Although there are many programming languages in the market to create iOS apps, like C# Objective-C, Java, JavaScript, Dart, etc., there is a reason why developers prefer working with Swift. First, Apple develops it. Second, it is receiving continuous updates since its release in 2015 as an open-source software development tool.
Though this language was built in 2014, it was made available for use by the public only after a year. And the best thing about Swift is that up until this time it is refined to such an extent that software professionals find it a breeze to use it for iOS mobile program creation, and it also works faster than some of its counterparts, like Objective-C.
So, if you are considering building an iOS-based mobile app anytime soon, it is a smart decision to hire Swift developers from a leading app development company on the web. Ok? Now, let’s take a comprehensive look at:
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Swift Usage Statistics:
- According to a cloud-based visitor starts tool, the market share of Android worldwide is around 72.7%, while that of iOS is almost 26.4% as far as 2021 data is concerned. However, if you specifically pay attention to the US map, iOS has outperformed its rival with a difference of 13.7%.
- Swift is the 14th most popular programming language in the world.
- Swift is 2.6 times quicker than Objective-C and 8.4 times swifter than Python.
- More than 60,000 individuals got their hands on the clone of the Swift project within 7 days after the announcement.
So, if these statistics about Swift impressed you, and you want to take action at the earliest, we would suggest employing Swift programming developers now to construct an iOS app for your business.
With that covered, it is time to delve deep in:
What does the Swift language get used for?
Since Swift is a feature-rich, robust, and intuitive programming language, it can be used to forge smart applications for:
- iOS
- Mac
- Apple TV
- Apple Watch
This particular software creation tool is made for giving development professionals more freedom than ever. Yes, you heard that right! Swift is also easy to use and open-source, which means any knowledgeable person with an amazing idea can fabricate a wonderful mobile app using it.
Now, we want to know if you are planning to come up with a music app or eCommerce app anytime soon? If yes, you must hire Swift developers right away to turn that necessity into fulfillment.
Finally, coming to:
What is new in the Swift programming language, according to Swift programming developers?
- Swift 2.0
Apple released this version of Swift language at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference in 2015. Some of the highly-praised features in Swift 2.0 are:
- Swift is an open-source software development resource with a new Linux port.
- It targets earlier versions of iOS and OS X. It is also secure with the #available block that lets development personnel wrap multiple lines of code that will be executed sooner or later on the system where the framework is present.
- A brand-new bug handling model that taps try, throw, and catch keywords
- Software Development Kits are now faster because of Apple adding generics and nullability to the current Objective-C frameworks. But the benefit? Well, it makes them better in terms of interface with the help of Swift code.
Thus, if you want to utilize these functionalities of Swift for your iOS app development
- Swift 3.0
Apple launched Swift 3.0 at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference in 2016. And we must say this was the first major release of the programming language since Apple made it open-source in the last month of 2015. The novel features of Swift 3.0 are:
- Improvements in the core language as well as the general library in order to get rid of the language of NS prefixes and other Objective-C components.
- The introduction of the Swift Package Manager to make it a walk in the park to handle dependencies
- Some instrumental additions to the Linux port of the core language
Hence, if you are considering building a solid mobile presence for your app for some time, it is in your best interest to hire Swift developers for the same.
- Swift 4.0
Just like the release of other variants of Swift, Swift 4.0 was announced at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference in 2017. It was unleashed in beta form for software developers along with Xcode 9. This launch of Swift came up with some additional enhancements to the language, like:
- New Codeable protocol that ensures effortless serialization of data wrapped in different data structures.
- Strings received a massive update, resulting in their emergence as collections of characters.
- String literals can now split into several lines using the new “”” declaration to open and shut multiline strings.
Now, if that draws your interest to Swift for developing an iOS app, make sure to collaborate with some brilliant Swift programming developers to get your work done.
- Swift 5.0
Considering that you are not aware of it, we must inform you that Swift 5.0 ships with various standard library additions, like performance improvements and more. And all that has been done to improve this software for iOS and Mac development big time.
The most praised features of Swift 5.0 were the declaration of Binary Compatibility and ABI Stability. Yes, both of these functionalities mean that the Swift standard libraries are integrated into the launch of:
- macOS
- iOS
- tvOS
- watchOS
And those libraries are no longer required to be the part of every app’s binary, and also the app package can be bite-sized. Now, if that entices you to rely on Swift programming language for your mobile app creation, you must have an audience with top Swift programming developers.
- Swift 5.3
The first and foremost thing you must imbibe here is that Swift 5.3 was made available to the masses on Sept 16, 2020 alongside Xcode 12. This release was mainly focused on the improvements in the language itself and overall expansion of the entire Swift ecosystem. The Swift team at Apple strived hard to boost the runtime performance by applying different techniques, such as:
- Driving down the code size for Swift apps
- Enhancing the memory optimizations
- Minimizing the heap memory utilization
When it comes to professional software developer’s end, Apple paid heed to making bugs more accurate and actionable with tips in the compiler suggestions. As a result, code completion was improved by more than five times and now IT professionals can experience better runtime error messages.
Resultantly, it is now child’s play to find out all the issues when they come across any, while resolving them. So, if you want to make the most of such an efficient SDK to fabricate your smartphone software, it will pay off if you hire Swift developers right off the bat.
Please keep in mind, along with all this, Apple has also extended its platform support. That means Swift is now supported on runtime environments, like:
- Ubuntu
- Amazon Linux Z
- Windows
- CentOS 8
- AWS Lambda
- Swift 5.4
Swift 5.4 was made available for Xcode 12.5 users on April 26, 2021. And just to let you know the refinement list was full of plenty of fine details, including:
- Compiler improvements
- Enhanced code completion while entering expressions
- Massive optimization for incremental compiles
On the coding front, there are a number of additions from the Swift Evolution community, including:
- Improved Implicit Member Syntax (SE-0287)
- Result builders (SE-0289)
- Several variadic parameters in function calls (SE-0284)
- Local functions support overloading (SE-10069)
Thus, if you want to take advantage of all these inclusions to make a Swift-powered iOS mobile app now, kindly look no further to professional Swift programming developers.
Additionally, you will be surprised to know one more thing about this version of Swift that it comes with the ability to name a variable exactly the same as a function. Apart from that, property wrappers now get support for local variables. Therefore, let’s take a plunge now and hire Swift developers to manufacture a mobile app that is compatible with the iOS operating system.
- Swift 5.5
The aforesaid variant of Swift was unshackled in beta form with Xcode 13 on June 7, 2021, at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference, 2021. The major improvements in this release focus on concurrency, with the inclusion of await/async mechanism. The main purpose of its introduction was to perform the concerned job and wait for the completion of something before continuing.
Wondering how to take advantage of this enhancement? Hire Swift developers now to build your smartphone software using the aforestated programming language.
- Swift 5.7
As you have seen so far, one of the most popular programming languages, Swift, received wads of updates to date. And it includes:
- Sendable types to represent data types and get assistance with managing app runtime workflows.
- A checker to ensure full compatibility with a handheld’s available APIs.
- Optional binding to fetch and easily handle constant and variable forms of values.
Now let’s perceive each of them in detail:
- Sendable types
The good news about this functionality is that it enables apps to be divided into separate subsections and operate simultaneously. Aside from that, they can also send and accept information from each other.
Be mindful, different sub-apps might have information that are tagged as immovable. But do you know why? Because it is a part of an active system process, entailing considerable overwriting that can’t be changed or modified. And the finest news?
Sendable types allows app developers to designate different data as “sendable” or “unsendable,” resulting in enhanced app workflows. So, if you want to call on this improved app workflow for your iOS app creation, then partner with Swift programming developers now.
- API availability checking functionality
Since mobile programs are now downloaded, deployed, and installed on handheld machines with varying software versions, APIs differ too in availability from one device to another. The new Swift 5.7 is now equipped with the ability for smartphone software to find out if such an API is available on the concerned gadget.
And for software professionals to set a fallback if the Application Programming Interface is not available on the phone. This way, the app functions in a better manner on a battery of electronic machines. And if you too want your potential mobile application to work without a hitch on different smartphones, hire Swift developers without any hesitation.
- Optional binding
The chief purpose of Optional binding is that it lets the mobile program find out if a value exists within a function, and most importantly, if that value is a variable or constant. Please be informed that value can be fetched into another function, and you can use another functionality, like a live readout of such values.
Final thoughts
So, if this content impressed you and motivated you to put your money into iOS app development without a second thought, make sure to consider hiring Swift programming developers on the cloud.
Read more: What are the Important Things to know about Computer Programming?