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.

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New in SF Symbols 7: ipod.and.vision.pro.
Why? Why stop there? (Why not ipod.and.imacg3? applenewton.and.vision.pro?) I get why the older ipod symbols exist but these new pairings are odd. If anyone ever sees these restricted symbols in the wild, or even just someone using a Vision Pro and an iPod (Touch) together in a way that's not contrived, please do let me know!
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
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772
Oct ’25
Add a “Close All” button on iPhone background Apps
Hello Apple Team, I’d like to request a feature that allows users to close all background apps at once on iPhones. Currently, closing each app individually can be time-consuming, especially when many are running. A “Close All” button would greatly improve user experience and efficiency. Thank you for considering this suggestion!
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
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193
Jun ’25
Greyed out app icon on iOS 26 beta
On iOS 26 beta 3, my app and some other apps got greyed out app icon. It only happens in Default (Light) appearance. Apple automatically converts third-party app icons to support Liquid Glass, but is there any specific requirement with third-party icons to avoid above greyed out app icon issue?
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263
Jul ’25
Type of Apple ble beacons
Our custom ble based app starts a service uuid beacon to advertise. When the app is put in background, the beacon is shifted to another beacon and a specific beacon data is put in the scan response one example is like: 0x14FF4C000100000000000000000000000000040000 I want to know what is the format of this beacon. I can see its a manufacturer type data with apple company id and beacon type is 0x01. I want to know what this type means and how is the data which follows is calculated.
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608
Jan ’25
Liquid Glass icons appear differently in Dock
I just played around on macOS with the new icons created by Icon Composer, and I noticed that the Dock displays programmatically set icons differently. Try this: Make sure you have the Mail app in your Dock. Set the icon appearance to "Tinted/Light" and set a dark (black) background for the Desktop. Run this code: let image = NSWorkspace.shared.icon(forFile: "/System/Applications/Mail.app") if image.isValid { NSApp.applicationIconImage = image } You'll get something like this: When the icon appearance is set to "Default" or "Dark," everything works as expected, and the "Clear/Dark" and "Tinted/Dark" modes seem to work as well. It seems like the Dock uses a special blend mode depending on the selected background, but this does not seem to be the case if the icon is set programmatically. I filed feedback FB20291186.
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663
Sep ’25
Liquid Glass App Icons without Icon Composer
We have found that on iOS 26 beta some of our app icons built from an Xcode 16 asset catalog containing a single 1024x1024 .png file have a Liquid Glass effect applied to them while others have not. The documentation states that If you choose not to use Icon Composer, you can still use an AppIcon asset catalog in your project containing individual app icon images and let the system apply the Liquid Glass material. and If you prefer, you can take advantage of the system’s automatically generated treatment that is applied to all app icons. Is there any insight into how the system treats app icons that have not yet been updated with Icon Composer?
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2.2k
Nov ’25
Calendar Display App
Hello, I want to make an app that displays the current event(s) (The ones that are ongoing at any given moment) on my Google calendar and shows how far through the event(s) I am with a progress bar, and updates live. I want it to be as simple as possible and don't want it to take up too much space. I have a little window with some text elements and a progress bar that works if you manually put in values. But I still think the window is too big and clunky and I wonder if it's possible to change it's style? I'm a bit inexperienced with coding and am completely new to xcode and swift. What approach would you recommend I take with this project? Or what resources would you refer me to?
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
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413
Jan ’25
Xcode 26 Issue with functional of bridging header in Xcode project with both objective-c and swift
I'm in the process of add some swift code that is all objective-c. I have trouble with my actual app so I have worked on a prototype. There is what I have done Created a new Xcode project, selecting App and Objc Added a blank Swift file and accepted the generation of the -Bridging-Header. In project build setting, Yes for Defines Modules, Yes for Always Embed Swift Libraries Add appropriate .h file to Bridging header In Build Settings, in Swift Compiler - General, Bridging Header has correct path to the bridging header file Setup the single swift file in this was using @objc like this: @objcmembers class MySwiftClass: NSObject { func myMethod() { let output = ... } } When the project runs I execute in the objc ViewController: MySwiftClass *swiftObject = [[MySwiftClass alloc] init]; and get Use of undeclared identifier 'MySwiftClass'
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
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337
Oct ’25
Build Error
While build now I receive this error help me to resolve it Showing Recent Errors Only Prepare build error: Multiple commands produce '/Users/mayankjain/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/PCS_EmpApp-chsylqbxjptobeawzzckymqzagvr/Build/Products/Debug-iphonesimulator/PCS_EmpApp.app/Info.plist' note: Target 'PCS_EmpApp' (project 'PCS_EmpApp') has copy command from '/Users/mayankjain/Documents/05-NOV-2025-SWETA_IOS/PCS_EmpApp/PCS_EmpApp/xcode-out/Platforms/iOS/Info.plist' to '/Users/mayankjain/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/PCS_EmpApp-chsylqbxjptobeawzzckymqzagvr/Build/Products/Debug-iphonesimulator/PCS_EmpApp.app/Info.plist' note: Target 'PCS_EmpApp' (project 'PCS_EmpApp') has process command with output '/Users/mayankjain/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/PCS_EmpApp-chsylqbxjptobeawzzckymqzagvr/Build/Products/Debug-iphonesimulator/PCS_EmpApp.app/Info.plist' Multiple commands produce '/Users/mayankjain/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/PCS_EmpApp-chsylqbxjptobeawzzckymqzagvr/Build/Products/Debug-iphonesimulator/PCS_EmpApp.app/Info.plist'
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
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645
Nov ’25
Huge UI difference between Simulator and Real Device
Hi everyone, I’m testing our SwiftUI app on both Xcode simulator and a real iPhone. On the simulator, everything looks clean and aligned. But when I run it on an actual iPhone (same build, iOS 18), the layout looks broken—fonts overlap, spacing is off, and elements are misaligned. Both screenshots are from the exact same screen and time. First is simulator, second is iPhone. Any idea why this difference happens? Is there something I should check in terms of rendering or layout settings? Thanks in advance!
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270
Jul ’25
Feature Request: Dual Apple Pencil Pro Use or Charging Dock Support
Hi everyone 👋 I’ve been using the Apple Pencil Pro with my iPad Pro M4 and absolutely love it — the squeeze gesture, rotation, and haptics are amazing for creative work. But I’ve run into a little roadblock… Right now, only one Pencil Pro can be paired at a time. So while one is charging, you can’t use another as a backup without unpairing and re-pairing, which interrupts the workflow. I’d really love to see one of two things: The ability to use one Pencil while another charges or An official external charger (or support for third-party ones) Personally, I’d happily buy both a second Pencil and a charger if this became possible. I’ve even chatted with other creatives who feel the same — it would make a huge difference for long projects or working on the go. Just wanted to share this idea and see if anyone else here would like this too. Thanks for reading!
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Jul ’25
ipados 26 and xib
hi, i have an objc ipad application that use xib with zooming for adapt to the screen (until ios18) but with ipad os 26 will be displayed wrong
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
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Jul ’25
Wrong unit in HIG > Components > System Experiences > Widget > watchOS widget dimensions
Hello, I noticed a small mistake in the Human Interface Guidelines (HIG). On the page HIG > Components > System Experiences > Widget > watchOS Widget Dimensions, scroll down to the bottom. In the "watchOS widget dimensions" section, the sizes in the table are in pixels (px), not points (pt) actually. However, the table header indicates the sizes should be in points (pt). Page link: https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/widgets#watchOS-widget-dimensions For example, the widget size in the Smart Stack on a 49mm watch should be 192x81.5 pt (or 382x163 px), not 382x163 pt. This size can be verified with the information provided here: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/watchos-apps/supporting-multiple-watch-sizes/. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/watchkit/wkinterfacedevice/1620974-screenscale
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
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853
Jan ’25
List View within a Scrollview
The bane of my existence has been designing interfaces where the whole view needs to scroll, but a portion is a List and the other portion is static. I run into this problem time and again so I was hoping someone has a good solution because we all know that embedding a List view inside ScrollView is a no-go within SwiftUI. It simply doesn't work. So what is a best practice when you need the whole screen to scroll, but a portion is a List? Use a navigation stack instead of a ScrollView? What if it's a child view of a navigation stack already?
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
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764
Jul ’25
WebView some of fonts became too small on ios 18.4 and on latest safari
Below is the sample css code where I render a web page in my webview screens fonts became too small after 18.4 and its so hard to read when I launch my app . Any workarounds to address this issue .sg-labels-canvas { font-size: 15px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Helvetica Neue', Roboto, sans-serif; font-style: normal; }
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
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Apr ’25
UITabBarController with sidebar on iPadOS 18
When I create a tab group for the sidebar on iPad, the title and disclosure triangle act like a single control. Every time I tap the section title, the disclosure triangle for that section activates and hides or exposes that section's children and actions. I want the section title to behave like Photos, where tapping a section title just displays its view controller, and the disclosure triangle is a separate control that must be tapped to hide and show children and actions. I did not see any delegate methods that would let me control this behavior. Is this supported?
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187
May ’25
iPad/iPhone - Display best practices….
So…I am hitting a wall here and could use some guidance towards best practice. I’ve developed an app in Xcode/SwiftUI that renders just fine on the iPhone - text, images, buttons, frames…everything is nicely centered on the screen or scrolls where and when I want. The iPad though…not so much. I’m having issues with tops and bottoms being cut off in scrollviews. These are just straight up text screens too - the ones with other elements/controls…they’re rendering fine. I’ve tried a mix of geometry, vstack, scrollview, padding, spacers…the lot of it. Nothing I seem to do works - the views do not want to fill and fit properly. And, of course, the issue becomes worse the moment you flip the iPad into landscape view. Or use the 13” models. I’d imagine others are battling these issues as well and found solutions, so I decided to hit up the brain trust.
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Apr ’25
Urgent Feature Request: Auto-Hide Home Bar in iOS 18.x Based on iOS 26 Beta Experience
Hello Apple Engineering Team and Fellow Developers, I’ve been using iOS 26 beta from day one and closely following all its improvements. One feature that significantly enhances the user experience is the automatic hiding of the Home Bar (the bottom navigation indicator) after a few seconds of inactivity in menus and apps. This subtle but powerful UI behavior not only increases immersion but also reduces distractions, making navigation smoother and visually cleaner. I strongly urge the Apple team to integrate this feature into the upcoming iOS 18.6 update. Bringing this polished interaction to iOS 18 users would greatly improve usability and keep the interface modern and elegant. Thank you for your continuous efforts in refining iOS. Looking forward to seeing this improvement officially adopted soon! Best regards, [ERFANEX]
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
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Jul ’25