This week I’ve been thinking about...
New versions of iOS and Xcode dropped this week, so I hope your apps are ready 😉
This is also the week the first iPhone 18 Pro buyers start getting their preordered devices. I’m not one of them, though I am picking up a new Apple Watch, since my old one died a couple of weeks before the keynote. Coincidence? I doubt it 😅
I’m skipping the 18 Pro because I want the flagship, and this year the “Pro” label doesn’t mean that anymore. Yeah, I’m waiting for the Duo instead, and I’ve seen a lot of discussions online about its pricing, though, and it is on another level compared to previous iPhones, especially outside the US where it can cost even more...
That makes engineers and product people wonder whether it’s worth the effort to fully support it 🤔
Nobody used to think seriously about the iPad, and now the concern is that nobody will bother with the Duo either, since the high price will keep the user base small. I don’t think this is just a repeat of that story. This is a new form factor, and now that Apple has fully committed to it, I think it’s going to become the new standard.
Your app gets an opportunity to use everything that this device offers. There are plenty of tutorials on how to jump into the Duo’s world, and we’ll go through them in this issue. Being the first one means an opportunity for you to get featured by Apple, which brings a nice wave of extra attention for your app right at launch. And don’t forget, every feature you build for the Duo also improves your iPad UI/UX along the way, completely for free.
What’s New
iPhone 18 Pro Pre-Orders Off to a Muted Start, Analyst Says
Today is the day! If you preordered an iPhone 18 Pro, you should be unboxing it soon 🎉 But there is a problem here - pre-order numbers are not so strong... And honestly, it doesn’t surprise me. The improvement on last year’s Pro is quite slight, though the price has increased and for people who live outside the US that rise in price can have a much greater impact. Also, although the new model has the “Pro” name attached to it, it is no longer the top model. Many people are still waiting for the Duo.
I believe some of us are just waiting for the “XX” iPhone instead. Yeah, I think Apple could skip iPhone 19, the same way they skipped straight from 8 to X.
Releases
Must Read
From pbxproj to xcproj: Xcode Project Configuration Gets a JSON Format
Apple released Xcode 27.2 with a new project format. project.pbxproj has a JSON replacement, and I bet you remember your merge conflicts because of that thirty-year-old serialization format 😅
The clean structure is easier for us and for AI agents too. That’s why Apple tagged this as a Coding Intelligence feature. Agents can read and modify project structure faster, and this is now the default option for new projects.
I use Tuist and Bazel, and it’s great to see that Apple pushes native solutions in the same direction third-party tools have been solving for years.
Adapting your app for iPhone Duo
Sarunw published a four-part series about how to adapt your app for the iPhone Duo, based on Apple’s Design for iPhone Duo talk. If you’re a reading person, this is a great source with plenty of code examples, screenshots, and explanations. Start with part one and work through the series.
Moving from XCTest to Swift Testing
I’ve covered Swift Testing before, but I have to cover this topic again because it’s from Kodeco. I used Kodeco’s (Ray Wenderlich) books and approaches to start my career as an iOS engineer. They break down complex topics into simple steps and use real test projects instead of raw theory. This tutorial walks you through the migration process from XCTest to Swift Testing end-to-end.
Quick Read
Video
5 Reasons You Need to Immediately Support iPhone Duo
I agree with the author here. Get in early on iPhone Duo support. There is a hidden bonus: you’ll get a great iPad experience for free! As someone who’s getting the Duo myself, I want to see great apps from the engineers who read this newsletter 😉
Toolbox
iOS 27: CrashReportExtension Framework
Anton Gubarenko dives into the new CrashReportExtension Framework that allows crash inspection outside the crashed process, in a system-managed extension with read-only access to the failed app.
iOS Job Market (USA)
32 new iOS positions this week (-79% vs last week · -52% vs last month)
Senior / Mid / Junior — 42% / 50% / 8%
Most wanted skills: SwiftUI 58% · UIKit 46% · MVVM 18% · Combine 15%
This week’s picks:
Senior Staff iOS Engineer at Cash App (Block) (San Francisco Bay Area) — Sets direction for iOS architecture, performance, reliability, and security using Swift, SwiftUI, Combine, and Bazel; builds the native foundations behind Cash App’s fintech ecosystem for 50M+ MAU → Apply
Principal Design Engineer, Mobile (iOS) at Salesforce (Slack) (New York, NY) — Prototypes directly in Swift, an SwiftUI, exploring WidgetKit, App Intents, Live Activities, and Shortcuts to push Slack’s iOS design forward; base salary $197,300-$344,700 → Apply
Senior iOS Developer at TEGNA (Knoxville, TN) — Builds TEGNA’s native news app in Swift, SwiftUI, and Swift Concurrency within an MVVM + Coordinator architecture, tackling video playback and rendering performance across a single codebase powering 50+ local station apps → Apply
Weekly Poll
📊 Last Week’s Poll Results
Will you buy an iPhone Duo?
Top Answer: Nah, skipping this one
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