Apple releases visionOS SDK for crafting ‘all-new experiences’

Apple has released the visionOS SDK for developers eager to explore the possibilities of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences for Vision Pro.

While betas and SDKs for other Apple operating systems like iOS and macOS were launched on the first day of WWDC, developers had to wait for the release of the visionOS SDK. This meant that they could prepare their software for the upcoming fall releases but couldn't immediately start building for the new...

22 June 2023 | Development Tools

ARCore Geospatial API helps developers build immersive experiences

During I/O 2022, Google launched its ARCore Geospatial API to help developers build more immersive, richer, and more useful experiences.

Augmented reality experiences are beginning to gain traction beyond Pokémon Go. Now there are AR apps for making floorplans, seeing how furnishings will look in your home, understanding the world around you, and even getting real-time information about the night sky.

Google showed off enhancements to its own AR solution, Lens, during...

12 May 2022 | Android

Omniverse Code helps developers to build 3D design and simulation tools

Nvidia has announced Omniverse Code, a new app to make it easier for developers to build advanced tools for 3D design and simulation.

The app includes the Omniverse Kit SDK runtime along with foundational tools, templates, and documentation. Developers won’t have to build from scratch with hundreds of Omniverse Extensions available to edit, modify, or integrate into their own extensions or applications.

Interactive documentation helps users to experience features like...

2 February 2022 | Development Tools

Niantic gets additional support for building the metaverse as valuation hits $9B

Niantic is emerging as a key player in building the metaverse and investors are keen to get in on the action.

Tech-focused investment firm Coatue has invested $300 million in Niantic, bringing the company’s valuation to $9 billion.

Matt Mazzeo, a General Partner at Coatue, said:

“Niantic is building a platform for AR based on a 3D map of the world that we believe will play a critical role in the next transition in computing.

We are excited to partner...

23 November 2021 | Gaming

Microsoft: Universal Windows Platform is finally being sunset

Thomas Fennel, Principal Program Lead at Microsoft, clarified this week that Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is finally being sunset.

In an announcement on the GitHub repo for the Windows App SDK, Fennel says that UWP will only receive “bug, reliability, and security fixes,” and won’t be receiving new features. In other words, it’s being deprecated.

This won’t be of any surprise to just about, well, anyone, but Microsoft has skirted around what’s happening...

20 October 2021 | Platforms

Grammarly’s new SDK wants to improve your users’ writing skills

Grammarly has released a new SDK that aims to improve the writing standard of your app’s users.

A good standard of writing can be the difference between getting a job, making a sale, or retaining a customer. The Text Editor SDK released today is the next step in Grammarly’s mission “to improve lives by improving communication”.

The SDK provides everything developers need to deliver easy-to-use, real-time writing assistance across four main categories: correctness...

14 September 2021 | Developer

App Annie reveals the most popular SDKs following iOS 14.5’s release

Mobile data and analytics experts App Annie have shared the most popular SDKs following the release of iOS 14.5.

iOS 14.5 delivered significant new protections for user privacy which have drastically limited access to user-level data. A report from Flurry Analytics earlier this month discovered that 96 percent of iOS 14.5 users in the US are blocking ad tracking.

As to be expected, App Annie found that Apple’s own SDKs lead by unique iOS installs globally—taking the...

27 May 2021 | Developer

BUILD 2021: WSL now supports GUI apps, Project Reunion and Windows Terminal receive updates, Visual Studio and .NET 6 get new previews

Microsoft has used the first day of its annual BUILD conference to announce a swathe of updates to its Windows development products.

The first announcement is that support for GUI apps when using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is rolling out as of this week.

A preview of the functionality has been available since last month and is designed to allow developers to run their favourite Linux tools, utilities, and apps directly in Windows 10. Last week, Google announced...

26 May 2021 | Development Tools

Microsoft debuts .NET 5.0 after year and a half in preview

Microsoft has debuted .NET 5.0 a year and a half after it was first unveiled, alongside some other important developer products.

.NET 5 was first unveiled back in May 2019 and promised to be the first with a single runtime and framework which can be used to target Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, Android, tvOS, watchOS, WebAssembly, and more.

Multiple previews have come and gone since .NET 5’s unveiling, but Microsoft took the opportunity to use this week’s .NET Conf 2020...

12 November 2020 | Languages

New developer tools boost Google Assistant’s capabilities

Google has launched new tools for developers which are designed to boost Assistant's capabilities when responding to user requests.

The virtual assistant is regularly found to handle general queries better than its closest competitors, but too often you can think it would just be quicker to do a task yourself. We're still far off from the sci-fi visions of AI assistants like HAL and JARVIS.

Google Assistant, and its rivals, have made large strides in improving areas such...

18 June 2020 | Android