iOS 16: New APIs Every Developer Should Implement

iOS 16 (released September 2022) is one of Apple’s richest developer releases in years. Lock Screen customisation alone opened a new category of widget experiences, Swift Charts made data visualisation trivial, and the SwiftUI navigation system received a long-overdue redesign. Here’s what you should be building with.

Lock Screen Widgets with WidgetKit

iOS 16 allows widgets on the Lock Screen, not just the Home Screen. Support the new widget families in your extension:

struct MyWidget: Widget {
    var body: some WidgetConfiguration {
        StaticConfiguration(kind: "MyWidget", provider: Provider()) { entry in
            MyWidgetView(entry: entry)
        }
        .supportedFamilies([
            .systemSmall,
            .systemMedium,
            .accessoryCircular,     // Lock Screen circular
            .accessoryRectangular,  // Lock Screen rectangular
            .accessoryInline        // Lock Screen inline text
        ])
    }
}

Swift Charts: Native Data Visualisation

Build beautiful, accessible charts with a handful of lines:

import Charts

Chart(salesData) { item in
    BarMark(
        x: .value("Month", item.month),
        y: .value("Revenue", item.revenue)
    )
    .foregroundStyle(by: .value("Category", item.category))
}
.chartYAxis { AxisMarks(format: .currency(code: "USD")) }
.frame(height: 300)

NavigationStack: Replacing NavigationView

The new NavigationStack uses a value-based approach that supports deep linking and programmatic navigation:

@State private var path = NavigationPath()

NavigationStack(path: $path) {
    PostList(posts: posts)
        .navigationDestination(for: Post.self) { post in
            PostDetail(post: post)
        }
}

// Navigate programmatically
path.append(selectedPost)

Swift 5.7 Highlights

• Opaque parameter types — some Collection in function parameters
• Structural opaque types — (some View, some View) as a return type
• Optional unwrapping shorthand — if let value { ... } without repeating the variable name
• Regex literals — native regex support: let regex = /([A-Z][a-z]+)/

Transferable Protocol

The new Transferable protocol standardises how data is shared via Drag and Drop, Clipboard, and ShareLink. Conform your model types to Transferable for free system integration.

iOS 16 rewards developers who invest in SwiftUI and the modern Apple API surface. The platform is in an exceptional moment — the quality and breadth of new APIs in 2022 alone justify the time investment in staying current.