Design Patterns

Vertically scrolling rows of content, supporting selection, swipe actions, and reordering.

Two-dimensional layouts for visually browsing collections, especially media.

Full content display after selecting an item from a list or grid.

Pull down on scrollable content to refresh data. A spinner appears at the top during the refresh operation.

Automatically load more content as the user scrolls near the bottom. Avoids explicit pagination buttons.

Reveal contextual action buttons by swiping left or right on a list row. Leading swipe for primary actions, trailing swipe for destructive or secondary actions.

Move content between apps or within an app by lifting, dragging, and dropping items. Supports multi-item selection.

Present the system share sheet to let users send content to other apps, contacts, or services via the standard share icon.

Deliver timely, relevant information via banners, alerts, or badges. Notifications can be interactive with action buttons and inline replies.

Glanceable, read-only views on the Home Screen, Lock Screen, and StandBy that show timely information using timeline-based updates.

Structured layouts for collecting user input using grouped lists with various control types.

Edit content directly where it appears, without navigating to a separate editing mode.

Allow users to reverse and re-apply recent actions. Support three-finger swipe gestures, shake to undo, and keyboard shortcuts.

Cards that slide up from the bottom to present secondary content or tasks. Support multiple detents for different content heights.

Modal dialogs that interrupt the current task to deliver important information and request a decision.

Floating views that appear from a specific element, showing additional content or options. Automatically become sheets on iPhone.

Covers the entire screen for immersive tasks like composing content, media capture, or multi-step processes.

Drill-down navigation structure where users make one choice per screen until reaching their destination. Uses NavigationStack/NavigationController.

Tab-based navigation where main sections are peers. Users can switch between sections at any time from the tab bar.

A persistent sidebar shows primary navigation on larger screens, collapsing to tabs or sheets on smaller screens.

3D Touch or long-press on the app icon to show a shortcut menu of up to 4 common actions that deep-link into specific app features.

Seamlessly continue an activity on another Apple device. The user starts a task on one device and picks it up on another without manual transfer.

Restore the user's navigation state and scroll position when returning to the app after it was backgrounded or terminated.

Expose app actions to Siri and the Shortcuts app. Users can invoke app functionality via voice commands or automated workflows.

First-run experience introducing the app's key features and value proposition.

Explain why permissions are needed before showing system permission dialogs.

Show tips and hints about features when users first encounter them.

Allow users to find content quickly using text queries, with suggestions, scopes, and filters.

Allow users to narrow down content by selecting criteria like date, type, tags, or other attributes.

Index app content so it appears in system-wide Spotlight search results. Users can find and deep-link to app content from the Home Screen.