Features of iOS 8 that Developers Should Be Aware of

iOS 8, the latest OS version of iPad or iPhone from Apple have finally come up and have instantaneously captured the market with a lot of buzz. If the feedbacks that have already gathered in the forums as well as message boards are to be believed, this version has striking similarities with the earlier version, though with some added features, which are still not very apparent to the users.

From the developers’ point of view as well, the latest version comes up with a string of new features that are really awe-inspiring. The developers need to know about them so as to have an improved grip on the operating system.

Additional toolkit for the benefit of the developers

The latest version has finally managed to get rid of some of the limitations that the 7^th edition of the OS had, with the help of certain add-ons. The version has come up with some of the most exquisite built-in or embedded controls, which the developers can use for enhancing the applications.

New workarounds for developers

Because of the presence of so many new as well as additional features, the process of development has also undergone a sea change. While the previous versions saw use of C programming language for development of the apps, the new version will need the use of newer languages for development of apps.

App Extensions

iOS 8 comes up with a string of app extensions that help the developers to extend the functionality of the app as well as the content all through the system with the supply of an app extension code, which helps them to customize the functionality within the perspective of the task that are predominantly of the users. The developers have the option of using the extensions for placing the power of the app depending on where the users would require it most. The version comes up with 7 types of app extensions – share, today, photo editing, customer keyboard, storage provider, customer actions, and document picker.

Touch ID

The latest edition comes up with a property by the virtue of which developers are now able to use Touch ID for authenticating a particular user, prior to accessing the app contents partially or fully. Data collected through fingerprint is safeguarded and hence can never be accessed by any other app including iOS.

PhotoKit

This particular feature provides the developers a string of new APIs that help them work with the images as well as videos that are generally managed and taken care of by the Photos App. Thus, developers are able to make technical adjustments by the virtue of which, the users can edit the images directly from the camera roll instead of having to import the images at first and then edit them. The most important features that the Photokit comes up with include a thread-safe architecture that fetches and caches the thumbnails along with full-sized assets, asking for changes in the assets, taking stock of the changes that are made by other applications and doing resumable editing of the content of the assets.

HealthKit

This is another extremely critical feature that helps the developers to incorporate fitness and health related services. It also helps them to store all the shared health and fitness related issues and information in a single location so as to be accessed as well as shared by the end users. The feature helps to store the information in a secured and centralized location. It also provides the users the option of deciding which data needs to be shared and which should be left aside.

It also helps access to any health related data that are shared and can also deliver user related information without the need of implementing the specific devices that are designed to track fitness.

Games

The new version has something new for the developers when it comes to games as well. The new range of technology that the new version has come up with has made implementation of the game’s graphics as well as the audio features much easier. The developers now are able to take the advantage of several high level frameworks for easier development and use of several low-level enhancements for harnessing the GPU power to the fullest extent. If you are looking for iPhone app development companies we can help you develop stable, scalable and secure apps.

We provide iPhone software development services. If would like to hire best iPhone app developers for your app development needs, please contact us Mindfire Solutions.

Increase Productivity for iPhone Application - a Developers Perspective

Despite the rapidly growing popularity of Android, a developer can still get higher returns by developing iPhone applications. But frequently changing choices of users have made it essential for the developers to explore innovative ways to deliver richer user experience. Many users, nowadays, prefer using apps that helps them in making more productive. So the developer must monitor the ongoing and upcoming trends in mobile development to make the iPhone app more productive. He also needs to consider a number of critical elements to increase productivity for the iPhone application.

5 Critical Elements that Make iPhone Apps More Productive

1) The Right Features and Functionality

A productive mobile application must meet the user’s specific needs. Often developers build mobile apps with additional features and functionality to impress users. You must understand the mobile app is not just the mobile version of a desktop browser based interface. So it is not essential to create the iPhone app with additional features that does not fit the mobile situation. Many users expect the app to deliver relevant, easy and quick information. As the application will not be used to detailing editing of the information, it must provide the right features and functionality.

2) Deliver the Value Quickly

Most mobile application users do not prefer consuming the information in lengthy sessions. They rather want to receive and access the information in smaller chunks at a time. So you can increase the productivity for the mobile application by delivering value quickly to users. Instead of controlling bounce rate, you should aim to enable bounce rate. As many reports have highlighted a productive iPhone app enables users to receive relevant information in leas then 20 seconds. You can always consider optimizing the app with basic social media principles to make them continuously pay partial attention.

3) Deliver Constant and Timely Communication

The popular iPhone apps always deliver information in context. The apps are designed with features to inform the users, instead of being driven by the. Nowadays, many people love to use the mobile apps that deliver information even when there is no internet connection. You can always enable the application to cache the user’s favorite or frequently accessed data. The feature will enable the app to deliver value even when the user is on the go or away from Wi-Fi. As each user wants the iPhone app to deliver continuous and quick bursts of relevant information, your app must productive enough to deliver brief, timely, and relevant communication.

4) Optimizing User Experience

You also need to concentrate on the look, feel and design of the iPhone app to increase its productivity. The execution will further help the app in delivering richer user experience. Often users fail to connect with the app, when they feel that the app is not executing. So it is also important to make the users feel that the application is functioning at the speed of their brains. You can always consider including animation to make the users feel that the iPhone application is executing at the speed of their brains.

5) Make the App Flawless

The productivity of an iPhone app can be further impacted by bugs, errors and flaws. So you must test the application thoroughly before uploading it to the App Store. It is also important to make and implement a comprehensive testing strategy to ensure that the app is running flawlessly. When the app runs without any interruption, the users will be impressed. The absence of the bugs or errors will further make the iPhone application more productive.

A developer can further make the iPhone app more productive by concentrating on the new features and enhanced capabilities of the most recent version of iOS. Apple updates iOS with new features to attract and impress the users. The users also love to use apps that allow them to take advantage of the innovative features of the mobile operating system. So the developer can always take advantage of these capabilities to make the iPhone application more productive. You can get in touch with a iPhone application development company who can help you develop apps that are stable, scalable and secure.

We provide iPhone development services. If you would like to hire iPhone developer for your mobile development needs, please contact us Mindfire Solutions. 

Leveraging The Power Of Iphone Apps In Healthcare Domain - 10 App Ideas

The applications that the modern iPhones come up with, make them indispensable devices in all aspects of life, including health care services. In fact, there are certain applications that are specifically designed or meant only to be used for health care purpose. Let us discuss 10 such applications that make modern iPhones so very unique.

1) WebMD Mobile

This app allows the end user to do a wide range of activities. This includes checking symptoms of a particular ailment that may be lingering for too long with a view to have a better notion about the drugs that are to be administered and the potential side effects of the same. The app also gives the users the option of consulting visual guides in the event of various emergency situations.

2) MedCalc

This particular app acts as a calculator that is basically used by medical practitioners for getting easy access to various complicated medical formulas. The app also allows the users to customize the list of favourite and useful equations besides providing the option of saving a list of them that are used rather frequently.

3) iTriage

This particular app would allow the patients to save their symptoms into a database that is specifically designed to save information including diseases, treatments, directions and other parameters. This database has been specifically designed with inputs from medical practitioners with a view to give patients more control over their health related decisions. There is also an option that allows the patients to directly chat with the doctors or nurses and discuss about their health conditions. They also have the advantage of taking care of their medical bills on a day to day basis, more so if they are suffering from a continuing ailment and are in need of prolonged medical attention.

4) Diabetes Log

This particular app would allow people suffering from diabetes to keep track of all their vital information that may include their glucose reading, daily intake of food and all the related medical records and collate all these information into a single database along with their medical history.

5) EmergenKey

This app would provide the patients the option of keeping track of various vital health related information whenever they are travelling.

6) Sleep Tracker

This particular application would allow users to maintain a track of their sleeping patterns with the help of charts along with logs over a particular period of time. There is also an option of maintaining a 'sleep journal' and you have the liberty of using personal photos as mood icons.

7) ICD 9 LITE

This application would allow easy access to diagnosis coding through a process of disease classification. Besides, it also negates the need to look for information by manual typing as it has the option of a 'drilldown' format.

8) Health Cloud

This application would let the users of Google Health, access all their personal records irrespective of the time and location. Users can save the findings of the new tests and have a look at notices as and when they are generated by the provider.

9) Headache Diary

As the name suggests, this particular application is related to headache-related issues. Headache diary helps the patients to keep a track record of the time and frequency of occurrence of headache on a daily basis. The appliance comes in two versions – LITE version and the Regular version. The Regular version allows the users to put down unlimited number of entries along with the option of email exporting of the same.

10) Natural Cures

This application helps the users to learn the ways of combining various types of natural as well as prescription therapies for curing various ailments. All the conditions are listed alphabetically and the resources can be availed to track doctors along with supplements available in a particular locality.

With all these applications today iPhone has become one of the most handy devices that provide 24x7 health care assistance to the users which at times turn out to be extremely vital. An expert iPhone app development company would have all the expertise and knowhow to strategise, plan and develop iPhone apps for you within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide iPhone app development services. If you would like to speak to one of our expert iPhone app developer, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

4 Great Rules For iPhone Games And Mobile App Development

As smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices are becoming widespread in the market, mobile apps are also gaining immense popularity. The conventional mobile devices have now made way for smarter phones which are more like small personal computers that can store a number of games along with other apps, which are used by consumers on a regular basis. When it comes to games or mobile apps, there are a number of development platforms, one of the commonest being the iPhone platform.

Currently a plethora of iPhone gaming apps are being developed. A lot of things go into the development process, including research, design, innovation as well as creativity. Given this, when you are building a mobile app, it should be given the maximum scope to succeed in the competitive market. The following 4 rules may be considered for creating games or mobile apps.

• Short levels in the games: While developing the gaming app, it is crucial to ask yourself one question- When do people usually tend to play the games? Well, most of the users go for some short rounds of mobile gaming when they are waiting for a bus, stuck in a queue or enjoying some short moments of relaxation amidst a busy schedule. Considering this, if the game has very long levels that take quite some amount of time to get completed, then your user will lose interest in that particular game. Short levels in fact give the players the choice to play for a few minutes, and then again starting off from where they left last, all the way retaining the points that they have scored. Games with short levels also happen to be very addictive and players tend to play the same again and again.
  
  
• Add some depth to your creation: Simplicity is indeed great, but it should not come at the cost of amusement. If the game is very simple and it is very easy to move from one level to another, users will get bored with the same and will stop playing it very soon. The most popular games are the ones which challenge the players to learn new skills and then master them. The Angry Birds game is a great example of this as it slowly introduces the new birds as the game proceeds. In this way the interest of the player remains and therefore the game does not become boring. It is advisable to go for those gaming apps which invite the reader to take decisions for moving ahead.
  
  
• Generate interest through the content: You must give users the scope for getting value for money because that is what almost all people want. It is advisable to give the players some additional advantages, something like special ways to unlock and move on to the next level or greater chances of success if they play more levels. It is a fact that players feel more enthusiastic when they can unlock a particular level depending upon their achievements or the points they have gathered. Hence, the more creative you get with your content, the more addictive your gaming app becomes for your target market.
  
  
• Go social with your app: Social media is greatly popular nowadays and nobody can deny this fact. If you opt for the addition of brag features within your iPhone game, it does become more interesting and attention drawing. For instance, there are games which let you know the scores of your friends across social media platforms and it's really great to keep track of those scores as you surpass your friends. The basic goal of going social is to draw in some of the popularity of social media to give your gaming app that competitive edge.

Mobile gaming is very popular nowadays, and if iPhone game developers can create games that keep the player hooked, the games become top favorites. Following the crucial rules can indeed help developers come up with addictive gaming apps. You can hire developers from top iPhone app development companies in India who can help you build iPhone apps within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide iPhone app development services. If you would like to discuss with an expert iPhone app developer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

A Trend of 2013: Outsource iPhone Application Development to India

Despite facing still completion, iPhone still dominates the smartphone market. The combination of resourceful features and aesthetic appeal makes it the first choice of users switching to smartphones. The huge popularity of iPhone further encourages many enterprises to invest in app development projects. Some companies launch apps to promote their products, services and business, whereas others develop apps by targeting millions of iPhone users. 

However, a number of reports have highlighted how more and more companies are outsourcing iPhone app development projects to India. Similar to IT and ITES, India has also become a hub of smartphone application development. Along with reducing the development cost, the mobile application developers in India has also built a reputation by building dynamic and robust iPhone apps at a rapid pace, while delivering high quality and consistency. 

Why Most Companies Prefer Outsourcing iPhone App Development to India?

Easy to Incorporate Latest Trends: Smartphone application development has become both complex and competitive due to frequent changes in user choice. So each company must follow the latest trends in technology and user demand while designing an iPhone application. The companies building apps through in-house development team often find it difficult to adopt new technologies without providing adequate training. On the other hand, the Indian iphone app development companies are ready to develop apps by using latest technologies without charging additionally. The flexibility further enables outsourcing company to launch an app that complements the latest trends.

Avail Services of Experienced Developers: According to a recent survey, over 40% smartphone applications are being developed in India. So the Indian developers have adequate skills, expertise and experience in building a wide variety of apps. Further, they constantly interact with clients residing in various parts of the globe. So the developers know how to optimize the performance of an iPhone app by picking the perfect features and functionalities. The smartphone app development companies also deploy a team consisting of designers, developers, programmers and marketers. So the company makes it easier for clients to develop, launch and promote the app without deploying any in-house resources.

High Quality Development at Reduced Cost: Most companies outsource iPhone app development project to reduce expenses. The depreciated value of Indian rupee enables enterprises to avail best smartphone application development service at competitive prices. Despite charging less, the Indian developers are passionate about impressing clients by building a high quality app. As an enterprise can choose from several mobile app development companies, it can always choose a company that can build an incredible application while charging a much lesser amount.

Constant Maintenance and Support: Along with developing a robust iPhone app, the enterprise also needs to support it by providing constant maintenance. It is also important to fix the bugs and flaws immediately to make the app more popular. The Indian smartphone application developers offer support and maintenance services at affordable prices. A company also has option to include the required support and maintenance as part of the outsourcing agreement. Also, the company has adequate expertise and resources to improve user experience on a regular basis. 

Easy to Upgrade the iPhone App: The frequent changes in user choice have made it essential for enterprises to update their mobile applications by including extended and innovative features. Similar to mobile app development, a company can also avail a number of benefits by updating the application by hiring Indian app developers. Based on their experience in developing a wide variety of apps for international company, the team of developers can recommend you the best features to beat competition. At the same time, the company will further help you in implementing the ideas without putting any extra time and effort.

An enterprise also has option to choose from a large number of mobile app development companies in India. It can further evaluate the apps developed by the company in past according to the nature and requirements of the project. However, it is also important for the outsourcing firm to concentrate on drafting a concrete outsourcing agreement.

If you want to hire iphone app programmer for your iPhone App Development projects, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.