Twitter Blue confirmed

A couple of weeks ago we had rumors about Twitter subscription service called Blue. This week we got confirmation that the rumors were true. For $2.99/month we will get:

• Undo tweet,
• Reader mode,
• Collections,
• Different theme colors,
• custom App Icons.  

Mac mini Pro?

It looks like we will get a high end version of the Mac mini. According to rumors, new version will have:

• new and smaller design, with Plexiglass top,
• magnetic power connector like in new iMacs,
• port will be the same as in the current Mac mini,
• the new Apple M1X chip that will be introduced later this year.

Dope links

• Build a Search Bar and Responsive Grid Layout with SwiftUI
• Google, Apple and Other Users of Vue.js
• NET Conf 2020
• Windows on ARM Mac
• Summary of the Amazon Kinesis Event in the Northern Virginia (US-EAST-1) Region

Image credits: Timothy Eberly

SpaceX Crew-1

For the second time, SpaceX and NASA launched the Crew Dragon capsule with people onboard. Following the successful Demo-2 mission, NASA gave SpaceX's Crew Dragon an operational status, and the Crew-1 mission is the first flight with such status. Crew of 4 astronauts launched on Sunday, and docked to the International Space Station the next day. According to NASA plans, astronauts will spend in space about 180 days.

Apple reduces AppStore tax to 15%

Apple announced, that from January 1st, the AppStore tax will be reduce from 30% to 15% to all developers that during a  year made under $1 million. If the developer exceeds the $1 million threshold then the 30% tax will be applied.

This is huge for the most of the developers. The change from 30% to 15% cut, by then increases developers revenue for about 20%.

ARM Macs delivers

Apple started shipping new ARM powered Macs and the first benchmarks started showing up. It looks like, all Apple claims about new hardware are true. New macs are not only the fastest, but also super efficient, which improves battery life. Now, the only thing that might stop a customer from choosing an ARM mac is a software compatibility. But even that should not be a big issue for the most users. And if a particular application is not ready yet, it should be very soon.

Dope links

• macOS defaults list
• Does Apple really log every app you run? A technical look
• Api diff between net5.0 and netcoreapp3.1 & netstandard2.1
• I built a VR chainsaw in Unity

Image credits: NASA/SpaceX

November Apple Event

Apple announced their November event, which will focus on ARM based Macs. According to latest rumors, we should see a new MacBook Air as well as 13 and 16 inch MacBook Pros. Although ARM powered MacBook Air is no brainer, the release of the Pro models would be a bold move from Apple. It would mean that first generation of new processors is  (at least) as powerful as current generation of Intel ones.

Dope links

• XCFrameworks — New Format for Packaging Frameworks in iOS
• The lang attribute: browsers telling lies, telling sweet little lies
• Mediator Pattern in ASP.NET Core Applications
• Understanding Jetpack Compose - Part 1 & Part 2
• grep.app - Search across a half million git repos
• Soccer match ruined when AI-controlled camera mistakes ref’s bald head for ball

Image credits: Łukasz Łada

Samsung Unpacked

This week Samsung held the Unpacked event and unveiled couple of new devices.

Samsung Galaxy Note  20 & Note 20 Ultra

New flagships have been announced and this is how they look like:

• 6,7” (2400 x 1080 px) Super AMOLED in Note 20
• 6,9” (3200 x 1440 px) Dynamic AMOLED 2X 120 Hz in Note 20 Ultra
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus CPU
• 8GB or 12GB of RAM,
• 256 or 512 GB of storage
• Hole-punch 10 Mpix selfie camera,
• Tripple rear camera
• 12 Mpix + 64 Mpix (telefoto) + 12 Mpix (ultrawide) in Note 20
• 108 Mpix + 12 Mpix (telefoto) + 12 Mpix (ultrawide)  in Note 20 Ultra
• Fingerprint sensor built into the screen,
• Dual SIM: SIM + eSIM
• 5G capabilities
• 4300 mAh battery in Note 20 & 4500 mAh battery in Note 20 Ultra,
• Phones will be available in August starting  at $999.99.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2

Samsung still pursues the fold concept and announced the successor to famous Galaxy Fold phone.  The biggest change a full-size 6.2-inch screen that covers the entire front of the phone. This is really huge improvement  from is tiny external display that Galaxy Fold had. The main display is also bigger, at 7.6 inches and runs up to 120Hz. Also, the screen  doesn't have huge notch for camera, instead there is  a small hole-punch camera that takes up far less space. Internals of the device also have been upgraded and Z Fold 2 is powered by Snapdragon 865 Plus processor. Unfortunately we still don't know pricing or a release date.

Galaxy Watch 3

Samsungs also announced a new Watch, that has a heart-monitoring electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG), which has been cleared by the FDA similar to Apple Watch. It will be available for purchase starting on August 6th from $399.99.

Big companies fight Apple's AppStore policies

It looks like, Apple is under heavy fire not only from indie developers, but big tech giants as well. All rally agains Apple's AppStore policies.

Microsoft, after announcement that xCloud wouldn't be coming to iOS, fired back at Apple accusing them of treating gaming apps unfairly compared to other apps.

Facebook launched gaming app on iOS, but it doesn't have any games. All thanks to an App Store policy which bans streaming gaming services.

It doesn't look very good for Apple, especially when AppStore Policies are under investigation regarding antitrust concerns and anti-competitive behavior.

Apple updated iMacs

Apple updated the iMac lineup. The biggest change is Intel’s 10th Gen Comet Lake processors. The most awaited change is 1080p HD webcam, hopefully this upgrade will be introduced in other macs. Also,  SSDs are now standard across the line.

Also, iMac Pro has been refreshed. Now, the base model has the 10-core 3.0 GHz Xeon W chip that was previously an upgrade option.

Dope Links

• Views and Controls — The SwiftUI 2 Documentation You’ve Been Waiting for
• Custom Paging UI in SwiftUI
• Building a Multi-platform App with SwiftUI
• Animating complex shapes in SwiftUI & Morphing shapes in SwiftUI