iPhone's 1.1.3 update gets ready for native applications

The well known and respected iPhone hacker Nate True has discovered some very, very interesting information concerning Apple's latest update, 1.1.3. According to Mr. True, the boys and girls in Cupertino have all but prepped the device's OS for native applications, altering the functionality of SpringBoard to display additional apps, changing the ownership of applications to a unified "mobile" user, and moving the location of preferences to the accompanying non-root directory. Additionally, SpringBoard now boasts widget support via a class called SBWidgetApplication. All of these technical and seemingly minor details will apparently make it easier for developers to create new applications for the phone, though Nate says they'll also break existing native apps in the process. All we ask is that developers get those NES and SNES emulators ported quickly and safely to the new system.

[lonecow12 @ Jan 23rd 2008 10:46AM]

Monkey Island!!!!(without having to jailbreak my iPhone)

Hooray!

[Matt Radford @ Jan 23rd 2008 11:46AM]

But how are we going to manage all these apps and webclips? I think it's going to be a case of icon overload (scroll down a bit on this blog post for a mockup of an iPhone full to the brim with apps: http://www.allaboutiphone.net/2008/01/113-points-the-way-to-the-future-of-the-iphone/

Cheers

[Kizorblade @ Jan 23rd 2008 12:21PM]

Seeing as you've got all your music, photos and videos in addition to applications, I think you're going to run out of space on your iPhone/iPod touch before you fill up ALL the pages

[BrianB @ Jan 23rd 2008 2:07PM]

iPhone needs a Mac dashboard. But first, have you tried the solution below to 1.1.3 problems?

http://www.maccomplainer.com/ipod-complaints/firmware-113-solution-downgrading-itunes/

[L. M. Lloyd @ Jan 23rd 2008 11:40AM]

Seriously, we now know that only 4 million people in the entire world have iPhones, and the sales figures are slowing more by the day. Any chance you might start reporting every little detail of an actually popular platform like the BlackBerry, or Nokia?

[insertAlias @ Jan 23rd 2008 12:05PM]

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/23/rim-readies-big-updates-for-its-blackberry-platform/
Bitch more. We all like reading it.

[L. M. Lloyd @ Jan 23rd 2008 12:16PM]

Ah yes, and that is so, exactly, like 4 stories a day covering every single aspect of every single app written for the BlackBerry, isn't it?

[MacVicta @ Jan 23rd 2008 1:36PM]

"Seriously, we now know that only 4 million people in the entire world have iPhones, and the sales figures are slowing more by the day."

They don't seem to be slowing based on what Apple reported yesterday. They'd already sold 300,000 in January before Macworld and are currently moving at a pace of around 20,000 per day.

Aside from that, the bigger picture is that the SDK is for both the iPhone AND iPod touch, which together comprise a mobile platform that might be in as many as 10 million sets of hands by now and growing every second. It's all with only two rather expensive products that have been on the market for mere months.

So you should think of it as "Mobile OS X" rather than just the iPhone as it's a two headed beast spearheading its way across the world.

[L. M. Lloyd @ Jan 23rd 2008 2:53PM]

There's the spirit MacVicta! Disappointing sales of the iPhone, which Steve Jobs called the most important product for Apple since the Mac, don't really matter, because iPods are still selling well. Way to completely avoid the subject. Yeah, your right, iPhones are selling a whopping 20,000 a day on average since launch. That only puts them at what, 1,000,000 handsets a day behind Nokia? Surely in light of such awesome sales figures like that, it couldn't possibly be that the iPhone is the most overhyped flop the tech industry has ever seen, because the newest iPod is selling reasonably well, right? That certainly must be the reason Apple's stock is doing so incredibly well since MacWorld.

All joking aside, I'm sure you are right. This article is clearly not about the iPhone, but actually about the iPod Touch 1.1.3 update, they just forgot to label it as such.

[Mike Street @ Jan 23rd 2008 11:58AM]

I'm sticking with 1.1.1! I just don't feel that having to pay $7 for a new app for my iPod Touch is going to be worth it. What if I don't like the app will Apple give me my money back? I'd pay for a game but not for a widget or app. Jailbreaking the touch made it much more interesting. Otherwise it was just a pretty iPod and nothing more. Apple needs to make the apps free and keep it moving. They would sell more if people know what they could do with it.

[Kizorblade @ Jan 23rd 2008 12:27PM]

Do you have a link to the 7 dollar per application?

And if you don't like the application: Too bad, they haven't done this in the past with applications on the Mac and I highly doubt they'll do it with the iPhone/iPod touch

[larry wrightman @ Jan 23rd 2008 12:18PM]

i cant wait till they make kyte for the i phone!

[BigSarge @ Jan 23rd 2008 2:03PM]

I'm waiting for Apple's stock prices to go up by the TWENTY FREAKING FIVE FREAKING DOLLARS they FREAKING dropped today. But I'm not upset. Stupid Macbook Air.

[DENgerous @ Jan 24th 2008 12:06PM]

+1

Also I'd like to have:
- good book reader
- dictionary for all European languages like Abby Lingvo

[bryan ribas @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:04AM]

Im still waiting for the G3 iphone until then I dont want it. My Treo 650 will do.

[jus10 @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:12AM]

Dude, I don't think they're going to put a G3 chip in the iPhone. PPC is dead as far as apple is concerned.


(For the humor impaired, yes I know what he meant).

[vcx @ Jan 23rd 2008 3:44PM]

PPC is not dead. Its living in all the PS3s, Wiis and 360s out there.

[Mark @ Jan 28th 2008 1:48PM]

I believe he meant 3G as in the wireless standard, not G3 as in the pre-ppc demise processor.

[Phil Ringsmuth @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:26AM]

In other news: Apple's getting ready to do what they've been telling us they're doing for quite a while now...

[Ireland @ Jan 23rd 2008 1:23PM]

That's not other news, it's the same news written in a sarcastic fashion :D

[Daniel @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:26AM]

EDGEtastic!

[Kizorblade @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:27AM]

Hopefully the applications will be like ones you run on your computer, free and not free.
Are developers going to have the file on their website or does it have to go through iTunes? Only Steve knows.

[Anthony @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:33AM]

Thats the big question right now.

[Jason @ Jan 23rd 2008 10:07AM]

I've been holding off on getting into the mobile OSX devices until 3rd party apps come out. I won't mind if apps and widgets have to go through iTunes as long as developers don't need to go through ITMS to get their apps out to us.

But Apple is going to do whatever it can to protect their revenue streams, which doesn't have me holding my breath for free apps, let alone homemade widgets.

[Kizorblade @ Jan 23rd 2008 10:17AM]

Actually, going through the iTunes Store wouldn't be that bad an idea, as long as they don't charge for them, like podcasts

[Jason @ Jan 23rd 2008 11:03AM]

Sure, as long as can make and use my own apps that no one else would want.

[Zach @ Jan 23rd 2008 11:22AM]

i think i remember during the keynote coverage something said along the lines of
from free --> 2.99 for a "widget"?
and free --> 6.99 for an "application"?
and royalties or something to the developer if they choose to charge
something like that..anyone else remember?

[Kizorblade @ Jan 23rd 2008 12:19PM]

I didn't hear about that, but 7 dollars at the max doesn't seem that bad

[Numetheus @ Jan 23rd 2008 3:13PM]

There is nothing wrong with having applications that are not free. Windows Mobile has applications like crazy, and most are pay. Some being in the $49 range. That has not stopped people from buying applications for the devices, and people from developing and selling to it. Bottom line is, if you can't afford $30 for an application, then maybe you should not have spent $399 on an iPhone and bought food instead.

[Patrick McCarron @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:42AM]

The only thing I see keeping this from being the final SDK release is the calling of CoreAnimation by it's old name LayerKit in the 1.1.3 headers still.

They changed LayerKit to CoreAnimation during the pre-release Leopard builds early in 2007.

I really assume they'll make the name change for iPhone by the time the SDK hits to keep Apple's ADC documents in line and unified between the two platforms. Otherwise it looks like everything else is in place to make the SDK.

But don't expect NES and SNES to be allowed a digital signature. As much as I'd love to have them built with the SDK I really doubt Apple will allow those applications to be digitally signed due to potential copyright violations from Nintendo. The key there is to maintain a way to get non-signed applications and games onto the phone.

[Randy @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:53AM]

I'm sure there will be a a way to self-sign binaries much like third party apps for Symbian. I'd be very shocked if apple didn't make that option available.

[ttyRazor @ Jan 23rd 2008 12:19PM]

yeah, from the sounds of it the binary signing scheme is just there so they can hunt you down if they don't like what your app does / turns out to be malware; they're not making you submit them for approval to get a sig.

[Steffen Jobbs @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:57AM]

Why not just donate another $20 to Apple and consider it love and loyalty for the big guy.

[paul34 @ Jan 23rd 2008 10:03AM]

Here's to hoping for a more powerful calendar application that supports more advanced views (a la Papyrus), syncing and creating of tasks, along other things.

[roberto @ Jan 23rd 2008 10:04AM]

be prepared to pay to install apps via itunes, easy and simple like changing ringtones.. right?

[Kizorblade @ Jan 23rd 2008 10:20AM]

Probably not. Charging for apps would be like shooting them self in the foot. Podcasts are free right?

[Tim Brown @ Jan 23rd 2008 10:26AM]

As free as you are to replace the battery on your own

[lonecow12 @ Jan 23rd 2008 3:00PM]

Widgets on my desktop are free. Why not this?