If you’re reasonably handy with a graphics program, and know your way around Xcode, you can build a stickers app for the upcoming iOS 10 iMessages App Store in a matter of minutes.
TNW:
At WWDC, Apple detailed just how easy it will be to create some apps for iMessage. If you want to make a stickers app, there’s really no coding involved.
Via a live demo on-stage during the Platforms State of the Union, Apple demonstrated just how easy it would be to create iMessage apps.
When starting the latest version of Xcode, (version 8, currently in beta), you can go to a new dedicated iMessage stickers app creation mode that gives you everything you need to optimize your new stickers app, and also prevents you from adding any features an iMessage app doesn’t need.
The sticker pack apps are so easy to create, due to the fact that you can create one with absolutely no coding, simply by using the Xcode creation mode. You will need to provide .PNG assets for the stickers, and the app icon.
TNW reports that Apple built a stickers app for the Messages app inside of five minutes. This sounds like a great way for new developers – who will need to either have some graphics skills, or know someone who does – to get their foot in the door on iOS devices.
The fact that the process is relatively easy also means the iMessage App Store will be hit with a flood of crappy stickers apps, so make sure yours is high-quality enough to stand out. Just a short PSA: The world probably doesn’t need another set of Anchorman quotes, or “I can haz…” stickers.
The presentation demonstrating the creation of a iMessage stickers pack is available via the Apple Developer Website, the Apple TV, and the WWDC 2016 app on iOS devices.
