In this issue: the biggest ever update to Hacking with Swift+ is coming soon, Xcode 16 is almost here, Swifty website building, and more!

…Ready for it?

I have – very slowly – been working towards something new. It's taken me almost three years to get things in place, but on September 9th I'll be announcing something new, something big, and something I think will be indispensable for every Swift developer.

As part of this I've been quietly working on updates for seven of my books, each of which will be available free for anyone who bought them in the past. Four of them are getting complete video accompaniments for the first time, and two others are getting video remakes in HD.

There's also a ton of new material I know folks will love. If all goes to plan it should start arriving September 16th, and roll out over some months. This new material is exclusive to Hacking with Swift+, but honestly I think it's so good it's worth the subscription by itself!

This new stuff brings together almost all my work, and behind the scenes it involves quite a few upgrades to the site – I apologize if you hit any problems in the meantime.

As a reminder, all my books come with a lifetime update policy that means every time I release an update for a book, that update is free for everyone who bought it directly or through a bundle.

So – purely hypothetically speaking, of course! – if I were to announce a huge update to my best-selling book Pro Swift in the near future, that would be free to everyone who bought Pro Swift or bought either the Swift Power Pack or my Everything Pack.

Anyway, as you can tell I'm more than a bit excited about this new work, and I look forward to sharing more details with you all on September 9th.

Upcoming Hacking with Swift+ dates

The next HWS+ live stream dates are:

Saturday August 24th
Saturday September 14th
Saturday October 19th
Saturday November 16th

We're building a complete app from scratch every time, and of course you can access the full back catalog of streams plus transcripts and project code here: https://www.hackingwithswift.com/plus/live-streams

There are 35 to choose from, each one creating a full app – a gold mine of inspiration there for anyone looking to ship their first App Store app!

Are you ready for Xcode 16?

I'm anticipating the final Xcode 16 release to come in the next two weeks or so, but hopefully you've already had a chance to try it.

Fortunately for all of us Swift 6 language mode is off by default, and I think it's likely to stay that way for a while as Apple refines their own frameworks and third-party developers prepare their code.

But make no mistake about it: this time next year I think Swift 6 language will be the default, so it's important you take the time to at least run your projects through it and see what you're up against.

Thanks to sponsors!

I'm grateful to both RevenueCat and Superwall for sponsoring Hacking with Swift last month!

RevenueCat's Paywalls allow you to remotely configure and A/B test your entire paywall UI without any code changes or app updates. Learn more here.
Superwall lets you build & test paywalls without shipping updates. Run experiments, offer sales, segment users, update locked features and more at the click of button. Learn more here.

Build your next website with Swift

Previously I sent you a link to an article and a video I made about building websites with Swift.

In that video I introduced my Ignite framework for building websites using SwiftUI-like framework, and now I have a huge video and accompanying transcription showing you how to use that to build a complete website from scratch: https://www.hackingwithswift.com/plus/live-streams/brush-bark

That was originally a Hacking with Swift+ live stream, but I've made it free for everyone because I know lots of folks are keen to try it.

News from friends

Daniel Steinberg is currently putting the finishing touches to a new book on Swift Testing, and if you know Daniel's work you'll know this is guaranteed to be an unmissable addition to your Swift library.

The beta edition of the book is available now, with the final chapters landing over the next two weeks. Quite remarkably it costs just $40, and even better Daniel has a launch sale so you can get it for only $30 – that's $30 for a book about the all-new Swift Testing framework, helping you get ahead of the pack with the future of testing.

I don't know about you, but I already bought my copy!

Discounts on books

Here's a reminder of the supporter's discount codes you can use to save money on all my books:

Pro SwiftUI: https://gum.co/pro-swiftui/hws-thankyou
Pro Swift: https://gum.co/proswift/hws-thankyou
SwiftUI By Example: https://gum.co/swiftui/hws-thankyou
SwiftData By Example: https://gum.co/swiftdata-by-example/hws-thankyou
Swift Concurrency By Example: https://gum.co/concurrency/hws-thankyou
Hacking with iOS: https://gum.co/hws-book-pack/hws-thankyou
Swift Design Patterns: https://gum.co/swift-design-patterns/hws-thankyou
Testing Swift: https://gum.co/testing-swift/hws-thankyou
Swift on Sundays Volume One: https://gum.co/swift-on-sundays-1/hws-thankyou
Advanced iOS Volume One: https://gum.co/advanced-ios-1/hws-thankyou
Advanced iOS Volume Two: https://gum.co/advanced-ios-2/hws-thankyou
Advanced iOS Volume Three: https://gum.co/advanced-ios-3/hws-thankyou
Swift Coding Challenges: https://gum.co/swiftcc/hws-thankyou
Dive Into SpriteKit: https://gum.co/dive-into-spritekit/hws-thankyou
Hacking with macOS: https://gum.co/hwmacos/hws-thankyou
Hacking with watchOS: https://gum.co/hwwatchos/hws-thankyou
Hacking with tvOS: https://gum.co/hwtvos/hws-thankyou
Hacking with Swift Live Series 1: https://gum.co/hws-live-1/hws-thankyou
Objective-C for Swift Developers: https://gum.co/objcswift/hws-thankyou
Beyond Code: https://gum.co/beyondcode/hws-thankyou

Remember, if you already bought books from either the Swift Power Pack, the Swift Platform Pack, or the Swift Plus Pack and want to upgrade to the full bundle, I can create a custom discount code for you that takes off whatever you already paid – just email me.

One more thing…

This month I've mostly been unpacking boxes after our house move. It's been fun rediscovering bits of my stuff that had been packed away, or things that been stored in cupboards for a long time.

For example, I got to show my kids an original iPhone, running iPhone OS 3.1.3. It's safe to say they had quite a shock at how small the device was, how slow the device was, and how poor the camera was compared to modern devices. I tried to explain that it was revolutionary for its time, but the more I explained the more I just sounded old.

More of a success was me digging out my Nintendo Wii. Games like Wii Sports, Wii Play, and Wii Fit are just as magical now as they were then, and we spent the whole day having family fun as if it were 2006 all over again.

Then something quite remarkable happened.

If you ever had a Wii you'll know it asked you to make a "Mii" – a little character that looked like you. When you connected with friends and family, their Miis would appear on your console, and you'd see them pop up in your your games, running past you in Wii Fit, or being part of one of the Wii Play puzzles, for example.

My parents had a Wii, and because they had connected to mine all those years ago, my dad's Mii was still on my device. And so while we were playing tennis, you could see my dad standing in the audience, clapping for my kids from afar. He passed away a couple of years ago now, but it was quite beautiful to see him back in virtual form, cheering on his grandchildren.

I'll always love technology, and – despite what my kids say – I will always believe the first iPhone was a huge breakthrough! But all this reminded me that while technology comes and goes, all the things that make us human don't. All the things that make us happy and sad, or bring us joy and laughter, are truly timeless.

I love my job of helping folks change their lives through building apps, but I hope you always remember to focus on what matters.

Paul

0 comments

Hacking with Swift Newsletter: April 2025

Hacking with Swift Newsletter: March 2025

Hacking with Swift Newsletter: February 2025

Hacking with Swift Newsletter: January 2025

Hacking with Swift Newsletter: December 2024

See all posts from Paul Hudson