what's new in SwiftUI in iOS 18

In iOS 18, SwiftUI has introduced several new features and improvements. Here are some of the key updates:

1. Graphics Capabilities:

   • New mix modifier on color to blend colors by a given amount.
   • Extended custom shader feature with precompiled shaders to avoid frame drops.

2. Scroll View Enhancements:

   • Fine-grained control over scroll views with onScrollGeometryChange.
   • Ability to detect view visibility changes due to scrolling.
   • More programmatic control over scroll positions and content alignment.

3. TabView Updates:

   • New syntax to declare a tab struct with title, image, and content view.
   • Ensures all tabs have the same selection type and matches the tab view itself.

4. Accessibility Improvements:

   • Add additional accessibility information without overriding the framework-provided label.
   • New accessibility features like conditional modifier support and app intent-based actions.

5. Xcode Previews:

   • New dynamic linking architecture for faster iteration.
   • Easier setup with the previewable macro to use state directly in previews.

6. Text and Selection Management:

   • Programmatic access to and control of text selection within text editing controls.

7. Swift 6 Language Mode:

   • Compile-time data race safety.
   • Views in SwiftUI are now marked with the @MainActor annotation by default.

8. Custom Containers and Mesh Gradients:

   • New options for creating custom containers and beautiful mesh gradients.

9. Interoperability:

   • Improved integration with UIKit and AppKit, including gesture recognition and animations.

For a detailed overview, you can watch the session What’s new in SwiftUI.