How to make an app like pixelmator
Asked on 2024-07-30
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To create an app similar to Pixelmator, you can leverage several tools and frameworks introduced at WWDC. Here are some relevant sessions and features that can help you build such an app:
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Image Playground API:
- The Image Playground API allows you to integrate image creation features into your app effortlessly. This API provides a pre-built UI for users to create and embed images, and it runs locally on the device, so users can create as many images as they want without worrying about costs.
- You can see how to get started with the Image Playground API in the Platforms State of the Union session.
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RealityKit and SwiftUI:
- For advanced 3D capabilities, you can use RealityKit combined with SwiftUI. This combination supports creating customized meshes, textures, and shaders, which can be useful for a sophisticated image editing app.
- The session Build a spatial drawing app with RealityKit covers how to set up spatial tracking, build a UI, and generate brush geometry.
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Apple Pencil Integration:
- If you want to support drawing features similar to Pixelmator, integrating Apple Pencil is crucial. The session Squeeze the most out of Apple Pencil discusses new features in the tool picker, building custom tools, and integrating Apple Pencil Pro features and APIs.
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AppKit Enhancements:
- For macOS apps, AppKit has several new features that can enhance your app's capabilities, such as window tiling, SwiftUI integrations, and new system standard components.
- Check out the session What’s new in AppKit for more details.
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Document Management:
- If your app involves managing documents, the session Evolve your document launch experience provides insights into using document group scenes and customizing the document browser.
By combining these tools and frameworks, you can create a powerful image editing app similar to Pixelmator. Here are the relevant sessions mentioned:
- Platforms State of the Union
- Build a spatial drawing app with RealityKit
- Squeeze the most out of Apple Pencil
- What’s new in AppKit
- Evolve your document launch experience

What’s new in AppKit
Discover the latest advances in Mac app development. Get an overview of the new features in macOS Sequoia, and how to adopt them in your app. Explore new ways to integrate your existing code with SwiftUI. Learn about the improvements made to numerous AppKit controls, like toolbars, menus, text input, and more.

Evolve your document launch experience
Make your document-based app stand out, and bring its unique identity into focus with the new document launch experience. Learn how to leverage the new API to customize the first screen people see when they launch your app. Utilize the new system-provided design, and amend it with custom actions, delightful decorative views, and impressive animations.

Squeeze the most out of Apple Pencil
New in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and visionOS 2, the PencilKit tool picker gains the ability to have completely custom tools, with custom attributes. Learn how to express your custom drawing experience in the tool picker using the same great tool picking experience available across the system. Discover how to access the new features of the Apple Pencil Pro, including roll angle, the squeeze gesture, and haptic feedback.
