WWDC 2019 Wish List

It’s very close to that time of the year when all our Swift code breaks we get lots of new API to play with. Below is my work in progress list of features I’d like to see.

MapKit

• Dark mode for maps. If there is to be a dark mode for iOS system-wide, I’d like an API that allows me to give the user a controllable dark mode for UIMapView.
• Access to transit overlays. At the moment transit overlays, e.g. bus routes or MRT lines, are not available via any public API.
• Snap to roads. Give developers an option to snap an MKPolyline to a road.
• Increased direction request limit. You can currently get directions for up to 50 waypoints before you are rate limited. When calculating bus routes there are usually more than 50 waypoints, so that means using a less accurate MKPolyline to represent the route. This could be negated by giving access to transit overlays.

Alternative Icons

• Alternative icon management. Move alternative icons to the asset catalog and remove the need to configure via Info.plist.

GameKit

• Refresh the whole thing. GameKit has been neglected for so long. The documentation hasn’t been updated in over three years and there aren’t, as far as I can tell, any Swift code samples. It’d make sense for Apple, given their new focus on games, to really revamp GameKit.

Xcode

• Storyboard performance. Make this faster, please.
• Customisations. Via Becky Hansmeyer:

  every visual customization that is possible for a UI component should be editable in Interface Builder

• SourceKit. LSP
• Navigation. Clearer UI for different targets within the Navigator area.

Font Management

• Asset catalog. Put fonts in the asset catalog and remove the need to configure embedded fonts via Info.plist.

Analytics

• Framework. A first-party, privacy focused analytics framework, to challenge Firebase and App Center.