WWDC 2018 — What the new iOS 12 means for Centrality

The learnings we took home from the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference

Being a mobile-first company, it’s important for Centrality to keep up-to-date with the latest developments in user-experience. I was part of a team of five that represented Centrality at the recent WWDC in San Jose. Unbeknownst to us, Apple took the opportunity to make key announcements around cryptocurrency and blockchain technology that will be game-changing for some of Centrality’s applications.

Apple takes a supportive stance on blockchain and crypto

In a surprise move, Apple released definitive guidelines around apps involving cryptocurrencies and blockchain. We were thrilled to learn that all the guidelines are positive for Centrality to create apps and have them approved on the App Store. The following four rules were particularly relevant to us:

1. Cryptocurrencies can be stored on apps.
2. Exchange apps are allowed, as long as we own and operate the exchange legally i.e. there can’t be just a third-party client app to an exchange that’s not owned and operated by the app.
3. Centrality mobile apps can potentially become nodes. Technically, mining on a mobile device is banned — but “mining” on Plug doesn’t requiring CPU power. Our takeaway, after consulting Apple developers, is that as long as the process is not called “mining” or requires CPU, it’s permitted.
4. ICOs or TGEs are permitted on the basis that the entity running the ICO is legally allowed to in its jurisdiction.

Generally, Apple’s new guidelines are favourable to crypto. However, there were a few exceptions worth noting — crypto cannot be used to unlock a particular part of the app, nor can crypto be used to reward users for watching ads.

Facial tracking will improve our KYC processes

A major highlight of the conference was the unveiling of Apple’s augmented reality toolkit ARKit 2. For Centrality, the most useful application of this technology is for facial recognition, which would significantly improve our Know Your Customer (KYC) processes. Apple’s new API is a notable improvement from previous versions and the use of facial tracking makes it more difficult for users to fake the KYC process, adding another layer of security.

Updates to Group Notifications will make Sylo more user-friendly

Notifications will be now be grouped, making them easier to manage. Communications apps, like Sylo, are heavy on notifications so this new API will make it easy for our users to read — or delete — them in one go, instead of requiring users to scroll through a long list of standalone alerts.

Users will be able to seamlessly share passwords between apps

With Apple’s new Federated Authentication feature, users can now share one account across several apps — perfect for Centrality’s ecosystem of interconnected apps!

There’s also a new built-in password generator, meaning strong, unique passwords for apps can be created from iOS itself. Third-party password managers such as LastPass are also supported on the new iOS. With the new password autofill, iOS will automatically recognise the most frequently used email. And lastly, users will no longer have to leave the log-in page and retrieve security codes from Messages. Instead, the security code will be presented as an auto-fill option.

Our ladies represented Centrality at Women @ WWDC

Despite Diversity & Inclusion initiatives actively at work, women remain underrepresented in the tech industry. My colleagues Cherry Liang (Software Engineer) and Abby Potich (Product Experience Manager) attended the Women @ WWDC event. The breakfast was an opportunity for female developers to come together, meet female developers from Apple and share ideas. “I think it’s very important we get together so we can inspire each other. We know that female developers can create value and be the face of the tech industry,” said Cherry.

At Centrality, we’re building an ecosystem of decentralized applications. Stay up-to-date on the latest developments through Centrality’s Official Telegram and join our community on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.