In this issue: a special request from me, SwiftData by Example, the all-new 100 Days of SwiftUI, simple steps to improve your SwiftUI code, and more!

A special request

I’ve got some important announcements to come, but first I have a special request.

You’ll know I spend a lot of my time creating as much free material as I can, because it benefits countless thousands of people.

Today I’d like to ask for something in return. I do this very rarely, but this one matters.

I’m raising money to help folks experiencing homelessness, escaping domestic abuse, and rebuilding their lives after prison. Myself, my two daughters, and my two dogs will be walking 21 miles around our home city, and I hope you can sponsor us in that effort.

All money goes directly to the charity, and we’ll be walking no matter how sunny or rainy it is – don’t worry, the dogs have raincoats!

Every donation helps – thank you! 🙌

Donate here

SwiftData by Example ships September 29th

Core Data has served us well, but from iOS 17 onwards we can start moving over to SwiftData. If you’re keen to get started straight away I have just the book for you: SwiftData by Example!

This all-new book covers the full range of SwiftData tools and techniques, including setting up your models, creating relationships, handling migrations across versions, and much more. Best of all, it will be available completely free to read online, so everyone can benefit.

Right now I’m in the final stages of editing, and I’m also writing up a complete example project to kick off the book, so folks can see all the parts put together. However, I’m close enough to finishing that I can now tell you the release date will be September 29th – that’s just over two weeks from today.

I hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it!

The 100 Days of SwiftUI: iOS 17 Refresh

There’s another massive, free work coming: I’m completely refreshing the 100 Days of SwiftUI for iOS 17! This means all the projects are being updated for the latest Apple APIs, including Observable, SwiftData, NavigationStack, the native photo picker, and much more.

Updating every project, every chapter, every video, and every challenge is a gigantic effort, but I just love doing it because I know how many people benefit.

The first updated day will arrive September 22nd. I’ll be releasing the new days in stages so that folks who are following the existing curriculum won’t find things suddenly change under their feet – look out for the days marked “UPDATED”.

If you are currently following the 100 Days and have made it past day 15, I would recommend continuing. Otherwise, I would suggest pausing until the new days arrive, then following those.

(Yes, this is a really busy month for me!)

Thanks to sponsors

I’m grateful to the three sponsors on Hacking with Swift this month:

RevenueCat makes in-app subscriptions straightforward and reliable so you can get back to building your app. Find out more here.
Instabug delivers a range of features to give you deep visibility and insights on your app, to equip you to excel in the mobile landscape. Find out more here.
Pragma Conference take place in Bologna, Italy on October 4-6 – join them for three days of smart insights, cool networking, and non-stop fun. Find out more here.

News from friends

My friend Craig Clayton has announced an all-new SwiftUI course aimed at helping developers create beautiful apps with SwiftUI, SwiftData, and more. Craig’s design workshops are some of the most impressive I’ve seen – he really goes into detail showing you how to get precision control over your layouts.

This new course is available to preorder at a discounted rate of $75, so I suggest you take a look before it launches on September 25th!

Find it here: https://www.designtoswiftui.com

Level up your SwiftUI!

I just published a new YouTube video showing folks how to improve an existing app with great new SwiftUI code, including lots of new iOS 17 features, plus new API that was added in Xcode 15 and back-ported to earlier iOS versions.

Anyway, the video is about 35 minutes in total, and contains lots of great improvements you can add to any app – often in just a single line of code.

Watch it here: https://youtu.be/l7eut-nYIUc

Discounts on books

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

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…

I don’t think it’s a secret that I love writing apps with Swift and SwiftUI, and honestly working with SwiftData has been a revelation – it’s almost unreal how little work it takes to get moving, and I know it will be transformative for both learners and experienced developers alike.

But you might have noticed I didn’t start this newsletter talking about Swift or SwiftData. Yes, they matter a lot, and I consider it my life’s greatest achievement that I’ve helped so many people change their careers and even their lives by teaching them to build apps.

Instead, I started by asking you to donate a little money to charity. Maybe you skipped by that, maybe you’re still thinking about it, or maybe you donated already – in which case, thank you!

Either way, I hope it made you stop and think just for a moment. As an iOS developer there’s a 99% chance you’re reading this on Mac or an iPhone, most of you will also have an iPad or an Apple Watch, and perhaps own even more than one Mac! In short, we’re very, very fortunate in our community – we get to think about things like iOS 17 rather than how we’ll find our next meal.

Not everyone is so lucky. It's a grim reality that the life expectancy of a homeless person is just 44 years, which is just one year older than I am right now.

I feel extraordinarily fortunate to be sitting here writing this on my MacBook Air, and I hope I never forget how fortunate I am.

This is one of the reasons why raising money for charity is so important for me, and I hope you’re able to donate even just a little to the charity I’m raising money for. Both my kids and dogs are coming along too: it’s a family effort, and you can be sure I’ll post some high-quality dog pics on both Twitter and Mastodon! 😂

So, if you’re reading this on a nice Mac or an iPhone, please take a moment to remember how fortunate you are too, and donate what you can to support folks experiencing homelessness in these difficult times.

From the bottom of my heart: thank you.

Paul

Donate here

Hacking with Swift Newsletter: October 2025

Hacking with Swift Newsletter: September 2025

Hacking with Swift Newsletter: August 2025

Hacking with Swift Newsletter: July 2025

Everything but the Code: Initial chapters now available!

See all posts from Paul Hudson