what is image playground

The Image Playground is a new feature introduced by Apple that allows users to create full images within an app. This feature can be integrated into your app using the Image Playground API, which provides a pre-built user interface for image creation. Here are some key points about the Image Playground:

1. Initialization and Setup: To add the Image Playground experience to your app, you need to initialize an instance of the Image Playground view controller and assign its delegate. The delegate will handle important lifecycle events, such as when the image creation is finished or canceled.

2. Customization: You can set up the view controller with initial concepts and source imagery. Concepts describe the expected contents of the output image, and the source image acts as a graphical reference. This helps users get a jumpstart in creating their images.

3. Presentation: Present the view controller as a sheet to start the image creation process. Once the image is created, the delegate receives a callback with a reference to the image's file URL, which is located in the app's sandboxed temporary directory.

4. Integration: The Image Playground can be used as another source of images in your app, alongside other sources like the photo library, Finder, or Continuity Camera.

5. Privacy and Local Processing: The image generation and selection are hosted by the operating system, ensuring privacy and no need for additional permissions. The images are created on the user's device, allowing for unlimited experimentation without additional costs.

For more detailed information, you can refer to the session What’s new in AppKit (00:01:44).

Relevant Sessions

1. What’s new in AppKit
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