ContributionsDevelopmentIndustry

iOS 11: Top Three Ways to Power Up

August 11, 2017 — by Industry Contributions

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ContributionsDevelopmentIndustry

iOS 11: Top Three Ways to Power Up

August 11, 2017 — by Industry Contributions

By Rob Percival, Udemy Instructor

Sure, when you think Apple, you think hype. iOS 11, the latest update to come down the pipeline, is heralded by Apple as setting a “new standard for the world’s most advanced mobile operating system.” So what makes iOS 11 any different from previous updates, and are the headlines we’ve seen to date praising the operating system on point? That’s still to be determined, but Apple’s latest does promise to arm developers with a bevy of new tools and customizing options. For developers looking to take advantage of iOS 11’s strongest features, here are three ways to power up.

Back to Basics

iOS 11 takes some very complex and advanced technologies and simplifies them so that developers can easily use them in their apps. Apple’s newly introduced ARKit framework makes creating an augmented reality app a breeze. It uses Apple’s SceneKit so you can easily add 3D objects to your world, allowing developers to create immersive AR gaming experiences that can be accessed using compatible iOS devices.

While phone-based AR has been around for a few years, bringing this supercharged update to the masses promises to be a turning point for the technology, opening the doors to new opportunities in gaming, and even helping with the deployment of some CGI elements for added effects.




Advanced ML in Less Than 10 Lines of Code

With iOS 11, your apps can now become more intelligent using the power of machine learning with Core ML. The programming framework is designed to make it easier to run machine learning models on mobile devices. This means that in less than 10 lines of code, you can run an advanced machine learning model and use it to identify objects in an image, which will allow image recognition within apps to track users’ faces more effectively than Snapchat and Facebook. If used to its full potential, it will likely prove extremely useful in helping developers create more advanced applications by automating complicated tasks.

According to insiders, the capabilities of Core ML are a “dead giveaway” that Apple is preparing to introduce an AI chip for iPhones that would make machine learning workloads run more efficiently. Given the high demand dev teams are seeing in the industry - mobile claiming 42% of the 2.2 billion gamers in 2017 - users are welcoming the ability to harness machine learning in their apps, generating greater insight than ever before inside applications.




Build, Build, Build

As a developer, you’re investing an enormous amount of time, energy and resources to develop games or apps. The key to success is understanding the process of coding and app-creation, and being able to execute a finished product through complete immersion into the coding process. iOS 11’s new file infrastructure, multitasking features, and robust customization options mean that developers are experiencing the most sophisticated OS on the market.

My advice? Build a complete app as early as possible - there’s no substitute for getting the full experience of planning, designing, coding and then publicizing a finished product. Work your network and find people around you that need something built, and offer to create it for them. Once you’ve assembled your portfolio, the paid work can begin. Pro tip: Build up reviews on websites like upwork.com until you have a strong online reputation and can attract more lucrative roles.




The learning doesn’t stop here. Each day, developers are discovering novel ways to innovate using iOS 11. Operating systems and new development tools are a big business, with 75% of revenue generated from the iOS Apple App store coming from mobile gaming. Harnessing that opportunity and upskilling your chops as a developer, there’s no limit to how you can leverage iOS 11.


Rob Percival is an Udemy instructor, an expert developer and self-described coding geek.




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