danger of cybercrime, which costs consumers around the world more than $3 trillion.

The ability to protect user data will become the foundation of the future of the app economy. As apps become more integral to each part of our everyday lives, we’re starting to use them in ways we never considered just a decade ago. Check your finances? Sure. Access your medical records? Why not. As long as it remains safe to do so, of course.

ACT’s report thinks that end-to-end encryption is still one of the best ways to secure data. And fortunately, more developers of both enterprise and consumer apps are employing this method. It could take hackers billion of years to crack an encryption key. This strong protection will allow us to keep moving forward in what we trust apps with.

Connectivity Defines the App Economy

The last major issue that left an impact on us is the fact that 34 million Americans can’t access the app economy. Millions of people are missing out on the great advantages that modern technology offers due to their lack of access to sufficient broadband.

This is a malady in need of an urgent remedy. Luckily, ACT believes that 5G and use of unlicensed spectrum may be able to solve this problem. Not only will 5G add a substantial number of job opportunities, but it will also bring $200 billion in value to the app industry alone. Along the way, we hope it allows the U.S. to bridge the gap between those with access to app technologies and those without it.

Thank You!

In its detailed report, ACT also covered the innovators, movers, and shakers in each state that are helping to sustain and accelerate the app economy’s growth. We’re extremely grateful to be mentioned in California’s section!

After more than 100 mobile apps in AI, healthcare, finance, and IoT, our little L.A.-based development studio has come a long way from its humble beginnings, and it’s awesome to be recognized for our hard work. Thank you for the honors, ACT!

Check out ACT’s full report here. It has made us extremely excited about the future. Being in the mobile app industry so far has been a wild, fun ride. But if there’s one main point we took away from the report, it’s this — the best is yet to come!

Here at Dogtown Media, we believe that art can do more than just brighten up your day — it can change the world for the better. That’s why we love Beautify Earth, a non-profit with a mission to paint over urban decay with awe-inspiring, socially conscious murals. Much more than mere eye candy in rundown neighborhoods, these murals create a sense of pride in neglected communities and provide a significant boost to local businesses. Beautify Earth goes the extra mile to bring art into communities with education programs that seek out and nourish undiscovered talent, fostering new artists with bold voices and a real message.

This Friday, we’re thrilled to be hosting The Sky’s the Limit, a benefit for Beautify Earth and the Sky Mural Project at our offices. The event is a celebration of radical Venice-based artist Trek Thunder Kelly’s brand new climate awareness mural, a 5-story depiction of a beautiful blue sky with fluffy white clouds located on the world famous Venice Beach Boardwalk. A URL for ClimateMobilization.org will be painted on the mural to raise awareness for climate change among the millions of people who will walk by the mural every year. You can grab tickets for the event here. It’s recommended that you get your tickets early.

We hope Los Angeles app developers and our friends in the area will drop by for beverages, meditation, balloon art, live poetry, dancing, and more, all for a great cause. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say great causes: not only will you be supporting great community art and arts education, you’ll be helping in the fight against climate change. You’ll also get the added bonus of watching the mural take shape live in front of your eyes. See you at our offices on Friday!

As mobile app developers we become aware this morning that Microsoft is tempting Mac developers to start working on Windows with it’s Windows QuickStart Kit which includes a copy of Windows 8 Pro and Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac on a USB storage device.

Microsoft’s group program manager for Internet Explorer Sandeep Singhal,  states in today’s announcement “the most common way you test across browsers is through virtualization of many browsers and operating system combinations using your favorite virtualization platform, such as Hyper-V, VMWare, VirtualBox, or Parallels.”

So they are making a limited number of Quickstart kits available here to help MAC based devs run and presumably develop on Windows 8.

There is no menton of how many are available so we’d advise you to snap them up quickly and take advantage of this offer.

As iPad app developers in Los Angeles we’re wondering how many IOS developers would try there hand at mobile 8. We reported yesterday that Windows mobile use it up 52% so it could be potentially a financial windfall for developers who get in early before the market place becomes as saturated as the Apple App store.

iPhone users can downooad the app free from Apples’s app store but to view some of the cotent a monthly subscription costing $1.99 is required. That will buy the user exclusive content about The Good Life (travel, food, drink, cars, gear, style) will augment long-form interviews and articles.

Schollmeyer talked stated about the the content “With each subject area, whether it’s food, drink, politics or models, we try to find a very distinctive Playboy take”.

Do you think the Apple app store is to restrictive? We’d love to hear your views. As an iPad app developer in Los Angeles we continually ensure our customers apps push the limits of current technology but adhere to Apple’s strict standards. We regularly talk to other  local iPhone app developers to ensure we dont fall into any pitfalls they’ve encountered.

The Ouya games console was launched this week which experts say could disrupt the industry. The Android based console was a crowd funding success story raising over $8m in funding from 63,416 backers.

The console retails for $99 and the games will be a fraction of the cost of traditional platforms such as PlayStation and Xbox. The company has already started sending out consoles to the first supporters of the project. The Ouya is looking to capitalise on the growing popularity of cheap independently produced games.

Mobile device gaming is attracting millions of casual gamers who are not prepared to invest in gaming hardware consoles, but are still keen to dabble in gaming.

The success of the Ouya will depend mainly on attracting the game developers to bring fun and fresh titles to the console. Early momentum is essential to ensure these developers are paid back for their efforts through monetization methods such as in-game upgrades.

Dogtown Media interviewed several android game developers about their interest in the console. The answers where unanimous,  they would wait for some success stories before investing their time in developing games for Ouya.

Dogtown Media is a iPhone app developer with deep expertise in project management, design and marketing. Specialists in iPad app development Los Angeles, DogTown will guide you through the twists and turns of developing your app.

Dogtown Media is pleased to announce the release of Past Life Lovers, an advanced guided meditation iPhone app.

This revolutionary app for the iPhone  enables love-struck couples to uncover the hidden truths of their relationship. Using past life regressions therapy, people can explore the connection to their lover and find out if you’re destined to be together.

The meditation session, led by acclaimed hypnotherapist and author, Anne Jirsch, explains why when you meet your true love it may feel like a thunderbolt has struck, leaving you breathless.

Expose the divine links that exist in your love life by:

– Discovering if your soul is intertwined with your lover through previous lifetimes.
– Breaking free from the shortcomings that limit your ability to love.
– Letting go of personal fears and relationship anxieties that plague your love life.

Centered upon the belief in reincarnation, Past Life Lovers helps people become spiritually enlightened by attaining insights into the survival of the soul after death.

Take a mystical journey, through meditation, into distant past lives you experienced long ago and find out how past life encounters with your companion may be effecting your present day relationship. Each experience is fascinating and unique.

As a Los Angeles iPhone app developer, Dogtown Media strives to continually create out of the box applications to improve people’s lives. Our team of tech veterans takes pride in turning app ideas into reality, channeling creativity and code into positive outcomes.