what's new in xcode 16

Xcode 16 introduces several new features and improvements across various aspects of app development. Here are some of the key updates:

1. Code Completion:

   • Xcode 16 features a new code completion engine powered by an on-device coding model specifically trained for Swift and Apple SDKs. This engine uses the surrounding code context to provide more thorough suggestions, enhancing productivity (What’s new in Xcode 16).

2. Swift 6:

   • Swift 6 introduces a new language mode that provides concurrency safety guarantees, turning data races into compile-time issues. This improves the correctness and safety of your code (What’s new in Xcode 16).

3. Previews:

   • Previews in Xcode 16 are faster due to a new execution engine and improvements in the compiler and build system. The new dynamic linking architecture uses the same build artifacts for previews and when you build and run, avoiding the need to rebuild your project when switching between the two (Platforms State of the Union).

4. Builds:

   • Xcode 16 introduces explicit modules, which provide improved parallelism, better diagnostics, and faster debugging without changing a single line of code. For C and Objective-C, explicit modules are on by default, while for Swift, you need to opt-in (What’s new in Xcode 16).

5. Swiftassist:

   • Swiftassist is a new feature that leverages a larger and more powerful model running in the cloud to assist with coding tasks. It can answer coding questions and provide code suggestions, enhancing the development experience (Platforms State of the Union).

6. Instruments and Debugging:

   • Xcode 16 includes a new flame graph feature in Instruments, which provides a visual way of seeing call stacks, helping to identify performance issues. This is part of a broader set of improvements to debugging and performance profiling tools (What’s new in Xcode 16).

7. Localization:

   • Enhancements to localization catalogs make it easier to bring your app to more people around the world, improving the overall localization workflow (Platforms State of the Union).

For a more detailed overview, you can watch the full session on What’s new in Xcode 16.