Twitter announces charges for third-party developers

Less than a month after unceremoniously blocking third-party apps, Twitter has announced new charges for developers using its API.

In a tweet, Twitter announced that it will end free access to its API (both v2 and v1.1) on 9 February 2023.

The company says a paid basic tier will be available to replace the free access. More specific details are due to be announced next week.

https://twitter.com/TwitterDev/status/1621026986784337922

It’s not the best time...

2 February 2023 | API

Niantic brings Lightship VPS to the web

Niantic has brought its Lightship VPS (Visual Positioning System) to the web as part of the AR giant’s 8th Wall platform.

Lightship aims to bring Niantic’s vast experience building AR experiences like Ingress and Pokemon Go to third-party developers. The tooling provided by Niantic is helping developers to break down the barriers between the real and virtual worlds.

“At Niantic, we believe that the real-world metaverse should get people exploring and connecting in...

22 September 2022 | Developer

Apps will soon need to be submitted to the App Store using Xcode 13

Apple has reminded developers that apps will soon need to be submitted to the App Store using Xcode 13.

From 25 April 2022, Apple will only accept the submission of apps that are built using the latest version of its IDE.

“iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS apps submitted to the App Store must be built with Xcode 13, which includes the SDKs for iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8,” wrote Apple on its developer site.

Apple goes on to tout how Xcode 13 enables developers...

16 March 2022 | App Stores

Niantic acquires WebAR experts 8th Wall to expand metaverse platform

Niantic is continuing its evolution from an AR game developer to a complete platform for building metaverse experiences.

Once upon a time, Niantic was an exciting but relatively unknown company behind the pioneering (and highly underrated) AR game Ingress. Niantic then released Pokemon Go and was catapulted into the spotlight.

The hype around Pokemon Go may have faded but Niantic hasn’t stopped working. The company has been using its experience in live, large-scale AR...

11 March 2022 | Development Tools

Gartner: Why cloud-native platforms will be key for IT leaders in 2022

IT leaders continue to face challenges with their traditional enterprise applications, and this has been exaggerated by the increase in digital initiatives they’re undertaking. Varying from system integration, master database management through to backup software, these applications are critical to the operation of any business. However, these legacy applications often take longer to build, with improvements large and infrequent. Coupled with an increasing move to the public cloud and...

28 January 2022 | Cloud

Extending Microsoft’s Azure Digital Twins for real-time analytics

As countless applications need to track live systems, developers face the challenge of implementing real-time analytics that can react to incoming telemetry and quickly identify problems or opportunities. Examples include telematics software that tracks vehicles in a fleet, security software monitoring physical points of entry or network endpoints in a cyber infrastructure, health-tracking systems that analyze telemetry from wearable devices, and many others. These applications are all...

10 January 2022 | Analytics

Niantic gets additional support for building the metaverse as valuation hits $9B

Niantic is emerging as a key player in building the metaverse and investors are keen to get in on the action.

Tech-focused investment firm Coatue has invested $300 million in Niantic, bringing the company’s valuation to $9 billion.

Matt Mazzeo, a General Partner at Coatue, said:

“Niantic is building a platform for AR based on a 3D map of the world that we believe will play a critical role in the next transition in computing.

We are excited to partner...

23 November 2021 | Gaming

WearOS rocketed from ~4% of the smartwatch market to 17% in Q3 2021

WearOS got the booster shot it needed from the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4.

Google’s smartwatch operating system has struggled for years to gain traction against not only the might of Apple’s WatchOS but also rival platforms from the likes of Huawei, Fitbit, Amazfit, Garmin, and even Samsung.

Samsung was an early supporter of WearOS but eventually gave up on the platform and switched to its own Tizen-based alternative. Earlier this year, a surprise joint...

22 November 2021 | Platforms

Unity is buying Peter Jackson’s visual effects company for $1.6B

Unity has announced that it’s entered a definitive agreement to acquire Peter Jackson’s visual effects company Weta Digital for $1.6 billion.

Weta Digital has worked on hit films including Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Wonder Woman, and Black Widow. Unity says its acquisition will “democratise” Weta’s powerful tools to make them available for more creators.

“Weta Digital’s pipeline represents the most complete toolchain for 3D creation, simulation, and...

10 November 2021 | Development Tools

Lightship: Niantic empowers developers to start building the real-world metaverse

Niantic is opening its Lightship platform to empower developers to start building their visions for the real-world metaverse.

Metaverses have become an increasingly hot topic, especially since Facebook announced it was changing its company name to Meta to show its new focus.

As the creator of the world’s most popular AR game, Pokemon Go, it’s unsurprising that Niantic also wants to play its part in bringing metaverses to reality.

John Hanke, Founder and...

8 November 2021 | API