The iOS Weekly Brief – Issue #27
Beta updates, ASO insights, localization pitfalls, and new Swift tools you’ll want to try
🆕 What’s New
Get ready with the latest beta releases
The latest round of betas is here: iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Ventura 26.1, and more. A good moment to test your app on Xcode 26.0.1 and make sure nothing breaks.
📚 Must Read
App Store Optimization: Real-world Best Practices
If you’ve ever wondered why your app isn’t ranking higher, this article digs into the real-world practices of App Store Optimization. From keyword research to screenshot strategy and analytics in App Store Connect, Antoine shows what actually works. A practical guide you’ll want to bookmark before your next release.
Localization troubles with Swift PM
Localization and Swift Package Manager don’t always play nicely. This article explains how moving .lproj files into an SPM package can break localizations for first-time installs, and why relying on Bundle.module or CFBundleLocalizations is the safer approach. A must-read if you’re modularizing your app and want to avoid hidden traps.
Using Observations to observe Observable model properties
With Xcode 26 and Swift 6.2 we finally get a cleaner way to observe Observable properties outside SwiftUI. The new Observations API replaces the withObservationTracking and gives us async sequences with didSet semantics. There are still caveats regarding memory management and missing values, but overall, this is a significant improvement.
🛠️ Toolbox
If you’ve hit the limits of SwiftData, take a look at SQLiteData from the Point-Free team. It’s a fast, lightweight alternative built on GRDB, with support for CloudKit sync and a more powerful querying model.
🍬 One More Thing…
Create an Interactive Snippet Shortcut using App Intents
Jordan shows how to build an interactive snippet with buttons that stay live as you tap them. The setup uses SnippetIntent, dependency injection, and simple view updates to make shortcuts feel dynamic.
🗳️ Weekly Poll
📊 Last Week’s Poll Results
What part of the new iPhone 17 lineup are you most excited about?
Top Answer: “Center Stage front camera”
🗓 Upcoming Conferences
September
23-30 — Meet with Apple (Global 🌎)
26-27 — Swift Bharat 2025 (Bengaluru 🇮🇳)
29–30 — Swift Connection (Paris 🇫🇷)
October
2–3 — ServerSide.swift (London 🇬🇧)
6–8 — SwiftLeeds (Leeds 🇬🇧)
24 — DevFest.cz (Prague 🇨🇿)
30–31 — Pragma Conference (Bologna 🇮🇹)
November
December
13–15 — Mobile Developers Week Abu Dhabi 2025 (Abu Dhabi 🇦🇪)
👋 That’s it for this week
If you enjoyed this issue of The iOS Weekly Brief, consider forwarding it to a colleague!
Until next Friday — keep shipping 🍏