Category: Apple Developer News

Learn more about a critical assistive technology this WWDC and solve a matching game using only Switch Control!

We’re inviting you to expand your skillset and familarize yourself with Switch Control, an assistive technology used by mobility-impaired individuals to help navigate and operate iOS. We’ll show you how to set up a screen switch, use automatic scanning, and control the Switch Control menu system. From there, dive deeper and learn how you can customize and enhance the experience for people using Switch Control through a specific accessibility API.

You can share your progress with others on this challenge in the Digital Lounges Study Hall, or explore a solo challenge.

Begin the challenge

To start this challenge, you’ll need to first download and run the sample code project and set up Switch Control.

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Note: This project requires an iPhone or iPad running iOS 16 or iPadOS 16. You won’t be able to to run it in Simulator.

WWDC22 Challenge: Learn Switch Control through gaming

Configure and enable Switch Control

Switch Control is an accessibility feature that helps you interact with your device using a variety of software and hardware switches. These can be located on the screen, and can use the camera, sounds, or connected accessories.

First, configure the switch you’ll need for the challenge:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Choose Accessibility > Switch Control > Switches.
3. Select Add New Switch.
4. Add a switch by navigating to Switches > Screen Switch > Full Screen. Choose Select Item.

Choose your scanning time in Auto Scanning Time. The default is one second, which means the Switch Control focus will wait one second on each element before moving on to the next. You can adjust this time as you like.

Alternatively, you can choose Bluetooth Devices, select a device to use as a switch, and select an action for that switch.

After you’ve finished setting up your switch, you’re ready to enable Switch Control on your device. If you don’t typically use Switch Control, you can set up an Accessibility Shortcut to quickly enable or disable it for the purposes of this challenge. Here’s how:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Choose Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut.
3. Select Switch Control. Make sure this is the only enabled item in the list.

You can now triple-click the Side button or Home button on your device to trigger the Accessibility Shortcut and toggle Switch Control on or off.

Set up the challenge

Now that you’ve got Switch Control enabled, it’s time to explore the project.

1. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut and select Switch Control.
2. Download the Xcode project and run it on your iPad or iPhone.

Once the app is running, you can match two boxes with the same symbol by tapping one on the screen while Switch Control is focused on a box. Then choose Tap in the Switch Control menu. Then, select the other matching item. Repeat until all icons have been exposed to solve the challenge!

Figured out the puzzle? Post your accomplishment on Twitter with the hashtag #WWDC22Challenges. And if you’d like to discuss Switch Control and other accessibility topics, join the team at events all throughout the week at WWDC22.

Accessibility & Inclusion

Explore #WWDC22Challenges on social media

Read the WWDC22 Challenges Terms and Conditions

Ready to show off your pixel perfect design skills? We’re challenging you to embrace the constraints of a grid and design an app icon at pixel level using only black and white colors. When we design icons today, we create work for high-resolution HDR screens, with millions of pixels and color at our disposal. But there’s joy in embracing a bit of retro restraint: pixel grids can help you distill the essence of your design and make sure your icon is clear and understandable at all sizes.

Pixel icons have a rich history on the Mac. MacPaint was a raster graphics editor released as part of the original Macintosh in 1984, and its icons were playful, simple and recognizable to people around the world. Many of the defining icons for modern drawing and design tools – such as the paint brush, lasso, and hand tool – were originally created for MacPaint by Susan Kare, one of the original designers for the Mac.

Kare designed these icons with the monochromatic limits of the first Mac display in mind, using a grid-lined notebook to map out each pixel. While we’re no longer limited by hardware, you can explore those same design principles to help you create fun, interesting, and visually stunning icons.

Begin the challenge

We’re inviting you to create an app icon at pixel level using only black and white colors on a 48×48 pixel, 32×32 pixel, or 16×16 pixel canvas. You may design for every size, for two sizes, or just one size. You can draw your icon on paper or using your favorite program; we’ve also provided a pixel grid for download.

Download a pixel grid for the challenge

• Before you start drawing on the canvas, think about your goal: Are you designing a brand new app icon, or recreating something that already exists?
• Once you’ve decided, explore a single element that captures the essence of the app, and express that element in a simple, unique shape. For example, the Mail app icon uses an envelope, which is universally associated with mail.
• Add details cautiously. If the content or shape is overly complex, details can be hard to discern. Icons at all three sizes should generally match in appearance, although you can explore subtle, richer, or more detailed additions at 48×48 pixel size.

Explore #WWDC22Challenges on social media

Read the WWDC22 Challenges Terms and Conditions

What’s piping hot, golden-crusted, and filled with mystery ingredients? A divine hotdish, you betcha! But this SwiftUI challenge doesn’t involve tater tots or cream of mushroom soup; in fact, we’re inviting you to throw away the recipe book and mix up your own ingredients for a new kind of navigation supper.

Prep your ChallengeContentView to create a hotdish of your own, mixing together SwiftUI navigation ingredients like stack view, multicolumn layout, and state restoration.

Begin the challenge

Before you become a SwiftUI hotdish chef, it’s important to understand the techniques behind a variety of recipes. Make sure to watch The SwiftUI Cookbook for Navigation from WWDC22 to get started on your culinary adventure.

The SwiftUI cookbook for navigation

The recipe for a great app begins with a clear and robust navigation structure. Join the SwiftUI team in our proverbial coding kitchen and learn how you can cook up a great experience for your app. We’ll introduce you to SwiftUI’s navigation stack and split view features, show you how you can…

For this dish, you’ll be cooking with the “Bringing robust navigation structure to your SwiftUI app” sample code. Download it to your device to start the challenge.

Bringing robust navigation structure to your SwiftUI app

You can get a feel for your SwiftUI ingredients by exploring and modifying StackContentView, TwoColumnContentView, or ThreeColumnContentView in the project.

Once you’re feeling ready, head to the ChallengeContentView, where you can mix and match any navigation ingredients you might need to craft a prize-winning hotdish! (You can even pick up a few new APIs from “What’s new in SwiftUI” to add some spice to your meal.) Incorporate your own app’s ingredients and voila! You’ve got a secret recipe for the ages. 

What’s new in SwiftUI

It’s a SwiftUI party — and you’re invited! Join us as we share the latest updates and a glimpse into the future of UI framework design. Discover deep levels of customization, advanced techniques for layout, elegant strategies for sharing, and rock-solid structural approaches for designing an app…

Explore #WWDC22Challenges on social media

Read the WWDC22 Challenges Terms and Conditions

We’ve been waiting all year to say it: WWDC is here! And after a packed day 1, we’re ready to get down to business — it’s time to check out the new sessions, labs, and Digital Lounges. Here’s a brief day 1 rundown along with some highlights to get excited about.

Revisit a very big Day 1

Want to catch up on Monday’s excitement? Your mission is to watch the official debrief, where you’ll find out about the exciting announcements and new technologies unveiled at WWDC22 — and learn more about what’s in store for the rest of the week.

WWDC22 Day 1 recap

It’s time for your Day 1 report from Apple HQ. Check out all the exciting announcements and new technologies unveiled at WWDC22 — and learn more about what’s coming tomorrow.

Have a bit more time on your hands? Check out full replays of Keynote, Platforms State of the Union, and the Apple Design Awards.

Watch the Keynote

Watch the Platforms State of the Union

Watch the Apple Design Awards

Welcome to the Developer Center and Apple Park

On the eve of WWDC, we invited developers to the new Apple Developer Center — a world-class facility designed for our worldwide community to meet, learn from, and collaborate with Apple — and then over to Apple Park to take in screenings of Keynote “Being in a space like this gives you chills,” said Vitalii Mogylevets, creator of the Apple Design Award-nominated Waterllama. “It feels like you’re a part of something really big.” Check out these pictures from an incredible day.

Celebrate the winners of the Apple Design Awards

12 apps and games became Apple Design Award winners on Monday, winning in categories like Inclusivity, Delight and Fun, Interaction, Social Impact, Visuals and Graphics, and Innovation. “We couldn’t believe it,” says Charles Bardin, creator of A Musical Story, which won for innovation in games. “We thought, ‘OK, we’re very small, we’re just happy to be here.’ But it means a lot that a big company recognizes our work.”

For others, it meant a validation of years of effort. “When we won, I was thinking, ‘I wish the whole team could be here,” said Amanda Schofield, co-founder and and creative director at Studio Drydock, which won for its game Wylde Flowers. “Every single person put everything they had into it.”

Missed the Apple Design Awards? Read more about each winner on the Apple Developer website.

Explore the winners of the WWDC22 Apple Design Awards

Explore the Digital Lounges and labs

It’s a packed first day of Digital Lounges and labs. Don’t miss a few favorites:

• Design labs are open all week — request an appointment for a conversation about the latest design principles, best practices, design patterns, and more.
• Meet the team behind “What’s New in SwiftUI” and join a text-based watch party for the session, followed by a short Q&A.
• Meet the Accessibility team in an icebreaker session where you chat about your favorite WWDC moments and share tips and tricks.
• Meet the presenter of “Bring Continuity Camera to Your macOS app,” and stick around after for a short Q&A. And that’s just for starters.

Tune in to the WWDC jukebox

The WWDC playlists are here! Spin up WWDC22 playlists for the perfect soundtrack to your day — no matter what kind of day it might be. Find official curated mixes to help you Power Up, Focus, Chill, and Energy.

Listen to WWDC22 playlists on Apple Music

Have fun out there, and we’ll see you tomorrow for Day 3!

June 6, 2022

The Apple Design Awards celebrate apps and games that excel in the categories of Inclusivity, Delight and Fun, Interaction, Social Impact, Visuals and Graphics, and Innovation. Learn about the winning apps and the talented developers behind them.

Discover the winners

The Apple Design Awards honors excellence in innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement in app and game design. Watch along as we reveal and celebrate the 2022 winners.

Apple Design Awards

The Apple Design Awards honors excellence in innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement in app and game design. Watch along as we reveal and celebrate the 2022 winners.

Watch now

Apple Design Awards (ASL)

The Apple Design Awards honors excellence in innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement in app and game design. Watch along as we reveal and celebrate the 2022 winners.

Watch now

June 6, 2022

Xcode Cloud is a continuous integration and delivery service built into Xcode and designed expressly for Apple developers. It accelerates the development and delivery of high-quality apps by bringing together cloud-based tools that help you build apps, run automated tests in parallel, deliver apps to testers, and view and manage user feedback. This service is now available for all Apple Developer Program members.

Learn about Xcode Cloud

June 6, 2022

Get the Xcode 14 beta, which includes SDKs for all Apple platforms. Leverage the simplicity and power of Swift and SwiftUI with a new multiplatform app experience, code faster with enhanced editor features, and start testing and deploying from Xcode Cloud to TestFlight and the App Store.

Download Xcode 14 beta

The latest exciting advancements in iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13, tvOS 16, and watchOS 9 help you create powerful new experiences. Your apps can deliver information in new ways, make it easier for people to share your content, offer more intelligent features, improve productivity, and so much more.

Learn about what’s new

June 6, 2022

Developer Mode protects people from inadvertently installing potentially harmful software on their devices, and reduces attack vectors exposed by developer-only functionality. Make sure to enable Developer Mode on your device when testing apps on iOS 16, iPadOS 16, or watchOS 9 or later, so you can grant permission to run locally-installed apps on these platforms.

Learn more