Filter to carve the catalogue into sections. Sort only reorders the cards.
Usage
Expose your UI to VoiceOver, Switch Control, and Voice Control, and support Dynamic Type and reduced motion.
Versus related
Not one framework but a set of protocols and modifiers spread across the UI frameworks. There is no single import, which is why it gets skipped.
Usage
Declare your app's actions and data types so Siri, Spotlight, Shortcuts, and widgets can invoke them.
Versus related
Replaces SiriKit, which was deprecated at WWDC26. Rough split: App Intents is verbs (do this), Core Spotlight is nouns (find this).
Documentation
Usage
The language every card in this deck is built on, with strict concurrency as the current baseline.
Versus related
Swift strict concurrency is now the default expectation in Apple sample code. Objective-C remains supported but new API design happens in Swift.
Usage
Persist model objects with the @Model macro and query them directly from SwiftUI views.
Versus related
The successor to Core Data for Swift-first apps. Core Data remains for very large or legacy stores. Pairs with CloudKit for sync.
Usage
Build your UI declaratively from state, across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch, and Vision Pro.
Versus related
The default UI framework for new apps. UIKit remains for fine-grained control and older codebases, and the two interoperate freely in one app.
Usage
Build iPhone and iPad UI imperatively with view controllers and full control over layout and gestures.
Versus related
Not deprecated. SwiftUI is the default for new screens; UIKit is the escape hatch for custom text editors, complex collection views, and precise scroll behaviour.
Usage
Prove to your server that a request came from a genuine, unmodified build of your app on real hardware.
Versus related
Part of DeviceCheck. App Attest verifies the app, AuthenticationServices verifies the user, LocalAuthentication verifies the person holding the device right now. Three different questions.
Documentation
Usage
Lock an iPhone, iPad, or Mac into a restricted state for a proctored exam: no other apps, no notifications, screenshots and autocorrect off.
Versus related
Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac since 13.4, despite the common belief it is Mac only. Guided Access is the user-initiated alternative; Assessment is app-initiated lockdown.
Requires the Automatic Assessment Configuration entitlement, applied for from Apple. Works without MDM or supervised devices. Guided Access or Single App Mode, if active, override it.
Usage
Capture, edit, compose, and play audio and video.
Versus related
AVFoundation is the engine; AVKit is the ready-made player UI. Use AVKit unless you need custom controls.
Documentation
Enhancing your camera experience with capture controls · WWDC25
Build a responsive camera app that launches quickly · WWDC26
Build live production tools for Apple Immersive Video · WWDC26
Implement high resolution photo capture · WWDC26
Support the Center Stage front camera in your iOS app · WWDC26AvfoundationUsage
Download large content packs outside the app bundle, before or after first launch.
Versus related
On-demand resources is the legacy predecessor. Background Assets can download before the user first opens the app, which ODR could not.
Usage
Load and run your own model weights (Qwen, Mistral, SAM3, or a converted PyTorch model) across CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine.
Versus related
NOT a wrapper around Foundation Models. It sits below it. Foundation Models rents you Apple's model; Core AI is where you own and ship the weights. Apple's guidance is that all new neural network work moves here, with Core ML staying for traditional ML like decision trees.
Usage
Discover, connect to, and exchange data with BLE peripherals, or act as a peripheral yourself.
Versus related
AccessorySetupKit is now the recommended pairing front door. Core Bluetooth remains the communication layer after pairing. Does not work in the Simulator.
Usage
Apply and chain GPU filters to images, including RAW.
Versus related
Core Image processes pixels, Vision analyses them. Drop to Metal when the filter you want does not exist.
Usage
Index your app's content so the system can find it, and now expose that index to a language model as a retrieval tool.
Versus related
Pairs with App Intents rather than competing. Spotlight finds the thing, App Intents does something with it.
Usage
You create or open a disk image and manage mounting from inside your app. It writes Apple Sparse Image Format and raw images, standalone or stacked, and the release notes point at Virtualization as the intended consumer.
Versus related
Virtualization Vz boots a VM. DiskImageKit builds the disk that VM runs from. FileProvider Fp surfaces remote files in Finder instead.
Reviewer note
Verified 2026-08-28 against the macOS 27 Golden Gate release notes. Creates standalone and stacked images in Apple Sparse Image Format and raw format, intended for use with Virtualization.
macOS 27 only, currently beta. Not available on iOS.
Documentation
Usage
Prompt SystemLanguageModel, the on-device Apple Foundation Model, and get typed Swift structs via @Generable, with your own functions callable as tools.
Versus related
This is the wrapper layer for Apple's own model, on-device by default. Private Cloud Compute is a second model behind the same LanguageModel protocol, for when 4K local context is not enough. Core AI sits below both, for models Apple does not ship. Third-party providers (Claude, Gemini) are also reachable through this same protocol.
Documentation
Meet the Foundation Models framework · WWDC25
Code-along: Bring on-device AI to your app using the Foundation Models framework · WWDC25
Bring an LLM provider to the Foundation Models framework · WWDC26
Build agentic app experiences with the Foundation Models framework · WWDC26
Deep dive into the Foundation Models framework · WWDC25
Explore prompt design & safety for on-device foundation models · WWDC25
What’s new in the Foundation Models framework · WWDC26FoundationmodelsUsage
Receive a remotely rendered scene in Vision Pro at full fidelity by sending detail only where the eye is looking.
Versus related
For renders too heavy for the headset to produce itself. Spatial Preview is for content the headset can render.
Usage
Typed, bidirectional streaming RPC between a Swift client and a Swift server.
Versus related
Network is raw transport. gRPC gives you a typed contract and streaming for free. Better than hand-rolled WebSockets when you own both ends.
Usage
Read and write health and fitness samples with granular per-type user permission.
Versus related
HealthKit stores, WorkoutKit prescribes, Core Motion reads raw sensors that never enter HealthKit unless you write them there.
Usage
Analyse video content and group recurring faces across images with on-device models.
Versus related
Vision analyses one image at a time. MediaIntelligence works across a whole library or a video timeline. All on device.
Documentation
Usage
Write custom GPU pipelines for rendering and compute.
Versus related
The lowest graphics layer. RealityKit and SpriteKit sit on top of it. Now overlaps Core AI, since you can run a network inside a render pass.
Usage
Analyse audio across six dimensions: key, rhythm, structure, pace, instrument activity, and loudness, entirely on device.
Versus related
ShazamKit identifies which song this is. Music Understanding describes what the song is doing. Core Audio gives you raw samples; this gives you musical meaning.
Usage
Search, play, and manage Apple Music catalogue and library content.
Versus related
MusicKit plays licensed catalogue audio; AVFoundation plays files you own. Now Playing handles the system surfaces for either.
Documentation
Usage
Measure precise distance and direction between devices or accessories.
Versus related
Core Bluetooth connects and exchanges data. Nearby Interaction tells you where the thing physically is. You usually need both.
Usage
Anchor content to a specific real-world object, including moving and handheld ones.
Versus related
ARKit image anchors track flat images. Object tracking handles 3D objects you have scanned in advance.
Usage
Swap SystemLanguageModel for PrivateCloudComputeLanguageModel inside the same LanguageModelSession call. Same @Generable structs and tool calling code you already wrote, now backed by a model with an 8x bigger context window than on-device.
Versus related
Foundation Models is the API surface. On-device and Private Cloud Compute are the two models it can point at through that same protocol. On-device is free, offline, and limited to 4K tokens of context. Private Cloud Compute needs network and a managed entitlement, but reads far more at once, and is built so that not even Apple can see what was sent.
Reviewer note
Entitlement name and eligibility thresholds sourced from secondary technical write-ups, not a first-party Apple page we could render. See docs/SOURCES.md.
Usage
Build a scene as entities with components for meshes, materials, physics, anchors, and audio. RealityView hosts it in SwiftUI, and the same code runs on iOS, macOS, and visionOS.
Versus related
The forward path. SceneKit is soft-deprecated, in maintenance mode, though still supported on watchOS and tvOS where RealityKit is not. ARKit senses the world, RealityKit draws into it.
Usage
Register third-party tracked hardware as a visionOS input device.
Versus related
Game Controller handles standard controllers. Spatial Accessories handles arbitrary objects tracked in six degrees of freedom.
Usage
Customise the layout, rendering, and interaction of native text views.
Versus related
TextKit 2 is the current generation; avoid TextKit 1 tutorials. SwiftUI Text is for display, TextKit is for building an actual editor.
Usage
Ask the system whether a user action shows signs of coerced or manipulated decision-making, without you reading their content.
Versus related
Sensitive Content Analysis inspects media for nudity. Trust Insights evaluates behavioural context for social engineering. Completely different problems that sound adjacent.
Documentation
Usage
Read, write, compose, and edit USD 3D scene files in Swift.
Versus related
Previously this meant ModelIO or command line tools. USDKit is first-class Swift access to the same format RealityKit and Reality Composer Pro already consume.
Usage
Detect faces, text, barcodes, objects, body and hand poses, and document boundaries in an image or camera stream.
Versus related
VisionKit is the finished scanning UI built on top; Vision is the analysis layer you call yourself. Core ML and Core AI are where you bring your own model when Vision's built-ins cannot do the thing.
Usage
World tracking, plane detection, scene reconstruction, body and face tracking from the camera.
Versus related
ARKit senses, RealityKit renders. On visionOS the system handles most of ARKit's job for you, so you touch it far less directly than on iOS.
Documentation
Usage
Wire audio nodes together: capture, playback, effects, mixing, and spatial audio, without dropping to C.
Versus related
Part of AVFAudio. The middle layer: more control than AVFoundation playback, far friendlier than raw Core Audio. PHASE sits beside it for spatial game scenes.
Usage
Register refresh and processing tasks the system runs when battery and network conditions are favourable.
Versus related
BackgroundTasks is opportunistic and never guaranteed. Background Assets is specifically for downloading content. Silent pushes are the third option when your server knows first.
Usage
You choose a Braille table for the language, then translate print text to Braille cells or back with AXBrailleTranslator. For a two dimensional display you send a graphical representation instead of text.
Versus related
Accessibility Ax covers VoiceOver and the element model. This card is only the Braille layer under it.
Reviewer note
Verified 2026-08-28. The translator is new in the 26 cycle, so it is recent but not a WWDC26 item. Braille display support itself is much older.
Needs a refreshable Braille display to test properly. Translation itself runs without hardware.
Documentation
Usage
Work at the hardware boundary: audio units, device input and output, formats, and the real-time constraints professional audio needs.
Versus related
The C layer underneath everything. AVAudioEngine covers most real-time needs from Swift; drop here for audio units, drivers, and the last milliseconds of latency.
Usage
Upscale and interpolate frames so a heavy scene hits its target framerate.
Versus related
A companion to Metal, not an alternative. Apple's equivalent of DLSS or FSR.
Usage
Modern TCP, UDP, QUIC, and WebSocket connections, Bonjour discovery, and path monitoring.
Versus related
Replaces raw sockets. URLSession still wins for plain HTTP requests; reach for Network when you need a persistent or custom-protocol connection.
Usage
Turn spoken audio into text, live or from a file.
Versus related
SFSpeechRecognizer is the legacy path; SpeechAnalyzer and SpeechTranscriber handle long-form audio far better. Generated Subtitles wraps this specifically for video.
Usage
Discover, securely pair, and stream data between nearby devices over peer-to-peer Wi-Fi.
Versus related
The modern successor to Multipeer Connectivity: faster, secure pairing, real bandwidth. Nearby Interaction tells you where a device is; Wi-Fi Aware moves the data. Needs iPhone 12 or newer.
Usage
Read and write the address book, or present the system contact picker.
Versus related
The picker requires no permission prompt at all. Only request full access if you genuinely need the whole book, which most apps do not.
Documentation
Usage
Position, geofencing, beacon ranging, heading, and visit detection.
Versus related
Core Location gives coordinates, MapKit renders and searches them. Two separate frameworks people constantly conflate.
Usage
Run a converted, trained model for classification, regression, sound, or pose.
Versus related
Now scoped to traditional ML. Apple has said new neural network work should go to Core AI, with Core ML continuing in compatibility mode. Still runs on far more devices than Foundation Models, which needs Apple Intelligence hardware.
Usage
Control a motorised stand so the camera physically tracks a subject.
Versus related
Center Stage crops digitally in software. DockKit moves real hardware, so the subject can leave the original frame entirely.
Usage
Capture screen, window, or app audio at high performance.
Versus related
Replaces the older AVFoundation screen capture path on macOS. ReplayKit is the iOS equivalent for game and screen recording.
Documentation
Usage
Store and sync records in the user's private database, a shared database, or your public one.
Versus related
CloudKit is the backend; SwiftData with CloudKit is the easy path on top. Use raw CloudKit when you need sharing, a public database, or server-side logic.
Documentation
Usage
Read accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, pedometer, altimeter, and derived activity and fall data.
Versus related
Real-time on-device sensors, open to every app. SensorKit is the research-grade retrospective equivalent and needs Apple approval.
Documentation
Usage
Read and write calendar events and reminders with permission.
Versus related
EventKit touches the user's own calendar. App Intents is how you let Siri create events through your app instead. The write-only permission tier asks for far less trust, so prefer it.
Documentation
Usage
Tokenise, tag parts of speech, detect language, score sentiment, and generate word embeddings.
Versus related
Runs on every device with no Apple Intelligence requirement, unlike Foundation Models. Use it for cheap text processing at scale rather than reasoning.
Usage
The user records their Personal Voice in Settings. Your app requests authorization to synthesize with personal voices, and they then appear next to the system voices in AVSpeechSynthesizer.
Versus related
Speech Sp turns a voice into text. Personal Voice turns text back into the user's own voice.
Reviewer note
Verified 2026-08-28. Status corrected from UPD to STABLE: the authorization API is iOS 17, not new at WWDC26.
The user must record a Personal Voice in Settings first. There is nothing to call until they do.
Documentation
Usage
Spatial audio engine with geometry-aware occlusion and reverb for games and immersive apps.
Versus related
Core Audio mixes; PHASE places sound in 3D space. RealityKit's new reverb meshes now overlap for spatial scenes, so check which one your project actually needs.
Usage
Read, filter, and write the user's photo library with permission.
Versus related
PhotoKit is library access. Vision and Core Image are what you do to the pixels once you have them. The limited-library picker needs no permission prompt at all.
Documentation
Usage
Detect nudity in images and video on device before displaying or uploading it.
Versus related
Entirely on device. Server-side moderation has to see the content; this never does, which is the whole point.
Usage
Synchronise your app's state across participants in a FaceTime call or a shared local session.
Versus related
The framework is actually called GroupActivities. It syncs state, not media, so you still stream your own content and only share the playhead.
Documentation
Usage
Read input from physical controllers and system virtual controllers.
Versus related
Touch Controller is the new dedicated touch path. Game Controller remains the framework for actual hardware.
Usage
Discover and control accessories that implement the HomeKit or Matter standard.
Versus related
Only works with standards-compliant accessories. For custom hardware a learner builds themselves, the answer is Core Bluetooth, not HomeKit.
Usage
Monitor app and web usage, shield distracting apps, and enforce limits with user or guardian consent.
Versus related
Three frameworks that only work together: FamilyControls for authorization, DeviceActivity for monitoring, ManagedSettings for enforcement. Learners routinely try one alone and stall.
Documentation
Usage
Match audio against Shazam's catalogue, or against your own custom signature catalogue.
Versus related
Recognition, not analysis. The custom catalogue path is the underused half: you can fingerprint your own audio and match against it.
Documentation
Usage
Current conditions, minute, hourly and daily forecasts, historical data, and severe weather alerts.
Versus related
Replaced Dark Sky. Requires visible attribution and has a free monthly call quota before paid tiers.
Documentation
Usage
Expose a remote or cloud file system inside the Files app and to every other app.
Versus related
Document Provider is the deprecated predecessor. Use FileProvider for a real sync service, UIDocumentPicker for one-off imports.
Usage
Access long-term sensor and device usage data for approved research studies.
Versus related
Core Motion is real-time and open to all apps. SensorKit is retrospective, far richer, and gated behind an Apple research approval that takes weeks.
Documentation
Usage
Classify live or recorded audio against 300+ built-in sounds, or your own Create ML sound model.
Versus related
Speech transcribes words, ShazamKit names songs, Music Understanding describes music. Sound Analysis answers a simpler question: what sound is this?
Usage
Read NDEF and native NFC tags, and write to them.
Versus related
Tag reading and writing only. PassKit handles payment and ProximityReader handles acceptance; Core NFC cannot do either.
Documentation
Usage
You query the paired hearing aid devices and observe their streaming status. You get state, not audio control.
Versus related
Core Bluetooth Cb pairs generic BLE hardware yourself. This uses the system's own hearing aid pairing, already done for you.
Reviewer note
Verified 2026-08-28. You get device state and streaming ear, not audio control.
MFi hearing aid required. There is nothing to test without one.
Documentation
Usage
Design and play custom haptic patterns, optionally synchronised with audio.
Versus related
UIFeedbackGenerator gives you three canned taps. Core Haptics lets you compose arbitrary patterns with intensity and sharpness curves over time.
Documentation
Usage
Discover and connect nearby devices over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth with no router or internet.
Versus related
Older and slower. Wi-Fi Aware, from iOS 26, is the modern high-bandwidth peer-to-peer path.
Documentation
Usage
Build a message filter extension that classifies incoming SMS from unknown senders as junk, promotion, or transaction.
Versus related
Works only on SMS and MMS from unknown senders, never iMessage or chat apps, and never sees messages from saved contacts. Sensitive Content Analysis inspects images; IdentityLookup classifies text messages.
Documentation
Usage
2D scene graph with sprites, physics, particles, and actions.
Versus related
Alive but unfunded. Fine for a challenge, not a career bet. Not deprecated, but the community expects it to follow SceneKit eventually.
Documentation
Usage
State machines, pathfinding, behaviour trees, rule systems, entity component systems, and seeded randomisation.
Versus related
Logic only, no rendering. Pairs with SpriteKit or RealityKit. Reality Composer Pro's new Behavior Trees now cover some of the same ground on visionOS.
Documentation
Usage
Transfer messages, files, and application context between paired iPhone and Watch apps.
Versus related
For your own app's two halves on one person's paired devices. CloudKit syncs across a user's whole device set and can share with other people.
Usage
Ship an AppShortcutsProvider listing up to ten App Intents, each with trigger phrases containing the app name. The system registers them with Siri, Spotlight, and the Shortcuts app at install time, no user assembly step.
Versus related
App Intents is the action you build. App Shortcuts is what makes that action speakable the moment your app installs, without the user ever opening the Shortcuts app to assemble one.
Usage
Produce captions for video by transcribing the audio or translating existing subtitles, on device.
Versus related
Combines Speech and Translation into one media-aware API so you do not wire them together and sync timings yourself.
Usage
Generate images from a text description inside your app, with no model to ship.
Versus related
Core AI could run your own diffusion model; Image Playground is the zero-setup path using Apple's.
Usage
Show live, updating state for an ongoing event on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island.
Versus related
Built on WidgetKit but driven by ActivityKit. Use for something happening now that has an end. Use a widget for standing information.
Documentation
Usage
Present incoming, outgoing, and group conversations with full system integration.
Versus related
The modern successor to CallKit, handling group and richer conversation types CallKit was never designed for. New calling apps should start here.
Usage
Publish playback state and controls to Lock Screen, Control Center, Dynamic Island, and CarPlay.
Versus related
Replaces hand-wiring MPNowPlayingInfoCenter and MPRemoteCommandCenter, which almost every audio app got subtly wrong.
Documentation
Usage
Provide a drawing canvas with Apple's tool picker, ink engine, and now handwriting recognition.
Versus related
The ink layer. PaperKit is the full markup canvas built on top of it. Vision reads handwriting in a photograph; PencilKit reads live strokes as they are drawn.
Usage
Author scenes, materials, animations, and now full interactive logic without writing Swift.
Versus related
The editor for RealityKit. Previously you authored assets here and wrote behaviour in Swift. ScriptGraph closes that gap.
Documentation
Design immersive environments for visionOS apps and the spatial web · WWDC26
Design no-code games with Reality Composer Pro 3 · WWDC26
Extend Reality Composer Pro 3 functionality with Xcode · WWDC26
Iterate your spatial scenes faster with Reality Composer Pro 3 · WWDC26
Supercharge your spatial workflows with Reality Composer Pro 3 · WWDC26Realitycomposerpro
Usage
Let users compose your App Intents into their own automations, without you writing integrations.
Versus related
App Intents is what you build. Shortcuts is where users assemble it. You cannot appear in Shortcuts without App Intents.
Usage
Stream 3D content from a Mac app to Vision Pro for spatial viewing, with two-way sync.
Versus related
Foveated Streaming sends a rendered frame. Spatial Preview sends the content itself, so the headset renders it locally.
Usage
Sell in-app purchases and subscriptions, and verify entitlements.
Versus related
StoreKit 2 is the modern Swift async API. Most tutorials you find are still StoreKit 1, which is a real trap for learners.
Usage
Add configurable on-screen game controls without building them by hand.
Versus related
Game Controller handles physical hardware and the older virtual controller API. Touch Controller is the purpose-built layer for on-screen touch controls.
Usage
Accept Apple Pay, and issue passes such as tickets, IDs, loyalty cards, and boarding passes.
Versus related
PassKit covers both payments and passes, which confuses everyone. ProximityReader is the accepting side, not the paying side.
Usage
Embed web content in your app, or build for Safari using the new platform features.
Versus related
WKWebView is the embedding API and WebKit for SwiftUI wraps it. Use SFSafariViewController instead when you want Safari's own UI, cookies, and autofill, which matters for third-party login flows.
Documentation
Meet WebKit for SwiftUI · WWDC25
Get started with the HTML Model Element · WWDC26
Create web extensions for Safari · WWDC26
Learn CSS Grid Lanes · WWDC26
Rediscover the HTML select element · WWDC26
Explore immersive website environments in visionOS · WWDC26
What’s new in WebKit for Safari 27 · WWDC26Webkit
Usage
Show glanceable content on Home Screen, Lock Screen, StandBy, and Watch faces.
Versus related
WidgetKit is timeline-driven and periodic. Live Activities are event-driven and short-lived. Both use the same restricted SwiftUI subset, which surprises people.
Usage
Schedule one-off or repeating alarms and countdowns with system alarm presentation and Live Activities.
Versus related
UserNotifications can be silenced and batched. AlarmKit rings like a real alarm, so use it only for things a person truly wants to be interrupted by.
Documentation
Usage
You add an AssistiveAccess scene so your UI expands into the space above the Back button, and you check at runtime whether the device is in Assistive Access so you can drop workflows that do not fit.
Versus related
Assessment Ae locks a device for an exam. Assistive Access simplifies the app for everyday use.
Reviewer note
Verified 2026-08-28. Status corrected from UPD to STABLE: the scene is iOS 26, not a WWDC26 addition. The UIKit path was not verified.
Documentation
Usage
Display maps, search places, calculate directions, and show Look Around imagery.
Versus related
MapKit presents and searches; Core Location says where the device is. MapKit for SwiftUI is now the preferred API surface over the older UIKit view.
Usage
Drop in a full annotation experience: a canvas with drawing, shapes, images, and text markup, the same experience system apps present.
Versus related
Built on PencilKit. PencilKit is the raw ink; PaperKit is the whole markup document on top of it. QuickLook covers viewing and light markup of existing files.
Documentation
Usage
Apply animated effects such as bounce, pulse, and replace to SF Symbols.
Versus related
SF Symbols is the icon set. The Symbols framework is the animation API for it. Two different things with almost the same name.
Usage
Register your app's content so it appears when the user points the camera at something in the world.
Versus related
Built on App Intents. Vision analyses images you supply; Visual Intelligence puts your app inside the system camera experience.
Usage
You build the expression as a tree of AXMathExpression nodes, fractions, roots, subscripts, tables. VoiceOver walks the tree so the user can drill into a part instead of hearing the whole line.
Versus related
Accessibility Ax covers labels and traits. Accessible Math is the only way a formula reads the way a teacher says it.
Reviewer note
Verified 2026-08-28. Card name is descriptive. Apple ships no framework called Accessible Math, the symbols live in Accessibility.
Documentation
Usage
Sign in with Apple, passkeys, password autofill, and web authentication sessions.
Versus related
Verifies who the user is to your server. App Attest verifies the app. LocalAuthentication verifies whoever is holding the device right now.
Usage
Present the user with moments from their day (photos, workouts, locations, music) as writing prompts.
Versus related
Suggestions are generated on device and your app only receives what the user explicitly picks. You never get raw access to the underlying data.
Usage
Guided capture on iPhone reconstructs photos of an object into a textured USDZ model.
Versus related
An API inside RealityKit, not a separate framework. RoomPlan scans spaces; Object Capture scans things. Best results need LiDAR.
Usage
Declarative charts in SwiftUI built directly from your data.
Versus related
Swift Charts for standard chart types. Canvas or Metal when you need a visualisation no chart library covers.
Usage
Define tips with eligibility and frequency rules, and let the system decide when to show them.
Versus related
Replaces hand-rolled coach marks and the ad-hoc has-seen-this flags most apps bury in UserDefaults.
Usage
Translate text on device, or present the system translation sheet.
Versus related
Foundation Models can translate too, but Translation is smaller, faster, works on more devices, and needs no Apple Intelligence.
Documentation
Usage
Build structured workout plans and schedule them onto Apple Watch.
Versus related
WorkoutKit defines the plan before the session. HealthKit records what actually happened during and after it.
Usage
Ship a lightweight entry into one task of your app, launched from QR, NFC, links, or Maps.
Versus related
An App Clip is part of your full app project, not a separate app. Industry adoption has been slow, so treat it as a discovery layer, not the product.
Documentation
Usage
Train a model on a Mac from your own data with no code, using templates for image, sound, text, tabular, hand pose, and action.
Versus related
Create ML trains, Core ML and Core AI run. MLX is the code-first alternative when Create ML's templates are too rigid.
Usage
You read the systemwide caption appearance and audio description preferences and apply them to your own rendering. AVFoundation applies most of this for you, so reach for this framework when you draw video yourself.
Versus related
Generated Subtitles Gs creates the captions. Media Accessibility styles them to the viewer's own settings.
Reviewer note
Verified 2026-08-28. Reach for this only when you draw video yourself. AVFoundation already applies most of it.
Documentation
Usage
Accept contactless payments and read IDs using the iPhone itself as the terminal.
Versus related
PassKit pays, ProximityReader receives. Requires an entitlement and is not available in every region, Indonesia included.
Usage
Preview documents, images, 3D models, and AR content without writing a viewer.
Versus related
QuickLook previews, FileProvider supplies. QLPreviewController displays; QuickLook Thumbnailing is the separate API for generating thumbnails of your own formats.
Usage
Run a guided scan session that outputs walls, openings, and furniture as a parametric USD model.
Versus related
RoomPlan captures the room, Object Capture captures a single object. Needs LiDAR, so a Pro iPhone or iPad.
Usage
Put VoIP calls into the system call UI, call log, and Do Not Disturb handling.
Versus related
Still supported, but LiveCommunicationKit is the path forward. Keep CallKit for existing integrations, not new ones.
Documentation
Usage
Prompt for Face ID, Touch ID, or the device passcode to gate a local action.
Versus related
A local gate, not server authentication. It proves someone unlocked the device, not who they are. Never treat a successful Face ID prompt as proof of identity to a backend.
Usage
Display PDFs, search text, fill forms, and add ink or text annotations.
Versus related
QuickLook previews a PDF read-only in one line. PDFKit is for editing, annotation, and search. Pair with PencilKit for the ink.
Documentation
Usage
Schedule local notifications and receive, modify, and present remote pushes.
Versus related
A Notification Service Extension modifies content before display; a Notification Content Extension customises the expanded view. Live Activities are a separate delivery path with their own push type.
Usage
You describe the data series, axes, and units through the audio graph protocols. VoiceOver generates the sound and the spoken summary for you.
Versus related
Swift Charts Cr draws the chart. Audio Graphs makes the same data hearable.
Reviewer note
Verified 2026-08-28. Swift Charts does not expose an audio graph on its own, so this has to be added by hand.
Documentation
Usage
Ship an extension that appears in the system share sheet and receives text, URLs, images, or files.
Versus related
The receiving side of sharing: other apps send content into yours, and the share sheet UI comes free from the system. Pair with App Intents if Siri and Shortcuts should feed your app too.
Documentation
Usage
Build sticker packs and iMessage app extensions that run inside Messages conversations.
Versus related
Only lives inside Apple's Messages app, which is rarely the main chat app in Indonesia, so set audience expectations first. Sending messages from your own app is MessageUI or the share sheet, not this.
Documentation
Usage
Present Apple's built-in scanning experiences: the document camera, Live Text interaction, data scanning for text and barcodes, and subject lift on images.
Versus related
The finished UI on top of Vision. VisionKit presents the scanner sheet and returns results; Vision gives you raw analysis to build your own. Visual Intelligence goes the other way and puts your app inside the system camera.
Documentation
Usage
Test your App Intents through the same machinery Siri uses, with no UI automation.
Versus related
XCUITest drives the screen. AppIntentsTesting invokes the intent directly, so it is faster and does not break when the UI changes.
Usage
How to express a brand through typography, colour, and components without fighting the platform.
Versus related
A session, not a framework. Applies most directly to theming decisions in SwiftUI.
Documentation
Usage
Run a lightweight, persistent Linux environment on a Mac.
Versus related
Built on Apple's open source Containerization stack. Virtualization runs a full VM you manage yourself; Container Machines hands you a ready Linux workspace.
Usage
Score an AI feature's output automatically against graders you define, since unit tests cannot assert on probabilistic answers.
Versus related
Swift Testing checks deterministic code. Evaluations grades model output, where the same input can produce different valid answers.
Usage
Script and automate Foundation Models from the macOS command line or Python, for prompt iteration and batch runs.
Versus related
The same models as the Foundation Models Swift framework, without building an app first. Prototype prompts here, then move them into Swift.
Usage
Evaluate and port Windows games to Mac by running them through a translation layer, then replacing the stack piece by piece.
Versus related
An evaluation and porting tool, not a shipping runtime. The end state is a native Metal build.
Usage
Profile CPU, memory, hangs, SwiftUI updates, and energy with recorded traces on your own machine.
Versus related
MetricKit reports from the field, Instruments profiles at your desk. Use Instruments to reproduce and fix what MetricKit surfaced.
Documentation
Debug and profile agentic app experiences with Instruments · WWDC26
Profile, fix, and verify: Improve app responsiveness with Instruments · WWDC26
Optimize CPU performance with Instruments · WWDC25
Optimize SwiftUI performance with Instruments · WWDC25
Find and fix performance issues in your Metal games · WWDC26CurrentUsage
Receive on-device reports of your app's battery use, launch time, hangs, disk writes, and crashes from real users.
Versus related
Xcode Organizer shows aggregated metrics. MetricKit delivers the raw payloads to your own code so you can send them to your own backend.
Documentation
Usage
Train, fine-tune, and run models on Apple silicon in Python or Swift, using unified memory.
Versus related
MLX is for training and experimentation. Core AI and Core ML are for shipping inference inside an app. A common path: fine-tune with MLX, convert, deploy with Core AI.
Documentation
Get started with MLX for Apple silicon · WWDC25Bring an LLM provider to the Foundation Models framework · WWDC26
Run local agentic AI on the Mac using MLX · WWDC26
Explore large language models on Apple silicon with MLX · WWDC25
Explore distributed inference and training with MLX · WWDC26
Explore numerical computing in Swift with MLX · WWDC26MlxUsage
Watch for the design fundamentals that apply across every Apple platform.
Versus related
A session, not a framework. The Human Interface Guidelines are the companion reference document.
Usage
Read before building anything agentic: indirect prompt injection, data exfiltration, and unintended actions.
Versus related
A session, not a framework. Pairs with App Intents and Foundation Models, which is exactly where these attacks happen.
Usage
Tag system performance metrics with what your app was actually doing at the time, so a spike is attributable to a feature.
Versus related
MetricKit tells you a hang happened. StateReporting tells you which part of your app the user was in when it happened.
Usage
Write tests with @Test and #expect macros, parameterised cases, and parallel execution.
Versus related
The successor to XCTest for unit tests. XCTest remains for UI automation and performance tests, and both can live in one test target.
Documentation
Usage
Run full macOS or Linux virtual machines on Apple silicon.
Versus related
The low-level VM framework that container tooling builds on. Reach for it when you need a whole guest OS, not just a Linux shell.
Usage
Write, build, debug, and profile everything in this deck.
Versus related
The only supported IDE for Apple platforms. Third-party editors still route through xcodebuild underneath.
Documentation
Code-along: Explore localization with Xcode · WWDC25
Record, replay, and review: UI automation with Xcode · WWDC25
Create UI prototypes using agents in Xcode · WWDC26
Get the most out of Device Hub · WWDC26
Inside Apple Intelligence and Xcode: Special Presentation · WWDC26
Translate your app using agents in Xcode · WWDC26
Xcode, agents, and you · WWDC26
What’s new in Xcode 26 · WWDC25
What’s new in Xcode 27 · WWDC26Xcode
Usage
Build, test, and distribute to TestFlight automatically on Apple-hosted CI.
Versus related
Integrated with Xcode and App Store Connect, with a free monthly compute tier. GitHub Actions on macOS runners is the do-it-yourself alternative.
Usage
Runs automated accessibility checks against your UI in a test, and drives VoiceOver from a test.
Reviewer note
Verified 2026-08-28. Status corrected from UPD to STABLE. A WWDC26 XCTest API for driving VoiceOver from a Mac appeared in a search summary and could NOT be verified against Apple documentation. Do not repeat that claim until it is.
Documentation
