Hello, iOS Developers!
This Curated iOS issue is dedicated to Apple’s App Intents - a framework that provides functionality to integrate app’s actions and content with system experiences across platforms, including Siri, Spotlight, widgets, controls, and Focus to allow people to reduce distractions.
Let’s start with the WWDC2022 session “Dive into App Intents”, which covers how to make apps more discoverable and increase app engagement using the App Intents framework. This session also explores the differences between App Intents and SiriKit Intents, as well as how to expose an app’s functionality to the system.
The “What’s new in App Intents” WWDC2024 session covers various improvements and new features with App Intents like the Transferable API, File Representations, IntentFile APIs, and Spotlight Indexing.
Here is another interesting WWDC2024 session “Bring your app’s core features to users with App Intents”, which helps to learn the principles of the App Intents framework, and how to build deep integration between your app and the many system features built on top of App Intents, including Siri, controls, and widgets.
Finally, with the ”Design App Intents for system experiences” WWDC2024 session, you will be able to identify the functionality that’s best for the App Intents, and how to use parameters to make these intents flexible.
Articles
Check out the quick guide by Keith Harrison, which will help you get started by walking through the creation of an App Shortcut, from defining an AppIntent to making it discoverable and interactive.
In this article, Antoine van der Lee goes into the detail of the App Intent-driven development in Swift, where code becomes well-architected and reusable by defining actions using the AppIntent protocol.
In the second article by Antoine van der Lee, we can check out how to make App Intents Spotlight integration using Shortcuts.
Great article by Jordan Morgan, where he goes into detail on making an App Intent from scratch with lots of code examples.
In the article by Tiago Gomes Pereira and Matteo Altobello, you will learn how to implement App Intents in a SwiftUI app, from defining the model to designing the view, and creating an AppIntent with a custom data type as a parameter.
Check out Kodeco tutorial on creating shortcuts, which allows differentiating your app and offering excellent integration into the iOS ecosystem. Using the App Intents framework allows making shortcuts immediately available to users via Siri, the Shortcuts app, and Spotlight.
Focus filters
A tool introduced in iOS15 and macOS Monterey designed to help users minimize distractions and stay focused. By integrating Focus filters, you can make your apps more user-friendly and respectful of their contexts.
This official guide provides an overview of Focus filters, explaining how they allow users to customize app behavior based on the currently enabled Focus. The documentation includes details on setting up Focus filters, configuring properties, and handling changes when a Focus is enabled or disabled.
Additionally, check out WWDC22 session “Meet Focus filters” where an iOS engineer from Apple demonstrates how to implement these filters, giving examples from the Calendar and Mail apps, and explains how developers can define and act on these filters to create a more context-aware user experience.
Stay tuned for more topics in the upcoming issues. Until next time!