Apple introduced the Swift programming language at its 2014 annual developer’s conference aka Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). The language has been updated five times since then, the current version of the programming language out in the wild is Swift 5. The company always pushed the language as an easier way for app developers to create their apps.
Since 2014, Swift has seen wide adoption from software developers pushing their “built on Swift” apps on the App Store. At the same time, Apple also worked on creating its new iOS apps using Swift rather than Objective-C. Some of the Swift apps introduced over the years are Health, Books, and Shortcuts.
Apple has also been working on writing elements of iOS using Swift which definitely improves the performance of the system. According to Alexandre Colucci, a Swift developer, iOS 13 features 141 binaries written in Swift compared to just one binary written in Swift on iOS 9.
Swift 5.1 packs some great features
One of the biggest advantages of Swift is its compatibility with Objective-C. This feature makes it great for developers and Apple alike to update their old apps and services with new components written in Swift without rewriting the whole code in Swift. Also, the new version Swift 5.1 introduces module stability and ABI stability – features which are highly important for serious development processes. With the growing number of features Swift appears to be receiving and making it equivalent to Objective-C, we can expect Swift’s use to grow exponentially over the years.
The latest apps made by Apple that are written is Swift are Sidecar, Find My, and the new Reminders app. According to 9To5Mac, Apple has also started using Swift in many system services of iOS that are responsible for making possible the connection between iPhone and HomePod or AirPods. Also, the offline working service of Find My is written in Swift.