[WA]

Maybe it's a subtle way to punish non-native apps that recreate UI elements, but do not use SwiftUI. The user gets used to the native way of UI elements and everything else will look odd after a while, forcing developers to ditch everything that isn't truly native.

[lawgimenez]

I think this point was subtly mentioned on the WWDC State of the Union, around the 40:54 mark.

https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2025/102

[bitpush]

That was anything but subtle.

> When you use Apple's native frameworks, you can write better apps with less code. Some other frameworks promise the ability to write code once for Android and iOS. And that may sound good, but by the time you've written custom code to adapt each platform's conventions, connected to hardware with platform-specific APIs, implemented accessibility, and then filled in functionality gaps by adding additional logic and relying on a host of plugins, you've likely written a lot more code than you'd planned on. And you are still left with an app that could be slower, look out of place, and can't directly take advantage of features like Live Activities and widgets. Apple's native frameworks are uncompromisingly focused on helping you build the best apps.

[leakycap]

I would love to see the top 100 Mac developers finish this sentence in their own words:

> Apple's native frameworks are uncompromisingly focused on ___________

I bet it wouldn't align with what Apple said.

[busymom0]

One doesn't need to use SwiftUI for the look. Things like the tab bar, navigation bar are available in Swift too. (for those unfamiliar, Swift is different and older than SwiftUI).

[volemo]

Surely you mean UIKit, not Swift? Swift is indeed older than SwiftUI, but is a language, not a UI framework, and there are no “things like tab bar, navigation bar” available in Swift per se: a framework gotta be used.

[halpow]

Sorry to burst your bubble but users literally do not care "how native it looks" other than the vocal minority online. Never ever heard any non-technical user complain that Spotify does not fit in.

[gffrd]

… but people _do_ care about consistency.

They're willing to accept a certain amount of "specialization" for things they care about deeply / use all the time / demand unique approaches, but people like things to look and behave the same when they're pure utility. Which most things are.

People don't complain about Spotify, because (1) the design feels and performs like something Apple would design, and (2) music is something people have feelings about, and so expect differentiation.

[bitpush]

> but people _do_ care about consistency.

But Apple doesnt? Why else would they throw away their current design language, and invent something new ("Liquid Glass").

[gffrd]

I mean … it looks an awful lot like an evolution of the prior one to me. It's being billed as a major departure, but the elements, relationships, and how you interact with them remain unchanged.

They're rolling it out across their entire product catalog, so more consistency if anything.

[halpow]

Hard disagree. If people cared, then all iOS apps would use standard styling, but the matter of fact is that every app has its own style, which does not stop at colors. They all share the same affordances (top left arrow to go back, bottom tab bar) but the UI is more often than not heavily customized.

Take Slack for example with its fancy menus, not even close to what Apple uses. No feelings expected there. Let's not talk about Google apps, which live in its own UI world.

[gffrd]

> If people cared, then all iOS apps would use standard styling, but the matter of fact is that every app has its own style, which does not stop at colors.

This assumes they have a choice between equivalent apps that OS-integrated and one that are not. Many times, they don't.

Anecdotally: while some people don't care about consistency in the art they put on their walls, most do.

Slack is included in the "apps that you use all the time" rule. Also in the "apps you don't have a choice about" rule.

(Edit for spelling and wording)