I’m running Xcode 26.1.1 (17B100) with deployment target iOS 18.0+, and I’m seeing a consistent and reproducible issue on real devices (iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro):
Problem
The first time the user taps into a TextField or a SwiftUI .searchable field after app launch, the app freezes for 30–45 seconds before the keyboard appears.
During the freeze, the device console floods with:
XPC connection interrupted Reporter disconnected. { function=sendMessage, reporterID=XXXXXXXXXXXX } -[RTIInputSystemClient remoteTextInputSessionWithID:performInputOperation:] perform input operation requires a valid sessionID. inputModality = Keyboard customInfoType = UIEmojiSearchOperations
After the keyboard finally appears once, the issue never happens again until the app is force-quit.
This occurs on device
Reproduction Steps
Minimal reproducible setup:
Create a new SwiftUI app.
Add a single TextField or .searchable modifier.
Install Firebase (Firestore or Analytics is enough).
Build and run on device.
Tap the text field immediately after the home screen appears.
Result: App freezes for 30–45 seconds before keyboard appears, with continuous XPC/RTIInputSystem errors in the logs.
If Firebase is removed, the issue occurs less often, but still happens occasionally.
Even If Firebase initialization is delayed by ~0.5 seconds, the issue is still there.
Question
Is this a known issue with iOS 18 / RTIInputSystem / Xcode 26.1.1, and is there a recommended workaround? Delaying Firebase initialization avoids the freeze, but this isn’t ideal for production apps with startup authentication requirements.
Any guidance or confirmation would be appreciated.