ios-flows-and-patterns

name	ios-flows-and-patterns
description	Apple HIG behavioral patterns for native iOS — onboarding, launch screens, loading, modality decisions, feedback, settings, search, privacy & permission flows (purpose strings, priming screens, ATT), account deletion, in-app purchase, ratings, notifications — plus motion/reduce-motion, haptics (UIFeedbackGenerator patterns), and the accessibility floors (contrast AA, touch targets, Dynamic Type 200%, VoiceOver). Use when designing any flow, permission prompt, empty/loading state, or feedback moment on iOS.
tags	["ios","patterns","onboarding","permissions","privacy","haptics","accessibility","motion","hig"]

iOS flows, patterns & behavior — HIG (iOS 26 baseline · iOS 27 current)

Source: Apple HIG Patterns, Motion, Accessibility, Playing haptics pages + WWDC 2026 (child-safety newsroom, "What's new in SwiftUI", Liquid Glass refinements) (read June 2026). iOS 26 = shipping baseline; iOS 27 (WWDC 2026) = current cycle — the core HIG behavioral patterns below are unchanged across both; iOS 27 deltas are flagged inline. ios-components covers the controls; this covers flows and behavior.

Onboarding & launch

• Onboarding is optional, skippable, fast, fun — and happens after launch, not as part of it. Teach by doing, not slideshows; prefer contextual tips (TipKit) over one big flow. Don't re-show a skipped tutorial. Postpone nonessential setup; provide good defaults so people start immediately. No licensing/disclaimers in onboarding.
• Permission timing: integrate a permission request into onboarding only if the app can't function without that data; otherwise request it when the person first uses the feature that needs it. Never request at launch unless the reason is self-evident (a maps app needing location).
• Launch screen = a fast-launch illusion, not branding/onboarding. Make it nearly identical to the first real screen (match orientation + light/dark); no text (won't localize); no logos unless they're a fixed part of the first screen. Restore previous state on relaunch.
• Age-gating in onboarding (iOS 27 / WWDC 2026): Child Accounts are now mandatory under 13 and available/persist through 18, with parent-guided on-device setup. Don't ask a child for a birthdate in your own onboarding — read the system's privacy-preserving bracket via the Declared Age Range API (returns under 13 / 13–17 / 18+, never an exact date) and gate content/monetization to it. Use PermissionKit to route new in-app contacts through parental approval, and SensitiveContentAnalysis to filter inbound media. (Apple ships the tools but does not mandate a specific onboarding flow — Verify-at-source flag on per-category requirements.)

Loading

• "The best content-loading experience finishes before people become aware of it." Show placeholder content immediately (text/graphics/animation), replace as data arrives — never a blank screen (reads as broken). Load in the background. Use a determinate indicator when duration is known, indeterminate when not.

Search

• Make in-app search forgiving and fast: show recents + suggestions before the first keystroke, tolerate typos/synonyms, return results progressively, never a blank pause. Put the field where people expect it (top of a scrollable list, or the system search role) and keep it reachable.
• System search rebuilt (iOS 27 / WWDC 2026): Apple rebuilt the foundation under Spotlight, Mail, and Photos (more stable + efficient; new content indexes almost immediately). Donate your content to the index (App Intents / CSSearchableItem) so it surfaces in the better Spotlight and ranks well — don't reinvent a private search silo for content the system can index. Verify-at-source flag on exact new indexing APIs.

Modality, feedback, settings

• Modality decision: full-screen modal for in-depth/complex tasks; sheet/popover for a scoped task tied to current context; alert for critical info. Keep modal tasks short; always provide an obvious dismissal; confirm before losing content; one modal at a time.
• Chrome that yields to content (iOS 27 / WWDC 2026): let the navigation bar minimize on scroll — opt in with toolbarMinimizeBehavior(_:for:) (the nav-bar analogue of iOS 26's tabBarMinimizeBehavior) so chrome recedes as content scrolls. New toolbar controls — visibilityPriority, toolbarOverflowMenu, topBarPinnedTrailing — keep the critical action visible as space tightens (iPhone apps become resizable in iOS 27). Liquid Glass v2 sheets/modals diffuse content behind them more and read clearer; adoption is no longer deferrable under Xcode 27 (legacy opt-out flags removed) — see ios-liquid-glass-swiftui.
• Feedback: use multiple channels — color, text, sound, haptics — so it lands whether silenced, looked-away, or on VoiceOver. Put status near the thing it describes. Warn before unexpected irreversible loss; don't warn when loss is the expected result. Mostly tell people when something fails (success is assumed). Use alerts judiciously.
• Settings: ship great defaults so most people change nothing; minimize the number of settings; don't ask for info you can detect; respect (don't duplicate) systemwide settings; put task-specific options in the screen they affect, not buried in a settings page.

Privacy & permissions (consolidated Privacy page)

• Data minimization — request access only to what a feature actually needs, as specifically as possible; process on-device where possible. Provide App Store privacy details.
• Purpose strings: complete sentence, specific, sentence case, active voice, ends with a period. ✅ "The app records during the night to detect snoring sounds." ❌ "Microphone access is needed for a better experience."
• Pre-permission (priming) screen — strict: one button only ("Continue"/"Next", not "Allow"), no cancel/skip, must lead straight to the system alert. Never mislead or imitate the system alert.
• App Tracking Transparency rejection traps: incentivizing permission, withholding features until allowed, imitating/annotating the system alert, an "Allow"-style button.
• Account deletion (App Store gate): if you create accounts you must let people delete (not just deactivate) in-app, or via a direct, easy-to-find link — not buried in the Privacy Policy. Note: auto-renewable subscriptions keep billing through Apple until canceled, regardless of deletion.
• Auth: prefer Sign in with Apple / passkeys; label the method ("Sign In with Face ID"); store secrets in the keychain; don't invent custom auth.
• Age-aware permissions (iOS 27): gate sensitive permissions and data collection to the Declared Age Range bracket; under-13 Child Accounts route new contacts through PermissionKit parental approval — see Onboarding above.

In-app purchase, ratings, notifications

• IAP: let people experience the app first; show total price; use the default system confirmation sheet (don't modify/replicate); always make canceling easy; IAP is for digital goods (Apple Pay for physical/services/donations).
• Ratings: only after demonstrated engagement, never on first launch / in onboarding; ≥1–2 weeks between requests; use the system prompt (RequestReviewAction, capped 3×/365 days) — don't replicate it.
• Notifications: get permission first. Four interruption levels — Passive / Active (default) / Time Sensitive / Critical (Critical needs an entitlement; extremely rare). Represent urgency honestly; never use Time Sensitive for marketing; provide an in-app notification-settings screen.

Motion

• Add motion purposefully; gratuitous animation distracts/causes discomfort. Make it optional and never the only way to convey important info (pair with haptics/audio). Feedback motion = realistic, brief, precise; generally avoid motion on frequent interactions; let people cancel/skip animations.
• Reduce Motion (when on): tighten springs to cut bounce; track animation to the user's gesture; replace x/y/z transitions with fades; avoid animating depth changes and blurs.

Haptics (UIFeedbackGenerator)

• Use system patterns per their documented meaning — don't repurpose one (a "failure" haptic for "success"). Be consistent (clear cause→effect). Complement visual + audio (match intensity, sync timing). Don't overuse — frequent haptics tire; the best is often felt only in its absence. Prefer short haptics for discrete events. Make them optional. Beware side effects (vibration can disrupt camera/gyroscope/mic).
• Standard patterns: Notification (Success/Warning/Error), Impact (Light/Medium/Heavy/Rigid/Soft), Selection (value changing, e.g. picker). Custom via Core Haptics (transient vs continuous; sharpness + intensity).

Accessibility floors (non-negotiable for ship)

• Contrast (WCAG AA): ≤17 pt → 4.5:1; 18 pt → 3:1; any bold → 3:1. Provide a higher-contrast scheme under Increase Contrast if you can't meet it by default. Check light + dark.
• Touch targets: default 44×44 pt, minimum 28×28 pt (iOS/iPadOS). ~12 pt padding around bezeled controls, ~24 pt around un-bezeled ones.
• Text scaling: support enlargement to ≥200% via Dynamic Type; minimize truncation; stack layouts at large sizes; keep primary elements near the top.
• Don't convey info by color alone; prefer system colors (accessible variants auto-adapt). Label every interactive element for VoiceOver. Provide non-gesture alternatives to every gesture. Respect Reduce Motion / Dim Flashing Lights. Audit with Accessibility Inspector; declare support via Accessibility Nutrition Labels.

Greg application (safety-critical)

• Allergy hard-stops: deliver via multiple channels (red + icon + text + Error haptic), in the solid content layer, with a non-color signal — never color alone. This is a true alert/blocking case.
• AI proposals → user accepts: every adaptive target change is a proposal the user confirms; success is quiet, failures are surfaced. Targets/macros need deterministic validation before display (project rule).
• Permissions: request camera (barcode/photo) and mic (voice log) at first use of that modality, each with a specific purpose string and a "Continue"-only priming screen if needed — never at launch.
• Account deletion + data export must be in-app and easy to find (launch gate).
• Use Selection haptics on the WeekStrip/picker, Success on a confirmed log, Error on an allergy stop — consistently, sparingly.

Pairs with: ios-components (the controls), ios-color-and-materials (contrast), onboarding-and-empty-states, ethical-design-and-dark-patterns.