iOS Newsletter
Hello folks!
This week brings major releases across Apple’s ecosystem. We’ve got iOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, visionOS 26, and tvOS 26, all featuring the new Liquid Glass design with persistent widgets, spatial experiences, and FDA-cleared hypertension alerts.
We’re also thrilled with how thin the new iPhone Air is and how worth buying the new AirPods are. Hope you’re lucky enough to have gotten your hands on them already!
Back to the newsletter - let’s explore what’s new this week.
Swift
Swift 6.2 Released!
The official announcement for Swift 6.2, which introduces new features for making Swift developers more productive, including more approachable concurrency with main actor default isolation and async function improvements, safe systems programming capabilities with InlineArray and Span types, streamlined workflows with VSCode extension enhancements, and WebAssembly support. Holly Borla from the Swift team covers language improvements, library updates, and tooling enhancements for real-world development.
Feature flags in Swift
A great write-up by Majid Jabrayilov on how to use feature flags in Swift to manage different functionalities for various build configurations. A must-read for anyone practicing trunk-based development.
SwiftUI
Date Range picker in SwiftUI
In this tutorial, Kyryl Horbushko walks through how to build a custom date range picker in SwiftUI. It’s great for anyone looking to build more complex and reusable UI components.
SwiftUI: Horizontal Dial Picker / Slider/ Ruler
Itsuki shows us how to build a beautiful horizontal dial picker in SwiftUI. This tutorial covers everything from the basic ScrollView to haptic feedback. A great way to create custom controls for your apps.
The Northern Stars of Liquid Glass
With the release of iOS 26, Liquid Glass is officially here, bringing a new era of design with it. Danny Bolella offers an in-depth look at the three core principles of this new design system: Hierarchy, Harmony, and Consistency. Danny demystifies what each principle means for modern UX and shows how to apply them in real-world SwiftUI. You’ll learn about layering, translucent surfaces, backgroundExtensionEffect, and ConcentricRectangle. A must-read for any iOS developer looking to master Apple’s new design language.
visionOS
Twenty-six of my Favorite Features and APIs in visionOS 26
Joseph Simpson takes us on a whirlwind tour of his 26 favorite features and APIs in visionOS 26. From Widgets to RealityKit, this piece is packed with useful information for any visionOS developer. Don’t miss it!
Programming
UTF-8 is a Brilliant Design
Ever wondered how UTF-8 works under the hood? Vishnu Haridas has written a fascinating exploration of the brilliant design of UTF-8. He explains how it can represent millions of characters while being backward compatible with ASCII. A must-read for any programmer.
App
In Your Face
An awesome iOS app that makes sure you never miss an important meeting again. It’s great to see Martin’s success - definitely worth checking out!