iOS/macOS 2026 adds NSGestureRecognizerRepresentable, NSHostingMenu, and NSHostingSceneRepresentation, making it easier than ever to incrementally adopt SwiftUI inside existing AppKit apps without a full rewrite. Observable tracking in NSView draw methods is also enabled by default.
• New NSGestureRecognizerRepresentable protocol allows embedding custom NSGestureRecognizer subclasses in SwiftUI views
• New NSHostingMenu subclass of NSMenu wraps any SwiftUI view as a native menu
• New NSHostingSceneRepresentation enables adding SwiftUI scenes (e.g. MenuBarExtra) programmatically from an NSApplicationDelegate
• @Observable-driven automatic NSView redraw is now enabled by default (previously required Info.plist opt-in on macOS 15/iOS 18)
• NSGestureRecognizerRepresentable lets you attach existing NSGestureRecognizer subclasses directly to SwiftUI views using the familiar .gesture() modifier
• NSHostingMenu wraps a SwiftUI view as a native NSMenu so you can add SwiftUI-powered menu items (with keyboard shortcuts, pickers, animations) into your existing main menu
• NSHostingSceneRepresentation lets you dynamically add SwiftUI scenes (like MenuBarExtra) from your NSApplicationDelegate, enabling powerful new entry points without converting your app
Liquid Glass is Apple's new material and visual design language introduced in iOS 27, bringing translucent, refractive glass-like surfaces to system and custom UI elements. It replaces the frosted vibrancy aesthetic with a more dynamic, depth-aware material that responds to content beneath it.
iOS 27 brings a sweeping set of SwiftUI enhancements including Liquid Glass design adoption, new toolbar visibility and overflow APIs, document architecture improvements with Observable, and resizable iPhone app support — all designed to modernize app UIs with minimal code changes.
Xcode 27 introduces a fully customizable toolbar and theme system, untitled scratch projects, coding agent integration directly in the editor, and the new Device Hub for evaluating apps across simulators and physical devices side-by-side.
In-depth guide
SwiftUI & Liquid Glass in iOS 27 →PaperKit is Apple's full-featured canvas framework — previously internal-only — now publicly available in iOS/macOS/visionOS 27. It powers the drawing and markup experience in Notes, Preview, and Freeform, giving developers access to a complete pencil, shapes, images, and text canvas with a rich data model.