Tag: uTime Universal

uTime 5.2 Now Available

~ Matthew Jagiela

On the verge of another Apple Event (Woo!) uTime 5.2 is now available on the Mac App Store and iOS App Store.

uTime 5.2 brings a host of new features such as % of time counting (the circle now can remember what state it was at instead of constantly resetting).

uTime 5.2 also brings the iOS 14 widget to macOS on computers that will be running macOS Big Sur.

The official change-log:

What’s New:

  • Added WidgetKit to macOS 11 Big Sur! This will work in the same way the iOS 14 widget will: putting the closest timer in approximate time up to 15 minutes on your sidebar. Within 15 minutes a more precise timer will run!
  • MacOS Big Sur Support: uTime 5 on macOS has been compiled for BigSur!
  • % Of change: previously when changing timers the circular bar would reset its status. No longer! With percentage of time and our new data set we can calculate percentage of time passed from creation. This means the circular timer will not start at 0 but at how much time has actually passed from creation to now! Hooray!
  • Added a button in modify timer that will allow you to set the selected date to the current date and time.
  • Fixed a bug where selecting a timer would turn the action button title to done but not the state.
  • Fixed a bug on Mac and iPad where the wrong timer would get deleted when selecting the last one in the list.
  • Fixed a bug on Mac and iPad where the Timer would be deselected when scrolling a large list of timers but would stay marked deleted.
  • Small improvements to timer list screen on iPhone.

Download uTime on the iOS App Store | Download uTime from Mac App Store

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Introducing uTime 5

~ Matthew Jagiela

After over a year of hard work and dedication I am so happy I can finally introduce the next major update to uTime: uTime 5. Starting a year ago the entire backend structure has been redone, iOS 14 specific features, SwiftUI, CloudKit, and more make up just part of this massive update. While I will post the changelog below I want to highlight some of the more major features of this release.

A New Backend

uTime’s original back end was made when I was a freshman starting college and has stuck around ever since (well until now). It was very sloppy but migrating it was not really possible in the way I wanted to do it until iOS 13 allowed for CoreData (saved data) to syncronize into iCloud without a lot of extra work. This means the data you put into uTime automatically gets saved and transfered to iCloud (or if you don’t have iCloud it will stay on device). By moving uTime’s data to a database instead of my own system of functions (what a mess), I can push updates even faster that has to do with timers and most importantly – less bugs. The downside to this is anything before iOS 13 (and macOS Catalina) does not work with this structure so uTime 5 has to be on iOS 13 (and 14 now) to run. Another downside is all previous versions will not sync data after transfering. If you choose not to upgrade to uTime 5 syncing will still work as expected. Version 5 needs other app versions to be on 5 to sync your data.

First Time Setup

Something new that has not been done before is first time setup. First time setup will open when you first open uTime 5 and in the background migrate your old data to the new dataset that uTime will use from now on. While this is happening you can also scroll through and see some new features of the app. After the first setup you will not see these screens again.

A New Modification Screen

uTime 5’s Modiciation Screen

The new modification screen is simply incredible. It allows you to select the date from a calendar instead of scrolling through. The time is right below so you can set it to the exact time of your event.

iOS 14 Widget

uTime 5 iOS 14 Widget

With iOS 14 Apple has started allowing widgets to be on the homescreen of the iPhone. I am so happy to say uTime 5 has a widget for iOS 14 ready to be on the homescreen of your iPhone (or sidebar of your iPad). The iOS 14 widget updates every 5 minutes (or when you open the app, this is Apple’s limit not mine) and will show you the time to the closest timer that has time left. For iOS 13 friends the Today widget still exists and can be used to cycle through.

Feedback Submission

Feedback Tools

One of the big new features within uTime 5 is feedback submission in app. Using your iCloud account within any screen in app, you can now shake your device (or hit command+F on macOS) to bring up a feedback form. From here you can submit a bug or just general feedback in the app. What is important to know: I cannot see any personal data even though you need to be signed into iCloud (because Apple does not allow me to write to CloudKit without authentication). The only information I can see is what you provide to me.

Those are just some of the major features coming with uTime 5. Others include the Info screen being completely redone, theme improvements, and much more. uTime 5 is the biggest release I have ever done as a developer and I am so excited for you all to use it. To see the entire changelog you can open the info section of the app or find it below.

Changelog:

  • A New Data Set: uTime 5 uses an entirely new data set. This new set lives in iCloud just like the last but allows for more features to be developed much much quicker. If you do not use iCloud then the data will live on your device just like before. With this change it is important to note that uTime 4 cannot sync with this set so if you want to have continuity between devices both will need uTime 5 to sync. This also means uTime 3 on desktop will not be able to sync with uTime 5 for macOS or iOS.
  • iOS 14 Widget – You can now have uTime on the home-screen of your device! Just add the widget by activating jiggle mode. The iOS 14 widget will show the aproximate time you have left to your closest expiring timer!
  • Modify Timer Screen – The modify timer screen has been COMPLETELY redone. You will now be able to choose dates with a calendar and then the time with a date picker for a much better experience than just one scroller. (Not available on iPhone SE Gen 1 running iOS 13)
  • Feedback Screen – You can now submit feedback right through the app: Simply shake your iPhone or iPad to submit either a bug report or generic feedback in the app! Mac users can use the menu option to access on home screen! Please make sure you are signed into iCloud to use!
  • Info Screen – Info screen has been completely re-written in SwiftUI. This makes for a more consistent experience throughout all devices along with being able to add and change things quicker for future updates.
  • Theme improvements: The operating system will now fully take care of dark/light theme. This also allows it when you switch themes in control center the app will fully change without the need to restart.
  • First time setup: Upon entry you will be welcomed with a new set of screens while we transfer your data. This will explain new features!
  • – New Icon: A new version means a new icon! This update is a little pinkish!
  • – Added support for iOS 14.
  • – iOS 13 Dependent: uTime 5 is only available for iOS 13 and onwards.
  • – Changed checkmark image for selecting timers on iPhone.
  • – Fixed an issue on iPad where the color would not return to normal after deselecting a timer.
  • – Fixed an issue where the launch screen would present an oversized logo image.
  • – Fixed an issue where the launch screen would present no image at all…
  • Fixed an issue on iPhone SE (Gen 1) where the image on modify timer wouldn’t completely fill the view. 

uTime 4.4.1 (Spring Cleaning Update) Now Available

~ Matthew Jagiela

uTime 4.4.1:

A new round of uTime 4.4.1 is now out. Called the spring cleaning update this includes:

  • Added a cancel button to the iPad/Mac modify Window. This will allow you to discard any changes made to a timer while using iPadOS or macOS.
  • Timer Table For iPhone: The table on iOS 13 will now show a gray color + checkmark to let you know it has been selected. For iOS 12 and earlier it will just be a gray color. This is a fix for checkmarks dissapearing in a long list.
  • Timer Table for iPad/Mac: When in edit mode and selecting a timer, the color will change to gray to let you know that it has been selected. This fixes disapearing checkmarks and text being cutoff by the mark for a cleaner approach.
  • Made it so the app now dynamically knows what version it’s running. This means there is less confusion on what version you actually have installed.
  • Fixed a bug where checkmarks would disappear if a large list is present and the user scrolls.
  • Cleaned up various parts of the app to make file size slightly smaller and also allow for a better running experience
  • Slight interface changes

Download uTime on the iOS App Store | Download uTime from Mac App Store

uTime 4.1 Is Here!

~ Matthew Jagiela

uTime 4.1 is now available… For all platforms!

With the power of macOS Catalina and Catalyst framework uTime comes to the mac with all the same functionality as the iOS version! This also means whenever there is an update to uTime for iOS there will be the same update with the same (and more) features for macOS.

However, making a Catalyst app is a problem because it will only work with macOS Catalina which drops 32 bit support which is used with many legacy applications…

The way I decided to counter this is to leave uTime for macOS (Version 3) on the app store for legacy software users. However, there will not be feature updates for uTime macOS Version 3.

So why the change? A lot of reasons but the main one is continuity: being able to develop features once and then have it work accross all Apple platforms means more feature updates come quicker which is a big win.

More information on the transition can be found here: https://uappsios.com/utime-4-macos-migration-info/

uTime 4 for macOS is now called uTime Universal to match the iOS version and that it is universal throughout platforms. uTime 4 runs better on macOS than uTime 3 does and I highly recommend using it.

uTime 4 is still free and can be downloaded here

For the 4.1 update here is what is new:

  • macOS:
  •     Thanks to macOS Catalina uTime for iOS and macOS can live as one App! That means every feature that comes to iOS will come to macOS at the same time!
  •     All of the new features of uTime 4 iOS is now integrated into macOS. This includes the circular timer!
  •     The UI For iPad has been tweaked with constraints better to use macOS resizing. This is a good thing because it will also work better on a variety of screen sizes for iPad as well!
  •     Theme will change with the system theme automatically. If you have auto enabled when macOS changes theme uTime will too!
  •     uTime for Mac will still have it’s own unique icon!
  •     For those not running macOS Catalina version 3 will still remain on the Mac App Store for better compatibility but will not be updated unless crucial bug fixes are needed.
  • iOS:
  •     Made it so switching the theme system wide will change the theme on uTime (iOS 13)
  •     Fixed bug on iPad when selecting the sort by date option would flick light mode on.
  •     Fixed issue where some timers that are expired might fire notifications on launch.

Thank you and I hope you enjoy a better uTime for Mac!

Say “Hello” to uTime 3.3

~ Matthew Jagiela

Happy 2019!!! What a better way to roll into the New Year than to have a brand new

update to uTime. 3.3 is very packed introducing a Siri shortcut to tell you how close your closest firing timer is. Along with that, there is a new layout for 4-inch devices.

uTime 3.3 even though packing features exclusive to iOS 12 still supports iOS 11 and up the Siri button will not appear though in either the 4 inch or above version.

With that, the new UI for those models is pictured below for those of you still running the iPhone 5s or SE.

Siri shortcuts were very new for me so there are changes to be made to it and more shortcuts to come. All you have to do is add the shortcut on your iPad or iPhone and it will carry to all devices that support Siri shortcuts (iPhone, iPad, HomePod, Apple Watch have been tested).

Here is the official change log:

What’s New:

3.3:

Happy New Year!!! A ton of changes are here to make uTime even better for 2019!

  • -Siri Intents: Now you can have Siri tell you how much time you have left towards your most recent timer!
  • Add Siri support and find out how much time you have left on your Apple Watch perhaps.
  • Changed the layout for iPhone 5 devices: Linear!
  • Background refresh: uTime will refresh timers every so often in the background to keep you up to date across devices
  • Backend changes to managing what’s new sections

Download uTime for iOS / uTime for macOS

uTime Layout For 5 Style Devices:

simulator screen shot - iphone se - 2019-01-08 at 14.16.32
uTime for 5 Style Devices

uTime iOS 3.1/ macOS 3.0.5 Now Available

~ Matthew Jagiela

uTime 3 No Text

Happy July! To start of Summer right( at least where I am) I have updated both iOS and macOS versions of uTime! uTime for iOS is now on version 3.1 while uTime for macOS is now on versions 3.0.5! Take a look at the changes below:

uTime 3.1 for iOS:

  •  Made it so dark mode for the iPad now is on the home screen timer list
  •  Enabling dark mode will have the dark keyboard appear when changing the timer name
  •  The return of date sorting: You can now sort timers by date on both macOS and iOS
  •  Made it so you can slide to delete timers on iPad
  •  Redesigned the launch screen
  •  Fixed an issue with memory leaking on iPad
  •  Fixed an issue on auto layout sometimes not working on the info section of the iPad

uTime 3.0.5 for macOS:

  • Sorting by date has returned to both macOS and iOS versions of uTime
  • Adjusted a timer on the back end so the app should not have issues with timer selections anymore.

Download uTime for iOS | Download uTime for macOS (BOTH FREE)

Crucial uTime 3.0.2 Update Now Available

~ Matthew Jagiela

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This was originally supposed to be a “uTime 3.0.1” is now available but while playing aroun with uTime 3.0.1 after it went live on the app store I discovered a critical big that the app would crash on the iPhone after adding a new timer and then navigating to the timer that was just added. I pulled uTime from the App Store shortly after finding this issue and patched, and submitted the fix with uTime 3.0.2. I am not sure if the problem originally was in uTime 3 but everyone who can should update to uTime 3.0.2.

Here is the official changelog for 3.0.1/3.0.2:

3.0.2:
– Fixed an issue on iPad where deleting the current selected timer would result in a crash
– Fixed an issue on iPhone when adding a timer then navigating to the timer would cause a crash

3.0.1
-Added the 3.0 changelog to iPhone…(Oops)
-Switched the Cancel and Save button on iPhone.
– On iPhone the Counting Down To: portion of the label has been removed

To learn more about uTime 3 and it’s changes follow this link and for an in depth look at uTime 3 follow this link. 

Download uTime 3.0.2 from the iOS App Store

uTime 3 for iOS Now Available

~ Matthew Jagiela

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After all of the WWDC fun from yesterday I introduced uTime 3 for iOS. I am very happy to announce that right now uTime 3 is officially available to download on the iOS App Store.

To get an in depth view of some of the changes look at the post below or follow this link to learn more about uTime 3.

The official uTime 3 changelog is massive and here it is:

3.0 The Massive Update:

iPhone:

  • Added a new screen: Modifications. Now modifications are done in it’s own view that will slide in. It will display the name and the current target time of your timer and allow you to change it.
  • The timer screen has been redesigned. It now has larger text and will allow you to see the maximum amount of time remaining on the target timer

iPad:

  • Home screen: The entire home screen has been redone. There is now the list of all your timers on the side bar along with the maximum amount of time remaining.
  • Modification Screen: Instead of presenting an entire screen a popup view will appear and you can modify the timer and save just by dismissing the controller (by tapping anywhere on screen). The size of the popup does not cover the current timer information so you know what you are modifying.
  • Web Support Is Now In It’s Own View Instead Of A Popup In The Info View

Both:

  • Notifications: Instead of a popup alert displaying when the timer fire date is finished a generic iOS banner will appear.
  • Added the ability to share the timer with various apps using share sheet. This will share the name of the timer and the maximum amount of time there is left.
  • Changed the background images
  • Support now opens in a WebKit view meaning there is a progress bar to show you the accurate loading % of the webpage.
  • Swift: The entire app was rewritten in swift which is why it took so long.
  • iOS 11: Due to the nature of the app and the newer API’s at the moment uTime 3 is iOS 11+ only.

Even though uTime 3 is 11+ only iOS 10 and below users may still download uTime 2 from the App Store.

uTime 3 is massive for iOS and I hope all of you enjoy it. As always updates will be coming throughout and due to how I set up uTime 3 they will be coming much quicker!

Download uTime 3 on the iOS App Store

View uTime 3 Launch Info

Introducing uTime 3 for iOS

~ Matthew Jagiela

Screen Shot 2018-06-04 at 12.31.48 PM

With all of the excitement of WWDC settling I think it is a good time to show off a project that has been about a year in the making: uTime 3 for iOS.

uTime 3 for iOS took a long time because I had to completely rewrite the entire application because of how broken uTime 2 was at the end of it’s development cycle.

The result is a uTime with much more features, much less usage on system resources, and still a fantastic app for counting down to (or from) your next date.

As seen from the screenshot above the iPad version has taken heavy inspiration from the macOS version of uTime 3 and has the timer section embedded into the homescreen.

Along with that notifications have been completely redone: Instead of annoying popups throughout the app a simple banner alert will appear to show the timer has run out of time. Along with this of course timers with an older time than the current date will not fire.

On the homescreen with timers that are being counted down a minus (-) sign will be in front of the time remaining. For timers counting forward because the date has always passed a plus (+) sign will appear.

You are now also able to share your timer with any of your share sheet apps simply by pressing share. It will popup with the name of the timer along with the maximum time remaining.

Along with all of this the way to modify timers has been redone. On the iPhone now there is a completely new view that will appear giving you information on the timer you are modifying and the same ability to modify the timer as you please as before. With the iPad this is presented as a popover view so you can still see the homscreen and information about the timer you are editing:

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uTime 3 for iOS Modification Screen (iPhone)

With all of these updates and being rewritten the app should run more smoothly than ever before and bring a better user experience than ever before.

With uTime 3 some things have been removed: Sorting timers by date have been removed due to the fact it did not work well syncing between devices. This feature will be returning in a future update. Also uTime today widget has been disabled because for some reason when I rewrote the app, Apple blockaded my access to iCloud in the today section so I have to rethink how that is done as well. This will also be returning in a future update.

There are a lot of things to look forward too especially with the addition of Siri shortcuts for app developers. I will be hard at work providing updates not only to uTime but a variety of uApps applications to get them up to date.

uTime 3 will be live on the App Store this week and I hope everyone enjoys this huge update.

Gallery:

uTime 3 for iOS Modification Screen (iPhone)