Reader Slaphead and developer Alex Matheu wrote in with a couple of exciting new additions revealed for iOS 8.
In an uncharacteristic surprise, Apple has not locked iOS 8 down under a wall of Non-disclosure Agreements. They are instead allowing everyone to watch the WWDC sessions! That is to say, everyone coming to the site on a Mac. In a move that severely pissed me off yesterday, Apple actually blocks you from watching videos if you're on browser other than Safari on a Mac! The iOS WWDC app is further crippled to only install on iOS 7.1 devices. You can however watch this on iPhones and iPads if you come to it from Safari for iOS, no matter what version of iOS you're running.
MIDI Over Bluetooth LE
The WWDC video What's New In Core Audio reveals that MIDI over Bluetooth LE is coming to both iOS 8 and OSX Yosemite! We've had the opportunity to play with the ultra-low latency of Bluetooth LE this year in Secret Base Design's Apollo, but now it will be baked into the OS. I've made use of the Apollo app quite a lot. It is especially helpful for running controller instruments on my iPhone to play synths on my iPad, so I can tweak the iPad knobs without contorting to also reach an on-screen keyboard. The latency really is quite ridiculously low. It is a noticeable improvement from the years of struggling with MIDI over WiFi.
Unfortunately apps will need to be updated to make use of this new OS feature. This includes the possibly arduous task of adding a very specific set of User Interface widgets to app UIs, in order to establish the connections. These factors will likely mean that Apollo will continue to be useful for at least another year for legacy apps, as we're still seeing apps just now updating for iOS 7.
Inter-app Audio Node UI
Apple has also added a new UI for developers to use with Inter-App Audio. This is intended to make IAA more uniform across apps, by providing a universal UI that is shared by all apps. This UI will behave very similarly to Audiobus' connection panel, allowing for fast app switching by tapping on the individual app icons. Unlike Audiobus though, all transport controls are intended to be limited to the Apple provided Node UI. You won't have the dynamic controls that developers can add to their app's Audiobus panel, like individual track muting.
AVAudioEngine
To further troll Audiobus developer Michael Tyson, Apple have also announced a new audio engine framework.
AVAudioEngine intendeds to greatly simplify the implementation of Core Audio. Previously Core Audio has been a major pain for developers, requiring very specific advanced knowledge. AVAudioEngine will be welcome news by many who have struggled with Core Audio. However, this does not bode well for Michael's free framework, The Amazing Audio Engine.
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