Target: MacOS 11.1 and above
C++, Juce 8, XCode 16.2
Testing: Sonoma 14.5
Logic Pro (latest version), Reaper 7.34, Pro Tools 2023.12 and 2025.6
I'm developing an audio plugin that creates an NSStatusItem ("menu bar status icon" or MBSI for short) to provide visual feedback for one of the components. I've encountered a Logic Pro-specific behavior that I'd like to fix. I'm building for Mac-only, Intel and Silicon, and for AU/VST3/AAX.
Summary:
The NSStatusItem for the MBSI is created successfully and functions properly in some hosts (Reaper (AU and VST3), Pro Tools (AAX)) but isn't visible in Logic Pro, despite identical API behavior.
Details:
NSStatusItem Creation: implementation using [[NSStatusBar systemStatusBar] statusItemWithLength:NSSquareStatusItemLength]
All API calls report success in both working (Reaper) and non-working (Logic Pro) hosts.
Logging shows Logic Pro and Reaper create the NSStatusItem with the same properties:
Window frame: {{0, -36}, {38, 36}} (both hosts)
statusItem.visible: YES (both hosts)
Button exists and responds to state changes (both hosts)
Y coordinate is -36 pixels (above visible screen, both hosts)
In Reaper, I can see the MBSI but in Logic Pro I can't. Note: the MBSI has no functionality beyond visual feedback. It's not clickable nor does it create a corresponding menu.
Questions:
Are there known differences in how Logic Pro's AU hosting service handles system UI elements compared to other hosts? And if so, is there guidance on AU plugins accessing system UI elements like the menu bar?
Link to NSStatusItemTest.component: https://app.box.com/s/i3rq0hii3qf43iojrayc17fsfq7fnssd
Link to video showing issue: https://app.box.com/s/icefqk898timqov77t468lqtio0rjqul
Link to Console output for testing in Reaper vs Logic Pro: https://app.box.com/s/ph6nv1lmozo3phtjx3md6abdms5atgg6
General
RSS for tagExplore the art and science of app design. Discuss user interface (UI) design principles, user experience (UX) best practices, and share design resources and inspiration.
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I couldn't help noticing that the Maps and Find My apps make extensive use of "sheets stacked on top of each other" to represent its navigation hierarchy, with a "new content comes in from the bottom" orientation instead of a navigation stack with
"new content comes in from the right side" oriented transitions.
I'm interested in this topic because I have a similar navigation-hierarchy-over-a-map case in my app (with a custom map view though) and I'm torn back and forth between the approach of replicating the "stacked sheets" vs. putting a navigation stack in a sheet, esp. with the navstack approach being way more attainable with the iOS 26 glass design.
I couldn't find any guidance for this kind of UI in the Human Interface Guidelines; I'm leaning towards the navstack-approach for my app; but in terms of the behavior of the SwiftUI container views in this scenario it seems a little bit of an uphill path.
Any thoughts on what pattern should be preferred for presenting a deep navigational hierarchy on top of a map-like view?
What type of licensing does it apply for the usage of FONT_FAMILY='System' in Apple/iOS app?
I previously written here, and some advices were to appeal to rejection sending them message describing uniqueness of the app. Nothing is working.
In short, i have a vpn app (of course by design shares some concept with other apps that are in the app store). But since the rejection i have completely changed the ui, added built in browser, p2p messenger so users could interact with each other without any interference. The app is completely free with no ads. I thought this is it, there's no way it would reject this time, but... i get a notification with rejection repeating the same old message. I'm extremely frustrated and don't know what to do.
Tried changing the logo of the app, the name to "Incognito - Messenger, VPN", app store screenshots.
I've already appealed with screenshots describing unique features that other vpn apps don't have, but the message just repeats from app review team.
Submission ID: 1a49ee0b-c4e2-4a36-8372-e4d3b9a8b13f
Does anybody have an advice what i can do?
Hello,
I recently submitted my app to the Apple Store and received a rejection under Guideline 4.3(a) - Design - Spam, stating that my app is similar to others on the store. However, my app has a unique feature set, offers more functionality and content than competitors, and is completely free with ad monetization, unlike most similar apps that require subscriptions.
I have spent five months developing this app from scratch, ensuring it provides an original and valuable experience for users. I did not use an app template or repackaged code, and my app is not a reskinned version of any existing app. I genuinely believe it brings meaningful differentiation to the market.
I would appreciate any guidance on how I can better communicate my app’s uniqueness to the review team or what specific aspects I should adjust to comply with Apple's guidelines.
Thank you for your time and support.
Hello,
I used icon composer to create an icon for my Mac OS app and it seemed to have worked. I see the app icon everywhere except for window expose or stage manager.
Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated!
[Iphone11]
We're using StoreKit for in-app purchases on iOS, and our backend has the server notification URL configured. However, during subscription renewals, Apple's server doesn't send any requests to our endpoint. What could be causing this?
Hello All,
I used to own an app named LOLIIPOP, and am in the process of transferring it to my new apple account.
I am having two problems....
How do I transfer the source code and binary to my new apple account?
My developers have an old code, so I need to send them the LAST code they uploaded to the App Store.
How do I do that as well???
Please any help!!!
Thanks,
Mr. LM
I am developing an app that requires calling the iPhone's Face ID module to scan users' facial data. Where can I find Apple's design resources and guidelines for Face ID? The Face ID resources available in Figma are incomplete, and I need more support.
For example, in the iPhone settings, the scenario: the UI interface for scanning the user's face to collect data, specifically the circular design in the "How to Set Up Face ID" screen.
Hi,
Normally we need many shades of gray in any App and Apple system have only 3 , Primery, Secondary, and Gray, so to make Gray regress that automatically adapt to Dark Mode we just use opacity on these colors ? there's no system built in Gray degrees ?
Kind Regards
Hi everyone 👋 I’m a new iOS developer working on my first app and I’ve run into a frustrating visual bug involving my app icon during the launch/close transition.
Issue:
When I use Icon Composer (the new tool introduced for iOS 26) to generate my app icon, I consistently see a thin white border or “fringe” around the icon only during the transition animation (when the app opens or closes). It disappears once the animation ends.
What I tested and confirmed:
• I exported the exact same design directly from Adobe Illustrator as a 1024×1024 PNG, fully opaque, RGB color mode, background color filling the entire canvas (no transparency, no borders, no rounded corners).
• When I place that exported PNG directly into the AppIcon asset catalog in Xcode, the icon renders perfectly — no white fringe appears, just a slightly darker shade of blue during transitions (expected and acceptable).
• But when I generate the icon using Icon Composer, the white edge always appears, even if I disable effects, use full coverage layers, or only keep a flat color layer.
Notes:
• Tested on iOS 26 (latest beta) using Xcode 16.
• The issue seems specific to Icon Composer’s export format or metadata — maybe it’s not stripping alpha correctly or something related to the squircle mask?
• I followed all recommended specs: 1024×1024 px, PNG, sRGB, no transparency, exported from Illustrator at 72ppi with solid background.
Even tested without the logo, just the icon made with icon composer
Is anyone else experiencing this issue with Icon Composer exports?
Is there an official recommendation to avoid this during transitions or should I simply avoid Icon Composer for production icons for now and stick with Illustrator / Figma exports?
Thanks so much
Here’s a visual example:
Hi,
I want to generate some sample datas for demonstrating the functions of my app when the app launched. My codes are as followings:
func generateSampleData() {
let hasLaunchedKey = "HasLaunchedBefore"
let defaults = UserDefaults.standard
if !defaults.bool(forKey: hasLaunchedKey) {
//generate the demo data
}
defaults.set(true, forKey: hasLaunchedKey)
}
And I put the func in a view's onAppear modifier. I found every time I go the view, it generates the demo data again, which results in producing a lot of demo data. But I have set the status of the function running in the userdefault. Why did it happen?
Best Wishes,
Hi,
It would be sure if Apple creates a Fgima plug in to convert designs to SwiftUI, no one can do it like Apple and it would be SUPER and super time saving !
--
Kind Regards
hi all,
i have dating app, approved in google store, and working website
but i cant get approval from apple review team
( Guideline 4.3(b) - Design - Spam)
can someone help/suggest how to solve it
our app has 2000 clients already
I can't find any documentation on design guidelines for "Login with Game Center" button. My app allows users to "Play as Guest" or "Login with Game Center". Since Apple provides somewhat strict guidelines for designing "Sign in with Apple" button, i was wondering how to design the button for Game Center login. Should i use Game Center icon. And will Apple review reject this?
This is a follow-up to my previous question: How to attribute/credit Apple Fonts added to app?
In that previous post, I misremembered what I did and said I found fonts via macOS' FontBooks, when instead I came acrossUIFont.familyNames. Since these are included via UIKit, the legal implications should be different.
I looked at various license agreements that govern iOS app development but haven't found anything mentioning fonts. Since these are included as part of UIKit, its reasonable to assume that developers are allowed to include these fonts--but in what ways?
Am I allowed to let users create, say, documents with these fonts?
Am I only allowed to display these fonts?
There are 84 fonts, and judging by their FontBook entries, there is a wide range of licenses and restrictions. It seems unnecessarily harsh to have every iOS developer verify each one and figure out which they can legally keep if they want to offer their users access to all (for, say, a text-editing app). There must be some overarching rule that supersedes/encapsulates them, but this rule isn't clear to me after hours of research. I'm not a lawyer, and I don't think Apple expects every app developer to consult their lawyers on whether they can use system fonts.
I'm about to send an email to Apple's legal team (I will post their response here if allowed), but in the meantime I want to hear what other devs think about this.
In Xcode, entering UIFont.familyNames returns the following:
["Academy Engraved LET", "Al Nile", "American Typewriter", "Apple Color Emoji", "Apple SD Gothic Neo", "Apple Symbols", "Arial", "Arial Hebrew", "Arial Rounded MT Bold", "Avenir", "Avenir Next", "Avenir Next Condensed", "Baskerville", "Bodoni 72", "Bodoni 72 Oldstyle", "Bodoni 72 Smallcaps", "Bodoni Ornaments", "Bradley Hand", "Chalkboard SE", "Chalkduster", "Charter", "Cochin", "Copperplate", "Courier New", "Damascus", "Devanagari Sangam MN", "Didot", "DIN Alternate", "DIN Condensed", "Euphemia UCAS", "Farah", "Futura", "Galvji", "Geeza Pro", "Georgia", "Gill Sans", "Grantha Sangam MN", "Helvetica", "Helvetica Neue", "Hiragino Maru Gothic ProN", "Hiragino Mincho ProN", "Hiragino Sans", "Hoefler Text", "Impact", "Kailasa", "Kefa", "Khmer Sangam MN", "Kohinoor Bangla", "Kohinoor Devanagari", "Kohinoor Gujarati", "Kohinoor Telugu", "Lao Sangam MN", "Malayalam Sangam MN", "Marker Felt", "Menlo", "Mishafi", "Mukta Mahee", "Myanmar Sangam MN", "Noteworthy", "Noto Nastaliq Urdu", "Noto Sans Kannada", "Noto Sans Myanmar", "Noto Sans Oriya", "Optima", "Palatino", "Papyrus", "Party LET", "PingFang HK", "PingFang SC", "PingFang TC", "Rockwell", "Savoye LET", "Sinhala Sangam MN", "Snell Roundhand", "STIX Two Math", "STIX Two Text", "Symbol", "Tamil Sangam MN", "Thonburi", "Times New Roman", "Trebuchet MS", "Verdana", "Zapf Dingbats", "Zapfino"]
Forgot to turn off the ui element status bar. visual garbage.
is it not important? your opinion
https://developer.apple.com/hello/december24/?cid=ht-hello
🔍 Context
The built-in screenshot editor in iOS and iPadOS (Markup tool) only allows users to crop images using rectangular frames. While this is sufficient for basic editing, it lacks flexibility for those who wish to tailor the screenshot to the aesthetics of iOS itself — which relies heavily on rounded shapes and smooth UI elements.
⸻
🚫 Current Limitation
• After taking a screenshot and opening it in Markup, users can only crop in rectangular or square formats.
• No option is available to apply rounded corners to the crop.
• As a result, many users are forced to use third-party apps just to achieve a basic rounded-edge crop, which feels unnecessary for such a common need.
⸻
✅ Proposed Solution
Add a rounded corner cropping feature to the screenshot editor.
This could be implemented as:
• A toggle to activate “Rounded Crop”.
• A radius slider (or predefined corner radius presets).
• Optional: an export option to save the result with transparent background, useful for designers and mockups.
⸻
🎯 Why it matters
• Aligns better with the iOS design language (cards, notifications, widgets, etc.).
• Saves time for users who currently have to rely on external editing apps.
• Greatly improves the presentation of screenshots for social media, UI/UX mockups, blogs, and professional use cases.
• Useful across many professions: developers, designers, content creators, educators, marketers.
⸻
📷 Visual Example
Here’s a mockup to illustrate the proposed feature:
(Add your image here)
⸻
💡 Bonus Suggestion
Allow exporting with a transparent background when cropping screenshots — especially useful for rounded crops or mockups placed on colored backgrounds.
Hi,
I was trying to use macOS-Sequoia-Production-Templates in Sketch format and when I try to export png icon file of the document template, it always includes grey nontransparent background which I am unable to delete. In contrast, exporting png app icon file from another template has transparent background and exports well.
Is it something wrong with the document icon production template? How can I export document png icon file with transparent background??
Thanks