iOS 16 was just released so let’s analyze its built-in apps. Like in the past years, I will try to answer a couple of questions: How many binaries are in iOS 16? Which programming languages are used to develop these apps? How many apps are written with Swift? What is the percentage of apps using SwiftUI versus UIKit?

Methodology

The methodology and tools to create this article have been detailed in my previous posts. If you are interested, please refer to:

Before jumping into the details, let’s clarify a few points:

I only analyzed what is commonly called ‘iOS’, i.e. everything above the kernel. The XNU kernel and low-level firmwares (SecureROM, Baseband, …) are not included even if the Secure Enclave now contains Swift code. On the other hand, I counted the frameworks located inside the dyld shared cache, a mechanism introduced in iPhone OS 3.1.

Keep in mind that a developer can mix different programming languages to create one binary. One example is an app I developed, [Clatters](<https://apps.apple.com/app/clatters/id1480930237>), where I use Swift, SwiftUI, Objective-C and C, the most appropriate programming language being used to solve each specific problem. In this article, an app containing a single line of Swift code will be counted as using Swift.

You will see mentions of Objective-C and C++ but you might notice the absence of Objective-C++. The approach used here can’t really detect binaries built with Objective-C++. Such binaries are counted as using both Objective-C and C++.

Finally you should take this analysis with a grain of salt. While I believe the overall picture to be accurate, my approach has some limitations due to the simple fact that I don’t have access to the iOS source code and relied on imprecise compilation artifacts.

Number of binaries

Let’s first answer a simple question: How many binaries are in iOS 16? The number of binaries composing iOS continues to increase: iOS 16 contains 5403 binaries, up from 4738 in iOS 15. That’s 665 new binaries.

Swift and SwiftUI in iOS 16

During the Platforms State of the Union at the WWDC 2022, Apple shared its platform vision with a statement directed toward developers creating a new app: “The best way to build an app is with Swift and SwiftUI”. Let’s compare this statement to Apple’s own use of Swift and SwiftUI in iOS 16.

Without surprise, we can clearly confirm that some of the new iOS 16 features have been built using SwiftUI: