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iOS 26/MacOS 26 - PWA App Icons: Dark,Clear,Tinted Appearance
Hi everyone, I'm exploring the new app icon appearance options (Clear, Dark, Tinted) for Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) on iOS26, iPadOS26, and macOS26. Currently, PWA icons don't seem to render well with these new appearances, particularly in Clear and Tinted modes, resulting in very very poor visual quality. You can hardly see anything. Has support for these icon appearances been fully implemented for PWAs? If so, could someone point me to the relevant Apple Developer documentation or provide guidance on how to configure PWA icons to support Clear, Dark, and Tinted appearances? I've searched the Apple Developer Forums, Stack Overflow, and Reddit but haven't found clear information on this topic.A possible solution is a png file with transparent areas, but if the pattern is dark, nothing will be visible in dark mode. Any insights or resources would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! (plz don't give up on PWA😭) Reference: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/761615 https://stackoverflow.com/questions/78780916/is-there-a-way-to-provide-light-dark-and-tinted-variants-of-apple-touch-icon https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/AppleApplications/Reference/SafariWebContent/ConfiguringWebApplications/ConfiguringWebApplications.html
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Jun ’25
Icon Composer missing margins
I'm trying out Icon Composer Version 1.0 (27.4). I imported a simple logo and sized it in the outer circle. The icon appears good in the Icon Composer. But when I export the file and use it for my app icon it seems to be missing a margin or padding that other native application icons have. Am i supposed to be adding my own padding to these resulting icons or am I building them incorrectly? Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks!
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
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130
Jun ’25
HotKey support for sandboxed apps
App design: macos, Xcode 16.4, Sequioa 15.5, it is sandboxed Uses: Pods->HotKey for a global hotkey which xcode says "binary compatibility can't be guaranteed" This app is on the Apple Store and supposedly apps on the Apple Store can't use global hotkeys. Someone internally, installed it from the store and the global hotkey works just fine. I'm concerned for two potential problems; I need to find a hotkey library or code that is known to work with a sandbox'd Apple Store app. Why is it working now when everything I have read says it shouldn't.
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Jun ’25
Unable to Add Font to Asset Catalog as a Font Set (Appearing as "Data")
Hi Support Team, I am new here. I am unable to add my fonts to the asset catalog there is no option to add new font set when I click the plus sign. When I drag my files in they show up as data. I have a Contents.json in the font folder called BeVietnamProFont.font. Is there something I am doing wrong? Thanks SO much! { "info": { "version": 1, "author": "xcode" }, "properties": {}, "fonts": [ { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-Black.ttf", "weight": "black", "style": "normal" }, { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-BlackItalic.ttf", "weight": "black", "style": "italic" }, { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-Bold.ttf", "weight": "bold", "style": "normal" }, { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-BoldItalic.ttf", "weight": "bold", "style": "italic" }, { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-ExtraBold.ttf", "weight": "heavy", "style": "normal" }, { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-ExtraBoldItalic.ttf", "weight": "heavy", "style": "italic" }, { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-ExtraLight.ttf", "weight": "ultralight", "style": "normal" }, { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-ExtraLightItalic.ttf", "weight": "ultralight", "style": "italic" }, { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-Light.ttf", "weight": "light", "style": "normal" }, { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-LightItalic.ttf", "weight": "light", "style": "italic" }, { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-Regular.ttf", "weight": "regular", "style": "normal" }, { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-Italic.ttf", "weight": "regular", "style": "italic" }, { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-Medium.ttf", "weight": "medium", "style": "normal" }, { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-MediumItalic.ttf", "weight": "medium", "style": "italic" }, { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-SemiBold.ttf", "weight": "semibold", "style": "normal" }, { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-SemiBoldItalic.ttf", "weight": "semibold", "style": "italic" }, { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-Thin.ttf", "weight": "thin", "style": "normal" }, { "filename": "BeVietnamPro-ThinItalic.ttf", "weight": "thin", "style": "italic" } ] } ![]("https://developer.apple.com/forums/content/attachment/56835f04-d1c1-468f-808b-9a786562d367" "title=Screenshot 2025-07-13 at 1.05.05 PM.png ;width=539;height=630")
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Jul ’25
Issue with External Browser on Sign In (Privy SDK limitation)
Hello Apple App Review Team, We are using Privy to enable sign in with Farcaster in our app. Privy is a 3rd party authentication SDK, and it currently opens the authentication URL using the system browser. Unfortunately, this behavior is handled internally by Privy and we do not have access or control to override it in order to present the sign-in flow in-app using SFSafariViewController. We understand the importance of maintaining a seamless and secure user experience, and we fully support the use of SFSafariViewController or ASWebAuthenticationSession. However, since Privy does not expose an option to change this behavior at the moment, we are limited by their current implementation. We have reached out to the Privy team requesting a change or improvement that would allow us to use SFSafariViewController instead of the external browser. In the meantime, we would appreciate your guidance on how to proceed, or whether an exception could be granted due to this 3rd party SDK limitation. Thank you for your understanding and support.
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Jul ’25
Optimizing for the 500 widgets and updating it faster in iOS
I am creating 500 textfield widgets and then updating them and all their 40 properties at once. I require to update all 500 widgets with their properties at once as it is a usecase in our app, so pooling and showing only those that will be on screen won't really help in this case. I have found that for updating all these 500 textfield widgets with their 40 properties, the time taken is 80 to 100 milliseconds. However, if I update the non-string properties like .text, then it comes down to half which is 40 to 50 milliseconds. Wanted to know if there was a far more quicker or optimized way to do this? The following snippet of code shows what I am doing: @objc private func handleImmediateMode() { let startTime = CFAbsoluteTimeGetCurrent() for (index, textField) in retainedInputFields.enumerated() { updateAllProperties(for: textField, index: index) } let endTime = CFAbsoluteTimeGetCurrent() print("Immediate Mode -- (500 fields, 40 props): \( (endTime - startTime) * 1000) ms") } In the above code, I have already created the 500 textfield widget, and then in updateAllProperties () function I am passing the textfield widget to it and then updating the 40 properties that the widget has. Particularily, the following properties: textField.placeholder = "Input Field (index)" UILabel().text Seem to be adding the extra 40 - 50 milliseconds.
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Jul ’25
iPadOS Floating Tab Bar Items (unselected) use Black Text - Unreadable with App Black Background (Dark Mode): UIKit App
Reference Feedback FB19152594 Occurs with my 3rd Party UIKit App called "Lifeorities". Latest occurrence was 7/27/25 at 13:49 pm. Launch app (actual device running iPadOS 26 or iPadOS 26 simulator) Initial screen displays view content and floating tab bar at top of screen (both portrait orientation and landscape). Floating tab bar items respond to liquid glass effect (but liquid glass appearance of the whole tab bar doesn't comply with new glass pill shaped tab bar area). Selected tab bar item obeys selected app designated color (assets). Unselected tab bar items are using black text which is unreadable on app background which used dark mode as default (as intended). Selecting another tab bar item shows the liquid glass effect as you navigate to the new tab bar item and shows the app designated color (assets). Previous tab bar item that was selected, now is unselected and shows black text. NOTE: iOS tab bar items work fine (show white foreground color as desired for unselected tab bar items).
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Aug ’25
Maintain app icon contrast when switching to grayscale mode
Context & Issue I am developing an iOS application. My app icon uses colors that are relatively close to each other. When the user enables Accessibility → Display & Text Size → Color Filters → Grayscale (or similar modes), the icon becomes harder to distinguish because it loses color and contrast is reduced. Goal When iOS switches to grayscale mode, I want the app icon to maintain good contrast between its elements so it remains clearly recognizable. What I’ve tried Redesigned the icon with more contrasting colors. Added strokes/outlines, but it still doesn’t look much better in grayscale. Researched how iOS renders app icons when grayscale is enabled, but couldn’t find a way to override or provide an alternative icon. Specific questions Is there any API or mechanism in iOS that allows providing a different version of the app icon when the user has grayscale mode enabled? If there’s no direct API, are there any best practices for designing iOS app icons to ensure good contrast when converted to grayscale? Do we have to design grayscale version for app icon? Thank you!
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240
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?
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Aug ’25
Menu view flashes white before closing when device is set to dark appearance
Feedback ID: FB19846667 When dismissing a Menu view when the device is set to dark appearance, there is a flash of lightness that is distracting and feels unnatural. This becomes an issue for apps that rely on the user interacting with Menu views often. When using the overflow menu on a toolbar, the effect of dismissing the menu is a lot more natural and there is less flashing. I expect a similar visual effect when creating Menu views outside of a toolbar. Has anyone found a way around this somehow? Comparison between dismissing a menu and a toolbar overflow: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/H2gUQOwos3Y Slowed down version of dismissing a menu with a visible light flash: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MBCCkK-GfqY
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Aug ’25
iOS 26 UIBarButtonItem badge
I'm using the new badge feature for UIBarButtonItem, but it's not working properly for me when transitioning between view controllers. I have two view controller with various right bar button items. In the first view controller the first button (the one with the bell) has a badge with a numeric count. The second view controller has the same button but in the third position. When I push the second view controller, it seems that the badge maintains also the old position, so I see two buttons with badges instead of one. What can I do to fix this?
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
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740
Sep ’25
iOS 26: UITabBarItem.isEnabled = false no longer prevents selection (works on iOS 18)
Code that disables a tab bar item via UITabBarItem.isEnabled = false used to both grey out the item and block taps on iOS 18. On iOS 26, the item often remains tappable and selectable, even though isEnabled is set to false. This looks like a behavior change or regression. func disableTabbarItems(tabbar: UITabBarController, isEnable: Bool, index: Int) { if let tabItems = tabbar.tabBar.items { let tabItem = tabItems[index] tabItem.isEnabled = isEnable } ![]("https://developer.apple.com/forums/content/attachment/a3c0bafb-2b10-44c3-8d76-d31bd83f30f7" "title=iOS 18.jpg;width=1179;height=279") } ![]("https://developer.apple.com/forums/content/attachment/4bbaccf3-292b-4790-b272-0d9809ba2949" "title=iOS 26.jpg;width=828;height=196")
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Sep ’25
Manage Safari 26 top bar transparency (Mac)
Hello from Leipzig, Germany! I noticed that when vertically scrolling in Safari 26 on my Mac, the content of the website I am currently working on is visible in the tab and URL bar with a liquid glass effect. I then looked at various other websites. Some websites have an opaque top bar. Some websites have a transparent top bar where content is visible when scrolling. On the Apple website, the top bar is opaque in light mode but transparent in dark mode. Unfortunately, I can't find a way to control this behavior. Has anyone found out more about this?
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198
Sep ’25
Windows Apple Music: how to enumerate the local library or export it? Is Library.musicdb documented / API available?
Environment Windows 11 [edition/build]: [e.g., 23H2, 22631.x] Apple Music for Windows version: [e.g., 1.x.x from Microsoft Store] Library folder: C:\Users<user>\Music\Apple Music\Apple Music Library.musiclibrary Summary I need a supported way to programmatically enumerate the local Apple Music library on Windows (track file paths, playlists, etc.) for reconciliation with the on-disk Media folder. On macOS this used to be straightforward via scripting/export; on Windows I can’t find an equivalent. What I’m seeing in the library bundle Library.musicdb → not SQLite. First 4 bytes: 68 66 6D 61 ("hfma"). Library Preferences.musicdb → also starts with "hfma". artwork.sqlite → SQLite but appears to be artwork cache only (no track file paths). Extras.itdb → has SQLite format 3 header but (from a quick scan) not seeing track locations. Genius.itdb → not a SQLite database on this machine. What I’ve tried Attempted to open Library.musicdb with SQLite providers → error: “file is not a database.” Binary/string scans (ASCII, UTF-16LE/BE, null-stripped) of Library.musicdb → did not reveal file paths or obvious plist/XML/JSON blobs. The Windows Apple Music UI doesn’t appear to expose “Export Library / Export Playlist” like legacy iTunes did, and I can’t find a public API for local library enumeration on Windows. What I’m trying to accomplish Read local track entries (absolute or relative paths), detect broken links, and reconcile against the Media folder. A read-only solution is fine; I do not need to modify the library. Questions for Apple Is the Library.musicdb file format documented anywhere, or is there a supported SDK/API to enumerate the local library on Windows? Is there a supported export mechanism (CLI, UI, or API) on Windows Apple Music to dump the local library and/or playlists (XML/CSV/JSON)? Is there a Windows-specific equivalent to the old iTunes COM automation or any MusicKit surface that can return local library items (not streaming catalog) and their file locations? If none of the above exist today, is there a recommended workaround from Apple for library reconciliation on Windows (e.g., documented support for importing M3U/M3U8 to rebuild the local library from disk)? Are there any plans/timeline for adding Windows feature parity with iTunes/Music on macOS for exporting or scripting the local library? Why this matters For large personal libraries, users occasionally end up with orphaned files on disk or broken links in the app. Without an export or API, it’s difficult to audit and fix at scale on Windows. Reference details (in case it helps triage) Library.musicdb header bytes: 68-66-6D-61-A0-00-00-00-10-26-34-00-15-00-01-00 (ASCII shows hfma…). artwork.sqlite is readable but doesn’t contain track file paths (appears limited to artwork). I can supply a minimal repro tool and logs if that’s helpful. Feature request (if no current API) Add an official Export Library/Playlists action on Windows Apple Music, or Provide a read-only Windows API (or schema doc) that surfaces track file locations and playlist membership from the local library. Thanks in advance for any guidance or pointers to docs I might have missed.
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Sep ’25
SSC Distinguished Winner here😃! I created the1st game 100 % using Apple Pencil to interact. Interested in joining our DC?
Hey everyone, I'm beyond excited to share that I've been selected as a Distinguished Winner in this year's Swift Student Challenge! 🎉 It all started last summer, in the middle of a Western Culture class. I was zoning out , and my attention drifted to the Apple Pencil in my hand. And then ,it hit me — this thing is literally a next-level game controller. Think about it: pixel-perfect precision, haptic feedback, multiple built-in sensors... Why aren't we using this for gaming? And that got me thinking — why have we spent the last 500 years treating the "pencil" as just a tool for creation, and not for play? Since graphite pencils were invented in 1564, we've had this incredibly natural way to interact with 2D and 3D space... and nobody's fully tapped into it for games. So, I did something about it. I built a game that's 100% controlled by the Apple Pencil yep, just the Pencil. I know what you're thinking: "How does that even work??" And honestly, I'd love to tell you... but I'm in the final stages of getting it onto the App Store, and it should be live within the next couple of weeks. So for now... 🤐😄 In the meantime, I've set up a Discord server for anyone who's curious about the gameplay, the design, or just wants to brainstorm ideas with me. If you're into creative controls, game design, or just want to hang — come join the conversation! [Join the Discord here!] https://discord.gg/5Rm8WKbekf Can't wait to share more soon!
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Sep ’25