A Comparison of UIKit and SwiftUI in iOS Development

In the field of iOS development UIKit has historically served as a foundational tool for the creation of user interfaces. In contrast, SwiftUI's modern, declarative framework is designed to enhance efficiency and ease of use. UIKit affords the user comprehensive control over every element, thereby making it an ideal tool for the creation of complex applications. In contrast, SwiftUI streamlines UI development with its transparent and intuitive syntax, supporting numerous Apple platforms. SwiftUI provides real-time previews and enhances the efficiency of the development process. Despite its relative lack of functionality and maturity compared to UIKit, SwiftUI ensures accelerated development and cross-platform capabilities. UIKit's comprehensive documentation and robust community support provide a dependable foundation for developers. This article presents a comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the two technologies by a developer with hands-on experience of the two technologies.

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Published
2025-06-02
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1109/mipro65660.2025.11132029
Primary Topic
Mobile and Web Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

A Comparison of UIKit and SwiftUI in iOS Development

Mark S. Kovacs, Kálmán Bolla
Mobile and Web Applications
article

A Comparison of UIKit and SwiftUI in iOS Development

Mark S. Kovacs, Kálmán Bolla
article en

Abstract

In the field of iOS development UIKit has historically served as a foundational tool for the creation of user interfaces. In contrast, SwiftUI's modern, declarative framework is designed to enhance efficiency and ease of use. UIKit affords the user comprehensive control over every element, thereby making it an ideal tool for the creation of complex applications. In contrast, SwiftUI streamlines UI development with its transparent and intuitive syntax, supporting numerous Apple platforms. SwiftUI provides real-time previews and enhances the efficiency of the development process. Despite its relative lack of functionality and maturity compared to UIKit, SwiftUI ensures accelerated development and cross-platform capabilities. UIKit's comprehensive documentation and robust community support provide a dependable foundation for developers. This article presents a comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the two technologies by a developer with hands-on experience of the two technologies.

John von Neumann University (HU)
Openalex Percentile: Top 66%
Mobile and Web Applications
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