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Introduction to the Swift Xcode project type for iOS and tvOS

Overview of the Swift Xcode project type for iOS and tvOS.
Read time 2 minutesLast updated a month ago
Starting with version 6.5, Unity supports generating Swift Xcode projects for iOS and tvOS using a SwiftUI-based template. This project type modernizes Unity's Apple platform integration while preserving Unity’s runtime, IL2CPP pipeline, and native plug-in ecosystem.
For more information, refer to Swift (Apple Developer).

Features of a Swift project type

A Swift project in Unity is an Xcode project with the following features:
  • The application entry point and app lifecycle are implemented in Swift through a SwiftUI-based template.
  • The Unity Player, 
    UnityFramework.framework
    , is linked into the main Swift binary.
  • The main app initialization starts from 
    MainApp/MainApp.swift
    .
  • You can write native plug-ins in Swift, Objective-C, Objective-C++, C, or C++.
  • Provides a public API for native plug-in developers.
The features of the Unity Player work the same as they do in the Objective-C project type, with some known exceptions. Project types are interchangeable, so you can choose the one that suits your needs.

Benefits of using a Swift project type

Using a Swift project provides the following advantages from both Apple's ecosystem and Unity's integration perspectives.

Apple’s ecosystem benefits

Swift is Apple’s primary modern language, offering:
  • Better memory safety and fewer runtime crashes.
  • Improved performance and compile-time checks.
  • SwiftUI support.
  • Integration with modern Apple SDKs.

Unity development benefits

While the Unity runtime is primarily C++ (
UnityRuntime.framework
), the platform adoption layer is written in Swift. This enables:
  • A modernized iOS or tvOS Xcode project template.
  • A cleaner, Swift-first approach and Swift-native plug-in workflows.
  • Improved alignment with Apple platform standards.
  • A future-proof development architecture.
  • A dedicated Unity public API for plug-ins.
Consider the following use cases of migrating to a Swift project type in Unity:
  • Use a Swift project type for new iOS and tvOS Unity projects.
  • You have existing projects that integrate Swift-based SDKs.
  • Teams that are standardizing on Swift for Apple development.

Migrate an Objective-C project to Swift

To migrate an existing project from Objective-C to Swift, refer to Migrate to a Swift Xcode project type.

Guidance for native plug-in developers

When you develop native plug-ins for Unity on Apple platforms, your plug-in might need to work across a wide compatibility matrix. Design your plug-ins for this matrix, not for a single target. For more information, refer to Introduction to native plug-ins on iOS.

Additional resources