So where are all the app updates with "iOS 8 optimizations"

[OrlandoTragic]

On my 6+ most of the apps I use regularly (Snapchat, Zite, etc) all look like garbage on 1080P screen. I figured it may take a few days for these updates to push but its been almost three weeks since devs knew for sure that there were better screens coming, and yet there are only a handful of app updates that have changed things.. not the end of the world, but sort of annoying.

 

[antiprotest]

Very few iOS 8 updates have come out even though developers had months to get ready. Even fewer for iPhone 6/plus.

Updates seem to have gotten even slower since Friday, almost to a complete halt.

 

[AHDuke99]

Yeah it's becoming frustrating. Hardly any apps are updated for the iPhone 6 so they're all zoomed in and look awful. I'm surprised hardly any developers updated their apps for iOS 8, unless the queue is just really backed up.

 

[antiprotest]

In my experience since iOS 3, the slowest ever. So slow and few it's getting strange and creepy.

 

[Ries]

I think apple is holding back a lot of updates. There are developers complaining about review times. Some have been "In review" for weeks (usually takes 1-2 business days in that stage).

 

[AppleWes]

Good question- I was wondering the same thing. I know it's a minor issue, but I really notice the low text quality on non-optimized apps, even with the regular 6 (I switched from a 6 Plus).

 

[Brien]

I agree. Facebook updated their app for the taller iPhone 5 screen almost immediately and yet here we are 2 weeks after release and still no 6/6+ update.

I'm assuming a lot of devs hardcoded to the old resolution and are scrambling to rewrite apps and create @3x art assets.

 

[Solver]

Yea you would think that these developers would have all their apps tested, ready and approved for the iPhone 6 series by now. After all, they've been able to get in the lines and buy them for over a week now.
(sarcasm)

 

[AppleWes]

Yea you would think that these developers would have all their apps tested, ready and approved for the iPhone 6 series by now. After all, they've been able to get in the lines and buy them for over a week now.
(sarcasm)

I know you're being sarcastic- but how much lead time does Apple give devs to get their apps set for new screen resolutions and features? (Prior to public release)

Or is extra time only given to major apps and large companies?

 

[antiprotest]

I know you're being sarcastic- but how much lead time does Apple give devs to get their apps set for new screen resolutions and features? (Prior to public release)

Or is extra time only given to major apps and large companies?

Also, the point applies to iOS 8 updates. And developers have had months to get ready. But most of them have not updated.

----------

Woah Kindle app just updated for iPhone 6. Wow somebody is actually doing their job. Bravo.

 

[BrettDS]

On my 6+ most of the apps I use regularly (Snapchat, Zite, etc) all look like garbage on 1080P screen. I figured it may take a few days for these updates to push but its been almost three weeks since devs knew for sure that there were better screens coming, and yet there are only a handful of app updates that have changed things.. not the end of the world, but sort of annoying.

Keep in mind that apps that are optimized for iOS 8 don't necessarily support the native screen resolution of the 6 and 6+. What you want are apps that are optimized for the 6 and 6+

 

[WordMasterRice]

I know you're being sarcastic- but how much lead time does Apple give devs to get their apps set for new screen resolutions and features? (Prior to public release)

Or is extra time only given to major apps and large companies?

I posted in a thread earlier about this issue, but that is basically the issue, especially for the Plus.

Developers, outside of a select few, were not given that information so we didn't really have any time at all to take advantage of the new sizes.

Obviously having that time would have been great, but a lot of developers won't release an app on a device for which they can not test. The device's don't always match the simulator 100% (I believe that is actually illustrated with one of these new phones) so releasing an app without being able to test it on device is a huge risk.

Add on top of that, as everyone in this particular sub was prone to say over the past few months "IT'S A BETA", this sort of applies to developers too. There were significant issues in this beta that could hold up development, or changes that were made that required changing things that had already been done.

The fact that Apple keeps developers in the dark on hardware is a trade off that they have chosen, this is the side effect. I do with that Apple would have released the GM earlier though so that we could test on release software for longer, I mean the GM was packaged August 20th and wasn't given to developers until September 9th...

 

[C DM]

Plenty have updated to support iOS 8 or be optimized for it or even take advantage of new things it offers (like extensions, for example). Not as many have added iPhone 6/Plus support so far, but more are doing it. These are somewhat different things, and while a lot of iOS 8 stuff has been announced for some time now since the betas came out, the iPhone 6/Plus stuff has only been announced a few weeks ago.

There are also a few threads tracking such apps already, like the one at https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1783715/

 

[andyp350]

Facebook messenger and Kindle have just had updates released that support the new screen reslutions.

 

[Premium1]

On my 6+ most of the apps I use regularly (Snapchat, Zite, etc) all look like garbage on 1080P screen. I figured it may take a few days for these updates to push but its been almost three weeks since devs knew for sure that there were better screens coming, and yet there are only a handful of app updates that have changed things.. not the end of the world, but sort of annoying.

Agree. Devs seem to be slow with updates. Many apps look awful and you would think they would want to get them updated and looking as good as possible as soon as possible.

 

[Razeus]

I've been saying this since iOS 8 first came out, and then again with the iPhone. Where are all the resolution updates? The widgets? I did my handful of apps, but I would have expected most of the productivity apps to have made some updates.

Well, at least I know which devs still are active developing and which ones are just taking your money.

 

[titans1127]

I agree. Facebook updated their app for the taller iPhone 5 screen almost immediately and yet here we are 2 weeks after release and still no 6/6+ update.

I'm assuming a lot of devs hardcoded to the old resolution and are scrambling to rewrite apps and create @3x art assets.

Whats stupider is they updated their messenger app for iOS 8/new phones a few hours ago but nothing for the main app.

 

[Cougarcat]

If the Plus wasn't so hard to get, I think we'd be seeing more updates. As a previous poster said, many devs prefer to test on actual devices first. I follow the Tweetbot dev on Twitter and he's still waiting for his to arrive...

Of course, this excuse only works for small dev teams, not huge companies like Facebook or Skype (Microsoft).

Whats stupider is they updated their messenger app for iOS 8/new phones a few hours ago but nothing for the main app.

Different dev teams. Messenger is also a simpler app.

 

[rtomyj]

Yea you would think that these developers would have all their apps tested, ready and approved for the iPhone 6 series by now. After all, they've been able to get in the lines and buy them for over a week now.
(sarcasm)

Good job! You know what you're talking about.

All the apps that can take advantage of the new API's have done so already (for me). Just go and remind yourself what extensions there are guys.

 

[freeskier93]

Whats stupider is they updated their messenger app for iOS 8/new phones a few hours ago but nothing for the main app.

What's even worse is there was an update for the Facebook app today but still no support for the new resolutions. Not sure why I'm surprised though. The Facebook app is one of the most underdeveloped apps out there.

 

[titans1127]

What's even worse is there was an update for the Facebook app today but still no support for the new resolutions. Not sure why I'm surprised though. The Facebook app is one of the most underdeveloped apps out there.

True that, at least its not as bad as the android version. That thing runs in the background even if you close the app from the multitasking tray and if you force close it, it eventually turns itself back on.

 

[C DM]

What's even worse is there was an update for the Facebook app today but still no support for the new resolutions. Not sure why I'm surprised though. The Facebook app is one of the most underdeveloped apps out there.

Yeah a complex app like Facebook should be quick to update and test and release in a week, rite?

 

[jeanreno]

Check out the spike on the graph, pretty hilarious!

http://appreviewtimes.com/ios/annual-trend-graph

 

[Hakiroto]

Yeah, I also find this pretty annoying. There are a few apps now that have been updated fully for iOS 8 and the new iPhones (I'm looking at you as an example, Instapaper) but the majority of big apps haven't been touched. It's hard to believe something like WhatsApp (a company Facebook bought for $19bn) is such a mess. It looks really bad on the new iPhones and the iCloud doesn't even work on iOS 8. Sure, developers only had a week between the keynote and the iPhones being shipped to update their apps to support the displays but they've had months to update for iOS 8. I rarely use Facebook these days so don't have it on my iPhone but I'm guessing that it's not been updated either, right? Instagram, too.

 

[C DM]

Yeah, I also find this pretty annoying. There are a few apps now that have been updated fully for iOS 8 and the new iPhones (I'm looking at you as an example, Instapaper) but the majority of big apps haven't been touched. It's hard to believe something like WhatsApp (a company Facebook bought for $19bn) is such a mess. It looks really bad on the new iPhones and the iCloud doesn't even work on iOS 8. Sure, developers only had a week between the keynote and the iPhones being shipped to update their apps to support the displays but they've had months to update for iOS 8. I rarely use Facebook these days so don't have it on my iPhone but I'm guessing that it's not been updated either, right? Instagram, too.

Most apps use have been updated. And many that I just have (I have close to 200) for updates as well.