NEWS

Apple doubles use of Swift in iOS 13 as it shifts away from Objective-C

Apple doubles use of Swift in iOS 13 as it shifts away from Objective-C

10 10, 2019
Apple doubles use of Swift in iOS 13 as it shifts away from Objective-C

An analysis shows that Apple’s own use of Swift has doubled in iOS 13 as it further distances itself from Objective-C.
 
First introduced by Apple in 2014, Swift is now the main programming language for development across Cupertino’s platforms. Adoption of Swift by third-party developers is high, but much of Apple’s operating system still uses Objective-C.
 
Of course, much of Apple’s reason to continue using Objective-C code within its operating systems is that it’s legacy code which is still functional. As the old adage goes: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
 
That doesn’t mean Apple’s use of Swift isn’t increasing. Developer Alexandre Colucci has been keeping tabs on Apple’s use of Swift in its operating systems since iOS 9 and has produced some interesting findings.
 
When Colucci began tracking Swift usage there was just a single binary in iOS 9 using it. In iOS 13, that number has increased to a whopping 141 binaries. Furthermore, if there was any doubt around Apple’s commitment to Swift, the number of binaries using it has more than doubled since iOS 12.
 
As you might imagine, Swift is primarily being used in new additions to iOS in addition to updates to existing apps such as Sidecar, Reminders, Health, Books, Find My, and Shortcuts.
 
Some system-level services in iOS 13 are also using Swift including the one to support the new offline capabilities of Find My and the daemon responsible for pairing devices like HomePod and AirPods.

By Ryan Daws

Share

Older articles

Unhappy developers pen letter to Apple over iOS 13 privacy changes

A group of unhappy developers have penned a scathing letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook over privacy changes made in iOS 13. In their letter, the developers even accuse Apple of anti-competitive behaviour with changes as to how apps can access users’ location data.

10 10, 2019

Dropbox explains the downsides of sharing iOS and Android code

A software engineer from Dropbox explains the reasoning behind the company’s decision to no longer share code between iOS and Android. Until recently, Dropbox shared code between its Android and iOS apps using C++ to only write once rather than in both Java and Objective-C. This strategy has been in place since 2013 when Dropbox’s team was still relatively small but needed to support a fast-moving roadmap.

10 10, 2019

Progress releases NativeScript 6.0 framework to speed up cross-platform development

Progress Software has released the latest version of its NativeScript framework, helping to speed up cross-platform development.

10 10, 2019

Google bans yet another Chinese app developer for invasive ads

Google has banned a Chinese app developer for violating its advertising policies shortly after booting another from the Play Store. CooTek, a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has found itself on Google’s naughty list and had dozens of its app removed.

10 10, 2019

Embracing DevOps by developing your product and your people

It’s an old mantra in tech: You either have the right technology or you don’t get anywhere. But is the premise that having the best technology equals success really valid?

10 10, 2019