iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite are designed to work closely together. Just like iOS 8, third-party developers are even encouraged to write extensions and widgets for their Mac apps. The result is a more seamless experience between an app’s iOS and OS X versions.
Such will be the case with Things by Cultured Code, an Apple Design Award winning task manager that was recently updated for iOS 8. Cultured Code has shared with Cult of Mac its plans for the Mac app when Yosemite drops, including a first look at how third-party apps will utilize Notification Center on Yosemite.
The look and feel of widgets in Yosemite is pretty much identical to iOS 8, which is an obvious design choice on Apple’s part to make the experience more familiar for users. You can add widgets to Notification Center, an area of the Mac that I’ve often forgotten in the past, from the “Edit” button at the bottom of the screen.
Things 2.5 for Mac, which I’ve been using in private beta, has a new widget for Yosemite users that can be added alongside Apple’s preinstalled widgets, like Stocks, Weather, and Calculator. Any Yosemite-optimized app with its own widget can be added alongside everything else in the Edit menu. It’s the same way widgets work on iOS 8, expect on the Mac.
Tasks in the Today view of Things are displayed in its widget, and you can check individual tasks to mark them completed. While pretty basic, Cultured Code’s integration with Notification Center is a sign that third-party devs are willing to bring their widgets and other extensions to the Mac. I’m not sure widgets will make me want to start using Notification Center regularly, but the idea’s usefulness will become more clear as other apps are updated.
Yosemite is expected to launch publicly as early as this Thursday after Apple’s media event, and Cultured Code is planning to have Things 2.5 available in the Mac App Store immediately after. An iPhone update with Handoff support will also be released alongside the Mac update. A Today View widget for iOS and an iPad design refresh are both still in development.
Alex Heath is a journalist who works for Tech Insider. He’s the former co-host of The CultCast. He has been quoted by the likes of the BBC, KRON 4 News, and books like “ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation.” He lives in Lexington, Kentucky. If you want to pitch a story, share a tip, or just get in touch, additional contact information is available on his personal site. Follow him on Twitter.
4 responses to “App widgets in OS X Yosemite will make Notification Center useful at last”
Will it be useful? If I look at one of the utilities I use most, the calculator, I don’t like the implementation. No Memory and Memory Recall. Weather? I check it first thing in the morning on my phone. Stocks? I stay in South Africa and cannot get The JSE on it. Notifications maybe, but I have them today. Apple needs to work or there base apps, not only in OS X but also on iOS. And they really need to start thinking globally, like Google, who for that very reason is running away with the business outside the US.
Are you serious, or just pulling someone’s leg? Google running away with their business? Last time I checked, Chrome OS is a dog, which even the die hard Google fans dislike, and android is becoming so fragmented it’s turning off customers and developers. Yet ios is on more devices than android and Mac sales go up while PC sales keep going down. It’s nice to believe one thing while the facts show something else, but hey, you’re free to think whatever you like, even if it’s wrong.
You’re missing the point. I’m not referring to Chrome OS. I’m referring to Google services and apps, which are much better localised (outside the US). I can choose my own language, the maps have my address, etc. Sure I can install Google apps or widgets, but often then I cannot delete the base Apple apps or widgets. This creates duplication, which is a bad user experience. Another result is that people here therefore consider Apple devices as stuff full of bloatware, and eventually buy Windows or Android.
Don’t feed the troll