As millions struggle to navigate the pandemic, apps have become more essential than ever and Indian iOS developers have found innovative ways to keep people connected, help them learn and work from home.
Indians now rely on Apple services in new ways, turning to expertly-curated apps to stay connected to their workspace and informed.
Mustafa Yusuf, born and brought up in India and a past Apple WWDC (Worldwide Developer Conference) students' scholarship winner, has created "Tasks: To-Do Lists & Reminders," an app that helps people plan, organise and collaborate personal and professional projects with ease.
The iOS app helps import tasks from notes or reminders with a one-tap setup.
"The teams at Apple have been extremely fundamental to the success of Tasks. App Store features globally have driven organic growth and contribute to higher visibility which, otherwise, would have been hard to achieve in a competitive category," Yusuf told IANS.
"I was fortunate to attend WWDC19. I met many talented people from all walks of life. It inspired me to build apps," he added. Developers selling digital goods and services - which is only a small fraction of the overall commerce the App Store facilitates - have now earned more than $200 billion since the App Store launched in 2008.
This year, WWDC21 from June 7-11 will be available free to more than 30 million Apple developers from 227 regions around the globe including India, enabling them to learn about the future of iOS, iPad, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS operating platforms.
Developed by Raja Vijayaraman, a winner of the Apple Design Award in 2018 for his other app called 'Calzy', the new 'Lumy' app helps users capture gorgeous visuals by letting them keep track of the Golden hour (also known as Magic Hour).
With 'Lumy', users can anticipate the best-lighting condition and get ready ahead of time to take advantage of it. The app shows the weather information like cloudiness and temperature for the next two days to plan things out.
"Before I got into app development, I was working in the visual effects (VFX) industry. The decision to develop apps happened after I bought my first iPhone. So, far, I have developed more than 10 apps, including 'Lumy'. Apple featured 'Lumy' in its fall event keynote 2020," said Vijayaraman.
'Lumy' notifications are interactive and dynamic. It comes with a real-time countdown to the notified photographic time.
This time, featuring over 200 in-depth sessions, one-on-one labs and more, WWDC21 will provide unprecedented access to Apple engineers and designers so developers can learn about the latest tools and technologies to help them create the next generation of apps.
Apple Developer Programme members can request one-on-one lab consultations with more than 1,000 Apple experts to ask questions about the latest APIs and best practices and apply for user interface and design reviews.
Apple platform
According to Akhil Tolani, co-founder and CTO of 'mirrAR' app, Apple as a platform has always provided a truly wonderful environment for his business to grow.
"We have always trusted the platform to help us reach millions while keeping our data privacy intact. I also appreciate the design-led culture at Apple, which has built products that cater to a user experience that is unmatched today: extremely seamless yet efficient, convenient and simple," Tolani told IANS.
'mirrAR' is a real-time virtual try-on application for the jewellery industry, bringing a wide range of jewellery options to you from across the country for the end consumers.
The app helps users store all their digitised inventory in the system with all the details that can be shared with the clients.
"Your customers will be able to access the inventory on their phones so that it becomes convenient for them to try on your jewellery at any time sitting in the comfort of their own homes," explained Tolani.
Not just professional developers, on June 1, Apple will celebrate student developers from all over the world with the announcement of winners in the 'Swift Student Challenge', an opportunity for students of all ages to showcase their love of coding by creating their own Swift playground.
