Explore the art and science of app design. Discuss user interface (UI) design principles, user experience (UX) best practices, and share design resources and inspiration.

Learn about designing great app and game experiences

Posts under General subtopic

Post

Replies

Boosts

Views

Activity

Ask about SF symbols
Hi, I would like to make an educational app for helping my students to learn about malaria diagnosis and need to put some animal icon. In the tabview, is it possible to use system images like monkey, bird, mouse. I cannot see these animals in SF symbol list.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
3
0
198
May ’25
Cloudkit only syncs when app is reloaded.
I've seen a few older posts claiming the same behavior I'm seeing which is my cloudkit/core data app only syncs to iOS when the iOS app is reloaded. Can someone clarify if this is a bug, or the expected behavior. I have an iOS app which the entire purpose of it is to view synced data from MacOS, and I have a refresh button which does nothing because the data only syncs when the app is closed and reopened. Am I supposed to tell users to close and reopen the app to see fresh data? that seems like a terrible UI behavior, and I know apple does not accept this as all of their apps sync without needing to be reloaded. For example the notes app does not need to be reloaded for the MacOS -> iOS data to be synced.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
1
0
936
Oct ’25
iOS 26 Modal View Controller with Transparent Background
Prior to iOS 26, this successfully gave me a modal view with a transparent background: let settingsVC = MySettingsViewController() settingsVC.modalPresentationStyle = .automatic //settingsVC.modalPresentationStyle = .overCurrentContext self.present(settingsVC, animated: true, completion: { } MySettingsViewController: self.view.backgroundColor = UIColor(white: 0, alpha: 0.5) Now in iOS 26, modal view is presented in a opaque grey background.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
0
0
691
Oct ’25
Correct way to handle 2 to 3 column switch
I'm using a NavigationSplitView on macOS which needs to show 2 or 3 columns depending on the selection of the sidebar. Column 1 has a list of main activities. Some of these just have some data to show and some have a sublist. Currently, when an item that has no sublist is selected, I set the 2nd column (content:) to: Spacer() .navigationSplitViewColumnWidth(0) This works, although it started hitting bugs requiring a workaround on macOS 26, which got me wondering, what is the correct approach here? NavigationSplitViewVisibility.doubleColumn is not the solution, as this hides column 1, not column 2.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
0
0
838
Oct ’25
My experience With IOS 26 Beta
Hello Apple Developers i am here write down my experience with the IOS 26 Beta first off i would like to say that i kind of do/don't like the new iquid glass UI/UIX Designs in some parrts of the ios like in m ust 3rd Party Apps like Uber Lyrith MJ Access Link Moblie app DoorDash VLC And Apple Music App just to name of few since i have installed the beta i have ran into a few bugs i have alread sent to the feeback app via iphone but i'm going to write them here as will i'm not looking for troubleshoots or tech support i'm just shareing my experience with the apple community and the Apple Development/Enginer Team to fine tone for release Time please note that i am a user with Vision impairment so please by respect to me due to my writteing issues and grammer and spelling so here i go my first bug that i ran into on the first day was when i was listening to some music trakcs in the apple muisc app when scrolling down or up fast the app will froze for mill secend then contiune as noraml my second bug that i ran into dureing music play was with my Crossfade settings not working on some tracks im not sure if this is due to BMP alignment or AI algorithm integration with in the software itseif but for me this takes me out of the listening experince that i have when i enjoy listening to music My suggestion Move the AutoMix and Crossfade Settings in to the Apple Music its seif and give the user more controll over how long or how short they want the crossfade or autmix to happen dureing the ending of each tracked play also for the cross fade option is set at 12 increase this to 30 secs or more if possiable or add an BPM options for the Automix to mix in the next track via BMP for simple of my rock track is at 148 BMP the next track should be pop or kpop or rap synceing up with that same BMP speed or similar at 148 BMP my next suggestion for the Apple Music App Shameless track mode (this mode to can be Incorporated) in to the Automix Featrue this redue some music tracks that ends abruptly some MP3 tracks added outside of the Apple Music App seems to broke dureing playback My 3rd bug that i ran in to with the Glass UI for controll Center like i stated before i am Vision impaired with the clear Glass over lapping the current UI for me this hard for me to tell what icons i am looking atside from the Voolum and Brightness Bars i am asking please make this more dark theme and make the icons brigher or add name undernearth the icons or Flip the Dark them or dan the current UI over lapping the Controlor center or add White colors with Black Arrows/icons for all Apple App that has this Glass UI in side of cause this is driving me nuts My 4th Bug that i ran into was with the lock screen/restart/reboot ohh girl where do i began with this one let's with the notifications i don't know who through it was a good idea to have a Clear Bright UI over lapping the Notifications this is very annoying via imessage Texting cause my custom wallpaper Blends in with a white background and this is Worst My suggestion for this is very simple darkering the background on the lock screen abit more so the text is more reader or increase the Notification bars (this is for users like myseif that use Dark mode) My 5th Bug involves my Back ups/Restore/Corrupated < is seif explanatory when i tryed to downgrand back to Version 18.5/18.6 nothing happened so please fix this or make it a bit more easyer for users to be able to back up/Retore their Devices now i has to wait until (Tomttow morning Friday) to factory reset my phone my conclusion since Beta Users and Developers and Engiers are Still testing please take look at my suggestion and try to bring not all but some of them in to public Release Thank You! Update i would like to Downgrad from IOS 26 Developer Beta back to IOS 18.5
0
0
308
Jun ’25
Modal Shadows - In App Purchases (macOS)
Hey, everyone. I'm having an issue with my modal shadows when building for macOS. I've attached an image to show you what's going on. I have a rounded corner window, and when the In-App Purchase overlay opens, the modal shadow of that rounded window is square (which doesn't make sense, and looks bad). Can somebody please help me address this? I've tried searching high and low for a solution but I can't find anything :-( I really appreciate you taking a look! -Logan
1
0
1.7k
Nov ’25
.Net MAUI (Windows & Mac)
What is the step-by-step process to run an iOS application paired with the Mac in my MAUI project? I am using Windows with Visual Studio 2022 V17.13.5. Application: Multiplatform; Language: C#; Framework: MAUI 8; Xcode: 16.2; Objective: Identify and fix the issue to allow the application to run correctly.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
0
0
211
May ’25
SF Symbols Variable Draw without the background.
Is it possible to use the new variable draw feature for a custom SF Symbol without it leaving the background behind it when it is not drawn? I am trying to make a tally icon that is drawn with the variable draw, but it doesn't look good if the tally is visible in the background before it is drawn.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
0
0
126
Jun ’25
Display problem with keyboard in iOS 26
The problem is the same in all of my applications. To reproduce it, in iOS 26, set the dark mode in the Brightness and display settings and in Accessibility, Display and text size, activate Increase contrast and bold text. With these settings, all the controls will be surrounded by a thin white line. When in the app a keyboard is dispayed, the thin white line does not appears correctly around the keyboard like in the capture joined, it is present on top and partially on bottom but not on sides
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
1
0
1.8k
Nov ’25
The airdrop was sent to the wrong device. Will modifying the interface in this way reduce the error
I have many Apple devices, such as macbook, iPad and iPhone. It's very convenient for me to transfer files between devices. However, when I want to send files to my own device in public places, I often click on the wrong recipient because the list avatar keeps changing. I hope the list of recipients can be grouped One group is my own device (or the one I often send to), and the other group is other devices. When the user is about to send, the mouse will be in a relatively fixed and mentally expected area. I feel that this can reduce the probability of sending wrongly
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
3
0
709
Nov ’25
SwiftUI Logo
I see the logo all over the internet, but the only Official logo I can find is the swift logo, the orange one, but the blue one I do not see a place to download it nor the usage guidelines. I have seen it on various Icon site like Icon8. I would like to use it on my reddit forum that is dedicated to SwiftUI but I want to be legal. Is it allowed to use and if so, where can you download the official verison?
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
0
0
731
Nov ’25
Stacked-sheets vs. nav-stack-in-a-sheet for navigation hierarchies on top of a map
I couldn't help noticing that the Maps and Find My apps make extensive use of "sheets stacked on top of each other" to represent its navigation hierarchy, with a "new content comes in from the bottom" orientation instead of a navigation stack with "new content comes in from the right side" oriented transitions. I'm interested in this topic because I have a similar navigation-hierarchy-over-a-map case in my app (with a custom map view though) and I'm torn back and forth between the approach of replicating the "stacked sheets" vs. putting a navigation stack in a sheet, esp. with the navstack approach being way more attainable with the iOS 26 glass design. I couldn't find any guidance for this kind of UI in the Human Interface Guidelines; I'm leaning towards the navstack-approach for my app; but in terms of the behavior of the SwiftUI container views in this scenario it seems a little bit of an uphill path. Any thoughts on what pattern should be preferred for presenting a deep navigational hierarchy on top of a map-like view?
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
1
0
320
Jul ’25
Ask about SF symbols
Hi, I would like to make an educational app for helping my students to learn about malaria diagnosis and need to put some animal icon. In the tabview, is it possible to use system images like monkey, bird, mouse. I cannot see these animals in SF symbol list.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
Replies
3
Boosts
0
Views
198
Activity
May ’25
Red badge without a number
In the past, we had a red badge without a number on the app icon. We want to bring it back. Please provide instructions.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
Replies
1
Boosts
0
Views
511
Activity
Jul ’25
Cloudkit only syncs when app is reloaded.
I've seen a few older posts claiming the same behavior I'm seeing which is my cloudkit/core data app only syncs to iOS when the iOS app is reloaded. Can someone clarify if this is a bug, or the expected behavior. I have an iOS app which the entire purpose of it is to view synced data from MacOS, and I have a refresh button which does nothing because the data only syncs when the app is closed and reopened. Am I supposed to tell users to close and reopen the app to see fresh data? that seems like a terrible UI behavior, and I know apple does not accept this as all of their apps sync without needing to be reloaded. For example the notes app does not need to be reloaded for the MacOS -> iOS data to be synced.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
Replies
1
Boosts
0
Views
936
Activity
Oct ’25
iOS 26 Modal View Controller with Transparent Background
Prior to iOS 26, this successfully gave me a modal view with a transparent background: let settingsVC = MySettingsViewController() settingsVC.modalPresentationStyle = .automatic //settingsVC.modalPresentationStyle = .overCurrentContext self.present(settingsVC, animated: true, completion: { } MySettingsViewController: self.view.backgroundColor = UIColor(white: 0, alpha: 0.5) Now in iOS 26, modal view is presented in a opaque grey background.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
691
Activity
Oct ’25
Correct way to handle 2 to 3 column switch
I'm using a NavigationSplitView on macOS which needs to show 2 or 3 columns depending on the selection of the sidebar. Column 1 has a list of main activities. Some of these just have some data to show and some have a sublist. Currently, when an item that has no sublist is selected, I set the 2nd column (content:) to: Spacer() .navigationSplitViewColumnWidth(0) This works, although it started hitting bugs requiring a workaround on macOS 26, which got me wondering, what is the correct approach here? NavigationSplitViewVisibility.doubleColumn is not the solution, as this hides column 1, not column 2.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
838
Activity
Oct ’25
My experience With IOS 26 Beta
Hello Apple Developers i am here write down my experience with the IOS 26 Beta first off i would like to say that i kind of do/don't like the new iquid glass UI/UIX Designs in some parrts of the ios like in m ust 3rd Party Apps like Uber Lyrith MJ Access Link Moblie app DoorDash VLC And Apple Music App just to name of few since i have installed the beta i have ran into a few bugs i have alread sent to the feeback app via iphone but i'm going to write them here as will i'm not looking for troubleshoots or tech support i'm just shareing my experience with the apple community and the Apple Development/Enginer Team to fine tone for release Time please note that i am a user with Vision impairment so please by respect to me due to my writteing issues and grammer and spelling so here i go my first bug that i ran into on the first day was when i was listening to some music trakcs in the apple muisc app when scrolling down or up fast the app will froze for mill secend then contiune as noraml my second bug that i ran into dureing music play was with my Crossfade settings not working on some tracks im not sure if this is due to BMP alignment or AI algorithm integration with in the software itseif but for me this takes me out of the listening experince that i have when i enjoy listening to music My suggestion Move the AutoMix and Crossfade Settings in to the Apple Music its seif and give the user more controll over how long or how short they want the crossfade or autmix to happen dureing the ending of each tracked play also for the cross fade option is set at 12 increase this to 30 secs or more if possiable or add an BPM options for the Automix to mix in the next track via BMP for simple of my rock track is at 148 BMP the next track should be pop or kpop or rap synceing up with that same BMP speed or similar at 148 BMP my next suggestion for the Apple Music App Shameless track mode (this mode to can be Incorporated) in to the Automix Featrue this redue some music tracks that ends abruptly some MP3 tracks added outside of the Apple Music App seems to broke dureing playback My 3rd bug that i ran in to with the Glass UI for controll Center like i stated before i am Vision impaired with the clear Glass over lapping the current UI for me this hard for me to tell what icons i am looking atside from the Voolum and Brightness Bars i am asking please make this more dark theme and make the icons brigher or add name undernearth the icons or Flip the Dark them or dan the current UI over lapping the Controlor center or add White colors with Black Arrows/icons for all Apple App that has this Glass UI in side of cause this is driving me nuts My 4th Bug that i ran into was with the lock screen/restart/reboot ohh girl where do i began with this one let's with the notifications i don't know who through it was a good idea to have a Clear Bright UI over lapping the Notifications this is very annoying via imessage Texting cause my custom wallpaper Blends in with a white background and this is Worst My suggestion for this is very simple darkering the background on the lock screen abit more so the text is more reader or increase the Notification bars (this is for users like myseif that use Dark mode) My 5th Bug involves my Back ups/Restore/Corrupated < is seif explanatory when i tryed to downgrand back to Version 18.5/18.6 nothing happened so please fix this or make it a bit more easyer for users to be able to back up/Retore their Devices now i has to wait until (Tomttow morning Friday) to factory reset my phone my conclusion since Beta Users and Developers and Engiers are Still testing please take look at my suggestion and try to bring not all but some of them in to public Release Thank You! Update i would like to Downgrad from IOS 26 Developer Beta back to IOS 18.5
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
308
Activity
Jun ’25
MacOS app icon not seen in Stagemanger
Hello, I used icon composer to create an icon for my Mac OS app and it seemed to have worked. I see the app icon everywhere except for window expose or stage manager. Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated!
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
347
Activity
Jul ’25
Developer beta26.4
[Iphone11]
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
Replies
1
Boosts
0
Views
637
Activity
Jul ’25
Where can I find a 2022 Style Guide?
I have the June 2025 version, but I'd like to find the 2022. There was something removed from the 2022 that I would like to check out.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
777
Activity
Oct ’25
Photos Sync not working
I’m not a developer - I’m just trying to find out where to post a question I have that might relate to iOS 26.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
Replies
2
Boosts
0
Views
711
Activity
Oct ’25
Shadow on top of a Vision OS icon
Hi guys, I've exported pngs for the middle and front images of an icon but I still se this weird shadow on top of the icon. Do anyone knows how to solve this?
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
1.4k
Activity
Nov ’25
During Apple subscription renewals in the sandbox environment, why isn't Apple's server sending the server-to-server notifications to our backend?
We're using StoreKit for in-app purchases on iOS, and our backend has the server notification URL configured. However, during subscription renewals, Apple's server doesn't send any requests to our endpoint. What could be causing this?
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
Replies
1
Boosts
0
Views
467
Activity
Jul ’25
Modal Shadows - In App Purchases (macOS)
Hey, everyone. I'm having an issue with my modal shadows when building for macOS. I've attached an image to show you what's going on. I have a rounded corner window, and when the In-App Purchase overlay opens, the modal shadow of that rounded window is square (which doesn't make sense, and looks bad). Can somebody please help me address this? I've tried searching high and low for a solution but I can't find anything :-( I really appreciate you taking a look! -Logan
Replies
1
Boosts
0
Views
1.7k
Activity
Nov ’25
HDR app icon support
Does iOS 26 support HDR images for app icons to be rendered in High Dynamic Range for Springboard or not?
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
195
Activity
Nov ’25
.Net MAUI (Windows & Mac)
What is the step-by-step process to run an iOS application paired with the Mac in my MAUI project? I am using Windows with Visual Studio 2022 V17.13.5. Application: Multiplatform; Language: C#; Framework: MAUI 8; Xcode: 16.2; Objective: Identify and fix the issue to allow the application to run correctly.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
211
Activity
May ’25
SF Symbols Variable Draw without the background.
Is it possible to use the new variable draw feature for a custom SF Symbol without it leaving the background behind it when it is not drawn? I am trying to make a tally icon that is drawn with the variable draw, but it doesn't look good if the tally is visible in the background before it is drawn.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
126
Activity
Jun ’25
Display problem with keyboard in iOS 26
The problem is the same in all of my applications. To reproduce it, in iOS 26, set the dark mode in the Brightness and display settings and in Accessibility, Display and text size, activate Increase contrast and bold text. With these settings, all the controls will be surrounded by a thin white line. When in the app a keyboard is dispayed, the thin white line does not appears correctly around the keyboard like in the capture joined, it is present on top and partially on bottom but not on sides
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
Replies
1
Boosts
0
Views
1.8k
Activity
Nov ’25
The airdrop was sent to the wrong device. Will modifying the interface in this way reduce the error
I have many Apple devices, such as macbook, iPad and iPhone. It's very convenient for me to transfer files between devices. However, when I want to send files to my own device in public places, I often click on the wrong recipient because the list avatar keeps changing. I hope the list of recipients can be grouped One group is my own device (or the one I often send to), and the other group is other devices. When the user is about to send, the mouse will be in a relatively fixed and mentally expected area. I feel that this can reduce the probability of sending wrongly
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
Replies
3
Boosts
0
Views
709
Activity
Nov ’25
SwiftUI Logo
I see the logo all over the internet, but the only Official logo I can find is the swift logo, the orange one, but the blue one I do not see a place to download it nor the usage guidelines. I have seen it on various Icon site like Icon8. I would like to use it on my reddit forum that is dedicated to SwiftUI but I want to be legal. Is it allowed to use and if so, where can you download the official verison?
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
731
Activity
Nov ’25
Stacked-sheets vs. nav-stack-in-a-sheet for navigation hierarchies on top of a map
I couldn't help noticing that the Maps and Find My apps make extensive use of "sheets stacked on top of each other" to represent its navigation hierarchy, with a "new content comes in from the bottom" orientation instead of a navigation stack with "new content comes in from the right side" oriented transitions. I'm interested in this topic because I have a similar navigation-hierarchy-over-a-map case in my app (with a custom map view though) and I'm torn back and forth between the approach of replicating the "stacked sheets" vs. putting a navigation stack in a sheet, esp. with the navstack approach being way more attainable with the iOS 26 glass design. I couldn't find any guidance for this kind of UI in the Human Interface Guidelines; I'm leaning towards the navstack-approach for my app; but in terms of the behavior of the SwiftUI container views in this scenario it seems a little bit of an uphill path. Any thoughts on what pattern should be preferred for presenting a deep navigational hierarchy on top of a map-like view?
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
Replies
1
Boosts
0
Views
320
Activity
Jul ’25