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Workflow 1.1: Deeper iOS Automation

Released by a small team of indies in December 2014, Workflow reinvented iOS automation. Combining an interface reminiscent of Apple’s Automator for OS X with easy access to native iOS features such as Safari, the photo library, and iOS 8 extensions, Workflow promised to make automating tasks on an iPhone and iPad a simple and pleasant affair. The results spoke for themselves: Apple selected Workflow as Editor’s Choice, the app trended for weeks in the App Store’s Top Charts, and thousands of users released interesting and useful workflows in various online communities. MacStories readers may remember that Workflow was my iPad app of the year.

Workflow is one of those few apps that have dramatically changed how I work on my iPad. For me, the point of using Workflow isn’t to put together chains of actions to show off the app’s power – I just want to save time I can spend doing something else. While I have fun experimenting with Workflow and understanding its capabilities, ultimately the app just sits there in the background, waiting for me to call a series of actions I need. I love Workflow the most when it’s summoned for those two seconds and it does something magic that would have normally required minutes of manual interaction. Things like appending links to Evernote, converting spreadsheets to Markdown tables, or adding text to the clipboard.

Workflow fits my routine like a glove. I’ve used it every day to automate aspects of my work that speed up how I write and communicate on my iOS devices. And with Workflow 1.1, released today on the App Store, its developers are further expanding the app’s capabilities with powerful new functionality that includes filtering, better conditionals and image manipulation, URL expansion and deeper calendar access, and even the ability to open multiple links at once in a web browser.

Version 1.1 of Workflow includes over 50 new actions and dozens of fixes, improvements, and changes to existing actions. Core parts of the app have been revised for a faster experience and the foundation laid with the Content Graph has started to pay off with the addition of metadata and filters. Because I’ve been playing around with Workflow 1.1 since the app’s original release two months ago, I’m going to offer some practical examples with a high-level overview of the changes.

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Apple Increases Maximum App Size to 4 GB→

From Apple’s developer blog:

The size limit of an app package submitted through iTunes Connect has increased from 2 GB to 4 GB, so you can include more media in your submission and provide a more complete, rich user experience upon installation. Please keep in mind that this change does not affect the cellular network delivery size limit of 100 MB.

Over the years, the maximum size of 2 GB for apps forced game developers to drastically reduce the graphical capabiltities of their games (see, for instance, the original BioShock port). With Metal and more powerful iPhones and iPads, it only makes sense to let developers create more advanced iOS gaming experiences with fewer compromises.

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Apple Promoting “Great Games with No In-App Purchases” on App Store Front Page

Apple has started promoting games that don’t have any In-App Purchases on the front page of the App Store. Currently featured in the UK App Store and likely expanding to the U.S. store later today as part of the App Store’s weekly refresh, the section is called ‘Pay Once & Play’ and it showcases “great games” that don’t require users to pay for extra content through IAPs.

The section is organized in Recent Releases, Blockbuster Games, and App Store Originals. The games included vary in terms of popularity and developer: Apple is promoting indie hit Thomas Was Alone under Blockbuster Games alongside Minecraft, but they’re also showcasing award-winning Threes, Leo’s Fortune, and Blek.

Over the past few years, Apple has dealt with numerous complaints and investigations over the nature of freemium games and how they were advertised as free downloads while effectively hiding major gameplay features behind In-App Purchases. The company brought a series of changes to the way freemium games were displayed on the App Store – it added a specific label to indicate IAPs, and then changed the button to download freemium games from “Free” to “Get”.

It’s unclear whether the new section will be regularly updated or become a permanent fixture of the App Store’s front page, but it’s a good sign as it shows an interest in promoting quality game experiences that don’t follow typical (and lucrative but potentially confusing) freemium trends.

Connected: I Disagree with Myself→

This week, the guys talk about Sunrise, ChromeOS, Photos.app and Tim Cook’s remarks at the Goldman Sachs Conference.

In this week’s Connected, I struggle to understand what a file is and I make a shameful confession. You can listen to the episode here.

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Microsoft Acquires Sunrise→

After a few weeks of speculation, Microsoft has confirmed they have acquired popular calendar app Sunrise, which will remain free and join the company’s existing set of mobile apps.

Rajesh Jha writes on the Microsoft blog:

I’m pleased to announce that Microsoft has acquired Sunrise, provider of a next-generation calendar app for iOS and Android. We are making this acquisition because we believe a reinvention in the way people use calendars on mobile devices is long overdue. Our goal is to better help people manage and make the most of their time in a mobile-first, cloud-first world.

This is another step forward on our journey to reinvent productivity and empower every person and organization to achieve more. Today’s acquisition of Sunrise, our recent acquisition of Acompli, and our new touch-optimized universal Office apps for Windows 10 all exemplify Microsoft’s ambition to rethink the productivity category. Our goal is to create more meaningful, beautiful experiences in mobile email and calendaring across all platforms. And as you will hear in the video below, the creative talent and fresh thinking at Sunrise and Acompli will make a lasting impact on the Microsoft family as we seek to reinvent productivity.

I’m a fan of Sunrise and I like what Microsoft has been doing lately. Yes, Microsoft hasn’t built Acompli and Sunrise in the first place (and that’s another problem), but at least they’re spending money to acquire quality apps that can help them catch up in the mobile space. Outlook is well done (I’m using it every day; I love the Focused Inbox and calendar integration) and Sunrise is, in my opinion, the best multi-platform calendar app Microsoft could ask for.

I wrote about Sunrise last year, and I still use the app for two reasons: its elegant design and integration with external services. Sunrise is unique in its ability to show tasks from my Todoist account alongside calendar events; the same applies to Evernote reminders, upcoming Songkick concerts, and even Trello todos.

Sunrise shows me all the things I need to do in a single place, and Microsoft should keep this aspect intact.

It seems fair to assume that Microsoft will add more cloud integrations from their own ecosystem (OneNote, Exchange, perhaps Skype?), but I’m curious to see if and how Sunrise will work with Outlook, which comes with an embedded Calendar view.

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Smartphone Thefts Dropping Thanks to Kill Switches→

Sharon Bernstein, reporting for Reuters:

Thefts involving smartphones have declined dramatically in three major cities since manufacturers began implementing “kill switches” that allow the phones to be turned off remotely if they are stolen, authorities said on Tuesday.

The number of stolen iPhones dropped by 40 percent in San Francisco and 25 percent in New York in the 12 months after Apple Inc added a kill switch to its devices in September 2013. In London, smartphone theft dropped by half, according to an announcement by officials in the three cities.

Speaking from personal experience, the number of people (friends of friends) who ask me about an iPhone “they found” has also dropped. Activation Lock is an important software feature and it’s good to know it’s having a meaningful impact.

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Saver 2 for iPhone Review

This week saw the release of Saver 2, a big update to the personal finance and expense tracking iPhone app from Alex Solonsky and Vadim Shpakovski. I reviewed the original Saver nearly four years ago, and whilst the core of the app is very similar, the new features and completely refreshed and modernised design make Saver 2 a lot better.

There are quite a few personal finance apps available these days and it’s important to know that Saver, an iPhone-only app, is one that won’t be for everyone. For example, you won’t be reconciling multiple bank accounts – that’s just not how Saver works. But at the same time, don’t think of Saver as just a barebones tool: it is far more than that and will work terrifically for many people. This is particularly true if you purchase one of Saver’s subscriptions which add a bunch of advanced features (more on that later).

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Ten Years of Google Maps→

Great story by Liz Gannes on the first decade of Google Maps and its impact on society and technology.

I’d add this: as we enter the wearable era of mobile, it’ll be interesting to see how each platform owner will leverage the wrist screen space for mapping.

Apple is going to put at-a-glance directions on the Watch, and, as I assume the Maps integration will be deeper than what is going to be allowed to third-parties with WatchKit, that may be enough to make me reconsider my daily usage of Apple Maps.

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Photos for OS X and Pros→

Serenity Caldwell on Apple’s new Photos app for OS X:

See, true professionals know what they like, and can seek it out from Apple’s programs or elsewhere. But new users? They don’t know what they like, or what they need. They don’t know what the difference between an aperture and shutter speed is, or why that’s important. They just want to be able to take good pictures and make them look good for Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, cards, you name it. They want it to be easy.

Bingo. I may be an “advanced user” of some aspects of iOS, but when it comes to photography I don’t understand half of the terminology involved with prosumer photo apps.

I don’t know what kind of precise improvements my photos need. But I know what I want from my photo app – the simple ability to take a picture and have a single copy on all my devices. This is why I could never get into the idea of “processing” my photos: a picture is either good or bad for me, and the basic editing tools in the Photos app for iOS are enough for my needs.

As I wrote before, iCloud Photo Library is shaping up to be exactly what I want from iOS and OS X for photo management and lightweight editing.

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