One thing that I wanted to be certain didn’t happen when I started working on Fin was the neglecting my first app, x2y. While x2y has a great feature set and just this summer received a UI overhaul for iOS 7, I nevertheless don’t see it as “done” by any means. There are always things you can add and other ways to improve any piece of software.
With this in mind, right after the Fin 1.0 release, I went to work on a small update to x2y: version 2.1. This is a minor update that adds two interesting things.
First, x2y is now fully 64-bit compliant. So if you have an iPhone 5s or one of the new iPads with the A7 chip, the app will run in native 64-bit mode. This upgrade was surprisingly easy to do. You have to hand it to Apple; they make the 64-bit transition incredibly easy, even for a guy like me.
Was 64-bit necessary? Of course not. No one running 2.0 and 2.1 side by side will be able to see any difference, even in performance, in such a basic little app. But 64-bit is obviously the future of iOS, and I wanted x2y to be ready for it as soon as possible. I know Apple well enough to know that if you don’t keep up with the changes while they happen, you quickly fall behind and hurt yourself in the long run. So consider 64-bit support a bit of “future proofing,” if you will.
The second improvement for version 2.1 is in the area of VoiceOver. As you may have heard on our podcast Release Notes, both Charles and I take accessibility seriously with our apps. VoiceOver support has always been there in x2y, but I learned a lot during the making of Fin that I was able to apply to x2y to improve the app experience for those with disabilities. I suspect I still have more I can do in this area, and I will strive to do so.
So that’s it. Version 2.1 is now available on the App Store, and if you upgrade it, there’s a decent chance you won’t notice any difference. But at least you can be assured that I’m still actively supporting and striving to improve all my apps as long as they are available for sale.
I said to myself when I created x2y that I wanted it to be the best aspect ratio calculator on the App Store, and I believe it still is. If you have any ideas on how to improve the app, feel free to send them my way. I’m always listening.
