Facebook Origami lets developers test app designs on their phones in real time

Facebook has made a couple of updates to its Origami user interface design tools, including launching a new app for iPhone and iPad called Origami Live. Origami Live lets developers run their user interface prototypes on both iPhone and iPad. The company also released a major update to Origami for Mac with several new features.

Origami Live for iOS lets you interact with your interface prototype directly on your device, and make adjustments without the need to write code, according to Facebook:

Since releasing Origami, the most common feature request has been the ability to run prototypes on iOS. We're excited to release this feature today. Just install Origami Live from the App Store, plug in your device, and you'll instantly be able to interact with your prototype right on your iPhone or iPad while editing it live. You can quickly try new ideas — using multitouch, device sensors, etc. — and fine-tune them with ease, without writing any code. Then, with your device in hand, your team members or users can try out a high-fidelity prototype that looks and feels like a final product.

While Origami Live will let you run your prototype on your device, the device will need to be plugged into your Mac while you use it.

Meanwhile, Origami for Mac has added major new features. You can now export your code, creating files for iOS, Android, and the web. There's also a new presentation mode that includes full screen support. Origami for Mac has also integrated with Bohemian Coding's Sketch design app:

With our new Sketch plugin we're introducing today, it is much easier to keep your prototype in sync with your latest visuals. Origami 2.0 lets you link up layers in your Origami prototype with Sketch layers. With the press of a button, you can update every asset in your prototype with the latest graphics from your Sketch document. This all happens immediately, while the prototype is still running. If you're a Photoshop user, Origami also supports live links to Photoshop files.

Developers can download Origami 2.0 for Mac from Facebook's Github, and Origami Live is currently rolling out on App Store.

Source: Facebook (1), (2)