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Roadmap · Updated May 2026

The iOS Developer trek

Swift, SwiftUI, UIKit, Combine, CoreData, networking, testing, and shipping to the App Store. Everything it takes to build polished iOS applications.

Stages
12
Estimated time
7 months
Level
Beginner → Advanced
Maintained by
3 practitioners
01
Stage 01

Swift fundamentals

Swift is powerful and expressive. Learn its type system, optionals, and value vs reference semantics deeply.

SwiftBeginner
02
Stage 02

SwiftUI fundamentals

Declarative UI in SwiftUI: views, state, data flow, and the Combine framework for reactive programming.

SwiftUIBeginner
03
Stage 03

UIKit fundamentals

UIKit is everywhere in production codebases. Views, view controllers, table views, collection views, and Auto Layout.

UIKitAutoLayout
04
Stage 04

App architecture

MVC, MVVM, and the Composable Architecture. Structuring iOS apps for testability and maintainability.

ArchitectureMVVMTCA
05
Stage 05

Persistence & data

CoreData, SwiftData, UserDefaults, Keychain, and file-based storage — choosing the right tool for the job.

CoreDataSwiftDataKeychain
06
Stage 06

Networking & async/await

URLSession, async/await, Combine, and building robust network layers with offline support.

Networkingasync/awaitCombine
07
Stage 07

Concurrency & Combine

Grand Central Dispatch, Swift Concurrency actors, and Combine for reactive data flows.

ConcurrencyCombineActors
08
Stage 08

Testing iOS apps

XCTest, UI testing, mocking, and the discipline that makes iOS code production-ready.

XCTestTestingUI Testing
09
Stage 09

Performance & profiling

Instruments, memory leaks, rendering performance, and making iOS apps feel fast on older devices.

PerformanceInstrumentsOptimization
10
Stage 10

Notifications & background tasks

Local notifications, push notifications via APNs, background fetch, and app extensions.

NotificationsAPNsBackground
11
Stage 11

App Store submission & CI/CD

Signing, schemes, TestFlight, and the CI/CD pipeline that automates your App Store releases.

App StoreFastlaneCI/CD
12
Stage 12

Capstone — ship a polished iOS app

Design, build, test, and ship a production iOS app. Real users, real feedback, real App Store.

CapstoneAdvancedPortfolio

Trek complete. What's next?

You've walked the full roadmap. Now ship the capstone, write about it, and share the path with the next engineer who needs it.

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