Aaron Parecki

#iOS

Steven https://pi.swb72.us/ • Oct 30
I am loving the updates that Aaron Parecki has been making to the Overland tracking app as a beta tester via Apple TestFlight. This is a good case study for using AI code tools alongside existing legacy code to add new features and clean up potential holes.

Can now use automations in Shortcuts to, for example, auto-start a car trip when my iPhone connects to CarPlay (I don't have one set to end the trip when it disconnects, because CarPlay sometimes disconnects and reconnects, and the pause is just long enough to convince Overland to end the trip). I'm looking for other ways to automate things like starting walking trips when starting an Outdoor Walk workout (or vice versa), &c.

Screen widget lets me see an active trip and end it from the home screen without needing to open the app.

Additional trip types, including running, e-bike, hiking, &c. (Although I somewhat jokingly suggest there should be one for amusement park ride—Disney World frequent flyer).

And to the idiot who saw fit to criticize the use of an AI tool to help write code—you're certianly welcome to go back to writing Assembler code if you like, have fun with it.
Thank you! It's been super freeing to work on it this way!

If it wasn't obvious before, I am definitely not good at iOS development, and I often dreaded needing to make updates when Apple added new APIs, so most of the time things would just never get done and it would be years between app updates.

And frankly, most of the recent iOS platform integrations are not terribly creative, they involve following Apple's docs on what to do, which it turns out is a great task to outsource to the giant statistics machines.

I hope it's clear that I am still driving the development of this with my Product hat on, and now I'm able to move much faster! This lets me focus on the fun part to me, which is to make the decisions about how the app works, and not have to get into the weeds on how Apple wants me to write the code this year.

Portland, Oregon • 44°F

Fri, Oct 30, 2026 8:34pm -07:00 #ai #llm #ios #overland
I'm working on a ton of updates to Overland, my GPS tracking app that saves data to your own server!

Live Activity, Shortcuts & Siri, widgets, Control Center controls, saving workouts to Apple Health, custom trip modes with new icons, multiple wifi zones, saving to iCloud Drive, and custom server headers.

I'd love to get a few more beta testers before I push this out to the App Store, let me know if you're interested or sign up below!

https://overland.p3k.app

Portland, Oregon, USA • 46°F

12 likes 4 reposts 5 replies

Thu, Oct 29, 2026 6:23am -07:00 #gps #overland #ios
TIL about UIScreenshotService which enables iOS apps to provide a high res PDF screenshot of the app content when the user uses the system screenshot action! Chrome uses this to give a full export of the page!

Alaska Flight 18 PDX to JFK in Forsyth, Montana • 48°F

7 likes 1 repost 1 reply

Mon, Mar 30, 2026 9:55am -06:00 #ios
The new iOS app icons dark mode is really messing with my brain. I can't recognize any of the icons at a glance anymore, it's like having to re-learn all the branding.

Portland, Oregon, USA • 39°F

13 likes 1 repost 5 replies

Fri, Dec 6, 2024 8:32pm -08:00 #ios
iOS Background Execution Limits | Apple Developer Forums (developer.apple.com)

Fri, Aug 9, 2024 4:50pm -07:00 #ios
Yes I do realize the irony of paying someone to add a tip jar to my iOS app. But I've been putting off submitting the update to the App Store because my attempt at a tip jar was unsuccessful, so maybe this will finally get it out the door.

Portland, Oregon, USA • 62°F

3 likes

Sat, Mar 30, 2024 6:10pm -07:00 #ios #tip
rdar://51091611: OAuth 2.0 redirection with Universal Links should NOT require user interaction (openradar.appspot.com)

Fri, Dec 15, 2023 4:35pm -08:00 #ios #apple #oauth
Supporting associated domains | Apple Developer Documentation (developer.apple.com)

Thu, Aug 31, 2023 4:47pm -07:00 #ios
we all know the real reason you install iOS updates 👀

p.s. go update your devices

Portland, Oregon, USA • 48°F

28 likes 11 reposts 6 replies

Fri, Apr 7, 2023 8:26pm -07:00 #security #emoji #ios
iMazing | iPhone, iPad & iPod Manager for Mac & PC (imazing.com)

Sat, Mar 26, 2022 10:33am +01:00 #ios #iphone #backup #archive
OAuth 2.0 Device Posture Signals (tools.ietf.org)

Mon, Jan 24, 2022 6:09pm -08:00 #oauth #ios #security
Establishing Your App’s Integrity | Apple Developer Documentation (developer.apple.com)

Mon, Jan 24, 2022 5:40pm -08:00 #ios #security
sreegs — alright let’s talk about Apple and Tumblr’s current predicament (sreegs.tumblr.com)

Sun, Dec 26, 2021 3:58pm -08:00 #tumblr #ios #apple
It's been over 3 years since I've published an update for Overland, my GPS tracker app, and I am a little terrified to re-download XCode and see how much work it's going to take to even make it compile now 😬 https://overland.p3k.app

Portland, Oregon, USA • 38°F

6 likes 7 replies

Wed, Dec 15, 2021 3:52pm -08:00 #ios #overland
Nothing like an emergency security fix to remind myself just how many iOS devices I own 😬 brb updating everything now

Portland, Oregon, USA

19 likes

Mon, Sep 13, 2021 10:46pm -07:00 #ios
The future needs files – Scott Jenson (jenson.org)

Tue, Aug 31, 2021 8:47am -07:00 #files #osx #ios #macos
˗ˏˋ wakest ˎˊ˗ https://social.wake.st/@liaizon

There is a really bad privacy bug in the new “official” #mastodon #ios app. If you reply to a dm it defaults to totally public. This is honestly a really awful bug that has already resulted in mistakingly posting publicly something I meant to be private.

Portland, Oregon • 59°F

Sun, Aug 1, 2021 9:24pm +00:00 (liked on Mon, Aug 2, 2021 6:30am -07:00) #mastodon #ios
"Ask App Not to Track"

Wondering what's actually happening under the hood with the app tracking changes in iOS 14.5? I did some research and wrote a thing!

https://developer.okta.com/blog/2021/07/06/apple-app-tracking-changes

Portland, Oregon • 72°F

11 likes 5 reposts

Wed, Jul 7, 2021 3:32pm -07:00 #apple #ios #app-tracking #privacy #app-tracking-transparency
Creative Good: Apple is rotting. Live Photos shows why. (creativegood.com)

Wed, May 26, 2021 4:05pm -07:00 #apple #ios
If your company is big enough to roll out a mandatory VPN on personal iOS devices, they are big enough to buy you a work phone https://twitter.com/gabrtv/status/1391951192176021505

Portland, Oregon • 76°F

96 likes 18 reposts 6 replies 2 mentions

Wed, May 12, 2021 6:13pm -07:00 #ios #vpn #security

older