WidgetKit

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Show relevant, glanceable content from your app on iOS and iPadOS Home Screen and Lock Screen, macOS Desktop, Apple Watch Smart Stack and Complications, and in StandBy mode on iPhone.

Posts under WidgetKit tag

138 Posts

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Activity

iOS 26 CarPlay Widgets
My company's app has a few widgets and a couple of them we do not want to show up on CarPlay due to safety concerns when iOS 26 releases. I understand Apple's recommended way to prevent users from using your widget in CarPlay is to use the .disfavoredLocations([.carPlay], for: [.systemSmall]), and this puts your widget in the 'Other' section of the widgets. https://developer.apple.com/download/files/CarPlay-Developer-Guide.pdf However, this .carPlay widget location is only available in Xcode 26, and our app cannot be built on Xcode 26 yet due to some build errors. We are able to fix those build errors in a separate branch, but we won't be doing our official release builds on Xcode 26 until it is out of beta, which is usually right before iOS 26 officially releases to general audiences. We release our app versions on a monthly cadence, so the version that will be out when iOS 26 comes out is already in testing. Is there any existing way we can disable this widget on CarPlay so it does not appear to work when tapped? Currently, it opens our CarPlay app, but the CarPlay app does nothing with it. On the iPhone, when you tap the widget it opens our app and performs a function. We don't wan't to disable it on the iPhone, just when it's on CarPlay. We don't have time before the app release to implement the same functionality on our CarPlay app. I haven't found any reliable way to detect if the widget is running in the CarPlay location versus the iPhone home screen. Thanks in advance for any assistance.
0
13
383
Aug ’25
Ignore Home Screen Tint/Accents in Colored Components
I'm having some trouble getting my widget to display how I want when the user has a tint applied to their home screen. The issue I'm having is with a Text() element, as well as a LinearGradient I am displaying on top of my image. The text should always be white, and the gradient is always black with varying levels of opacity. I've managed to fix this issue with images displayed in my widget by leveraging widgetAccentedRenderingMode(.fullColor) however, there does not seem to be an equivalent of this for non-Image components. I'm aware of .widgetAccentable(false) but as I understand it, elements are already considered not accentable by default and you need to explicitly declare widgetAccentable(true) to add them to the accent group. I've tried specifying this to be false up and down my view hierarchy just to see if something will stick but no luck. Are there any other levers I can pull to preserve the declared colors for my text and gradient components? The images I am displaying is album artwork where preserving the original image is integral, but the tinted text color and overlaid gradient often clash or just looks bad in general. Is there a solution for colored primitive elements?
0
0
175
Aug ’25
How do I use containerRelative on a grid in my widget?
I want to display a grid of items in my widget similar to the systemLarge Shortcuts app widget. I use clipShape(.containerRelative) to get the widget corner radius, but items that do not touch a corner in any way do not get this treatment. This is even worse with the extra large widget. How can I apply the corner radius of the widget minus the padding across all items? It does not seem like the radius is exposed outside of that special shape.
1
0
150
Aug ’25
Xcode Cloud with watchOS app - unable to archive
I struggling in getting Xcode Cloud to work with a stand alone watch app. This app has the following three targets and each bundle identifier is set up in the Identifiers section of the developer portal. iphone container target called Unleashed abc.xyz.Unleashed watch target called Unleashed Watch App abc.xyz.Unleashed.watchkitapp watch target called Unleashed WidgetExtension abc.xyz.Unleashed.watchkitapp.Unleashed-Widget I have a App Store provisioning set up for abc.xyz.Unleashed.watchkitapp The app runs fine in the watch simulator, but fails with the following when I do an Xcode Cloud build Export archive for ad-hoc distribution Export archive for development distribution Export archive for app-store distribution When I expand each one of these errors it reports: Command exited with non-zero exit-code: 70 I also tried archiving the project in Xcode then selected the Archive but it won't let me validate because that button is disabled. Very confused I have successfully used Xcode Cloud for a phone app but am having a problem with this watch app that has a widget
2
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170
Aug ’25
How to opt out of tinting widget content on visionOS
During the WWDC Session called "Design widgets for visionOS" the presenter says: You can choose whether the background of your widget participates in tinting. If you opted out, for example to preserve a photo or illustration, make sure it still looks good alongside the selected color palette. Unfortunately, this session has no example code. Can someone point me to the correct way to do this? Is there a modifier we can use on views? (reposting this in the correct topic/subtopic)
3
0
264
Aug ’25
watchOS 26 Control Widget AppEnum Localize issue
I’m implementing a Control Widget for watchOS 26 Beta 5, using .promptsForUserConfiguration() so that users can select an option from an enum when adding the widget. The overall functionality works fine, but when users configure the option, the enum’s corresponding text is not properly localized. My enum is defined like this: static var caseDisplayRepresentations: [XXXType: DisplayRepresentation] { [ XX1: .init(title: .init("text1", table: "xxx")), XX2: .init(title: .init("text2", table: "xxx")), ] } After the configuration is completed and the Control Widget appears in the Control Center or Smart Stack, the text is displayed correctly. Same code on iOS work perfect.
0
0
112
Aug ’25
Widget Memory Limit - Per Widget Kind/Size or Per Target?
I am building a widget that supports 2 different widget kinds, each supporting systemSmall, systemMedium, and systemLarge size families. My widget does download and display images so I expect memory usage to be on the higher end, but in debugging some memory issues, I notice that when I build my widget scheme to a physical device, things start off reasonable at ~12MB of memory usage. But as I change the widgets intent, add the other widget kind, or add different widget size families, this memory usage grows until it ultimately hits the 30MB cap. My question is, is the 30MB memory limit spread across all my supported widget kinds/sizes? Or does each individual widget get its own 30MB cap? i.e., if I have systemMedium Widget A and systemLarge Widget B, are they sharing that 30MB memory limit?
1
0
224
Aug ’25
Control Widget SF image cannot stably display
I'm working on the control widget which should display the SF image on the UI, but I have found that it cannot be displayed stably. I have eight CarCtrlWidgets which is about the type doorLock、chargeCover、frontBox、 locateCarLight、 locateCarHorn、 ventilate、 backBox and airCondition, it should all be showed but sometime they only show the text and placeholder. I'm aware of the images should be custom SF image and I can see them to show perfectly sometimes, but in other time it is just failed. This's really confused me, can anyone help me out? deviceversion 18.5;device model iPhone 16 pro;
0
1
118
Aug ’25
Can custom user images be displayed as backgrounds on Lock Screen?
Background I'm developing an iOS app with Live Activities that allows users to select custom background images. While these custom images display correctly in widgets, they fail to appear in Live Activities on both Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, despite successful image loading and data transfer. Technical Details iOS Version: Testing on iOS 17.2+ Image Storage: Using App Group shared container for image sharing between main app and widget extension Image Loading: Successfully confirmed via logs - images load correctly with proper dimensions UI Framework: SwiftUI with ActivityKit What Works ✅ Custom images display correctly in Home Screen widgets ✅ Built-in bundled images work in Live Activities ✅ Image data successfully transfers via App Group shared container ✅ Image loading logs show successful UIImage creation with correct dimensions What Doesn't Work ❌ Custom user images don't display in Live Activities (Lock Screen) ❌ Custom user images don't display in Dynamic Island ❌ Images appear as black/gray background despite successful loading Code Implementation I've tried multiple approaches: 1. SwiftUI Image approach: Image(uiImage: customImage) .resizable() .aspectRatio(contentMode: .fill) 2. containerBackground API approach: .containerBackground(for: .widget) { Image(uiImage: customImage) .resizable() .aspectRatio(contentMode: .fill) } 3. UIKit wrapper approach: struct UIImageViewWrapper: UIViewRepresentable { let image: UIImage func makeUIView(context: Context) -> UIImageView { let imageView = UIImageView(image: image) imageView.contentMode = .scaleAspectFill return imageView } func updateUIView(_ uiView: UIImageView, context: Context) { uiView.image = image } } Observations Images load successfully (confirmed via console logs) File paths are correct and accessible Same image loading code works perfectly in widgets When testing with UIKit approach, a red prohibition icon appears, suggesting system restrictions Questions Is there a technical limitation preventing user-provided images from displaying in Live Activities? Are there specific security restrictions for Live Activity backgrounds that don't apply to widgets? Is this behavior intentional based on Apple's design guidelines for Live Activities? What's the recommended approach for custom backgrounds in Live Activities? Apple Documentation Reference I found this guidance in "10 questions with the Live Activities team": "The Dynamic Island is most immersive when you don't provide background color or imagery — think of it purely as a canvas of foreground view elements." However, this seems to be design guidance rather than a technical restriction, and it doesn't specifically address Lock Screen Live Activities. Expected Behavior Custom user images should display as backgrounds in Live Activities, similar to how they work in widgets. Current Workaround I've implemented a color extraction system that generates gradients based on the dominant colors of user images, but users specifically want to see their actual images. Has anyone successfully implemented custom user images as Live Activity backgrounds, or can Apple clarify the intended behavior and limitations? Thank you for any insights!
0
0
200
Aug ’25
How to opt out of tinting content in visionOS widgets
During the WWDC Session called "Design widgets for visionOS" the presenter says: You can choose whether the background of your widget participates in tinting. If you opted out, for example to preserve a photo or illustration, make sure it still looks good alongside the selected color palette. https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2025/255 Unfortunately, this session has no example code. Can someone point me to the correct way to do this? Is there a modifier we can use on views? When a user selects one the tint colors using the configuration screen, we would like to prevent some views from being tinted.
0
0
109
Jul ’25
Generating token using pushToStartTokenUpdates in terminated state
Pretty much the title. I am a noob in apple app development and currently starting it out. I got stuck in this. Can anyone let me know that how can i generate the token for starting live activity in terminated state? I have tried multiple times to find that this one is not working in terminated state. How can I overcome this? Is there any solution or workaround?
3
0
260
Jul ’25
Configurable Watch Widgets "Unable to Load" watchOS 26 Issue
I updated my IntentWidgetProvider recommendations() to return an empty array instead of all my previous static IntentRecommendation to allow my widgets to finally be configurable. When I go to the watch widget chooser I see samples of my widgets OK: But when I touch the sample would should bring up my configurations, I get "Unable to Load": Anybody see this or have any ideas? Thanks.
4
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416
Jul ’25
Swift UI の 日時表示の.timerでのコロン(:)のユニコードについて
I'm currently exploring ways to update a widget's display independently of the timeline mechanism. While researching, I came across this thread and started experimenting with the approach: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/720640 As part of the implementation, I'm attempting to render a 00:00-style time string using a single custom font glyph via .timer. However, I noticed that the colon character used in .timer doesn't appear to be the standard Unicode 0x003A (colon). It seems to be a different character entirely. Does anyone happen to know exactly which character this colon is? Any insights would be appreciated.
0
0
79
Jul ’25
Can developers use spatial image in third App's Spatial widget
Spatial widget is a new feature of visionos 26. I notice The system’s Photo app can add a Spatial Image in the widget. I wonder if third apps can use spatial image or any 3D content in it's widget? I try to use RealityView in widget and it run with a crash. So does spatial Image in widget only supported by the system Photo app, and not available to developers now?
1
1
779
Jul ’25
visionOS widget dimensions?
Is there any size guidance for the new WidgetKit integration on visionOS? The Widget HIG provides dimensions for all the widget size classes on iOS, iPadOS and watchOS, but has not been updated for visionOS. https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/widgets My potential widget use case is image based, so I'm looking to better understand the optimal size, resolution etc I would need, particularly for the new visionOS specific extra large widget size.
0
0
613
Jul ’25
How to track a Live Activity started via push when the app is terminated and hasn't been relaunched from long time?
Hi all, I'm currently implementing Live Activities using ActivityKit and facing a real-world limitation that I hope the community (or Apple) can clarify. 🔹 I can successfully start a Live Activity via APNs push (event: "start") even when the app is terminated — the Live Activity appears as expected on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. However, I need to update that Live Activity using the name I assigned in the push payload (e.g., match-123). This requires calling: Airship.channel.trackLiveActivity(activity, name: activity.attributes.matchID) …or equivalent code in native implementations to associate the activity with its push token. ❓The problem: If the user has never launched the app, or hasn't opened it after the Live Activity was started via push, then there’s no chance for the app to run this tracking code. So: ✅ Live Activity starts fine via APNs ❌ I can't track the activity and register it for future push updates (by name) until the app is launched ❌ Therefore, I can't update the Live Activity without knowing the token-name mapping 🔍 My question: Is there any way to programmatically track or associate a Live Activity (started via push) with a name for APNs updates, without requiring the app to launch? Or put differently: Can the system automatically track the name → token mapping if the activity is started via push? Is there any way (via entitlement, plist config, or system event) to allow registering the activity in the background (without user launch)? 💡 Notes: I already use pushType: .token and NSSupportsLiveActivitiesFrequentUpdates Live Activity content is fine; only the ability to send future updates is blocked without initial app launch Using Airship SDK for push + activity tracking, but the question is general to iOS + ActivityKit behavior Any insight on how apps like FotMob, Uber, or sports apps handle this situation would be really helpful! Thanks in advance.
1
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284
Jul ’25
Feature Flagging Widgets & Widget Families
I am trying to feature flag widgets in my Widget extension. This feature flag value is stored remotely, read by my main app, and written to UserDefaults, then read from UserDefaults in my widget target. I understand that providing an empty array of WidgetFamilys will not show my app when the user goes to add a widget. However, even when this flag flips to true, hard-closing and reopening my app will not show my app in the list of apps you can add a widget for. But I notice that if I recompile my app from Xcode (running the app's scheme, not the widget scheme), then my app will show when you search for an app to add a widget for, making me think that these Widget objects are only created by the system once when the app is initially installed/updated. My concern is that I will not be able to flip this flag from false to true after the user has installed my app to do a rollout of my widget. Is this expected? Or is there an alternative or otherwise recommended way of doing this? struct MyWidget: Widget { let kind = "MyWidget" var supportedFamilies: [WidgetFamily] { let manager = ExtensionManager() if manager.widgetsEnabled { return [.systemSmall, .systemMedium, .systemLarge] } else { return [] } } var body: some WidgetConfiguration { IntentConfiguration( kind: kind, intent: MyWidgetIntent.self, provider: MyWidgetProvider() ) { entry in MyWidgetView(entry: entry) } .configurationDisplayName("My Widget") .description("Install my widget!") .supportedFamilies(supportedFamilies) } }
0
0
160
Jul ’25
SwiftData changes made in widget via AppIntent are not reflected in main app until full relaunch
Hi, I’m using SwiftData with an @Observable DatabaseManager class that is shared between my app and a widget. This class is located inside a Swift package and looks roughly like this: public final class DatabaseManager { public static let shared = DatabaseManager() private init() { let groupID = "group.com.yourcompany.myApp" let config = ModelConfiguration(groupContainer: .identifier(groupID)) let c = try! ModelContainer(for: MyModel.self, configurations: config) self.container = c self.modelContext = c.mainContext } public private(set) var container: ModelContainer public private(set) var modelContext: ModelContext } In the main app, I inject the container and context like this: struct MyApp: App { var body: some Scene { WindowGroup { ContentView() .modelContainer(DatabaseManager.shared.container) .modelContext(DatabaseManager.shared.modelContext) } } } Both the widget and the main app import the same package, and both use DatabaseManager.shared for reading and writing objects. The problem: When the widget updates an object using an AppIntent, the change is not reflected in the main app unless I fully terminate and relaunch it. If I just bring the app back to the foreground, it still shows stale data. Is there a recommended way to make the main app observe or reload SwiftData changes that were made in the widget (via the same shared app group and container)? I’m already using .modelContainer(...) and .modelContext(...) in the app, and everything else works fine — it’s just the syncing that doesn’t happen unless I force-relaunch the app. Thanks!
2
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338
Jul ’25
iOS 16.0 beta 7 broke Text(Date(), style: .timer) in SwiftUI widgets
Hi, In my apps, the recent iOS 16.0 beta 7 (20A5356a) broke the .timer DateStyle property of the Text view, in a SwiftUI widget. In previous OS and beta, Text(Date(), style: .timer) was correctly displaying an increasing counter. In iOS 6.0 beta 7, Text(Date(), style: .timer) does not update anymore, (and is offset to the left). The other DateStyle (like .offset, .relative, ...) seems to update correctly. Anyone noticed that (very specific) problem ?
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14
12k
Jul ’25
iOS 26 CarPlay Widgets
My company's app has a few widgets and a couple of them we do not want to show up on CarPlay due to safety concerns when iOS 26 releases. I understand Apple's recommended way to prevent users from using your widget in CarPlay is to use the .disfavoredLocations([.carPlay], for: [.systemSmall]), and this puts your widget in the 'Other' section of the widgets. https://developer.apple.com/download/files/CarPlay-Developer-Guide.pdf However, this .carPlay widget location is only available in Xcode 26, and our app cannot be built on Xcode 26 yet due to some build errors. We are able to fix those build errors in a separate branch, but we won't be doing our official release builds on Xcode 26 until it is out of beta, which is usually right before iOS 26 officially releases to general audiences. We release our app versions on a monthly cadence, so the version that will be out when iOS 26 comes out is already in testing. Is there any existing way we can disable this widget on CarPlay so it does not appear to work when tapped? Currently, it opens our CarPlay app, but the CarPlay app does nothing with it. On the iPhone, when you tap the widget it opens our app and performs a function. We don't wan't to disable it on the iPhone, just when it's on CarPlay. We don't have time before the app release to implement the same functionality on our CarPlay app. I haven't found any reliable way to detect if the widget is running in the CarPlay location versus the iPhone home screen. Thanks in advance for any assistance.
Replies
0
Boosts
13
Views
383
Activity
Aug ’25
Ignore Home Screen Tint/Accents in Colored Components
I'm having some trouble getting my widget to display how I want when the user has a tint applied to their home screen. The issue I'm having is with a Text() element, as well as a LinearGradient I am displaying on top of my image. The text should always be white, and the gradient is always black with varying levels of opacity. I've managed to fix this issue with images displayed in my widget by leveraging widgetAccentedRenderingMode(.fullColor) however, there does not seem to be an equivalent of this for non-Image components. I'm aware of .widgetAccentable(false) but as I understand it, elements are already considered not accentable by default and you need to explicitly declare widgetAccentable(true) to add them to the accent group. I've tried specifying this to be false up and down my view hierarchy just to see if something will stick but no luck. Are there any other levers I can pull to preserve the declared colors for my text and gradient components? The images I am displaying is album artwork where preserving the original image is integral, but the tinted text color and overlaid gradient often clash or just looks bad in general. Is there a solution for colored primitive elements?
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
175
Activity
Aug ’25
ControlWidget Gallery doesn't show custom SF Symbols
After reinstalling the App,the ControlWidget Gallery doesn't show custom SF Symbols
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
128
Activity
Aug ’25
How do I use containerRelative on a grid in my widget?
I want to display a grid of items in my widget similar to the systemLarge Shortcuts app widget. I use clipShape(.containerRelative) to get the widget corner radius, but items that do not touch a corner in any way do not get this treatment. This is even worse with the extra large widget. How can I apply the corner radius of the widget minus the padding across all items? It does not seem like the radius is exposed outside of that special shape.
Replies
1
Boosts
0
Views
150
Activity
Aug ’25
Xcode Cloud with watchOS app - unable to archive
I struggling in getting Xcode Cloud to work with a stand alone watch app. This app has the following three targets and each bundle identifier is set up in the Identifiers section of the developer portal. iphone container target called Unleashed abc.xyz.Unleashed watch target called Unleashed Watch App abc.xyz.Unleashed.watchkitapp watch target called Unleashed WidgetExtension abc.xyz.Unleashed.watchkitapp.Unleashed-Widget I have a App Store provisioning set up for abc.xyz.Unleashed.watchkitapp The app runs fine in the watch simulator, but fails with the following when I do an Xcode Cloud build Export archive for ad-hoc distribution Export archive for development distribution Export archive for app-store distribution When I expand each one of these errors it reports: Command exited with non-zero exit-code: 70 I also tried archiving the project in Xcode then selected the Archive but it won't let me validate because that button is disabled. Very confused I have successfully used Xcode Cloud for a phone app but am having a problem with this watch app that has a widget
Replies
2
Boosts
0
Views
170
Activity
Aug ’25
How to opt out of tinting widget content on visionOS
During the WWDC Session called "Design widgets for visionOS" the presenter says: You can choose whether the background of your widget participates in tinting. If you opted out, for example to preserve a photo or illustration, make sure it still looks good alongside the selected color palette. Unfortunately, this session has no example code. Can someone point me to the correct way to do this? Is there a modifier we can use on views? (reposting this in the correct topic/subtopic)
Replies
3
Boosts
0
Views
264
Activity
Aug ’25
watchOS 26 Control Widget AppEnum Localize issue
I’m implementing a Control Widget for watchOS 26 Beta 5, using .promptsForUserConfiguration() so that users can select an option from an enum when adding the widget. The overall functionality works fine, but when users configure the option, the enum’s corresponding text is not properly localized. My enum is defined like this: static var caseDisplayRepresentations: [XXXType: DisplayRepresentation] { [ XX1: .init(title: .init("text1", table: "xxx")), XX2: .init(title: .init("text2", table: "xxx")), ] } After the configuration is completed and the Control Widget appears in the Control Center or Smart Stack, the text is displayed correctly. Same code on iOS work perfect.
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
112
Activity
Aug ’25
Widget Memory Limit - Per Widget Kind/Size or Per Target?
I am building a widget that supports 2 different widget kinds, each supporting systemSmall, systemMedium, and systemLarge size families. My widget does download and display images so I expect memory usage to be on the higher end, but in debugging some memory issues, I notice that when I build my widget scheme to a physical device, things start off reasonable at ~12MB of memory usage. But as I change the widgets intent, add the other widget kind, or add different widget size families, this memory usage grows until it ultimately hits the 30MB cap. My question is, is the 30MB memory limit spread across all my supported widget kinds/sizes? Or does each individual widget get its own 30MB cap? i.e., if I have systemMedium Widget A and systemLarge Widget B, are they sharing that 30MB memory limit?
Replies
1
Boosts
0
Views
224
Activity
Aug ’25
Control Widget SF image cannot stably display
I'm working on the control widget which should display the SF image on the UI, but I have found that it cannot be displayed stably. I have eight CarCtrlWidgets which is about the type doorLock、chargeCover、frontBox、 locateCarLight、 locateCarHorn、 ventilate、 backBox and airCondition, it should all be showed but sometime they only show the text and placeholder. I'm aware of the images should be custom SF image and I can see them to show perfectly sometimes, but in other time it is just failed. This's really confused me, can anyone help me out? deviceversion 18.5;device model iPhone 16 pro;
Replies
0
Boosts
1
Views
118
Activity
Aug ’25
Can custom user images be displayed as backgrounds on Lock Screen?
Background I'm developing an iOS app with Live Activities that allows users to select custom background images. While these custom images display correctly in widgets, they fail to appear in Live Activities on both Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, despite successful image loading and data transfer. Technical Details iOS Version: Testing on iOS 17.2+ Image Storage: Using App Group shared container for image sharing between main app and widget extension Image Loading: Successfully confirmed via logs - images load correctly with proper dimensions UI Framework: SwiftUI with ActivityKit What Works ✅ Custom images display correctly in Home Screen widgets ✅ Built-in bundled images work in Live Activities ✅ Image data successfully transfers via App Group shared container ✅ Image loading logs show successful UIImage creation with correct dimensions What Doesn't Work ❌ Custom user images don't display in Live Activities (Lock Screen) ❌ Custom user images don't display in Dynamic Island ❌ Images appear as black/gray background despite successful loading Code Implementation I've tried multiple approaches: 1. SwiftUI Image approach: Image(uiImage: customImage) .resizable() .aspectRatio(contentMode: .fill) 2. containerBackground API approach: .containerBackground(for: .widget) { Image(uiImage: customImage) .resizable() .aspectRatio(contentMode: .fill) } 3. UIKit wrapper approach: struct UIImageViewWrapper: UIViewRepresentable { let image: UIImage func makeUIView(context: Context) -> UIImageView { let imageView = UIImageView(image: image) imageView.contentMode = .scaleAspectFill return imageView } func updateUIView(_ uiView: UIImageView, context: Context) { uiView.image = image } } Observations Images load successfully (confirmed via console logs) File paths are correct and accessible Same image loading code works perfectly in widgets When testing with UIKit approach, a red prohibition icon appears, suggesting system restrictions Questions Is there a technical limitation preventing user-provided images from displaying in Live Activities? Are there specific security restrictions for Live Activity backgrounds that don't apply to widgets? Is this behavior intentional based on Apple's design guidelines for Live Activities? What's the recommended approach for custom backgrounds in Live Activities? Apple Documentation Reference I found this guidance in "10 questions with the Live Activities team": "The Dynamic Island is most immersive when you don't provide background color or imagery — think of it purely as a canvas of foreground view elements." However, this seems to be design guidance rather than a technical restriction, and it doesn't specifically address Lock Screen Live Activities. Expected Behavior Custom user images should display as backgrounds in Live Activities, similar to how they work in widgets. Current Workaround I've implemented a color extraction system that generates gradients based on the dominant colors of user images, but users specifically want to see their actual images. Has anyone successfully implemented custom user images as Live Activity backgrounds, or can Apple clarify the intended behavior and limitations? Thank you for any insights!
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
200
Activity
Aug ’25
How to opt out of tinting content in visionOS widgets
During the WWDC Session called "Design widgets for visionOS" the presenter says: You can choose whether the background of your widget participates in tinting. If you opted out, for example to preserve a photo or illustration, make sure it still looks good alongside the selected color palette. https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2025/255 Unfortunately, this session has no example code. Can someone point me to the correct way to do this? Is there a modifier we can use on views? When a user selects one the tint colors using the configuration screen, we would like to prevent some views from being tinted.
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
109
Activity
Jul ’25
Generating token using pushToStartTokenUpdates in terminated state
Pretty much the title. I am a noob in apple app development and currently starting it out. I got stuck in this. Can anyone let me know that how can i generate the token for starting live activity in terminated state? I have tried multiple times to find that this one is not working in terminated state. How can I overcome this? Is there any solution or workaround?
Replies
3
Boosts
0
Views
260
Activity
Jul ’25
Configurable Watch Widgets "Unable to Load" watchOS 26 Issue
I updated my IntentWidgetProvider recommendations() to return an empty array instead of all my previous static IntentRecommendation to allow my widgets to finally be configurable. When I go to the watch widget chooser I see samples of my widgets OK: But when I touch the sample would should bring up my configurations, I get "Unable to Load": Anybody see this or have any ideas? Thanks.
Replies
4
Boosts
0
Views
416
Activity
Jul ’25
Swift UI の 日時表示の.timerでのコロン(:)のユニコードについて
I'm currently exploring ways to update a widget's display independently of the timeline mechanism. While researching, I came across this thread and started experimenting with the approach: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/720640 As part of the implementation, I'm attempting to render a 00:00-style time string using a single custom font glyph via .timer. However, I noticed that the colon character used in .timer doesn't appear to be the standard Unicode 0x003A (colon). It seems to be a different character entirely. Does anyone happen to know exactly which character this colon is? Any insights would be appreciated.
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
79
Activity
Jul ’25
Can developers use spatial image in third App's Spatial widget
Spatial widget is a new feature of visionos 26. I notice The system’s Photo app can add a Spatial Image in the widget. I wonder if third apps can use spatial image or any 3D content in it's widget? I try to use RealityView in widget and it run with a crash. So does spatial Image in widget only supported by the system Photo app, and not available to developers now?
Replies
1
Boosts
1
Views
779
Activity
Jul ’25
visionOS widget dimensions?
Is there any size guidance for the new WidgetKit integration on visionOS? The Widget HIG provides dimensions for all the widget size classes on iOS, iPadOS and watchOS, but has not been updated for visionOS. https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/widgets My potential widget use case is image based, so I'm looking to better understand the optimal size, resolution etc I would need, particularly for the new visionOS specific extra large widget size.
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0
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613
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Jul ’25
How to track a Live Activity started via push when the app is terminated and hasn't been relaunched from long time?
Hi all, I'm currently implementing Live Activities using ActivityKit and facing a real-world limitation that I hope the community (or Apple) can clarify. 🔹 I can successfully start a Live Activity via APNs push (event: "start") even when the app is terminated — the Live Activity appears as expected on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. However, I need to update that Live Activity using the name I assigned in the push payload (e.g., match-123). This requires calling: Airship.channel.trackLiveActivity(activity, name: activity.attributes.matchID) …or equivalent code in native implementations to associate the activity with its push token. ❓The problem: If the user has never launched the app, or hasn't opened it after the Live Activity was started via push, then there’s no chance for the app to run this tracking code. So: ✅ Live Activity starts fine via APNs ❌ I can't track the activity and register it for future push updates (by name) until the app is launched ❌ Therefore, I can't update the Live Activity without knowing the token-name mapping 🔍 My question: Is there any way to programmatically track or associate a Live Activity (started via push) with a name for APNs updates, without requiring the app to launch? Or put differently: Can the system automatically track the name → token mapping if the activity is started via push? Is there any way (via entitlement, plist config, or system event) to allow registering the activity in the background (without user launch)? 💡 Notes: I already use pushType: .token and NSSupportsLiveActivitiesFrequentUpdates Live Activity content is fine; only the ability to send future updates is blocked without initial app launch Using Airship SDK for push + activity tracking, but the question is general to iOS + ActivityKit behavior Any insight on how apps like FotMob, Uber, or sports apps handle this situation would be really helpful! Thanks in advance.
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284
Activity
Jul ’25
Feature Flagging Widgets & Widget Families
I am trying to feature flag widgets in my Widget extension. This feature flag value is stored remotely, read by my main app, and written to UserDefaults, then read from UserDefaults in my widget target. I understand that providing an empty array of WidgetFamilys will not show my app when the user goes to add a widget. However, even when this flag flips to true, hard-closing and reopening my app will not show my app in the list of apps you can add a widget for. But I notice that if I recompile my app from Xcode (running the app's scheme, not the widget scheme), then my app will show when you search for an app to add a widget for, making me think that these Widget objects are only created by the system once when the app is initially installed/updated. My concern is that I will not be able to flip this flag from false to true after the user has installed my app to do a rollout of my widget. Is this expected? Or is there an alternative or otherwise recommended way of doing this? struct MyWidget: Widget { let kind = "MyWidget" var supportedFamilies: [WidgetFamily] { let manager = ExtensionManager() if manager.widgetsEnabled { return [.systemSmall, .systemMedium, .systemLarge] } else { return [] } } var body: some WidgetConfiguration { IntentConfiguration( kind: kind, intent: MyWidgetIntent.self, provider: MyWidgetProvider() ) { entry in MyWidgetView(entry: entry) } .configurationDisplayName("My Widget") .description("Install my widget!") .supportedFamilies(supportedFamilies) } }
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160
Activity
Jul ’25
SwiftData changes made in widget via AppIntent are not reflected in main app until full relaunch
Hi, I’m using SwiftData with an @Observable DatabaseManager class that is shared between my app and a widget. This class is located inside a Swift package and looks roughly like this: public final class DatabaseManager { public static let shared = DatabaseManager() private init() { let groupID = "group.com.yourcompany.myApp" let config = ModelConfiguration(groupContainer: .identifier(groupID)) let c = try! ModelContainer(for: MyModel.self, configurations: config) self.container = c self.modelContext = c.mainContext } public private(set) var container: ModelContainer public private(set) var modelContext: ModelContext } In the main app, I inject the container and context like this: struct MyApp: App { var body: some Scene { WindowGroup { ContentView() .modelContainer(DatabaseManager.shared.container) .modelContext(DatabaseManager.shared.modelContext) } } } Both the widget and the main app import the same package, and both use DatabaseManager.shared for reading and writing objects. The problem: When the widget updates an object using an AppIntent, the change is not reflected in the main app unless I fully terminate and relaunch it. If I just bring the app back to the foreground, it still shows stale data. Is there a recommended way to make the main app observe or reload SwiftData changes that were made in the widget (via the same shared app group and container)? I’m already using .modelContainer(...) and .modelContext(...) in the app, and everything else works fine — it’s just the syncing that doesn’t happen unless I force-relaunch the app. Thanks!
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338
Activity
Jul ’25
iOS 16.0 beta 7 broke Text(Date(), style: .timer) in SwiftUI widgets
Hi, In my apps, the recent iOS 16.0 beta 7 (20A5356a) broke the .timer DateStyle property of the Text view, in a SwiftUI widget. In previous OS and beta, Text(Date(), style: .timer) was correctly displaying an increasing counter. In iOS 6.0 beta 7, Text(Date(), style: .timer) does not update anymore, (and is offset to the left). The other DateStyle (like .offset, .relative, ...) seems to update correctly. Anyone noticed that (very specific) problem ?
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Activity
Jul ’25