what‘s new in uikit

At WWDC, Apple introduced several new features and enhancements for UIKit, particularly in iOS 18 and iOS 26. Here are some of the key updates:

1. Document Launch Experience: Redesigned for document-based apps, allowing full control over launch views and support for template document creation. This helps in guiding users to create their first document while maintaining a great browsing experience.

2. Tabs and Sidebar Updates: Major updates to tabs and sidebars, including a new syntax in SwiftUI for tab views and improvements in the appearance and behavior of tab bars and sidebars.

3. Fluid Transitions: New fluid and interruptible slide transitions that enhance the responsiveness of apps, allowing users to interact with content without waiting for animations to finish.

4. Automatic Trait Tracking: UIKit now supports automatic trait tracking, making it easier to handle changes in traits and automatically performing associated invalidations.

5. Integration with SwiftUI: Enhanced interoperability with SwiftUI, including the ability to use SwiftUI animations for UIKit views and new protocols for adding UIKit gesture recognizers to SwiftUI hierarchies.

6. Apple Pencil Pro Support: New features for integrating drawing experiences with Apple Pencil Pro, including the squeeze gesture for tool switching and an undo slider for quick access to undo history.

7. New Design System: Introduction of a new material called Liquid Glass, which is translucent and dynamic, updating the look and feel of materials and controls across the system.

8. Architectural Improvements: Built-in support for Swift observable objects in UIKit, allowing for automatic tracking and invalidation of views based on observable changes.

For more detailed information, you can watch the session What’s new in UIKit (00:00:07) from WWDC 2024.