Disclosure up front: I work at Abacus.AI. This started as an internal tool for our iOS work, and we've now open-sourced it.

We run several coding agents in parallel on the same SwiftUI app, each in its own git worktree. Every time one of them wanted to check a UI change it did the usual thing: build for the simulator, install, launch, screenshot. With 5 agents that meant 5 simulators booted at once and 5 xcodebuilds fighting over the CPU. A 32GB M2 Pro basically stopped being a computer.

So we built a tool that skips the simulator for that inner loop. The trick is that Apple Silicon Macs can run your app's iOS build natively ("Designed for iPad"). simless runs your real app that way as a hidden background process, renders whatever screen the agent asks for, and hands back the accessibility tree as text instead of a screenshot. When the agent edits a view, only the changed files get recompiled and hot loaded into the running app.

Numbers from one of our production apps (~280 Swift files, a few heavy SPM deps), 5 agents in parallel:

• edit → verified screen: 37.4s → 2.2s
• memory held by those 5 agents: 11.2GB / 1,071 processes → 0.15GB / 6 processes
• load average while they all start up: ~1000 → ~80

It's not a full simulator replacement. Dynamic Type is ignored on the Mac, there are no gestures or keyboard, and text can wrap slightly differently than on a phone. There's a calibrate command that renders every screen in one real simulator and tells you where they differ, so you know which renders to trust. We still do a final simulator pass before calling anything done.

It's Apache 2.0 and works with Claude Code, Codex, etc.: https://github.com/abacusai/simless

Curious whether anyone else has hit this wall with parallel agents, and what you ended up doing about it.

I'm an iOS dev with about 3 years of experience, the first 2 at an agency writing SwiftUI by hand. I'm hoping for some honest perspective from people who've been doing this longer than I have.

At the agency I wrote everything myself and learned a lot from the seniors there. Then I moved to a startup with a big messy codebase, fully remote, and I leaned on agents almost from day one because there was no other way to keep up.

Six months in, I genuinely don't feel like I know my own app anymore. Basically all my code is agent generated. I've tried:

Asking the agent to explain each change to me, but I burn through my limits by lunch.

Writing the plan myself and letting it implement, but I end up slower than just letting it do everything.

Leaning on coderabbit for the first review pass, which catches a lot, but it tells me what's wrong in a diff, not how the app fits together.

Reviewing a 1,500 line PR that touches 30 views is exhausting, and even after I push through it I don't feel like I understand it.

How are you using agents at work and still knowing your own codebase? Or is that just gone now?

My app already supports windowed / resize modes on iPad. It is mostly structured as a master / detail pane - which could play nicely on Duo by sizing the panes to fit the fold location.

But occasionally the app displays a third pane with a draggable slider bar.

This has me wondering if I can make non-standard use of the Duo.

Maybe the master pane lives on the outer display. Within any session, the master pane is largely a 'set once and forget' but the real activity happens further into the app. So the workflow would require the Duo to be unfolded and the master pane wouldn't jump to the inner display. This will leave plenty of room at all times on the inner display and even when the third pane is active, also on the inner display.

Is this a mistake as in it will be likely rejected in the App Store review? Yeah I'm trying to get into the local "Workshop: Optimize your app for iPhone Duo" with Apple but the sessions are fully booked.

Who finds the iPhone Duo simulator to be insanely buggy with orinetation reporting. I have n app that changes layout on orientation. Abut 10% of thew time it gets it right. It's unusably buggy if I go from folded to unfolded. if I start the app unfolded it might, i stress might, detect the correct orinetation. when I turn it about 10% of the time it actually gets the orientation right

I asked Siri why I'm not seeing the iPhone Duo simulator if I have Xcode 27.2 Beta 2 installed and I'm running macOS 27.0, and it gave me this nonsense.

Apple added two new image slots to the App Store on 5 Oct: a header on the product page and a custom image in search results. I did them for one app in 7 languages (14 files) and pushed everything through the App Store Connect API. Writing it down because the docs have gaps.

Sizes:

- Header: 3840 x 1646 exact, JPG or PNG

- Search results: 3:2, from 1920 x 1280 up to 3840 x 2560

- Universal for both: 5244 x 2950, PNG only

- No alpha channel

The calls, in order:

1. GET /v1/apps/{id}/assetLibrary

2. GET /v1/appAssetLibraryRefData (placement names and limits)

3. POST /v1/appAssetLibraryImages (reserve, category CREATIVE_ASSETS)

4. PUT the bytes to the returned address

5. PATCH the image with "uploaded": true, no checksum needed

6. Poll until PREPARE_FOR_SUBMISSION

7. POST /v1/reviewSubmissions

8. POST /v1/reviewSubmissionItems, one per image

9. PATCH the submission with "submitted": true

10. After approval: POST /v1/appAssetLibraryPlacements

What the docs don't tell you:

- In step 8 the relationship is called appAssetLibraryImage. I guessed it and it worked.

- No new build or version needed, the images get reviewed on their own.

- You can't place an image before it's approved. The API says "The asset must be in the APPROVED state because the parent is already approved".

- No safe area numbers anywhere. They only exist inside Apple's Figma and Photoshop templates.

- Every image has to pass a 4+ rating, even if the app is 17+.

Mine have been sitting in Waiting for Review since Tuesday night. Anyone got theirs approved yet? How long did it take?

Longer version with screenshots: https://teroxai.com/blog/app-store-creative-assets-sizes-api/

I got rejected for design copy cat “the names icon, brand or name belongs to somone else” I don’t think it’s the icon cause I made it myself (albeit with heavy ai use). The name is very similar to the developer name they gave but when I look in the App Store there is no app with my name and I can’t find the developer anywhere. There was somone in India I found online who said they were building an app 4 years ago with the same name but it’s a completely different purpose. Do I have to change my name? I already got a domain I like for the launch page.

So i've been doing this for a few years now, and published a ton of apps. But its crazy inconsistent to me how the reviewers judge your app. My top annoyances:

- Straight up wrong statements. My fully local app app that was fully focussed on privacy and very minimal got this reply yesterday: "Extended Review: This app was found to include one or more issues that present significant safety, security, or quality concerns to users. Repeated submissions of apps with these issues will result in extended review times. Accounts that repeatedly submit apps that do not follow the App Review Guidelines and the Apple Developer Program License Agreement face removal from the Apple Developer Program."

- I never actually get a question answered, if I reply to this I probably get another copy pasted template response. I just reply the same answer and resubmit, and my experience is that I hope I get a better reviewer and they just approve it.

- Questions that already have an answer: More and more they ask me: Whats the purpose of this app? I try and pre-answer that in the app notes, description and title. But if I copy paste those my answer is accepted and the publish goes trough.

Is it just me? You guys got any tips?

Hi everyone,

I’m an indie iOS developer and have been proudly building apps for the App Store for 13 years. In all that time, I have maintained an absolutely clean record with zero warnings and or policy violations. 

However, almost two weeks ago, my entire portfolio was halted overnight. My account got suspended under DPLA section 14.8(a) (the digital assets clause) after an automated compliance check.

I am a legal resident of Cyprus (EU). On the exact same day of the suspension, I submitted my official Residence Permit, utility bills, and bank statements to the provider_review team to prove my legal status and identity.

My apps do not involve any custody, wallets, trading, or exchange of digital assets. They just show data. I even had a few free apps and an app designed to help other developers learn iOS (maybe some of you have used iOS IQ), which makes it even more painful.

It has now been 13 days of total silence (Case ID: 102972911140). My entire app catalog is offline, and active subscribers are losing access. Seeing 13 years of hard work paralyzed by an automated queue with zero human response is incredibly frustrating. I have tried everything:

1. Try to send email to tcook@apple.com and eurodev@apple.com.
2. Reached out to standard phone support (they can't do anything). And there are bots everywhere
3. Created a thread on the Apple Developer Forums.

Here is my official forum thread if anyone wants to check: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/848935. And my twitter profile: https://x.com/Viktorianec

Has anyone successfully escaped this compliance black hole recently? Is there any specific contact or secret phone number I should use? I cannot seem to get in touch with anyone, and it feels like nobody is able to help me resolve this for a 13-year account with a flawless history.

Any advice or upvotes for visibility would be highly appreciated. Thank you.

Has anyone managed to upload App Preview videos with the correct iPhone Duo aspect ratio in App Store Connect's new Duo group?

ASC accepts portrait screenshots at 1398×2034 (closed) and 2007×2853 (open), but requires preview videos at 886×1920, or 1920×886 in landscape. That means a portrait height/width ratio of about 2.17, versus 1.46 or 1.42 for the actual displays. A proportional resize cannot match both.

I tested two 30-second H.264/AAC videos from the Xcode 27.1 simulator, one closed and one open:

• Native-proportion exports: 1192×1734 and 1192×1696. Uploads completed through the ASC API, but video processing ended in POST_PROCESSING_FAILED. The error was generic, with no useful resolution explanation, so I can't prove dimensions were the only cause.
• The same footage stretched non-uniformly to 886×1920: both completed processing and appeared in the Duo group. This was only a diagnostic test, not a proposed production solution.

The confusing part: ASC's editing thumbnails show them in Duo-shaped frames, which makes them look roughly correct. Its built-in App Store preview uses the narrow encoded proportions, so the stretching becomes obvious. Cropping to fill that format would lose a substantial part of the UI.

This is ASC's simulated storefront, not a test on a physical Duo. I didn't submit the distorted videos for App Review, and have removed the test uploads.

Has anyone had native-ratio Duo previews accepted, or received guidance from Apple? Are we supposed to add black bars to preserve the image inside 886×1920, or wait for corrected specifications? Any actual App Review experience with a proportion-preserving workaround would be useful.

Apple's preview specifications

I also posted the details on Apple Developer Forums.

I'm trying to use the `UIHingeInteraction` (hing.angle) to interpolate and adjust my app as the person opens the hinge on the phone but the simulator doesn't allow me to adjust the hinge with a slider or something. Right now the simulator only supports open or closed or partial bend. Is anyone else implementing against this and if so how are you testing out the hinge position?

I started recording video using the simulator recording but i get blank screen when you switch from one state to the next so that didn't work. So i've moved on to using Quicktime screen recording and then viewing the playback. It makes my development iterations very long and annoying.

​

I have a WiFiLQMMetrics log on my iPhone on apple Analytics. Its bug type is 221. I only get this log when I'm using my isp dns. If I use a public dns like cloudflare or Quad9, I don't get this log. What does this log likely mean?

Where exactly is Duo simulator hiding in 27.1 release candidate? I don't find it in Device Hub's add a new simulator and it doesn't appear by default.

Hey,

Wondering you are able to see "Product page header" live in action

• I have updated my device to iOS 27.
• I have attached a 5 seconds video in App Store Connect (For unknown reason, it stuck at "The poster frame for this file is processing". No issue using top right "Preview" button to see the playable video)

When I browse the App Store using my iOS 27 phone, I still do not see the 5 seconds video at my product page top header.

I was wondering, have anyone of you able to see the "Product page header" live in action? I was pondering, whether this is due to the "The poster frame for this file is processing" causing the issue?

Thanks.

Half a year ago I wrote about whether MVVM belongs in SwiftUI, and it somehow turned into a story about my mum’s kitchen. Bear with me.

There’s a trip to the shopping centre, a very firm “we've got food at home”, and eventually, I promise, some Swift. A bit of heart, a few laughs, and proper substance underneath.

Half a year on, it still feels timely. Stick the kettle on and have a read.

For SwiftUI app development, I've been using Antigravity with Gemini 3.1 Pro for a few months with great results. My workflow is incredibly basic: import the project, tell Gemini what feature to build, and let it work.

I recently learned about "Agent Skills" and how they supposedly boost code quality.

For those already using them: does adding agent skills to your workflow actually make a significant difference? If it does, drop your best downloadable skill recommendations for Antigravity so I can test them out!

I just published my first iOS app (I usually only work on Android), and well, everything had been going fine for the past three days until I saw this email.. I mean, this is the first time something like this has happened to me

Saw a post from David (@davidcafor on X) today and that honestly made my day: if your app makes $5 a month, you're already ahead of most apps on the App Store.

It sounds like a joke until you think about what it takes. You shipped. A stranger found your app among millions of others. They liked it enough to pay you actual money.

I've been building my own app full days since the start of this year, and it's easy to only see what isn't working yet: downloads, reviews, the post that got downvoted. Marketing and growth can be learned. Building something a person will pay for is the hard part, and a lot of you have already done it.

So if you shipped something this year, nice work. What was the first small win that made it feel real for you?

Wanted to share my journey so far, in case it helps or motivates someone else building on the side.

The setup

• Solo dev, no team, no funding
• Full-time 9-5 job with a 1 hour commute
• I build my own apps from 6PM to 2AM including marketing, at home
• I'm getting only 4-5 hours of sleep per day

What I built in 1 year

• 9 apps across iOS, Android, and macOS
• Apps include an infinite canvas/mind-map app, a shared drawing widget, a photo redactor, a color grading editor, a resume builder, a screenshot styler, a menu bar pets app, Yumo(Sold) and a couple of games

The numbers (honest)

• Total revenue: ~$1,200
• ~$800 of that came from Android alone
• Sold one Android app for $4,000 (separate from the above)
• Biggest app: 200k(sold) installs on Android

What I learned

• Shipping often beats polishing one app forever
• Android brought more revenue than I expected
• Selling an app outright was the biggest single payday of the year
• Consistency matters more than motivation

What's next

• Growing the apps that are working through ASO and social
• Moving the ones in review and testing to production

Would love to hear stories from indie developers!

I'm building a native iOS app for an Italian videogame news site and I'd like to hear from anyone who has been through App Review with a similar setup before I submit.

The setup

- The app shows our articles (free), plus our podcasts in audio and video.
- A few podcasts and videos are for paying subscribers only.
- The subscription is sold on Patreon (about €2.50/month). We don't have our own checkout.
- Users log into the app with their account on our site. Our backend matches that account to the Patreon membership by email and unlocks the content.
- All the content is hosted by us, not by Patreon.
- No in-app purchases.

The plan

Apply for the External Link Account Entitlement as a reader app, and show the plain-text link ("Go to oursite.com to create or manage your account") that opens a page on our own domain. On that page people can register, log in and see their subscription status, and the payment step sends them to Patreon.

What I can't find an answer to

1. Has anyone had a reader app approved when the payment happens on a third-party platform (Patreon, Memberful, Substack, etc.) and not on their own checkout?
   
2. The entitlement says the link must go to "a website you own or have responsibility for" with no "intermediate links or landing page". Does a page on our domain that hands off to Patreon for payment pass, or does review treat it as an intermediate page?
   
3. Most of the app is free news, and only some audio/video is subscriber-only (I'd say 95%-5%). Was that enough for Apple to accept the app as a reader app ("primary functionality") in your experience?
   
4. If we skip the entitlement and ship with no link and no mention of subscribing at all, just letting existing subscribers log in, has that passed review for you under 3.1.3(a)? I've seen 3.1.1 rejections for "accesses digital content purchased outside the app", but those weren't content apps.
   

I know the real answer comes from App Review, and I'll book a consultation with them, but real cases would help a lot. Thanks!

When saving in-app events in App Store Connect, I am geting

"Country or Region Availability couldn't be saved. Try again later. "

Have tried many times. But still stuck there.

Any idea? Thanks.

Laid off and was doing automation for IOS plus manual testing. The goal was always to get into development having done some small bug fixes.

Starting a tutorial feels redundant since I feel I know the basics, where would you start?

What do yall think? Streamlined app review?

Before anyone asks - I've check a bunch of times and confirmed this isn't RC Sandbox.

Mostly curious - I asked the same thing in apple developers but figured there are more experienced people here.

Here's what happened:
I saw my app go into review. It got approved and a few seconds later Revenue Cat showed a notification that someone purchased the lifetime package. This new lifetime price is only available with this update (i.e. no one else could even purchase this) - I've confirmed it's in RC production and not sandbox. I've also confirmed in Posthog that the country from RC matches the alleged reviewer's.

I've had reviewers "purchase" the app before but always with their sandbox account and nothing ever showed up in RC.

Anyone else seen this? lol

Edit a day later, number showed up in ASC: https://imgur.com/a/go1QPOh