What’s new in mobile app messaging

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed issue with date format when the locale uses non-Arabic digits.
• Resolved timestamp issues with non-ASCII numbers (Eastern Arabic, Perso-Arabic, Urdu).

Improvements:

• Added optional database encryption for SDK databases. See Android SDK Database Encryption for further details.
• Improved handling of loglevel parameter in MceConfig.json. See Setting log-level message types for details.
• SDK now sends notification to server when it detects that user has enabled/disabled notifications.
• Improved geofence and beacon detection (especially on Android 8 and higher). Note that due to changes in Android 8, we recommend that users who need rapid response to geofence/beacon events implement a foreground service.
• Improved layout of Android action buttons when button text is long.

Our environment for this release:

• Android Studio 3.1.3
• Gradle 4.6
• Android Plugin 3.2.1
• Android 4.4.2 (API 19), 5.1.1 (API 22), 6.0 (API 23), 7.0.0 (API 24), 7.1.1 (API 25), 8.0.0 (API 26), 8.1.0 (API 27), 9.0 (API 28)

Note: Testing and support for GCM has been removed in anticipation of Google disabling the service. GCM classes still exist in the SDK, and it may continue to work, but have not been tested. We strongly recommend you move to FCM as soon as possible.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed a problem with background/foreground detection for better session tracking statistics.

Note: This release has corrected a problem with how foreground / background is detected. Because of this, session tracking statistics from previous versions of the SDK may not coincide. Statistics will, however, now be closer to Android statistics for session tracking.

Improvements:

• Improved event task queue to avoid excessive event enable/disable events.
• Removed deprecated method calls from sample apps.
• Removed non-error messages from error log.
• Removed warnings from sample app builds.

Our environment for this release:

• Xcode 10.2.1
• MacOS 10.14.5
• iOS 10.0.1, 11.3.1, 12.1.4

Bug Fixes:

• none

Improvements:

• Updated to native iOS SDK 3.7.1.4.
• Updated to native Android SDK 3.7.1.3.1.
• Simplify action subsystem on Android (see the migration notes for more information).
• Added version number of Xamarin plugin to channel attributes to make debugging easier.

Note: Due to a change in Apple binary format and the inclusion of optional libraries, the Apple SDK binary is larger than the previous one on disk. There is no significant change to memory usage on the device.

Our environment for this release:

• Xamarin.Mac 5.6.0.25 (d16-0 / 50f75273)
• Visual Studio Community 2019 for Mac, Version 8.1.1(build 1624)
• Xcode 10.2.1
• Android Studio 3.1.3
• iOS 10.3 (64-bit – see note), 11.3.1, 12.1.4
• Android 4.4.2, 5.1.1, 6.0, 7.0.0, 8.1.0, 9.0

Note: The latest version of Xamarin does not build correctly for 32-bit iOS 10 devices. Builds on earlier versions of Xamarin may work.

Bug Fixes:

• Eliminated race condition which could cause Cordova build issues on Android.

Improvements:

• Updated to native iOS SDK 3.7.1.4.
• Updated to native Android SDK 3.7.1.3.1.
• Made the sample app modular. Now menus won’t appear if the appropriate plug-ins are not installed.
• Removed non-original icons to avoid potential licensing issues.
• Added version number of Cordova plugin to channel attributes to make debugging easier.
• Added API to allow syncing of in-app messages without inbox plugin.
• Redesigned event callback queue for improved reliability on all versions of Android.
• Handle actions dynamically, eliminating the need for configuration flag CUSTOM_ACTIONS. See upgrade instructions at Upgrading the Cordova plugins.
• Added custom action example to sample app.

Our environment for this release:

• Cordova version: 9.0.0 (cordova-lib@9.0.1) Note that due to Cordova plugin compatibility issues, this release requires Cordova 9.x.
• Cordova Android plugin version: 8.0.0
• Cordova iOS plugin version: 5.0.0
• Gradle version: Gradle 5.2.1
• Xcode 10.2.1
• Android Studio 3.1.3
• iOS 10.3 (64-bit), 11.3.1, 12.3.1
• Android 4.4.2, 5.0, 5.1.1, 6.0, 7.0, 7.1.1, 8.0, 8.1.0, 9.0

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed a crash that occurred when users clicked on the blank part of an in-app message.
• Fixed a crash that occurred when a very large image (big enough to require cache access) was sent before the cache had been initialized.

Improvements:

• Added additional code to work around JobStatus getUid() NullPointerException (OS crash issue) on Android 5.x (Lollipop) and Android 6.x (Marshmallow).

Our environment for this release:

• Android Studio 3.1.3
• Gradle 4.6
• Android Plugin 3.2.1
• Android 4.4.2 (API 19), 5.1.1 (API 22), 6.0 (API 23), 7.0.0 (API 24), 7.1.1 (API 25), 8.0.0 (API 26), 8.1.0 (API 27), 9.0 (API 28)

Note: Testing and support for GCM has been removed in anticipation of Google disabling the service. GCM classes still exist in the SDK, and it may continue to work, but have not been tested. We strongly recommend you move to FCM as soon as possible.

Bug Fixes:

• none

Improvements:

• Added databaseEncryption and databaseKeyRotation options to MceConfig.json. See the Getting Started documentation for further details). Note that using database encryption (now the default) requires that you remove libsqlite3.0.tbd from your app.
• Added allowJailbrokenDevices option to MceConfig.json. See the Getting Started documentation for further details.
• Delete URL caches when going to the background for better security.
• Improved error handling framework.
• Improved config file parsing system.
• Improved geofence search algorithm when iOS reports significant location changes less frequently.
• Refactored code to support new platform ports better.
• Added new custom action test page to sample app.

Note: Due to a change in Apple binary format, this release is roughly three times as large as the last one on disk. There is no significant change to memory usage on the device.

Our environment for this release:

• Xcode 10.2.1
• MacOS 10.14.4
• iOS 10.3 (64-bit), 11.3.1, 12.1.4

Bug Fixes:

• Added check to make sure SD card is mounted before creating image cache there.
• Fixed NullPointerException when scheduled job is started by a different thread.
• Fixed crash when displaying in-app messages in airplane mode.

Improvements:

• Added Carousel plugin. See the Carousel documentation for more details.
• Added support for setting notification badge count to custom value. See the Badging documentation for more details.
• Added retry for inbox/in-app message status updates.

Our environment for this release:

• Android Studio 3.1.3
• Gradle 4.6
• Android Plugin 3.2.1
• Android 4.4.2 (API 19), 5.0.2 (API 21), 5.1.1 (API 22), 6.0 (API 23), 7.0.0 (API 24), 7.1.1 (API 25), 8.0.0 (API 26), 8.1.0 (API 27), 9.0 (API 28)

Note: Testing and support for GCM has been removed in anticipation of Google disabling the service. GCM classes still exist in the SDK, and it may continue to work, but have not been tested. We strongly recommend you move to FCM as soon as possible.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed issue where in-app messages can be viewed more than maxViews times in rare circumstances.

Improvements:

• Modified “url” handler to open using non-deprecated method when available.

Our build environment for this release:

• Xcode 10.1
• iOS 10.3 (64-bit), 11.3.1, 12.1.4

Bug Fixes:

• Set android:allowBackup to false by default in AndroidManifest.xml
• Corrected default SERVER_URL when not specified.

Improvements:

• Updated Android platform to use Cordova Android plugin 7.1.4 for Java 8 support. Android Platform 7.1.4 is now the recommended Android plugin version.
• Updated iOS SDK to support native 3.7.1.3.2 SDK.
• Updated Android SDK to support native 3.7.1.2.14 SDK.
• Added support for new autoInitialize flag on Android (already supported on iOS).
• Added event listeners to callbacks for better foreground/background detection.

Our build environment:

• Cordova version: 8.1.2 (cordova-lib@8.1.1)
• Cordova Android plugin version: 7.1.4
• Cordova iOS plugin version: 4.4.0
• Gradle version : Gradle 5.2.1
• Xcode 10.1
• Android Studio 3.1.3
• iOS 10.3 (64-bit), 11.3.1, 12.1.4
• Android 4.4.2, 5.1.1, 6.0, 7.0.0, 8.1.0, 9.0

Bug Fixes:

• none

Improvements:

• Updated native Android SDK to 3.7.1.2.14.
• Updated native iOS SDK to 3.7.1.3.2.
• Added support for new autoInitialize flag on Android (already supported on iOS).

Note: If you use the video functions of inbox and in-app plugins on Android P, you must set an additional attribute on the <application> node in AndroidManifest.xml. See Implementing inbox notifications in mobile apps developed using Xamarin or Implementing in-app messages in mobile apps developed using Xamarin for more details.

Our build environment:

• Xamarin versions: Visual Studio Community 2017 for Mac, Version 7.8(build 1624), Xamarin.Mac 5.0.0.0( / b40230c0)
• Visual Studio Community 2017 for Mac Version 7.8(build 1624)
• Xcode 10.1
• Android Studio 3.1.3
• iOS 10.3 (64-bit – see note), 11.3.1, 12.1.4
• Android 4.4.2, 5.1, 6.0, 7.1.1, 8.1.0, 9.0

Note: The latest version of Xamarin does not build correctly for 32-bit iOS 10 devices. Builds on earlier versions of Xamarin may work.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed inbox video crash on target SDK 28.
• Prevented in-app messages from being displayed more than requested if in-app sync occurs after first display.
• Fixed problem when changing app key while doing GCM to FCM migration. Note that IBM strongly recommends that you use the same app key for FCM and GCM, rather than creating a new one. See migration instructions for more details, and contact support if you have any questions.

Improvements:

• Added additional exception handling code.
• Implemented autoInitialize flag. See Configuring the Android SDK “Auto Initialize” feature for more details.
• Converted the sample app to use FCM by default. If your project is still using GCM, note that Google has deprecated it and will soon disable it entirely. See Migrating from Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) to Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) to get your code running under FCM.
• Added warning if GCM references are used in an FCM manifest.
• Changed sample app package name to com.ibm.wca.samples.android. Note that you will need to update your Google project to use the sample app with the new package name.
• Changed MceNotifier to WcaNotifier.
• Updated to Android Studio 3.2.1.

Bug Fixes:

• Changed the way action categories are retrieved to support changes introduced in iOS 12.0.1.
• Fixed layout issue on iPad sample app in landscape. Refer to the sample app if you have layout issues with the post inbox template.
• Added additional checks for null values to prevent SDK crashes.

Improvements:

• Implemented split view for iPads in sample app.
• Removed Xtify 2.x compatibility code.
• Updated JSON parsing to be more resilient to unrecognized date formats.
• Added “-ObjC” flag to Other Linker Flags in the sample app to match the Getting Started documentation.
• Changed registration procedure to register for APNS before permissions are queried. This requires an update to your app’s registration. See the Getting Started documentation. In particular, registerForRemoteNotifications now happens first rather than after the actions are created on iOS 10 and higher.

Note: Changes in the Notification Service require that you add MceConfig.json to your Notification Service target. See step 5 of Enabling media attachment and multiple action support for more details. If you are using a configuration object rather than MceConfig.json, see step 2 of Initialize the iOS SDK with a NSDictionary object.

Bug Fixes:

• Added code to prevent crashes in job subsystem.
• Prevent exception if image cache cannot be initialized.
• Updated minSdkVersion for back-level platforms.
• Fixed security issues.

Improvements:

• Commented out showNotification in onLocationEnabled in sample app. The showNotification is useful for debugging but apps should not ship with it.
• Updated MceConfig.json to use the same format for baseUrl as on iOS.
• Added additional guard code for null DeliveryChannels.
• Added additional logging.

Bug Fixes:

• none

Improvements:

• Detect if jobs are canceled by external code and restart them if needed.
• Prevent null pointer exceptions when API is called before registration completes.
• Security improvements.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed issue with Android Context throwing type exception.

Improvements:

• Updated sample app to match iOS better.
• Improved serviceability of Xamarin SDK.
• Updated native Android SDK to 3.7.1.2.11.
• Updated native iOS SDK to 3.7.1.3.1.

Bug Fixes:

• none

Improvements:

• Changed package names to match the native packages.
• Updated iOS SDK to support native 3.7.1.3.1 SDK.
• Updated Android SDK to support native 3.7.1.2.11 SDK.
• Added additional debug information for Cordova clients.
• Updated sample app to be closer to iOS native app.
• Changed build system to allow Cordova to build on Xcode 10.

Bug Fixes:

• Changed the way action categories are retrieved to support changes introduced in iOS 12.0.1.

Improvements:

• none

Bug Fixes:

• Prevented unnecessary re-registration on startup and upgrade from some earlier versions of the SDK.
• Disabled file protection for containing directory for database and persist files to solve issues running in the background.
• Added code to re-register when phone home returns 404.
• Fixed typos.

Improvements:

• Added support for iOS 12, including support and examples for app notification settings. (See App Notification Settings Support for iOS 12).
• Added support for new watchOS architecture arm64_32.
• Added support for Image Carousel Plugin (iOS 12 only). See Adding the Carousel action plug-in to mobile app messages.
• Added client-side support for sending inbox unread count as badge (see iOS Application Badging).
• Updated for Xcode 10 compatibility.
• Removed unused metricTimeInterval from MceConfig.json.
• Added new logging options maximumSize and maximumNumberOfLogFiles to MceConfig.json. (See Getting Started with mobile app messages in iOS apps developed with Objective C and Getting Started with mobile app messages in iOS apps developed with Swift.)
• Migrated to Swift 4.2. Instructions for migrating from Swift 4.1 can be found in Getting Started with mobile app messages in iOS apps developed with Swift.
• Switched to new logging system with os_log.
• Improved inbox to update only when necessary.
• Added iOS 12 settings example to sample apps.
• Added example of Date attribute to sample apps.
• Changed file/database protection to resolve issues with running in the background.
• Eliminated compiler warnings.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed NullPointerException when upgrading from previous releases if old jobs are in queue.
• Reset job queue and delivery channel when app key changes.
• Prevent excess phone home calls when device is in airplane mode.
• Prevent crash due to excess attribute updates when server is in maintenance mode.

Improvements:

• Remove unused Xtify 2.x compatibility code.

Bug Fixes:

• SDK registration updated now triggers an SDK event even if ID/channel do not change.
• Fixed problem with sending DateAttributes.
• Corrected build.gradle for DemoAar.
• Corrected typos in sample app comments in AndroidManifest.xml.
• Added procedure to prevent unwanted Android data restores which can cause unexpected behavior. This change requires user action; see Automated Restores on Android for additional details.

Improvements:

• Added crash log to SDK log.
• Reduced alarm wakeups / wakelocks.
• SDK will now try to install https provider if not available on Kitkat.
• Updated sample app to use new attribute API.
• Fixed ClassNotFoundException message for MPactClient when Zebra not in use.

Bug Fixes:

• Moved sample project to correct directory so it compiles out of the box. (This resolves the “missing plugins” error of 3.3.2.1.)

Improvements:

• none.

Bug Fixes:

• Prevented duplicate in-app messages after uninstall/reinstall.

Improvements:

• Separated GCM and FCM out of SDK plugin. It is now possible to use Cordova with either FCM or GCM. See the updated installation instructions for more details.

Note: As of 10 October 2018, Cordova did not yet support Xcode 10. Cordova users should continue to use Xcode 9 and will be unable to make use of iOS 12 features until Cordova adds support.

Bug Fixes:

• none

Improvements:

• Updated SDK to support iOS native 3.7.1.2.3 SDK.
• Updated SDK to support Android native 3.7.1.2.8 SDK.
• Added API (changes in MainActivity.cs and AndroidManifest.xml) to support Android notification channels.

Bug Fixes:

• Added support for new Android 3.7.1.0.2-style manifest on Android.

Improvements:

• Added support for new Android Notification Channels.
• Updated iOS SDK to support native 3.7.1.2.3 SDK.
• Updated Android SDK to support native 3.7.1.2.8 SDK.

Note: Cordova 3.6.1 requires changes which prevent it from being used on both GCM and FCM. For that reason, it supports FCM only. Documentation on how to convert back to GCM will be coming soon, but be aware that no testing other than basic push testing has been done on GCM.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed issue where turning LocationManager off via disableLocationSupport() did not stop location services.
• Fixed null pointer exception on message received in MceGcmListenerService.
• Fixed null pointer exception in WakefulIntentService.onHandleIntent.
• Fixed issues with registration on Android M.
• Resolved issue with background service crashing on force stop when location is enabled.
• Changed attribute delete to use DELETE instead of POST on platforms higher than Kitkat (API 19). Kitkat and below should refer to the second footnote of this document for information about deleting attributes.

Improvements:

• none

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed issue where startForegroundService() did not call Service.startForeground().
• Fixed null pointer exception on message received in MceGcmListenerService.

Improvements:

• none

Note: Android SDK 3.7.1.2.6 has a known defect. If users force close the app, the background service which scans for beacons/geofences will crash and restart. Because it restarts, users will not experience any loss of function. Developers who are using crash reporting frameworks may see this reported.

Bug Fixes:

• none

Improvements:

• Try to register (if unregistered) when app comes to the foreground. This prevents registration problems in corner cases when network connectivity is poor.
• Clean up corrupted location data left by 3.7.1.1 when location was turned off after being enabled.
• Add fallback registration task if the SDK has been initialized but has no mobile user ID.

Bug Fixes:

• Fix DemoAAR build problems on latest Android Studio.
• Change API: getNotificationChannelIs should be getNotificationChannelId.
• Fixed minor typos in MceConfig.json.
• Fixed excessive wakelocks issue.
• SDK now sends onSdkRegistered and onSdkRegistrationChanged when app key changes.
• Fixed Crash in com.ibm.mce.sdk.gcm.MceGcmListenerService.onMessageReceived.

Improvements:

• Changed metricTimeout to default to 3 minutes to match iOS.
• Added initial notification badge support for Android O. (Badge support still requires server changes, which will be available in the future).

Note: Android SDK 3.7.1.2.4 has a known defect. If users force close the app, the background service which scans for beacons/geofences will crash and restart. Because it restarts, users will not experience any loss of function. Developers who are using crash reporting frameworks may see this reported.

Bug Fixes:

• Added missing inbox open metrics.
• Fixed layout issues in the sample app on iPhone X.
• Fixed problem with sample app’s in-app test page.

Improvements:

• Added support for European Union General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). See the Cordova section of GDPR Support for Cordova and Xamarin.
• Added clearExpiredMessages API. See Inbox Plug-in API.
• Updated iOS SDK to support native 3.7.1.2.2 SDK.
• Updated Android SDK to support native 3.7.1.2.3 SDK.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed layout issues in the sample app on iPhone X.
• Added refresh code to in-app page on sample app.

Improvements:

• Updated iOS SDK to support native 3.7.1.2.2 SDK on iOS. (Note that integration has changed slightly; see the Configure your iOS application section of Getting Started with Mobile App Messaging in apps developed with Xamarin).
• Updated Android SDK to support native 3.7.1.2.3 SDK on Android.
• Added support for iPhone X.
• Added GDPR support for iOS, Android and Forms. See the Xamarin section of GDPR Support for Cordova and Xamarin.
• Added client support for new in-app messages mechanism; server support still to come. See Implementing in-app messages in mobile apps developed using Xamarin.

Bug Fixes:

• Fix rare timing issue when SDK is restarted.
• Fix channel compatibility problems on API 18.

Improvements:

• Handle additional rare exceptions thrown in SDK callbacks.

Note: Android SDK 3.7.1.2.3 has a known defect. If users force close the app, the background service which scans for beacons/geofences will crash and restart. Because it restarts, users will not experience any loss of function. Developers who are using crash reporting frameworks may see this reported.

Bug Fixes:

• none

Improvements:

• Add workaround to prevent rare crash on iOS 11 due to Apple dispatch_once defect.

Bug Fixes:

• Fix phone home scheduling interval issue (wrong units are used if you explicitly specify phoneHomeInterval in MceConfig.json).
• Defer phone home when app key changes until after app key has updated.

Improvements:

• Additional configuration error checking.
• Prevent crash on Android 27 devices with corrupted Timezone information.
• Add support for DeliveryChannels to handleMceFcmMessage().
• Add context to GDPR reinintialize API to allow use by classes which do not subclass MceApplication.

Note: Android SDK 3.7.1.2.1 has a known defect. If users force close the app, the background service which scans for beacons/geofences will crash and restart. Because it restarts, users will not experience any loss of function. Developers who are using crash reporting frameworks may see this reported.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed layout issues in the sample app on iPhone X. See changes in MCEInAppMediaTemplate.m, MCEInAppVideoTemplate.m, MCEInAppImageTemplate.m, MCEInAppBannerTemplate.m, MCEInboxActionPlugin.m and their associated XIBs.

Improvements:

• Improve efficiency of inbox sync. See the changes in the sample app’s MCEInboxActionPlugin.m.
• Added sync call to sample app in-app view controller.
• Additional configuration error checking.

Bug Fixes:

• Eliminated false-positive warning about memory leak.

Improvements:

• Added support for European Union General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR):
  • autoReinitialize flag in MceConfig.json to define how the SDK behaves after a GDPR request. See Re initializing the SDK after a GDPR request for erasure.
  • API for reinitializing the SDK. See Re initializing the SDK after a GDPR request for erasure.
  • API for determining if the SDK is in GDPR “forgetting” state. See MCESdk gdprState.
• Provided an extension to FcmMessagingService to allow it to behave more nicely when Firebase messaging service is implemented in other parts of the app as well (see updated instructions in Getting Started with Mobile App Messaging in Android Apps).
• Added framework for a new in-app messaging implementation to be delivered later. For more information, see In-app messages are changing.

Note: Android SDK 3.7.1.2 has a known defect. If users force close the app, the background service which scans for beacons/geofences will crash and restart. Because it restarts, users will not experience any loss of function. Developers who are using crash reporting frameworks may see this reported.

Bug Fixes:

• Resolved issue with Documents directory being used inappropriately.
• Added code to handle registration issue after app migration via iCloud / iTunes.
• Prevented location initialization when location configuration flag not set.
• Fixed minor UI defect (app key not refreshed) when registering with manual integration in sample app.
• Updated several comments in header files.

Improvements:

• Added image carousel plugin (see Adding the Carousel action plug-in to mobile app messages).
• Added additional guard code around scheduleSync to prevent crashes when configuration is lost.
• Added framework for a new In-app messaging implementation to be delivered later. For more information, see In-app messages are changes.

As iOS 9 has less than 5% market share, testing has been on iOS 10 and 11 only.

Bug Fixes:

• Removed outdated references to CoreBluetooth from beacon manager.
• Updated code to apply file protection only after database creation.

Improvements:

• none

Bug Fixes:

• Resolved memory leak in MCEInboxTableViewController.
• Resolved memory leak in SwiftSample RegistrationVC.
• Resolved issue with deleted tasks when upgrading.

Improvements:

• Added support for European Union General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). WCA API to trigger this will be added to the server in the future:
  • autoReinitialize flag in MceConfig.json to define how the SDK behaves after a GDPR request. See Re initializing the SDK after a GDPR request for erasure.
  • API for reinitializing the SDK. See Re initializing the SDK after a GDPR request for erasure.
  • API for determining if the SDK is in GDPR “forgetting” state. See MCESdk gdprState.
  • Revised watch code to support GDPR.
• Added sample app to demonstrate merging inbox messages and another message source.
• Prefixed a number of constant names with MCE to prevent collisions with other SDKs.
• Moved private databases to a subdirectory to prevent collisions with other SDKs.
• Moved most preferences from NSUserPreferences to a local file. This improves upgrades and allows preference access when the device is locked.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed a critical issue that caused repeated phone home events (introduced in 3.7.1.0.2). We recommend all 3.7.1.0.2 users move to 3.7.1.0.3.
• Added code to check registration status on phone home (resolves an issue when backup/restore from Google Drive occurs).
• Fixed issue with cached location updates not being handled appropriately.

Improvements:

• none

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed crash in location retrieval in Android O and higher.
• Fixed missing SDK log file issue when “logfile”:true.
• Fixed intermittent crash when beacons are enabled in Android O and higher.
• Removed obsolete code that caused intermittent crash in GCM when receiving GCM notification.
• Changed beacon timeouts to seconds (as documented) rather than milliseconds.
• Resolved crash when very large images are sent in in-app messages.
• Fixed crash receiving simple inbox message on Kitkat.
• Added code to prevent multiple geofence entry events.
• Fixed case where GCM messages could repeat.

Improvements:

• Reverted InboxMessageActivity to use support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity to re-enable ActionBar.
• Added support for sorting messages by ascending or descending (override InboxControl isMessagesSortAscending()) See step 10 in Implementing inbox notifications in your Android app.

Bug Fixes:

• Added code to enable push for platforms after Android N_MR1. This requires a manifest update if you support Android O and later (BIND_JOB_SERVICE and MceJobService; see their descriptions in the AndroidManifest.xml doc).
• Changed beacon timeouts to seconds rather than milliseconds.
• Resolved crash when very large images are sent in in-app messages.

Improvements:

• Reverted InboxMessageActivity to use support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity to re-enable ActionBar.
• Added support for sorting messages by ascending or descending order (override InboxControl isMessagesSortAscending()). See step 10 in Implementing inbox notifications in your Android app.

Bug Fixes:

• none

Improvements:

• Retrieve inbox message immediately upon receiving simple push with inbox component.
• Simplify testing by allowing “non-sticky mobile user IDs” which reset to a new value on uninstall/reinstall. See Assign new MUIDs to devices when reinstalling apps.
• Integrated iOS SDK 3.7.1.0
• Integrated Android SDK 3.7.1.0
• Added configuration flag for non-sticky MUID.

Note: Cordova 7.0.0 for Android introduces breaking changes to file path locations. For this SDK release, please use the 6.4.0 Android release of Cordova:

cordova platform add android@6.4.0

For iOS, you can use Cordova 7.0.0.

Bug Fixes:

• none

Improvements:

• Retrieve inbox message immediately upon receiving simple push with inbox component.
• Simplify testing by allowing “non-sticky mobile user IDs” which reset to a new value on uninstall/reinstall. See Assign new MUIDs to devices when reinstalling apps.
• Integrated iOS SDK 3.7.1.0
• Integrated Android SDK 3.7.1.0

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed stack overflow when calling API to turn off default notifications.
• Fixed exception with geofence sync when geofences have been created and then all deleted.

Improvements:

• Add support for FCM. See Getting started with Mobile App Messaging in Android apps (FCM).
• Add MceSdkConfiguration class to allow setting configuration outside MceConfig.json. See MceSdkConfiguration object in Getting Started with Mobile App Messaging in Android apps.
• Added shouldDisplayInboxMessage to match iOS implementation. See step 9 in Implementing inbox notifications in your Android app.
• Added code to set large and small icon for notifications. See Enabling and changing icon notifications in Configuring Notification Preferences.
• Simplify testing by allowing “non-sticky mobile user IDs” which reset to a new value on uninstall/reinstall. See Assign new MUIDs to devices when reinstalling apps.
• Retrieve inbox message immediately upon receiving simple push with inbox component.
• When possible, use server time rather than device time when doing inbox sync. This improves metrics when devices have the wrong time/timezone.
• Reduce network traffic and improve battery life by caching attributes on the device. If an app sets an attribute that has already been set to the requested value, don’t send it again. Multiple attribute updates are sent in a batch, rather than one at a time.
• Further reduce network traffic by backing off repeated requests until the server is ready.
• Phone home more quickly (rather than once a day) when the mobile user ID of a device changes due to establishidentity API.

Bug Fixes:

• Prevented bad state when deleting inbox messages.
• Updated the inbox when an inbox push is received while the inbox is open.
• Added synchronization code to location manager for thread safety.
• Refreshed push token when it changes due to backup/restore.

Improvements:

• Update Swift Sample app to Swift 4.
• Update Apple Watch Support to watchOS 4.1 and add integration with the sample app.
• Add code to support compatibility with C++ (header, variable name changes).
• When possible, use server time rather than device time when doing inbox sync. This improves metrics when devices have the wrong time/timezone.
• Retrieve inbox message immediately upon receiving simple push with inbox component.
• Added a clearExpiredMessages method (customer request) to allow an app to remove expired inbox messages on demand.
• Reduce network traffic and improve battery life by caching attributes on the device. If an app sets an attribute that has already been set to the requested value, don’t send it again. Multiple attribute updates are sent in a batch, rather than one at a time.
• Further reduce network traffic by backing off repeated requests until the server is ready.
• Deliver events/attributes in a more timely fashion by trying to send the values before the app closes.
• Simplify testing by allowing “non-sticky mobile user IDs” which reset to a new value on uninstall/reinstall. See Assign new MUIDs to devices when reinstalling apps.
• Phone home more quickly (rather than once a day) when the mobile user ID of a device changes due to establishidentity API.
• Add additional configuration error checks for baseUrl.
• Remove unused information from registration payload.
• Upgraded logging system so to be compatible with Mac OS High Sierra.
• Removed clutter from logfile.

Bug Fixes:

• Resolved crash when location sync tries to remove geofences that don’t exist on the device.

Improvements:

• none

Bug Fixes:

• Resolved inbox push issue (push not opening) when app is killed and then restarted on Android.
• Fixed inbox sync issues (empty inbox) on iOS and Android.

Improvements:

• Changed Android icon spec to use mipmap instead of drawable.
• Updated iOS SDK to support native 3.7.0.5 SDK / iOS 11.
• Updated Android SDK to support native 3.7.0.0.1 SDK.
• Updated Android GCM library versions to be compatible with Google Analytics.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed a crash which happened when a device had a queued channel update, and then was upgraded from an SDK before 3.7.0.0 to 3.7.0.0 or later.

Improvements:

• none

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed an issue which caused the config file to be read twice. This was harmless but distracting in the log.

Improvements:

• Removed requirement for CoreBluetooth to sense Bluetooth radio state. This was preventing customers from publishing to the app store if they didn’t have Bluetooth permissions and/or appropriate location descriptions in Info.plist.

Bug Fixes:

• none

Improvements:

• Updated iOS SDK to support native 3.7.0.3 SDK / iOS 11.
• Updated Android SDK to support native 3.7.0.0.1 SDK
• Added NSLocationAlwaysAndWhenInUseUsageDescription key to Info.plist.
• Added support for delayed initialization of location on iOS.
• Added support for delayed initialization of location on Android.

Bug Fixes:

• none

Improvements:

• Updated iOS SDK to support native 3.7.0.3 SDK / iOS 11.
• Updated Android SDK to support native 3.7.0.0.1 SDK
• Added NSLocationAlwaysAndWhenInUseUsageDescription key to Info.plist.
• Added support for delayed initialization of location on iOS.
• Added support for delayed initialization of location on Android.

Bug Fixes:

• Caught exception when Bluetooth location services are started on Android SDK versions 16 through 18. This fix is applicable only to customers who enable location services and also support Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) through 4.3.1 (Jelly Bean).

Improvements:

• none

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed failure case that caused significant redundant network traffic for some devices. When a device loses network connectivity while the app is active, gets locked, regains network connectivity, and then the app is woken up in the background while the device is still locked, it enters a state where it sends the same message repeatedly. This version of the SDK will keep the device from entering the failure state, thereby reducing network traffic and improving battery life.
• Fixed problem where events would be delayed when sending (introduced in SDK 3.7.0.2)

Improvements:

• none

iOS 11 Support

The 3.7.0.1 release adds support for iOS 11. Note that iOS 11 has some underlying changes which result in different behavior for certain types of messages. Additional details may be found here.

Support for deferred location initialization

This release adds support for deferred initialization of the location subsystem on iOS. (Native Android already has this feature.) To use deferred location initialization, set "autoinitialize": false in the "location" section of MceConfig.json, then call [[MCESdk sharedInstance] manualLocationInitialization] when you’re ready to start location services.

Bug Fixes:

• none

Improvements:

• Added support for iOS 11.
• Added NSLocationAlwaysAndWhenInUseUsageDescription key to Info.plist.
• Added support for delayed initialization of location services.

Deprecation

With the release of the 3.7.0.0 native SDKs, some Cordova and Xamarin APIs have been deprecated. Alternatives exist that will reduce network traffic and improve customer experience and battery life in most cases.

The set user attributes API has been deprecated. Use the update attributes API instead to set values, and the delete attributes API to delete values.

The direct clients for attributes and events have been deprecated. Use the queued clients instead, which will retry if server errors occur.

The channel attributes API has been deprecated. If you are using channel attributes, please contact support to discuss alternatives.

Improvements:

• Add support for Cordova 7 (new package.json for each package).
• Changes to support iOS and Android 3.7.0.0 native packages.
• Deprecation of:
  setUserAttributes,
  queueSetUserAttributes,
  updateUserAttributes,
  deleteUserAttributes,
  setChannelAttributes,
  queueSetChannelAttributes,
  updateChannelAttributes,
  deleteChannelAttributes,
  queueDeleteChannelAttributes,
  addEvent.

Improvements:

• Changes to support iOS and Android 3.7.0.0 native packages.
• Deprecation of:
  IBMMobilePush.Forms.SDK,
  IBMMobilePush.Forms.IIBMMobilePush,
  IBMMobilePush.Forms.iOS.IBMMobilePushImpl,
  IBMMobilePush.Forms.Droid.IBMMobilePushImpl,
  SetUserAttribute,
  UpdateUserAttribute,
  SetChannelAttribute,
  UpdateChannelAttribute,
  DeleteChannelAttribute,
  QueueSetUserAttribute,
  QueueSetChannelAttribute,
  QueueUpdateChannelAttribute,
  QueueDeleteChannelAttribute,
  AddEvent.

Deprecation

With the 3.7.0.0 release, some APIs have been deprecated. Alternatives exist that will reduce network traffic and improve customer experience and battery life in most cases.

The set user attributes API has been deprecated. Use the update attributes API instead to set values, and the delete attributes API to delete values.

The direct clients for attributes and events have been deprecated. Use the queued clients instead, which will retry if server errors occur.

The channel attributes API has been deprecated. If you are using channel attributes, please contact support to discuss alternatives.

Bug Fixes:

• Remove redundant inbox events.
• Ensure that push messages use the correct personalization.

Improvements:

• Report Bluetooth and location enable/disable events.
• Improve beacon service availability.
• Ensure retry if event / attributes clients fail.
• Add event batching to reduce network connections. (New parameter required in MceConfig.json.)
• Deprecated channel attributes API.
• Deprecated set user attributes API.

Deprecation

With the 3.7.0.0 release, some APIs have been deprecated. Alternatives exist that will reduce network traffic and improve customer experience and battery life in most cases.

The set user attributes API has been deprecated. Use the update attributes API instead to set values, and the delete attributes API to delete values.

The direct clients for attributes and events have been deprecated. Use the queued clients instead, which will retry if server errors occur.

The channel attributes API has been deprecated. If you are using channel attributes, please contact support to discuss alternatives.

Bug Fixes:

• Eliminated defect where session start events were sent twice.
• Prevent MceAppDelegate from starting twice due to misconfigured appDelegate.

Improvements:

• Added code to allow support for notification content extensions and custom actions.
• Added code to allow category name to be defined in the payload when sending multiple actions.
• Enabled storing of NSArray and NSDictionary attributes as JSON strings.
• Provided simple example plugin in sample app.
• Reduced registration API traffic.
• Ensure retry if event / attributes clients fail.
• Added additional guard code to prevent crashes due to uninitialized values.
• Improve re-registration error handling.
• Deprecated channel attributes API.
• Deprecated set user attributes API.

Bug Fixes:

• Eliminated defect where session start events were sent twice.
• Resolved defect where newly imported iBeacons may not be monitored/detected until the application is restarted.
• Resolved issue where wrong inbox message could be displayed in some cases.

Improvements:

• Added support for marking inbox messages as unread.
• Updated InApp plugin to support background image.
• Improved reporting of location and Bluetooth status of device.
• Added ability to use mutable-content for dynamic categories (including moving to a .framework file for mutable-content support).
• Added inbox sync rate feature for parity with Android.
• Deprecated MCERegistrationDetails class methods in favor of instance methods.

Improvements:

• Increased rate of inbox messages that can be retrieved before throttling.

• Bugfix: Resolved defect where newly imported iBeacons may not be monitored/detected until the application is restarted.

Optimizations:

• Inbox plugin functionality and its APIs are moved into the SDK, with the Inbox plug containing only the customizable portion of Inbox UI code.
• Full inbox syncs are limited to once per 6 hours, but individual inbox message retrieval connected to a push events will continue to work as before.

• The native SDK versions in this package were updated to using 3.6.6.0 for iOS and 3.6.6.1 for Android.

New Features:

• iBeacon and Geofence support.
• Personal sites support: identify mobile users’ home and work locations.
• Support for iOS 10.
• Upgraded our native libraries for Mobile Push to 3.6.6.0 (iOS) and 3.6.6.1 (Android).

Bug fixes:

• All rolled up native bug fixes with library upgrades are part of this package.

Bug fixes:

• For mobile apps migrating from 3.5.4.x to 3.6.6.0, fix to allow a clean Inbox database migration.
• RichContentDatabaseHelper methods changed from ‘package’ to ‘public’.

New features:

• Personal sites support: identify mobile users’ home and work locations.
• Zebra beacon support / Zebra SDK integration.
• Reduced the volume of data sent by the device to the server.
• New callback for additional control when push messages arrive.
• Debugging details about push messages now printed in verbose log.

Bug fixes:

• Correct registration issue when upgrading from Xtify 2.x

New features:

• Personal sites support: identify mobile users’ home and work locations.
• Zebra beacon support / Zebra SDK integration.
• Reduced the volume of data sent by the device to the server.
• Support sound and vibration control in notification payload.
• Convenience API to create custom event without a mailing ID.

Bug fixes:

• Avoid reporting duplicate geofence events.
• Report some geofence exit events which were previously not reported.
• Improve battery usage when location is enabled.
• Improve battery usage when using inbox message plugin.

• Prevent duplicate events when database is locked.

• Optimized SDK location synchronization. We recommend all location-aware mobile apps that are using our iOS SDK v3.6.3.0 through v3.6.4.1 upgrade to v3.6.4.2 for improved battery life and performance.

• SDK packaged with Native iOS SDK v3.6.4.1 and Native Android SDK v3.6.5.0
• Bugfix: Resolved issue in JS when sending the same rich message with different personalization values.

• InApp plugin bugfix for a crash that was happening when upgrading the app from older SDK (3.6.3.0 and below) to 3.6.4.0.
• Removed InApp plugin dependency on Realm database to reduce size in Google Play. For more details see https://ibm.biz/BdiDvr
• READ_PHONE_STATE permission is no longer required.
• Missing javadoc was added for sdk API, inApp plugin and Inbox plugin.
• SDK plugins are also released in AAR format. An additional sample application ‘DemoAar’ was added.

New functionality added to both iOS and Android SDKs

• Added iBeacon support.
• Enhancement to stop monitoring locations that have been deleted on the server.
• Aligned location configuration between the two native SDKs.

• Open Inbox notification action on Android now sends same stats as iOS SDK.
• Secure engineering – Penetration test fixes.
• Large icon support.
• Fixed crash when using bundled and non-bundled notifications.
• Inline manifest & config documentation.

Due to issues during the beta period of iOS 10, our SDK was changed to an Embedded Binary style framework. These issues have now been resolved in the latest Xcode builds, however it turned out that the Embedded Binary style causes some issues when Archiving your build to submit to the app store. We have addressed these issues in the 3.6.3.1 release by switching back to the Static Framework style SDK build process. Please upgrade to this SDK version if you are in the process of submitting a new mobile app to App Store for the first time or publishing an update.

Starting with the 3.6.3.0 release, both iOS and Android SDKs can report when users enter and exit geofences that have been configured by the customer’s location admin in the IBM Marketing Cloud (IMC) console/UI. This SDK works with the IMC 16.4 release, and allows marketers to engage with their mobile app users in real-time based on user location.

In the iOS 3.6.3.0 SDK, the event management system has been improved as well.

This package of IBM Marketing Cloud iOS Mobile Push SDK contains formal iOS 10 notification support. All iOS 10 features described in the August 17th releases notes are available here. This SDK is built with Xcode 8 build 8A218a for the iOS 10 golden master. Developers can use this SDK to publish apps in the App Store in time for September 13th Apple release date.

Additional enhancements include support for detecting and correcting accidental appKey misconfiguration in Mobile App, similar to what was introduced in Android SDK 3.6.1.7 in June. Note: IBM Marketing Cloud does not recommend that app developers switch appKey in subsequent publishes once the app has already been published.

This beta package of IBM Marketing Cloud iOS Mobile Push SDK contains iOS 10 notification support, media attachment and text entry support as well as updated sample apps to demonstrate iOS 10 usage. Swift sample app changes include updating it to Swift 3.0 syntax. Both standard sample and swift sample apps contain new methods for registering with iOS 10 for APNS.

Starting with this release, we will include the Apple watch plugin within the SDK package. This package supports Watch OS 3 beta version.

We will follow-up with a formal release of iOS SDK when Apple iOS 10 and Xcode 8 Release Candidate versions are available.

Non-iOS 10 enhancements include support for detecting and correcting accidental appKey misconfiguration in Mobile App, similar to what was introduced in Android SDK 3.6.1.7 in June. Note: IBM Marketing Cloud does not recommend that app developers switch appKey in subsequent publishes once the app has already been published.

This release of Android Push Notification SDK includes enhancements that allow marketers to exploit new push notification functionality in latest release of Android OS – Android 7.0 Nougat (Android N):

• Bundling notifications support – This SDK supports bundling notifications together based on the campaign.
• User input notification action – This SDK supports notification actions that can receive user text input. On Android N devices, the action button turns into an editable text field with a button to send the text. On Android M and below, the customer needs to implement the input UI.

Bug fix : Fixed first launch isPushEnabled/isPushDisabled event sending.

Bug fixes: Logging system crash fix as well as Dial action failure on Android M fix.

• Replaced Android SDK with 3.6.0.11.
• Replaced iOS SDK with 3.6.0.13.
• Updated iOS Application Delegate with push enabled fix (in iOS 3.6.0.13 release).

Starting with IBM Marketing Cloud release 16.1, we now provide API support for a new platform for Push Notification – Windows 10. (Support in the UI will come in a future release.) You will find a brand new Windows 3.0.0.0 SDK on our Download page. It allows you to send Simple Push Notifications at this time, with Inbox and In-App support coming in future releases. This SDK includes much of the functionality that already exists in iOS and Android platforms such as:

• Custom actions.
• Device attributes for tracking mobile app user behavior.
• Session tracking events and notification click events.
• Simplified SDK integration.
• Feature rich Sample App for developer to use and/or adapt.

Replaced iOS SDK with 3.6.0.12 and Android SDK with 3.6.0.8. Added support for Calendar, Snooze and Display Web Plugins. Modularized Inbox and In-app plugins

This release for the Apple Watch Plugin in the IBM Marketing Cloud provides improvements such as:

• Added dynamic action category support.
• Added hand-off to phone for actions that cannot be accomplished on the watch.
• Tracking clicks from the watch as type=watch

Android L notifications support – The SDK now supports “heads up” notifications (notifications can be marked as high priority which causes them to pop of the top of the screen when they arrive) and sensitive notifications (notification can be marked as sensitive and will not be shown on the lock screen if the user defined that sensitive notifications will not be displayed on the lock screen).

Custom Chrome tabs – The open URL action uses a custom Chrome tab (if it is supported, such as in Android M) instead of opening the Chrome application with the URL.

Session tracking improvements. The session tracking service is now scheduled when the application is sent to the background, and will activate after session timeout +1 minutes. When activated, it checks if the current session has timed out. If so, it sends a session timeout event. The session tracking service is disabled when the application is brought to the foreground. Previously, the session tracking service ran without regard to foreground/background status.

Because in Android M services can be stopped by the OS, we ensure all the services are up every time the application is sent to the foreground.

Defining baseUrl in the SDK config file is no longer mandatory. If it is not defined, the US production server URL is used by default. If you are provisioned with a non-US Engage POD, please work with Customer Support to determine the correct baseUrl setting for your application.

Bug fixes:

– The inbox subject text is now expanded when the text is too long to be displayed in one line instead of being cut off.
– Sending attributes and events to the servers is now deferred until after successful SDK registration.
– Security improvements.

This SDK has improved Singleton Superclass locking

The new iOS 3.6.0.11 package adds Swift support to the SDK, along with a new Swift sample app. It also adds support for detecting device form factor and carrier, and better support for detecting device model. We also fixed a defect with detecting development or production configuration. Now development and production certificates are both recognized. Finally, we added the -fembed-bitcode flag for additional bitcode support.

The new iOS SDK 3.6.0.11 package is now included in Cordova Plugin 3.1.7

From this release onward, the interval of the session tracking service will default to 20 minutes. Also, session tracking service enabling control is included in this SDK publish. The tracking service will be started only if session tracking is enabled and the service is defined in the manifest.

For this release, the sample app Manifest file is missing the following definition. Add the following to your Android Manifest file to prevent battery drain.

<service android:name=”com.ibm.mce.sdk.alarm.SessionTrackingIntentService” />

iOS SDK

Android SDK

• Custom actions and interactive notifications.
• Device attributes for tracking mobile app user behavior.
• Session tracking events and notification click events.
• Simplified SDK integration.

You cannot receive a notification without being registered with Google Cloud Messaging (GCM); however, you can be registered with the Mobile Customer Engagement server and set attributes and send events. The IBM® Push Notification SDK for Android supports mobile devices that do not work with GCM. You can use all the features, except for push notifications.

• Search across all product documentation.
• Bookmark topics.
• Share links to specific topics.
• Access support and educational resources.