Is there a way to pull properties from iOS Smart App Banners without actually rendering the banner? I'd like to use the banner to tell me if an app is installed on the phone or not since it apparently can detect that.
No. Apple does not expose any APIs to web pages to access the app banner (at least not any documented ones).
However, if your app supports a URL scheme, you could use one of the (slightly hacky) methods described in the answers to this question to check whether you can open that URL (and hence check whether the your app is installed).
Related
Is it possible to create a native iOS app which only services as a wrapper for a pwa?
So the native app has no functionality other then to load the pwa inside of it and some background functions like push notifications.
This way I would like to create the functionality of push notifications, but still only have to create a pwa.
So when you open the native app this app will open the pwa (In my mind it looks similar to an iframe inside the native app). Everything will happen in the pwa, but we can still send push notification and use other features which are not yet available in the pwa.
If this is possible how can this be accomplished?
Apple writes:
Your app should include features, content, and UI that elevate it beyond a repackaged website. If your app is not particularly useful, unique, or “app-like,” it doesn’t belong on the App Store. If your App doesn’t provide some sort of lasting entertainment value, it may not be accepted.
Link here
I've heard that they are very consistent in not allowing apps outside of their guidelines and as long as you are not giving additional value in the app, that is not present on the website (your PWA), it will not be accepted.
I still have not heard anyone who succeeded with the wrapping alone, but if there are cases I am very interested to know too.
I think Apple will not approve your app
I want to collect the applications which are installed in the device and i want to list that with icons of applications.
Apple's provacy concerns have always extended to an app querying what other apps are on the devices, but as of iOS 9 Apple have removed the ability to do so unless explicitly declared.
In the past a developer could use the method - canOpenURL: defined on UIApplication and passed in a URL known to be handled by another app to see if the user had that app on their phone. Whilst this would not be viable for getting a comprehensive list of the apps on a user's phone, it would serve to know if specific apps were there.
iOS 9 introduced the concept of whitelisting URL schemes, meaning that if you were going to query this you would have to explicitly state it in the .plist.
For a guide on how this works I recommend this article: http://www.dysonapps.com/blog/2015/9/13/developing-for-ios-9-canopenurl
The short answer is no, you cannot get a list of the other apps on a device.
I have a view containing 4 buttons:
Home
Lock
Volume up
Volume down
all I'm trying to make is that when you press one of these buttons, my app should do some communication with the device to simulate one of these buttons.
Example: If I click the home button exists within my app, is the same as I press home button in device.
This kind of thing is possible? jailbreak is necessary for this?
None of these functions are available to you if you want to get your app accepted into the App Store. For a while some apps accessed private API's in AVSystemController however it seems recently apps using this method are being rejected. (Although some apps still using the method seem to be left in the app store)
If you want to go down the jailbreak route you'll have to dig into private API's and the headers of the various frameworks.
Also just a note, Apple provides some sort of interface like this through their accessibility options.
To do what you are after would go against Apple Review Guidelines so it will get your app rejected under
2.5 - Apps that use non-public APIs will be rejected
You are not allowed to take the functionality of the Home and Lock away from these buttons and put it within your application.
Though I will not say it is impossible to do if your app is for jailbroken devices. Such as to exit your app you can do exit(0); though I still wouldn't recommend it as it makes it look as though your app has crashed when it hasn't.
For the volume control you can do this with the use of MPVolumeView I would recommend having a read of the Apple Documentation and this question iOS: Accessing device hardware audio volume control
I am building an album app. I want to set a photo in my own app as wallpaper. Is there some method available for doing so?
update:
I know there are already some similar questions posted. But they are out of time. So I am wondering if there is some method in iOS7 to implement so.
For apps going into the app store this isn't possible. Apps can't change anything outside of their environment this is because apps on iOS run in a sandboxed mode so they don't know anything about other apps that are on the device and can't affect the OS directly.
To actually do it you would probably need to use some private API so your app would get rejected under:
2.5 Apps that use non-public APIs will be rejected
but I suspect that they would actually reject it under:
10.4 Apps that create alternate desktop/home screen environments or simulate multi-App widget experiences will be rejected
As you are directly altering the home screen.
I have never developed for iPhone, but I have developed an HTML5 web application.
I would like to submit to the Apple store a free app whose job would be to just open up the HTML5 webapp in the mobile browser.
Do you think it will be likely that such an app can be accepted? Can you please provide links or evidence?
Is it possible to ask this question to the Apple team so that I am not going to waste $99? If so, how?
If your app has native web views pulling internal HTML5 information, you might be able to sneak it by some of the app reviewers, but a good portion will say that there is not enough native Apple code in the app. They are sticklers for that.
I have, on a few occasions, gotten away with adding push notification, saying it HAS to be an app, and can't rely on users going to the website since they need push (even though I never intended on pushing anything out), but Apple has caught on to this.
Ultimately, you need to use Apple code in xCode, and you need to use a lot of it.