Delve into the world of built-in app and system services available to developers. Discuss leveraging these services to enhance your app's functionality and user experience.

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Launching an apple watch app from the companion app
Hi, as stated in the title I'm trying to launch a watchOS app from its companion iOS app. My issue is very similar to this post: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/734362 The response from apple in that post says that it is not possible, but I have found it to be possible for media apps. Specifically if you turn Settings > General > Auto-Launch > Live Activities > Media Apps and turn Auto-Launch to "App". My app is for medical research and having this available would be very helpful for our testing. I need the app to be fully in the foreground. Is there a way to get specific permissions for our app to do this? Am I missing something? I've tried starting a workout session to accomplish this, but it only seems to work when the watch is charging. Any feedback is appreciated, thank you.
1
0
189
Jun ’25
Localization issue for appname(Singapore)
I need to display a different app name based on the user's region/language. This setup works correctly for regions like the United Kingdom, Australia. However, for Singapore, the app always falls back to the UK version (en-GB) instead of picking the localized name defined under en-SG. Interestingly, system alerts like location permission and app deletion do use the en-SG localization correctly. Could you help identify why the app name isn't picking up the en-SG version and suggest how we can resolve this?
2
0
165
Jun ’25
Use VZVirtualMachineView with actor-isolated VZVirtualMachine
We are using VZVirtualMachine instances in a Swift actor. It works fine but we hit a major problem when we decided that we want to attach it to a VZVirtualMachineView to show it / allow user interactions. VZVirtualMachineView and its virtualMachine property is isolated to @MainActor, so if we directly assign our vm instance to it, we receive a concurrency error: @MainActor public func createView() -> VZVirtualMachineView { let view = VZVirtualMachineView() view.virtualMachine = vm // x: Actor-isolated property 'vm' can not be referenced from the main actor return view } Is there any way we can make this work?
1
0
135
Jun ’25
macOS 26 Tahoe Screen Saver issues
Noticing a few issues with Screen Savers in macOS Tahoe developer beta 1 : The command open x-apple.systempreferences:com.apple.ScreenSaver-Settings.extension no longer works to open the Screen Savers preference pane. The reason? There is no longer a Screen Saver preference pane - it still exists, but it's now a Modal dialog (that can not be resized) that is opened from within the Wallpaper preference pane, by clicking a button. Something funny is happening with legacyScreensaver - I think that ScreenSaverView.Init(frame:isPreview) may be passing wrong values, e.g. the isPreview boolean is false in Preview mode? I've submitted Feedback # FB17895600 about some of these, and will report back more as I figure things out. Please feel free to add to this thread, thanks!
19
1
2.0k
Jun ’25
AlarmKit: Disable snoozing for an alarm
Is it possible with the current AlarmKit framework? I tried in code and also reading the docs but couldn't find anyway of doing it. Even though you can create an alarm with no snooze button that doesn't prevent the user from snoozing via the device volume button, for example.
1
0
191
Jun ’25
Family Controls App Help
Hello! I am a relatively new Apple developer and am almost done with my first app. I am implementing the Screen Time API to my app because the app is designed to help the user digitally detox and I am trying to make it so the user can select which apps they would like to monitor from a list of their apps on their phone so I am using the family activity picker but I just can't extract the data needed to track the apps. I am wondering how to do this. Thank you!
1
0
184
Jun ’25
Will the call screening feature be available in all iOS 26 capable iPhones?
I'm pretty excited for the all new iOS 26 redesign, but what I'm most excited for is the call screening feature to avoid unwanted calls. I downloaded the developer's beta on my secondary device to report bugs, but call screening doesn't work on it even though it's turned on. I already sent a feedback report, but I'm not sure if it's just a beta bug or that my iPhone won't support it. I haven't found much info about it. It's a 2nd gen SE. Thanks.
3
0
186
Jun ’25
AlarmKit can we automatically acknowledge the alarm or set a time period the alarm should alert for
My use case is a Repeat Timer app. The user can configure a repeating timer, say: 8 minutes with 3 sets So I would like to configure either 3 alarms (8mins, 16mins, 24mins) or a repeating alarm (8mins every 3 mins) BUT... I would like the first and second alarms to break through but only for 5 seconds for example, and then stop (so the user doesn't need to tap the screen to silence the alarm). I don't think this is possible after reading the API docs, but am asking the question anyway. Thanks for any advice or guidance here, and happy WWDC!
0
0
147
Jun ’25
The Spotlight Import Extension does not allow to inspect document bundles to get the metadata for the spotlight
I've made working Spotlight Import Extension with in macOS 15.5 (24F74). mdimport confirm it's installed, and working. The problem is related to accessing data inside document bundles (package directory) class ImportExtension: CSImportExtension { override func update(_ attributes: CSSearchableItemAttributeSet, forFileAt url: URL) throws { // ERROR: The file "QuickSort.notepad" couldn't be opened because you don't have permission to view it. let fileWrapper = try FileWrapper(url: url) } } forFileAt url points to a bundle. In order to read the metadata the extension needs to load the bundle from url and access its content, however in the sandbox environment,t the url allows only access to the bundle directory itself in particular NSFileWrapper(url: url) fails with error "The file "name.extension" couldn't be opened because you don't have permission to view it.", and effectively prevent from providing useful metadata. Is there a way to access the Document Bundle content in order to read the metadata for Spotlight?
2
0
356
Jun ’25
Finder Quick Action icon rendering when using custom SF Symbol
Hey folks! I'm working on a macOS app which has a Finder Quick Action extension. It's all working fine, but I'm hitting a weird struggle with getting the icon rendering how I would like, and the docs haven't been able to help me. I want to re-use a custom SF Symbol from my app, so I've copied that from the main app's xcassets bundle to the one in the extension, and configured it for Template rendering. The icon renders in the right click menu in Finder, the Finder preview pane and the Extensions section of System Settings, but all of them render with the wrong colour in dark mode. In light mode they look fine, but in dark mode I would expect a templated icon to be rendered in white, not black. I've attached a variety of screenshots of the icons in the UI and how things are set up in Xcode (both for the symbol in the xcassets bundle, and the Info.plist) I tried reading the docs, searching Google, searching GitHub and even asking the dreaded AI, but it seems like there's not really very much information available about doing icons for Finder extensions, especially ones using a custom SF Symbol, so I would love to know if anyone here has been able to solve this in the past! Finder preview pane in light mode: Finder preview pane in dark mode: Finder quick action context menu: System Settings extension preferences: The custom symbol in my .xcassets bundle: The finder extension's Info.plist:
2
1
169
Jun ’25
Launching an apple watch app from the companion app
Hi, as stated in the title I'm trying to launch a watchOS app from its companion iOS app. My issue is very similar to this post: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/734362 The response from apple in that post says that it is not possible, but I have found it to be possible for media apps. Specifically if you turn Settings > General > Auto-Launch > Live Activities > Media Apps and turn Auto-Launch to "App". My app is for medical research and having this available would be very helpful for our testing. I need the app to be fully in the foreground. Is there a way to get specific permissions for our app to do this? Am I missing something? I've tried starting a workout session to accomplish this, but it only seems to work when the watch is charging. Any feedback is appreciated, thank you.
Replies
1
Boosts
0
Views
189
Activity
Jun ’25
Localization issue for appname(Singapore)
I need to display a different app name based on the user's region/language. This setup works correctly for regions like the United Kingdom, Australia. However, for Singapore, the app always falls back to the UK version (en-GB) instead of picking the localized name defined under en-SG. Interestingly, system alerts like location permission and app deletion do use the en-SG localization correctly. Could you help identify why the app name isn't picking up the en-SG version and suggest how we can resolve this?
Replies
2
Boosts
0
Views
165
Activity
Jun ’25
Use VZVirtualMachineView with actor-isolated VZVirtualMachine
We are using VZVirtualMachine instances in a Swift actor. It works fine but we hit a major problem when we decided that we want to attach it to a VZVirtualMachineView to show it / allow user interactions. VZVirtualMachineView and its virtualMachine property is isolated to @MainActor, so if we directly assign our vm instance to it, we receive a concurrency error: @MainActor public func createView() -> VZVirtualMachineView { let view = VZVirtualMachineView() view.virtualMachine = vm // x: Actor-isolated property 'vm' can not be referenced from the main actor return view } Is there any way we can make this work?
Replies
1
Boosts
0
Views
135
Activity
Jun ’25
The math formula can’t be displayed normally
At present, all my apps cannot display normally
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
49
Activity
Jun ’25
iOS26 Beta operatingSystemVersion returns 19.0.0
The value of ProcessInfo.processInfo.operatingSystemVersion on iOS 26 is returning 19.0.0 would of expected 26.0.0
Replies
2
Boosts
1
Views
220
Activity
Jun ’25
macOS 26 Tahoe Screen Saver issues
Noticing a few issues with Screen Savers in macOS Tahoe developer beta 1 : The command open x-apple.systempreferences:com.apple.ScreenSaver-Settings.extension no longer works to open the Screen Savers preference pane. The reason? There is no longer a Screen Saver preference pane - it still exists, but it's now a Modal dialog (that can not be resized) that is opened from within the Wallpaper preference pane, by clicking a button. Something funny is happening with legacyScreensaver - I think that ScreenSaverView.Init(frame:isPreview) may be passing wrong values, e.g. the isPreview boolean is false in Preview mode? I've submitted Feedback # FB17895600 about some of these, and will report back more as I figure things out. Please feel free to add to this thread, thanks!
Replies
19
Boosts
1
Views
2.0k
Activity
Jun ’25
AlarmKit - Is it possible to disable snoozing?
Hi, I didn't find any mentions in the doc about disabling the option for snoozing in an alarm. Although you can create an alarm without a snooze button using AlarmKit, the user can still snooze by clicking on the volume button, for example.
Replies
1
Boosts
1
Views
201
Activity
Jun ’25
AlarmKit: Disable snoozing for an alarm
Is it possible with the current AlarmKit framework? I tried in code and also reading the docs but couldn't find anyway of doing it. Even though you can create an alarm with no snooze button that doesn't prevent the user from snoozing via the device volume button, for example.
Replies
1
Boosts
0
Views
191
Activity
Jun ’25
AlarmKit - How many fixed-date alarms can I schedule in my app at most?
My scenario is to help users set up a full year's alarms at once. The dates for the alarms follow a specific pattern, but not fixed weekdays, so the fixed-date type is needed.
Replies
1
Boosts
2
Views
135
Activity
Jun ’25
Family Controls App Help
Hello! I am a relatively new Apple developer and am almost done with my first app. I am implementing the Screen Time API to my app because the app is designed to help the user digitally detox and I am trying to make it so the user can select which apps they would like to monitor from a list of their apps on their phone so I am using the family activity picker but I just can't extract the data needed to track the apps. I am wondering how to do this. Thank you!
Replies
1
Boosts
0
Views
184
Activity
Jun ’25
Will the call screening feature be available in all iOS 26 capable iPhones?
I'm pretty excited for the all new iOS 26 redesign, but what I'm most excited for is the call screening feature to avoid unwanted calls. I downloaded the developer's beta on my secondary device to report bugs, but call screening doesn't work on it even though it's turned on. I already sent a feedback report, but I'm not sure if it's just a beta bug or that my iPhone won't support it. I haven't found much info about it. It's a 2nd gen SE. Thanks.
Replies
3
Boosts
0
Views
186
Activity
Jun ’25
How to link from shield
Hello, How do apps like App Lock implement app-opening from a shield? Is this supported for 3rd-party apps or limited to partners? https://apps.apple.com/us/app/app-lock/id6448239603
Replies
1
Boosts
1
Views
94
Activity
Jun ’25
AlarmKit can we automatically acknowledge the alarm or set a time period the alarm should alert for
My use case is a Repeat Timer app. The user can configure a repeating timer, say: 8 minutes with 3 sets So I would like to configure either 3 alarms (8mins, 16mins, 24mins) or a repeating alarm (8mins every 3 mins) BUT... I would like the first and second alarms to break through but only for 5 seconds for example, and then stop (so the user doesn't need to tap the screen to silence the alarm). I don't think this is possible after reading the API docs, but am asking the question anyway. Thanks for any advice or guidance here, and happy WWDC!
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
147
Activity
Jun ’25
Can I determine if the user disallowed my menubar item?
My app already has UI that allows the user to show/hide a menubar icon. If the user disallows my app's icon via System Settings > Menu Bar > Allow in the menu bar, I'd like to customize my own UI to reflect that. Does macOS provide a way for me to determine the "Allow in the menu bar" state for my application?
Replies
2
Boosts
0
Views
283
Activity
Jun ’25
The Spotlight Import Extension does not allow to inspect document bundles to get the metadata for the spotlight
I've made working Spotlight Import Extension with in macOS 15.5 (24F74). mdimport confirm it's installed, and working. The problem is related to accessing data inside document bundles (package directory) class ImportExtension: CSImportExtension { override func update(_ attributes: CSSearchableItemAttributeSet, forFileAt url: URL) throws { // ERROR: The file "QuickSort.notepad" couldn't be opened because you don't have permission to view it. let fileWrapper = try FileWrapper(url: url) } } forFileAt url points to a bundle. In order to read the metadata the extension needs to load the bundle from url and access its content, however in the sandbox environment,t the url allows only access to the bundle directory itself in particular NSFileWrapper(url: url) fails with error "The file "name.extension" couldn't be opened because you don't have permission to view it.", and effectively prevent from providing useful metadata. Is there a way to access the Document Bundle content in order to read the metadata for Spotlight?
Replies
2
Boosts
0
Views
356
Activity
Jun ’25
Finder Quick Action icon rendering when using custom SF Symbol
Hey folks! I'm working on a macOS app which has a Finder Quick Action extension. It's all working fine, but I'm hitting a weird struggle with getting the icon rendering how I would like, and the docs haven't been able to help me. I want to re-use a custom SF Symbol from my app, so I've copied that from the main app's xcassets bundle to the one in the extension, and configured it for Template rendering. The icon renders in the right click menu in Finder, the Finder preview pane and the Extensions section of System Settings, but all of them render with the wrong colour in dark mode. In light mode they look fine, but in dark mode I would expect a templated icon to be rendered in white, not black. I've attached a variety of screenshots of the icons in the UI and how things are set up in Xcode (both for the symbol in the xcassets bundle, and the Info.plist) I tried reading the docs, searching Google, searching GitHub and even asking the dreaded AI, but it seems like there's not really very much information available about doing icons for Finder extensions, especially ones using a custom SF Symbol, so I would love to know if anyone here has been able to solve this in the past! Finder preview pane in light mode: Finder preview pane in dark mode: Finder quick action context menu: System Settings extension preferences: The custom symbol in my .xcassets bundle: The finder extension's Info.plist:
Replies
2
Boosts
1
Views
169
Activity
Jun ’25
Screen time api on Mac?
Is there any way to use the screen time API on Mac?
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
111
Activity
Jun ’25
Screen time API on parent/child devices
I’m creating an app with the Screen Time API and I would like to know how to make the app show a parental control editing view for parents and a view for child accounts that shows which apps are blocked. How can I do this?
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
154
Activity
Jun ’25
Another Screen time API question
How can I use the Screen Time API to set a restriction for a child account from my app running on the parent’s account?
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
102
Activity
Jun ’25
Pass DeviceActivitySelection to DeviceActivityMonitorExt
Hi I'm trying to build a screen time app and the Apple docs and APIs really leave something to be desired. I want to block apps on a schedule. That's it. To do this I need my DeviceActivityMonitorExt to know which apps to block. I need to somehow pass a DeviceActivitySelection from the main app into this DeviceActivityMonitorExt. How can I do this?
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
138
Activity
Jun ’25