Apple releases Swift Playgrounds 4.1 development tool for iPad and Mac

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Swift Playgrounds 4 Ipad Pro 2021 Hero
Swift Playgrounds 4 Ipad Pro 2021 Hero (Image credit: Joe Keller / iMore)

What you need to know

  • Apple has released a new version of Swift Playgrounds for iPad and Mac.
  • Budding developers can download Swift Playgrounds for free from the App Store.

Apple has today released a new version of its Swift Playground development tool, an app that's designed to help people learn how to build their own apps in a fun way.

The new Swift Playgrounds 4.1 update is now available for download in the App Store and is free for all. There are a ton of new changes and features on the Mac side including the ability to build apps with SwiftUI for macOS Monterey 12.4 or later.

Swift Playgrounds 4.1 introduces new features, new content and bug fixes. New features include:

  • Build Mac apps with SwiftUI (requires macOS 12.4 or later)
  • Guided walkthroughs teach SwiftUI app building basics
  • App Preview shows live updates as you make changes to your app
  • Apps built with Swift Playgrounds run and install to the Applications folder
  • App Store Connect integration lets you upload your finished app to the App Store (requires Apple Developer Program account)
  • Smart, inline code suggestions help you write code quickly and accurately
  • Project-wide search finds results across multiple files
  • Snippets Library provides hundreds of SwiftUI controls, symbols, and colors
  • Swift Package support lets you include publicly available code to enhance your apps
  • App Projects make it easy to move projects to Xcode and back

The update is now available for download and can be found in the Mac App Store.

The release notes for the iPad version of Swift Playgrounds aren't quite so complete, but there are definitely some improvements of note for those looking to learn to create apps on their iPad.

Swift Playgrounds 4.1 includes bug fixes and the following new content:

  • "Keep Going with Apps" helps you understand how data moves throughout SwiftUI apps
  • "Animating Shapes" teaches you how to create, modify, and animate shapes
  • "Capturing Photos" is an advanced look at creating your own camera

Again, the new update for iPad version of Siwft Playgrounds is ready to go and can be downloaded from the App Store now. This is one of the best iPad apps a budding developer can get their hands on right now, and it's absolutely free!

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.