Playgrounds

Apple has released the long-awaited Swift Playgrounds 4.6 update, or as it’s now known, Swift Playground! The release notes read as follows: This update includes a new document browser to easily create a new playground or find a recent one, and provides bug fixes and improved stability. Let’s see what’s new! iOS 18 Support! Despite the description, the update does include support for targeting SDKs up to iOS 18.1. Interface changes The update also includes the new document browser demoed in June last year which is a big win for organising projects!...

The story so far Last year, I developed and released Medlied from my iPad using Swift Playgrounds. I cut out the Mac from my workflow completely, enjoyed live on-device previews that update in seconds, and I even got the privilege of doing a talk on my experience using Swift Playgrounds at Leeds Mobile! Unfortunately, this setup still has some holes which I ran into with my next project. First, Swift Playgrounds support for iOS 18 has failed to materialise....

In the last year, I’ve gone all-in on building apps using an iPad. I’ve never met another Playgrounds developer, and a lot of the community are surprised this is even possible! This post should clear up what is and isn’t possible when it comes to app development on iPad, and I hope to encourage others to give this a try too! I use my iPad hooked up to a keyboard, mouse, and monitor for most serious work, with both screens set to More Space....