tvOS Perks and Pitfalls

In this talk Axel will discuss the first steps in the new tvOS environment. Sometimes it feels like a warm iOS blanket, othertimes you get these weird error messages and of course you have to deal with the necessary UX changes.

By Axel Roest. Original slides: http://www.slideshare.net/axelroest/tvos-perks-and-pitfalls

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Transcript

1. tvOS Perks and Pitfalls Axel Roest The App Academy do{iOS} 2015
2. whoami
3. whoami
4. Happy We got one of the $1 dev. kits
5. Happy We got one of the $1 dev. kits
6. Fun
7. images © ifixit Dual-core 64-bit Apple A8 chip 2 GB RAM 32 or 64 GB Flash
8. Rumours „Oh, it’s just web apps”
9. 2 different technologies
10. TVML TVJS 2 different technologies iOS traditional code
11. TVML TVJS 2 different technologies iOS traditional code
12. Twofold opportunities • iOS devs can reuse their knowledge • web devs can reuse their js+xml knowledge
13. Twofold opportunities • iOS devs can reuse their knowledge • web devs can reuse their js+xml knowledge Shhhh! Please don’t tell your web friends this!
14. Anatomy of the Apple TV home screen
15. top row TVContentItem TopShelf rest of apps
16. top row TVContentItem TopShelf rest of apps
17. top row TVContentItem TopShelf rest of apps in Focus
20. un Focus ed
21. un Focus ed
22. Anatomy of an app Two targets: • TVTopShelfProvider ➔ [TVContentItem] • Your App ➔
23. Anatomy of an app Two targets: • TVTopShelfProvider ➔ [TVContentItem] • Your App ➔
24. tvOS
25. diff iOS tvOS • No persistent storage ➔ iCloud only • 200 MB limit ➔ on-demand resources • Focus Engine • No specific iOS frameworks
26. diff iOS tvOS • No persistent storage ➔ iCloud only • 200 MB limit ➔ on-demand resources • Focus Engine • No specific iOS frameworks – Contacts HealthKit CoreMotion Accounts
27. diff iOS tvOS • No persistent storage ➔ iCloud only • 200 MB limit ➔ on-demand resources • Focus Engine • No specific iOS frameworks – Contacts HealthKit CoreMotion Accounts + TVServices TVMLKit
28. Weirdly missing • HomeKit • MapKit • ReplayKit • VideoToolbox
29. Weirdly missing • HomeKit • MapKit • ReplayKit • VideoToolbox
30. why no Webkit?
31. WebKit Alternatives • Create your own layoutengine (NetNewsWire) • Hack it for your own personal use
 https://github.com/jvanakker/tvOSBrowser
32. code is easy • Add a tvos target • Add new UIViewControllers • Run
33. ux redesign • UX is a whole new ballgame • Rethink interaction • No touch screen: less typing • new layered icons
34. ux redesign • UX is a whole new ballgame • Rethink interaction • No touch screen: less typing • new layered icons
35. Parallax Previewer
36. Parallax Previewer
37. • Difference LSR and LCR files • Creating in Xcode: drag & export • create LCR file using layerutil, which converts LSR to LCR. • LCRs can be used within UIImageviews • unfortunately, no reverse version of layerutil yet
38. Gotchas w.r.t. icons you need 3 icon layers! no transparency in back layer
39. Gotchas w.r.t. icons Large-AppIconScratch-.xcassets: The last image stack layer with content, "Back", must be a 
 fully opaque bitmap. The pixel at position (602, 475) has an alpha value of 26. Xcode compiler error: you need 3 icon layers! no transparency in back layer
40. TVJS TVML
41. TVML app • Client-Server • Written in ‘TVJS’, a javascript framework • AppDelegate contains URL • start TVApplicationController • Use standard web techniques for 
 deployment, analytics, A/B testing etc.
42. TVML • you can now totally change an app after you went through the app approval phase. • ideal for existing web based content • Tons of standard TVML templates for e.g. alerts, lists, photo stacks
44. but wait! You can also put TVML applications inside UIViewControllers!
45. pitfalls
46. Remember to buy yet another USB cable
47. Remote Simulator remote works, but not really well (But you can connect the Siri remote to the simulator!)
48. Really easy to test TVML app python server however (due to caching?): for each new js tweak you need to reload the app from Xcode. Killing it doesn’t seem to work
49. No local storage (!) apart from NSUserDefaults ➔ iCloud KVS (< 1MB) and CloudKit ➔ On-Demand Resources
50. Asset placement and ease of use no handy keyboard
52. perks
53. perks • iOS app ➔ tvOS • online content ➔ TVML + TVJS
54. So many toys, so little time
55. The end axel@theappacademy.nl • @axello