Today we're proud to announce the launch of All the Rings, a companion to the built-in activity app that helps you stay focused, motivated, and most importantly, close all the rings, every day. If you're looking for an enhanced activity experience, All the Rings is for you and it's free to download on the App Store. You can read about the inspiration behind All the Rings here. (tl;dr: We often missed our activity goals by small margins, so we created a companion to the activity app that would solve the problem.) For now, let's dive in so you can see what All the Rings is all about.

More Alerts

The first key feature we wanted to implement was more alerts and the ability to customize them. In my previous blog post I talked about just missing stand alerts. If you have an Apple Watch already, you know how it goes. You get the reminder and think "I'll stand up as soon as I finish..." and next thing you know it's too late. A single hourly alert is often not enough, but now you have the option of increasing your alert reminders so that you wont miss it so easily. You can now also receive move and exercise alerts to make sure you're hitting those goals too. 

Track Your Streaks

The second feature we wanted to add was the ability to better track streaks. We didn't call the app All the Rings for nothing. The idea here was that an increased awareness of your daily progress was critical in closing all the rings, every day. At a glance you can now look at your individual move, exercise, and stand streaks, as well as your All the Rings streak. Just for fun (and bragging rights, of course), we added is the ability for you to share this information and help you stay motivated.

Detailed Activity Stats

The third feature we wanted to incorporate was more detailed activity stats. At a glance we wanted the ability to see certain move, exercise, and stand data that was not available to us before. I had questions about my activity data and I wanted the answers. How many times did I reach my goals and what are my overall percentages? What was my best day? What are my overall averages? How many times have I increased or decreased my move goal? Am I making any progress? We answer those questions and then some. And once again, you can easily share this information.

Maximizing Workout Data

Once we got going with our initial feature list, we notice another area with opportunities for improvement: workout data. After playing tennis one evening, Dave and I noticed a huge spike in our activity performance as a result of that workout. In that moment we decided to tap into recorded exercise data to determine the efficiency of our favourite workouts. For example, if I needed 250 calories to hit my goal, I wanted to know which workout would get me there the fastest. ie. how many calories are burned per minute. While we were at it, we figured we would also let users sort their exercise data by most calories burned per workout or average calories burned per workout. You can also share the cumulative data from each type of workout you've logged.

All the Rings on the Apple Watch

Obviously, where All the Rings really shines is on the Apple Watch. Our goal was to make a companion app that complimented the built-in activity app, but at the same time could serve as a fully functional, standalone fitness tool that would be easy to use and get results. With one tap you can see your activity progress for the day and start a workout if you need to. All the Rings is all about efficiency too. No need to use two separate apps anymore.

Complications to Suit Everyones Needs

Choosing which complications appear on your watch face is a big deal. Screen real estate is at a premium, so we want you to get the most out of All the Rings' complications. Wether you want to see all the details or just see what your focused on, we've got you covered. Just go into the All the Rings Settings on your iPhone and select Configure Complications to choose from all of the options. My personal favourite is the circular move ring with the current stand hour indicator. At a glance, I can see how close I am to achieving my move goal and if I got my stand for the current hour. If the star is empty I still need to stand, if it's filled in I've got it already. So simple, yet so effective. You can see some of the other configurations below.

Set Multiple Goals for a Single Workout

For many people, the ability to set only one workout goal just doesn't cut it. Say you need an additional 250 calories and 15 minutes of exercise to close your rings for the day. With All the Rings you now have the option to set those goals. During your workout you will get progress alerts and a final alert when you hit each goal so you'll know when it's safe to wrap things up. Now that's workout #GOALS!

No More Screen Hopping

Focus and fluidity is essential when you're on the move. With All the Rings you can quickly see the status of your move and exercise progress during your workout without having to jump between the workout and activity app. But, that's not all. Your calories burned, heart rate, distance, and pace are front and center. Tap on each icon and get even more information including basal energy, average heart rate, speed, and steps - all on one screen.

We initially made All the Rings to improve our activity experience, and we want this app to fulfill your activity needs too. All the Rings wants to make it easier for you to close all the rings, every day, and that's why we're offering a free basic version of the app, with several paid Power Pack options to suit every budget. We even have a section inside the app that let's you vote on new features. We can't wait for you to try it and would love to hear your feedback!

It was a cold winter day last December. We had been out running errands all day, but apparently not moving enough to earn our 30 mins of exercise. At 11:58pm Dave noticed he still needed 3 minutes. He ran around the house in a desperate attempt to close his exercise ring, hoping just maybe the watch would be forgiving and give him credit for the 3 minutes. It was not to be. As the minutes ticked away into the new day, it became clear the 30th minute would never be filled. A 55 day exercise streak broken. "Damn it, my watch should have warned me" he said. And the idea for our newest app was born that night out of frustration.

Dave's story is not the exception. How many times have you been only a few calories away from achieving your move goal? Or missed getting your stand goal because you got the reminder and thought "I'll stand up as soon as I finish..." and next thing you know it's ten past and you've missed your window? It kept happening to Dave and I and it was really starting to get on our nerves. Instead of huffing and puffing about it, we decided to make a companion to the built in activity app that would solve the problem.

Once we decided to move forward with the idea, we realized there were a few more areas that had room for improvement. Over the past year, we've been working towards an enhanced activity experience - think, the activity app on steroids. It's called All the Rings, and it's available now on the App Store. You can read a detailed breakdown of everything All the Rings has to offer here.

Today, StackSocial launched the Essential Dev Tools Bundle for $49.99 USD. For the first time, developers can purchase Watchdog for Xcode outside of the Mac App Store. If you're a developer and you haven't purchased Watchdog yet, now is a great time. The version included in the bundle is not sandboxed which eliminates the hassle of having to grant Watchdog permission to access your drives. This is a major benefit to those of you using a RAM disk because with sandboxing you have to re-grant permission every time the RAM disk changes on reboots, remounts, etc. In addition to getting this amazing, non-sandboxed version of Watchdog for Xcode you'll be getting 7 other fantastic apps that will surely make you life as a developer much easier. Check them out below:

That's a pretty great line-up of dev tools. StackSocial takes pride in curating the best in creative tech products so rest assured that this bundle will deliver. If you already have the MAS version of Watchdog and would benefit from the non-sandboxed version we'll be issuing an update soon that will let you convert your MAS license to a non-MAS license. You can learn more about Watchdog for Xcode here and grab the bundle here. 

The new Apple TV is finally here and we have some exciting apps in the pipeline that we are working on and can't wait to share them with you. In the meantime, I wanted to share some mockups I created during the development process. This set includes flat vectors of the new Apple TV and remote created with Adobe Illustrator. Includes .ai, .eps, and transparent .png files. Also included is a bonus game controller vector. Download and use these for applications, web sites, presentations, or any kind of project. They are free to use for personal and/or commercial projects. Remember to spread the love and share these freebies with your friends. Enjoy!

This week I had the pleasure of joining Christina Warren and Simone de Rochefort for some accelerated geek conversation on their podcast Rocket. On this episode you can hear us talk more about Rudoku, dig into the new iMacs, discuss Twitter’s latest reshuffling, and mourn the end of America’s Next Top Model. 

I was filling in for regular co-host Brianna Wu who was busy speaking at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing in Houston. It’s the world’s largest gathering of women in tech and an all-around awesome event so be sure check it out. 

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We are so excited to announce the official launch of our new puzzle game, Rudoku! 

Rudoku is a nifty logic and numbers game for casual iPhone gamers.  Over here at Cerebral Gardens we love creating brain stimulating games and Rudoku is no exception. All you really need to solve the puzzles are basic math skills and you can make each puzzle as easy or as difficult as you like. We really strived to strike the right balance between minimal design and the right sounds and animations to make Rudoku a more relaxing experience.

We really love Rudoku, and we hope you do to. You can learn more about it here or go straight to the App Store and grab it. It’s just $1.99 USD ($2.29 CAD) with no in-app purchases. Pay once and enjoy endless playability. 

You can like Rudoku on Facebook or follow Rudoku on Twitter for more updates. 

Our latest app, Party Doodles was recently featured on TUAW's Origins Stories. The web series takes a closer look at the reasons why developers create their apps. Our very own Dave sat down with TUAW's Victor Agreda, Jr. to discuss how Party Doodles came to be and why it is such a unique app. Check it out!