In Apple Music I opened fullscreen for a song and I accidentally clicked some keys and the name and artist name of the song I was playing disappeared, and I can't figure out how to get it back, it temporarily comes back when I hover over the top bar but I can not get it to stay there permanently.
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RSS for tagExplore the art and science of app design. Discuss user interface (UI) design principles, user experience (UX) best practices, and share design resources and inspiration.
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I'm looking for a way to display a notification badge without showing a number—essentially, just an empty badge to indicate the presence of notifications. From my research, it seems like this functionality isn't available . Is there any workaround or method to achieve this?
I am looking for guidance on how people have solved this problem/use case.
What is the best way to structure a seat based subscription app that an organization can pay for seats for all their users, can be distributed via mdm or via app store and is easy (low friction) to get paid for and started for small companies?
I market to a business to buy my app, they want it installed on all 25 devices they have. They use ABM to acquire 25 licenses with and MDM to distribute. The app is currently free to download so ABM charges $0 but has a paywall to use.
The paywall is a RevenueCat one and no user account is needed. All entitlements and free trial work great. When it is deployed to the 25 devices, they can either sign up with their own AppleId and own/company credit card, or use a company appleid and company card for all 25 devices to solve the issue but neither are great.
Doubtful they would want to pay their money for a company required app on a company phone (don’t blame them). If they share an appleid, my MRR drops to 1/25th since they will just share the purchase.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Topic:
Design
SubTopic:
General
Tags:
Design
Business Models
Business and Enterprise
Apple Business Manager
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In macOS 26 Betas 1–3, the system applied an automatic dark-mode fallback for app icons. This ensured consistency across the Dock and Finder even when developers hadn’t provided dark assets.
Since Beta 4, this fallback was removed. As of Beta 7, icons now rely entirely on developer-updated assets. The result is mixed light and dark icons in the Dock, breaking visual consistency and making app recognition slower in dark mode.
Observed behavior:
• Icons without dark assets are displayed in their original light version.
• Some apps (e.g. Final Cut Pro) show a gray border treatment that feels inconsistent with the rest of the UI.
• The fallback applied in Betas 1–3 is completely absent.
Expected behavior:
System should provide a fallback rendering until developers supply proper dark assets, or offer a toggle in System Settings → Appearance (e.g. “Force Dark Icons”).
This is still present in Beta 7. Is there any plan to restore the fallback mechanism or provide a user option?
Hi,
I was trying to use macOS-Sequoia-Production-Templates in Sketch format and when I try to export png icon file of the document template, it always includes grey nontransparent background which I am unable to delete. In contrast, exporting png app icon file from another template has transparent background and exports well.
Is it something wrong with the document icon production template? How can I export document png icon file with transparent background??
Thanks
When receiving or dialing a call, the green (answer) and red (decline) icons appear blurry, and there is a black screen overlay around the icons. This makes it difficult to interact with the call interface properly.
Hi there. Our designer is designing our app in Figma with the navigation element with compact size navigation bar, and large title. I couldn't find an API to actually configure the nav bar to be compact while keeping the large title enabled. Figma uses the libraries provided by Apple so it's weird I can't find such configuration in iOS26.
I'm adding a screenshot of the options in Figma.
First option is: Large size & large text.
The one our designer is using is compact size & large text.
App design: macos, Xcode 16.4, Sequioa 15.5, it is sandboxed
Uses: Pods->HotKey for a global hotkey which xcode says "binary compatibility can't be guaranteed"
This app is on the Apple Store and supposedly apps on the Apple Store can't use global hotkeys. Someone internally, installed it from the store and the global hotkey works just fine.
I'm concerned for two potential problems;
I need to find a hotkey library or code that is known to work with a sandbox'd Apple Store app.
Why is it working now when everything I have read says it shouldn't.
I have an ongoing activity in progress.
Think of:
a delivery in progress
house internet reboot in progress
some water / electricity / internet / tv outage.
(food) order processing
I want to show a persistent toast message above the tab bar, across all tabs and screens across the app. It could take 15 minutes until the activity is finished.
Obviously there's a challenge of:
accessibility
content overlaying with each other
extra engineering effort.
What we've thought of doing is:
Option1: show a toast message, but when a modal is presented then it presents on top of the toast message. The toast message no longer updates itself. Once the modal is finished, then the toast message re-appears and continues to update.
Option2: keep the toast message across all tabs and modals and work through the challenges mentioned
Question:
What are some other design approaches that could be taken to persist an ongoing activity (much like 'Live Activity', but just across the app when it's in foreground) or what are some design reasons that the two options considered are bad?
In the clock app when making an alarm for myself to wake up, I found this bug where If you swipe left On an alarm without deleting it and then Swipe right it does a goofy visual glitch where it teleports to the top of your screen.
At WWDC25 we launched a new type of Lab event for the developer community - Group Labs. A Group Lab is a panel Q&A designed for a large audience of developers. Group Labs are a unique opportunity for the community to submit questions directly to a panel of Apple engineers and designers. Here are the highlights from the WWDC25 Group Lab for Design.
Can you expand on how Liquid Glass helps with navigation and focus in the UI?
Liquid Glass clarifies the navigation layer by introducing a single, floating pane that acts as the primary navigation area. Buttons within this pane seamlessly morph as you move between sections, and controls can temporarily lift into the glass surface. While avoiding excessive use of glass (like layering glass on glass), this approach simplifies navigation and strengthens the connection between menus, alerts, and the elements that trigger them.
What should I do with customized bars that I might have in my app?
Reconsider the content and behavior of customized bars. Evaluate whether you need all the buttons and whether a menu might be a better solution. Instead of relying on background colors or styling, express hierarchy through layout and grouping. This is a good opportunity to adopt the new design language and simplify your interface.
What are scroll edge effects, and what options do we have for them?
Scroll edge effects enhance legibility in controls by lifting interactive elements and separating them from the background. There are two types: a soft edge effect (a subtle blur) and a hard edge effect (a more defined boundary for high-legibility areas like column sorting). Scroll edge effects are designed to work seamlessly with Liquid Glass, allowing content to feel expansive while ensuring controls and titles remain legible.
How can we ensure or improve accessibility using Liquid Glass?
Legibility is a priority, and refinements are ongoing throughout the betas. Liquid Glass adapts well to accessibility settings like Reduce Transparency, Increase Contrast, and Reduce Motion. There are two variants of glass: regular glass, designed to be legible by default, and clear glass, used in places like AVKit, which requires more care to ensure legibility. Use color contrast tools to ensure contrast ratios are met. The Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) are a living document offering best practices. The colors and materials pages are key resources.
Do you have any recommendations for convincing designers concerned with consistency across Android and Web to use Liquid Glass?
Start small and focus on high-utility controls that don't significantly impact brand experience. Native controls offer familiarity and predictability to users. Using the native controls makes sure your app feels at home on the device. Using native frameworks provides built-in accessibility support (dynamic type, reduce transparency, increase contrast). Native controls come with built-in behaviors and interactions.
Can ScrollViews include Liquid Glass within them?
You can technically put a glass layer inside a scroll view, but it can feel heavy and doesn't align with the system's intention for Liquid Glass to serve as a fixed layer. Think of the content layer as the scrolling layer, and the navigational layer as the one using Liquid Glass. If there is glass on the content layer it will collide into the navigational layer.
What core design philosophy guided the direction of iOS 26, beyond the goal of unification?
The core design philosophy involved blurring the line between hardware and software, separating UI and navigation elements from content, making apps adaptable across window sizes, and combining playfulness with sophistication. It was about making the UI feel at home on rounded screens.
Can we layer Liquid Glass elements on top of each other?
Avoid layering Liquid Glass elements directly on top of each other, as it creates unnecessary visual complexity. The system will automatically convert nested glass elements to a vibrant fill style. Use vibrant fills and labels to show control shapes and ensure legibility. Opaque grays should be avoided in favor of vibrant colors, which will multiply with the backgrounds correctly.
What will happen to apps that use custom components? Should they be adapted to the new design within the next year?
The more native components you use, the more things happen for free. Standard components will be upgraded automatically. Look out for any customizations that might clash. Think about what is the minimum viable change, where your app still feels and looks very similar to what it did. Prioritize changes in core workflows and navigational areas. There are a number of benefits to using native components including user familiarity, built-in accessibility support, and built-in behaviors and interactions.
Will Apple be releasing Figma design templates?
Sketch kits were published on Monday and can be referenced. The goal is to ensure the resources are well-organized, well-named, and easy to use. It's a high priority.
I want to know if the program written in C language can be implemented through the software package, write a software package containing C language on Xcode, and then apply it in Swift Playground.
Hi,
I have the following code, which for some reason is not working as expected. I have an .onAppear and a .task function that isn't running, which I can see isn't running because nothing is printing. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
struct ContentView: View {
var body: some View {
ZStack {
switch view {
case .view1: View1()
case .view2: View2()
case .view3: View3()
case .view4: View4()
case .view5: View5()
default: SubscriptionStoreView(groupID: "")
}
}
.onAppear() {
view = .view6
print("test 1")
}
.task {
print("test")
await refreshPurchasedProducts()
}
}
func refreshPurchasedProducts() async {
// Iterate through the user's purchased products.
for await verificationResult in Transaction.currentEntitlements {
switch verificationResult {
case .verified(let transaction): print("verified")
case .unverified(let unverifiedTransaction, let verificationError): print("unverified")
default: print("default")
}
}
}
}
I am struggling with exactly how to set up SwiftData relationships, beyond the single relationship model...
Let's say I have a school. Each school offers a set of classes. Each class is taught by one teacher and attended by several students. Teachers may teach more than one class, but only at one school. Similarly students may attend more than one class, but only at one school. Classes themselves may be offered at more than one school.
Can someone create a class for School, SchoolClass, Teacher, and Student with id, name, and relationships... I have tried it unsuccessfully about 10 different ways at this point.
My most recent is below... I am struggling getting beyond a school listing in the app, and I'll cross that bridge next. I am just wondering if all the trouble I am having is because I am not smart with the class definitions. And wondering if this is to complex for SwiftData and CoreData is the requirement.
This is not a real app, just my way of really trying to get a handle on Swift Data models and Navigation.
I am very new to Swift, and will take any and all suggestions with enthusiasm! Thanks for taking the time.
import Foundation
import SwiftData
@Model
class School: Identifiable {
var id: UUID = UUID()
var name: String
var mascot: String
var teachers: [Teacher]
var schoolClasses: [SchoolClass]
init (name: String, mascot: String = "", teachers: [Teacher] = [], schoolClasses: [SchoolClass] = []) {
self.name = name
self.mascot = mascot
self.teachers = teachers
}
class SchoolClass: Identifiable {
var id: UUID = UUID()
var name: String
var teacher: Teacher?
var students: [Student] = []
init (name: String, teacher: Teacher? = nil, students: [Student] = []) {
self.name = name
self.teacher = teacher
self.students = students
}
}
class Teacher: Identifiable {
var id: UUID = UUID()
var name: String
var tenured: Bool
var school: School?
var students: [Student] = []
init (name: String, tenured: Bool = false, students: [Student] = []) {
self.name = name
self.tenured = tenured
self.students = students
}
}
class Student: Identifiable {
var id: UUID = UUID()
var name: String
var grade: Int?
var teacher: Teacher?
init (name: String, grade: Int? = nil, teacher: Teacher? = nil) {
self.name = name
self.grade = grade
self.teacher = teacher
}
}
}
I have the June 2025 version, but I'd like to find the 2022. There was something removed from the 2022 that I would like to check out.
I noticed a discrepancy between the Material specifications for tvOS on the Developer page and the naming in the Design Resources (Sketch files). Which one should we consider authoritative?
https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/materials
Hello,
I have used CPPointOfInterestTemplate for displaying data and as user scrolls using the up/down arrow, I do not see any change in the map. Is there a way to highlight the POIs as the user scrolls through the list?
I need to use the map controls and zoom to check the markers on the map. Is it possible to set the zoom level of the map in CarPlay?
Pls suggest on the above queries
Hi everyone 👋 I’m a new iOS developer working on my first app and I’ve run into a frustrating visual bug involving my app icon during the launch/close transition.
Issue:
When I use Icon Composer (the new tool introduced for iOS 26) to generate my app icon, I consistently see a thin white border or “fringe” around the icon only during the transition animation (when the app opens or closes). It disappears once the animation ends.
What I tested and confirmed:
• I exported the exact same design directly from Adobe Illustrator as a 1024×1024 PNG, fully opaque, RGB color mode, background color filling the entire canvas (no transparency, no borders, no rounded corners).
• When I place that exported PNG directly into the AppIcon asset catalog in Xcode, the icon renders perfectly — no white fringe appears, just a slightly darker shade of blue during transitions (expected and acceptable).
• But when I generate the icon using Icon Composer, the white edge always appears, even if I disable effects, use full coverage layers, or only keep a flat color layer.
Notes:
• Tested on iOS 26 (latest beta) using Xcode 16.
• The issue seems specific to Icon Composer’s export format or metadata — maybe it’s not stripping alpha correctly or something related to the squircle mask?
• I followed all recommended specs: 1024×1024 px, PNG, sRGB, no transparency, exported from Illustrator at 72ppi with solid background.
Even tested without the logo, just the icon made with icon composer
Is anyone else experiencing this issue with Icon Composer exports?
Is there an official recommendation to avoid this during transitions or should I simply avoid Icon Composer for production icons for now and stick with Illustrator / Figma exports?
Thanks so much
Here’s a visual example:
Hi everyone, I'm new to building apps on Swift and recently I've been wondering how does Apple get this blur effect behind the control center on Mac OS Tahoe. I think it would be nice to use in an app that I'm making but I can't seem to find it in the docs. Is it available through AppKit? I would appreciate some help on this
I noticed a discrepancy between the Material specifications for tvOS on the Developer page and the naming in the Design Resources (Sketch files). Which one should we consider authoritative?
Apple developer design web page:https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/materials
design resource(sketch)