While Objective-C was the default language for iOS app developers for years, in 2014, Apple brought Swift, a more powerful, simple new language for developing iOS apps. Down the line in seven years from then, iOS app developers still struggle to make the right choice between Objective-C and Swift.

Though Swift is more powerful, can it fully replace Objective-C? Are our iOS developers still considering Objective-C as a better tool for iOS app development? To answer these questions here, we will try to explain both languages’ pros and cons and compare their strengths. Let’s start with a brief introduction.

What is Objective-C?

Objective-C is the object-oriented programming language that Apple used for years, way back from the ’90s. Apple used the language for both macOS development and iOS development. It was the standard default language for all Apple iOS and macOS apps.

Pros

•   Objective-C is the most mature language as it has been the default language for Apple software OS for more than three decades.
•   Objective-C has already tested and tried solutions across a multitude of apps and offers an extensive open-source library along with detailed documentation.
•   Dynamic typing of Objective-C helps to simplify the code based on the developer’s intent.
•   As a language existing for decades, it supports all the older versions of iOS and macOS.
•   Having been there for so many years, it offers unmatched stability, and so it doesn’t require updates very frequently.

Cons

•   Objective-C comes with a significant learning curve because of its complex syntax and object-oriented programming paradigms.
•   Fewer developers are using this language just because there are several more accessible options available in the market.
•   It is devoid of the latest and most sophisticated features for modern apps.
•   Having been there for so many years, it is targeted by hackers more often.

What is Swift?

Swift as the following generation programming language was launched by Apple at the Worldwide Developers Conference in 2014. The language offered an easier way to develop Apple iOS apps and showed many new features and enhanced stability.

Pros

•   Swift is known for simplicity and ease of use and ensures very concise coding.
•   Swift is an open-source language and can be used in both profitable and non-profitable app ventures.
•   Swift is loaded with many modern features, optimized memory handling, dynamic libraries, improved app monetization, etc.
•   Swift involves less coding, and hence it offers more ease while ensuring faster build time.

Cons

•   Just because it is a relatively new language, it comes with more frequent updates resulting in a loss of time and money for app projects.
•   Being a new language, it is not compatible with older iOS versions launched before iOS 7.0 and macOS 10.9.

Objective-C vs Swift: Comparing Features and Capabilities 

Now that we have known the pros and cons of the two languages let us compare their key features and capabilities one by one.

Development capabilities 

When you use Objective-C for developing iOS or OS X apps, you need to use the Xcode IDE. Apart from that, you also can use AppCode or Visual Studio Code Xcode working underneath. Xcode offers the development environment loaded with everything for iOS app development, including tools, pre-built elements, compilers, APIs, and frameworks.

Developers using Swift get Cocoa Touch’s power that helps building apps for Apple Watch and Apple TV besides regular iOS apps. Apart from that, you developers also get the help of Swift Playgrounds allowing easy learning of coding and testing small application parts. Swift is also flexible to enable you to work in the same Objective-C environment.

Compatibility 

Objective-C, as the old language is compatible with old iOS versions as well as the newest ones. Swift, in complete contrast, requires a minimum iOS 7.

UI Development 

When it comes to UI development, Apple came up with SwiftUI as the most potent UI design tool to help developing native UI for multiple Apple platforms. It has a clear edge over Objective-C allowing writing code and seeing the changes instantly in the preview.

Development Speed 

Swift requires fewer lines of code when it is compared with that of Objective-C. Any app converting to Swift from Objective-C could reduce code to a great extent. This results in a faster development pace.

App Performance

According to Apple, Swift is 2.6 times faster compared to Objective-C. The leaner code of Swift makes it lightweight for faster loading speed. Simple syntax and the ability to check code type during compilation further gives Swift based apps a performance boost.

Community & support

Though Objective-C still gets support from Apple, it is not an open-source language and gets less frequent updates. Swift, in contrast, is an open-source language and gets broader support apart from getting frequent updates from Apple. Swift right now has the default language for apple apps and boasts of a much bigger community and robust support than Objective-C.  

Tools

Objective-C, as an old language, received over the years a plethora of tools from Apple and several third-party developers. On the other hand, Swift, as the open-source language, continues to offer access to all kinds of tools for every development purpose created by third-party developers and contributors on a continuous basis.

Documentation

Both languages come with robust and detailed documentation. Objective-C, having been there for decades, offers the vastest documentation. On the other hand, Swift is continuously updated, and developers can find a lot of resources for the language.

Developer talents 

Swift stands as one of the most popular languages and attracts a high number of aspiring developer talents. Objective-C, in comparison, is much less popular as it is already viewed as an outdated and old language. Since Apple made Swift the default iOS language, Objective-C continued to experience decreasing popularity.

Conclusion

Swift is already the reigning language for iOS developers, and Objective-C is now sparingly used. So, it is pretty evident that Swift will be the natural choice for most iOS app developers.