June 2022 Summaries

APM tools are crucial for mobile teams to detect and fix bugs before users notice, helping to maintain user engagement and satisfaction. They enable teams to understand their users' behavior, identify performance issues, and create improvements that increase the app's attractiveness. APM can help prevent costly incidents like "The $200,000 Mistake" by catching problems early on. The main difference between web and mobile APM lies in the device experience, with mobile apps requiring consideration of data availability and connection failures. A great app requires care from its development team, which involves understanding user needs and involving everyone in the process. To achieve this level of care, teams must make data available to all stakeholders and empower them to be self-reliant. Currently, there is a growing interest in mobile APM, with trends including independent branches, modular architecture, machine learning, and complete usage data views. By integrating APM tools like Bitrise into existing workflows, teams can identify performance issues, remedy problems quickly, and gain an edge in the competitive app market.

Xcode 14 beta was announced at WWDC 2022, bringing new features for creating, testing, and distributing apps for all Apple platforms. The latest release includes a multiplatform app experience with Swift and SwiftUI, enhanced editor features, and support for Xcode Cloud to TestFlight and the App Store. A binary is now 30% smaller than before, and downloadable simulator runtimes are available for watchOS and tvOS. An open-source project called Food Truck was demonstrated during the State of the Union session, showcasing Swift, SwiftUI, and more using a single codebase and app target for Mac, iPad, and iPhone. The prerequisites for this hands-on lab include Xcode 14 beta or later, an Apple Developer account, and a Bitrise free account. To get started, open the project in Xcode 14, select the Food Truck project, and configure the team and signing & capabilities. Simple UI tests can be added to the project, and the app can be archived for deployment to TestFlight and the App Store. Finally, the application is added to Bitrise for CI/CD workflows, where it's built, tested, and archived using Xcode 14 and an M1 machine.

Apple has strict guidelines for its App Store review process, which can lead to delayed reviews or rejections if an app fails to meet these guidelines. The standard review time is less than 24 hours, but this may be longer if the app requires human review. Common reasons for delays include unfinished or buggy apps, inadequate review information, incomplete or misleading metadata, and privacy violations. To avoid these issues, developers should ensure their apps are complete, provide accurate information, and follow Apple's guidelines on metadata and privacy. In case of delayed reviews or rejections, developers can request expedited reviews, reach out to the App Review team, or use CI/CD tools like Bitrise to simplify the deployment process.

Finance and banking companies often invest less than 10% of their total engineering spend on mobile app development, despite mobile generating approximately 75% of their overall business revenue. This discrepancy highlights the need for companies to reassess their engineering budgets and allocate more resources to mobile initiatives. Investing in areas such as speed, user experience, automation, regulatory compliance, security, and innovation can help drive revenue growth. Companies that prioritize these aspects are more likely to outperform their competitors and achieve success in the fintech space. The increasing importance of mobile is changing the way companies approach engineering talent, automation, and innovation, creating opportunities for emerging fintech companies to compete with larger institutions on a level playing field.

When developing a finance app, developers face the challenge of balancing user experience (UX) with security, as industry regulations can slow down feature releases and data protection is crucial. To address this, companies are adopting DevSecOps, which involves integrating security checks earlier in the development process. This approach automates security testing while maintaining continuous delivery workflows. Tools like Bitrise provide verified steps for automated security testing, such as AppSweep, Oversecured, DexProtector, and Data Theorem, to help organizations identify and fix security vulnerabilities early on, ensuring a secure and competitive mobile finance app.

Insights PRO is a tool that provides detailed visibility into build and test performance, allowing users to detect bottlenecks and make improvements to delivery time. It helps teams find issues in their delivery process, pinpoint the cause of problems, and report on progress. The pricing model is based on contributor count, with costs adjusted automatically every 30 days based on activity. The tool offers a predictable and simple pricing structure, aligning with the value it provides.

The fintech industry is shifting towards mobile banking apps, with customers expecting seamless access to banking services without physical bank visits. To deliver the best customer experience, finance companies need agile infrastructure for iteration, which enables continuous development and release of new functionality, improving app engagement and reducing churn. By automating manual app development tasks, prioritizing accessibility, and leveraging testing automation tools like Bitrise, finance apps can enhance their user experience, increase daily engagement, and stay competitive in the market.

This year's WWDC 2022 saw the introduction of several key features and updates across Apple platforms, including Swift Playgrounds, Xcode Cloud, and SwiftUI. Swift Playgrounds allows users to create apps directly from the playground and submit them to the App Store, while Xcode Cloud provides a continuous integration and delivery service built into Xcode and hosted in the cloud. The latest version of Swift includes features such as concurrency, async algorithms, and distributed actors, which aim to improve the developer experience around regular expressions. SwiftUI has also been updated with a new navigation API, Grid API, and custom layout API, making it easier for developers to build applications. Additionally, Apple introduced several other frameworks and technologies, including App Shortcuts, Passkeys, WeatherKit, Metal 3, MapKit, and more, which aim to enhance the user experience and improve app development processes.

Apple's WWDC 2022 featured several key announcements, including a new developer center, online tech talks, and developer academies. The company also introduced iOS 16 with new features such as the all-new Lock Screen, Live Activities, Focus mode, Messages, Shared With You, iCloud Shared Photo Library, and Mail. Additionally, Apple announced Wallet, which includes ID cards for secure verification, Apple Pay Later, and Order Tracking. Maps was revamped with multi-stop routing and transit card management. CarPlay will bring an immersive iPhone experience to vehicles by late 2023. watchOS 9 introduced new workout views, heart rate zones, and running power metrics. macOS Ventura features StageManager, which automatically arranges windows for focus on work. Apple devices can now work together seamlessly with Continuity, allowing for camera sharing, Desk View, and more. iPadOS 16 includes desktop-class apps, Freeform collaboration, full-screen maps, and Metal 3 for game development.

The Android ecosystem has seen significant developments recently, with Google I/O 2022 being a major highlight. The announcement of Android 13's second beta and its focus on multi-device innovation are notable. Additionally, new hardware was unveiled by Google, including Pixel devices, Pixel Watch, and Pixel Tablet. Improvements to quality, stability, and transparency were also emphasized, particularly in the development tools area. Furthermore, Bitrise has updated their Linux environment for faster builds, which can speed up Android project development by 30%. To take advantage of these changes, developers do not need to make any updates. Finally, Bitrise is hitting the road with various community events to engage with the Android developer community.

Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will take place in June with a focus on showcasing new software and technologies. The event, which is free and online this year, will feature keynote sessions, hands-on labs, and special events at Apple Park. Expect significant updates to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, as well as new features and tools for developers, including a possible release of version 14 of Xcode and the stable version of Xcode Cloud. Additionally, there may be announcements about new hardware models, such as the iPhone 14 and AirPods, and potentially even a new member of the M1 chip family. Overall, WWDC22 promises to be full of surprises and exciting developments for developers and users alike.