Hello everyone,
I'm very impressed with the Liquid Glass design introduced in iOS 26, especially how native app icons automatically adapt to the system's display mode (dark or light).
This brings me to a question: Is it possible to make a website shortcut icon created via Safari's "Add to Home Screen" feature adapt to Dark Mode in the same way?
For native apps, we can use tools like Icon Composer and asset catalogs (Assets.xcassets) to provide different icons for each mode. It would be a huge improvement for web clips if we could achieve the same with existing web technologies like apple-touch-icon or the Web App Manifest.
If anyone has figured out a way to do this, I would greatly appreciate it if you could share your knowledge.
Thanks in advance!
日本語の原文:
iOS 26から導入されたLiquid Glassデザインについて。
ネイティブアプリのアイコンがシステムの表示モード(ダークモード/ライトモード)に合わせて自動で最適化されるようになりました。
そこで疑問に思ったのですが、Safariから「ホーム画面に追加」機能を使って作成するWebサイトのショートカットアイコンは、ネイティブアプリと同じようにダークモードに対応できないのでしょうか?
ネイティブアプリの場合は、Icon Composerなどのツールでアセットカタログ(Assets.xcassets)を使い、モードごとのアイコンを用意できますよね。
Web側でも、apple-touch-iconやWeb App Manifestといった既存の仕組みを使って、アイコンを動的に切り替えられるようになると、Webクリップの使い勝手がさらに向上すると思うのですが
もし、すでに何らかの方法で対応されている方がいらっしゃれば、ぜひその知見を共有していただけると嬉しいです。
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RSS for tagExplore the art and science of app design. Discuss user interface (UI) design principles, user experience (UX) best practices, and share design resources and inspiration.
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I have an app that displays a MapView. While I am in light mode everything is fine. I can scroll around the map and my overlays (made by UIVisualEffectView containing an UIGlassEffect) stay light and look well!
As soon as I change my phone to dark mode, depending on what's underneath the buttons (a light residential area or darker wooded areas) some of my buttons change color. But not all, only where it's supposedly lighter or darker underneath. This makes my whole UI look strange. Some buttons bright, some dark.
Is there a way to lock a "color" or interfaceStyle to the effects-view? In light mode everything is fine, but in dark mode it just looks super strange.
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!
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?
Hello,
I recently submitted my app to the Apple Store and received a rejection under Guideline 4.3(a) - Design - Spam, stating that my app is similar to others on the store. However, my app has a unique feature set, offers more functionality and content than competitors, and is completely free with ad monetization, unlike most similar apps that require subscriptions.
I have spent five months developing this app from scratch, ensuring it provides an original and valuable experience for users. I did not use an app template or repackaged code, and my app is not a reskinned version of any existing app. I genuinely believe it brings meaningful differentiation to the market.
I would appreciate any guidance on how I can better communicate my app’s uniqueness to the review team or what specific aspects I should adjust to comply with Apple's guidelines.
Thank you for your time and support.
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appstoreconnectapi/devicecreaterequest/data-data.dictionary/attributes-data.dictionary
According to the API documentation above, the parameter values for platform can be three: IOS, MAC-OS, and UNIVERSAL. After debugging, it was found that IOS and MAC-OS can be used normally, but UNIVERSAL encountered an error UNIVERSAL' is not a valid value for the attribute 'platform'. Expected one of: 'IOS', 'MAC_OS', I would like to know if this value has been deprecated or if the API interface requires new version support, and how to use this value! Please help me solve it! thank you!
I'm developing an iPadOS 18+ application that uses a UITabBarController, styled as a sidebar, to serve as the primary navigation interface. This setup includes 20 different tabs, each representing a distinct section of the app.
For the user experience, each tab needs to present a master-detail interface, implemented using a UISplitViewController. The goal is to allow users to navigate between tabs via the sidebar, and within each tab, access related content through the split view's list-detail pattern.
The Problem:
Currently, my implementation involves instantiating a separate UISplitViewController for each tab, resulting in 20 unique split view instances embedded inside the UITabBarController. While this works functionally, it leads to significant memory usage, especially after the user opens each tab at least once. The accumulation of all these instantiated view controllers in memory eventually causes performance degradation or even memory warnings/crashes on lower-end iPads.
The Question:
What is the best approach to implement this type of architecture without running into memory management issues?
Specifically:
Is there a way to reuse or lazily load the UISplitViewController instances only when needed?
Can we unload or release split view controllers that haven't been used for a while to reduce memory pressure?
Would a custom container controller be more appropriate than using UITabBarController in this case?
Are there iPadOS 18+ best practices or newer APIs that support this kind of complex multi-tab, multi-split-view structure efficiently?
Any advice on how to optimize memory usage while preserving the sidebar navigation and split view layout would be highly appreciated.
I’m working with Reality Composer and noticed that images added directly to a scene appear significantly darker when viewed in AR.
This seems different from how other objects in the scene respond to lighting, especially under varying real-world light conditions.
Is this expected behavior?
Are images treated with a different lighting model in Reality Composer?
Is there any recommended way to get more consistent light response for image-based artworks?
Target: MacOS 11.1 and above
C++, Juce 8, XCode 16.2
Testing: Sonoma 14.5
Logic Pro (latest version), Reaper 7.34, Pro Tools 2023.12 and 2025.6
I'm developing an audio plugin that creates an NSStatusItem ("menu bar status icon" or MBSI for short) to provide visual feedback for one of the components. I've encountered a Logic Pro-specific behavior that I'd like to fix. I'm building for Mac-only, Intel and Silicon, and for AU/VST3/AAX.
Summary:
The NSStatusItem for the MBSI is created successfully and functions properly in some hosts (Reaper (AU and VST3), Pro Tools (AAX)) but isn't visible in Logic Pro, despite identical API behavior.
Details:
NSStatusItem Creation: implementation using [[NSStatusBar systemStatusBar] statusItemWithLength:NSSquareStatusItemLength]
All API calls report success in both working (Reaper) and non-working (Logic Pro) hosts.
Logging shows Logic Pro and Reaper create the NSStatusItem with the same properties:
Window frame: {{0, -36}, {38, 36}} (both hosts)
statusItem.visible: YES (both hosts)
Button exists and responds to state changes (both hosts)
Y coordinate is -36 pixels (above visible screen, both hosts)
In Reaper, I can see the MBSI but in Logic Pro I can't. Note: the MBSI has no functionality beyond visual feedback. It's not clickable nor does it create a corresponding menu.
Questions:
Are there known differences in how Logic Pro's AU hosting service handles system UI elements compared to other hosts? And if so, is there guidance on AU plugins accessing system UI elements like the menu bar?
Link to NSStatusItemTest.component: https://app.box.com/s/i3rq0hii3qf43iojrayc17fsfq7fnssd
Link to video showing issue: https://app.box.com/s/icefqk898timqov77t468lqtio0rjqul
Link to Console output for testing in Reaper vs Logic Pro: https://app.box.com/s/ph6nv1lmozo3phtjx3md6abdms5atgg6
Hi,
is it me or latest beta has pronlem with brightness?
i have iPhone 16 pro, and now i must keep disabled auto brightness , at keep slider more or less at maximum, in order to clearly see the screen.
fabrizio
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!
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!
Hi everyone,
I’m currently testing iOS 26 on my iPhone as part of the developer program. According to Apple’s documentation and demo materials, a new screenshot animation was introduced in this version. However, when I take a screenshot on my device, the animation remains the same as in previous iOS versions.
I’ve double-checked that I’m running the correct build of iOS 26, and I haven’t found any settings that might enable or disable this feature.
Is anyone else experiencing the same issue? Could this new animation be device-specific, region-limited, or require additional configuration?
Any insight would be appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
Alonso Rivera
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?
Hi everyone 👋 I’m a new iOS developer working on my first app and I’ve run into a frustrating visual bug involving my app icon during the launch/close transition.
Issue:
When I use Icon Composer (the new tool introduced for iOS 26) to generate my app icon, I consistently see a thin white border or “fringe” around the icon only during the transition animation (when the app opens or closes). It disappears once the animation ends.
What I tested and confirmed:
• I exported the exact same design directly from Adobe Illustrator as a 1024×1024 PNG, fully opaque, RGB color mode, background color filling the entire canvas (no transparency, no borders, no rounded corners).
• When I place that exported PNG directly into the AppIcon asset catalog in Xcode, the icon renders perfectly — no white fringe appears, just a slightly darker shade of blue during transitions (expected and acceptable).
• But when I generate the icon using Icon Composer, the white edge always appears, even if I disable effects, use full coverage layers, or only keep a flat color layer.
Notes:
• Tested on iOS 26 (latest beta) using Xcode 16.
• The issue seems specific to Icon Composer’s export format or metadata — maybe it’s not stripping alpha correctly or something related to the squircle mask?
• I followed all recommended specs: 1024×1024 px, PNG, sRGB, no transparency, exported from Illustrator at 72ppi with solid background.
Even tested without the logo, just the icon made with icon composer
Is anyone else experiencing this issue with Icon Composer exports?
Is there an official recommendation to avoid this during transitions or should I simply avoid Icon Composer for production icons for now and stick with Illustrator / Figma exports?
Thanks so much
Here’s a visual example:
Hello, I am looking to develop a relationship with a developer that has experience running through the IOS build approval process. To elaborate, my team and I have designed and built a software application which is working through the Apple Developer review process to have the app approved and released to the App Store. Unfortunately, there has been some challenges, simple challenges in my eyes with our interface preventing Apple from approving our application. Happy to elaborate further.
A primary problem and solution I have seen is the software build was testing solely on the iPhone but as recently directed it seem the application must be accessible on iPad as well. With this the case, I have experience some software platforms where on the ipad the interface is not displayed on the whole screen. I am looking for direction on how to implement this setup for the 1st IOS build. Another concern from Apples Developer Review team is the App Tracking Transparency kit may need to be implemented.
Hi, I'm getting started with designing and coding a watchOS app. I wanted to use Sketch to plan the UI before I dive into coding, but it seems like the official Sketch templates on the Design Resources page only have templates for the Series 8 and SE 2 on watchOS 10. I want to use the Series 10's screen size for my layouts since it's the model I have, but I can't find a template for it. Will the official templates be updated for the new models? If not, does anyone know of a third-party template I can use? Thanks in advance!
Hi Apple team,
We're planning to integrate Tap to Pay on iPhone feature in our product, and found there's a QR code button on the your Figma design: https://www.figma.com/design/2SOXmeLvimllvT67MTMLOy/Tap-to-Pay-on-iPhone--Community-?node-id=0-1&t=E3XskpsLctTuZvg5-1
Questions:
is there any official documentation about the QR code button on this screen?
What happens when user clicks on QR button?
What're the suggestions to show/hide that button, and can we customize it?
Thanks.
Hi everyone,
I’m having trouble getting the new glassEffect() modifier to render correctly in SwiftUI.
No matter what I try, it just appears as a solid white background (instead of translucent glass). This happens both in Beta 1 and Beta 2.
My setup:
• Mac mini (M4 chip)
• macOS 15 Beta 2 (Tahoe)
• Xcode 16 Beta 2
• Samsung Odyssey G9 57” monitor (super ultrawide)
• Using Preview in SwiftUI (not the Simulator)
Even when I use Apple’s default demo code like:
Text("Hello World")
.padding()
.glassEffect()
Hi everyone,
since updating to Xcode 26 Beta 3, I’m seeing some really strange behavior. I just changed the color of a Color asset in my SwiftUI view – literally just switched from one named color to another – and suddenly:
• Previews stopped working completely, with vague or no error messages.
• Even when I changed the color back to what it was before, the previews still refused to build.
• In addition, Xcode no longer restores the open tabs/windows when reopening the project. It just shows a blank editor every time I open it.
This all happened without touching any project settings or code structure – just a simple color swap.
Has anyone else run into this with Xcode 26 Beta 3?
Would love to know if it’s a known bug or if there’s a workaround (besides nuking Derived Data, which I’ve already tried).
Thanks!