Whats new for an iOS developer supporting ios 16 and up

Generated on 8/6/2024

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For an iOS developer supporting iOS 16 and up, there are several new features and improvements introduced at WWDC 2024 that you should be aware of:

  1. UIKit Enhancements:

    • Transitions and Animations: Improved transitions and animations to make your app more fluid.
    • Tab Bars: Updates to tab bars for better user experience.
    • Document Launch Experience: A new document launch experience to streamline document handling.
    • Integration with SwiftUI: New ways to integrate UIKit and SwiftUI in your app.
    • For more details, you can check the session What’s new in UIKit.
  2. Xcode 16:

    • Code Completion: Enhanced code completion with an on-device coding model specifically trained for Swift and Apple SDKs.
    • Swift 6: Introduction of Swift 6 with concurrency safety guarantees, turning data races into compile-time issues.
    • SwiftAssist: A new tool called SwiftAssist to help with coding tasks and exploring new APIs.
    • For more details, you can check the session What’s new in Xcode 16.
  3. StoreKit 2:

    • Deprecation of Original API: The original API for in-app purchases is deprecated starting with iOS 18. It is recommended to update to StoreKit 2, which offers improvements like customer transaction history and subscription renewal info.
    • For more details, you can check the session What’s new in StoreKit and In-App Purchase.
  4. Device Management:

    • MDM Enhancements: New exceptions and requirements for enrolling in MDM and installing in-house apps.
    • For more details, you can check the session What’s new in device management.
  5. Gaming Enhancements:

    • Unified Metal Shaders: Compile shaders once and deploy them to both macOS and iOS.
    • Game Mode: A new game mode in iOS that reduces background activity and Bluetooth latency.
    • For more details, you can check the session Port advanced games to Apple platforms.
  6. Swift 6 Migration:

    • Data-Race Safety: Enabling Swift 6 language mode to bring full data isolation enforcement.
    • For more details, you can check the session Migrate your app to Swift 6.

These updates and new features will help you enhance your app's performance, user experience, and maintainability while taking advantage of the latest advancements in Apple's ecosystem.

What’s new in StoreKit and In-App Purchase

What’s new in StoreKit and In-App Purchase

Learn how to build and deliver even better purchase experiences using the App Store In-App Purchase system. We’ll demo new StoreKit views control styles and new APIs to improve your subscription customization, discuss new fields for transaction-level information, and explore new testability in Xcode. We’ll also review an important StoreKit deprecation.

Migrate your app to Swift 6

Migrate your app to Swift 6

Experience Swift 6 migration in action as we update an existing sample app. Learn how to migrate incrementally, module by module, and how the compiler helps you identify code that’s at risk of data races. Discover different techniques for ensuring clear isolation boundaries and eliminating concurrent access to shared mutable state.

Platforms State of the Union 5-Minute Recap

Platforms State of the Union 5-Minute Recap

Watch a quick recap of the newest advancements on Apple platforms.

What’s new in device management

What’s new in device management

Learn about the latest management capabilities for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS, then discover the latest changes to Apple Business Manager and Apple School Manager. We’ll also share updates to Activation Lock, SoftwareUpdate, and Safari management.

Platforms State of the Union

Platforms State of the Union

Discover the newest advancements on Apple platforms.

Port advanced games to Apple platforms

Port advanced games to Apple platforms

Discover how simple it can be to reach players on Apple platforms worldwide. We’ll show you how to evaluate your Windows executable on Apple silicon, start your game port with code samples, convert your shader code to Metal, and bring your game to Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Explore enhanced Metal tools that understand HLSL shaders to validate, debug, and profile your ported shaders on Metal.

What’s new in Xcode 16

What’s new in Xcode 16

Discover the latest productivity and performance improvements in Xcode 16. Learn about enhancements to code completion, diagnostics, and Xcode Previews. Find out more about updates in builds and explore improvements in debugging and Instruments.

What’s new in UIKit

What’s new in UIKit

Explore everything new in UIKit, including tab and document launch experiences, transitions, and text and input changes. We’ll also discuss better-than-ever interoperability between UIKit and SwiftUI animations and gestures, as well as general improvements throughout UIKit.