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Notes from the work
Field notes on software, product work, and practical AI from AccordHK.
Latest articles
Microsoft Launches a New Azure Cognitive Service to Bring Immersive Reader to Apps
Microsoft has launched an Immersive Reader preview as a new language service in Azure Cognitive Services. Developers can embed reading aloud, translation, and visual reading aids in their applications through an API. The preview supports more than 60 languages and is available free of charge, with pricing to be announced for the full release.
Read article →Project Catalyst Will Help iOS Developers Bring Their Apps to macOS
Apple officially unveiled Project Catalyst at WWDC, making it easier for teams to adapt iOS apps for macOS. Twitter says the tool let it get its app running on the Mac within days, with the same team able to update the iPhone, iPad and Mac versions together.
Read article →Huawei Seeks a Way Forward, Inviting App Developers to Join for Free
A letter shared by an anonymous XDA-Developers member shows Huawei inviting app developers to join its app store’s developer community free of charge. Meanwhile, 15 Spanish cities are set to launch commercial 5G services using Huawei equipment.
Read article →Hong Kong Students Develop App That Turns 10 Dialects into Chinese Text to Preserve Older People's Stories
IVE students and a graduate created Eldventure to record older people's life stories in their hometown dialects. The app recognises 10 dialects with accuracy of up to 90%, and the team hopes to use the stories for education in primary and secondary schools.
Read article →Fake Navigation Apps Trick Users into Paying for Free Google Maps
An ESET engineer discovered 15 fake navigation apps that merely displayed ads and opened Google Maps. One even asked users to pay to remove ads, leaving them paying to access a free app.
Read article →Non-Removable Facebook App on Samsung Phones Draws User Complaints
Some Samsung users discovered that the preinstalled Facebook app could not be deleted. Facebook said disabling it stopped data collection, but consumers wanted greater transparency about preinstallation agreements and privacy.
Read article →App Store Spending Exceeds US$322 Million on New Year’s Day, Setting a Record
Despite investor concern over Apple’s lowered financial forecast, App Store spending reached record highs during the 2018 year-end holidays and on New Year’s Day 2019. Games and self-care apps led downloads and subscriptions over the holiday period.
Read article →164 Apple App Store Developers Earned Their First US$1 Million in 2018
In 2018, Apple’s App Store had 164 developers earn over US$1 million for the first time, compared with 88 on Google Play. Both platforms reached new highs, as more developers shifted from advertising to subscriptions to generate higher revenue.
Read article →Top 10 Highest-Grossing iOS Apps: Chinese Developers Account for Half
Netflix led the 2018 ranking of the 10 highest-grossing iOS apps with US$790.2 million. Almost all the apps offered subscriptions, while Chinese brands accounted for half the list.
Read article →The 10 Highest-Earning Apps on iOS
Netflix topped the 2018 iOS app revenue ranking at US$790 million, US$300 million ahead of Tencent Video. Streaming platforms dominated the list, while nearly half the apps were Chinese brands.
Read article →Mobile Gaming Forecast to Account for 60% of the Overall Market in 2019
Mobile gaming is forecast to capture 60% of spending across gaming platforms in 2019. The article also anticipates growth in App Store spending, video subscriptions and in-app advertising, alongside potential constraints from China's game licensing suspension.
Read article →iOS Developer Reveals 10 Ways to Game the App Store, Urges Apple to Address the Problems
iOS developer David Barnard outlined 10 ways developers could game the App Store, arguing that Apple's policies and practices disproportionately rewarded unscrupulous developers and harmed users.
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