Apple is currently working on Swift Playgrounds 4, an updated version of its popular educational tool designed to teach both kids and adults how to use its popular Swift programming language, which debuted in 2016.
Apple announced the new version of Swift Playgrounds during its June Worldwide Developers Conference, and now the Cupertino firm is asking some developers to test it out in a beta capacity ahead of launch.
Developers who have been invited have been required to sign a non-disclosure agreement to get access. However, as usually happens, a developer shared screenshots and details with 9to5Mac, providing a look at the app.
Swift Playgrounds 4 will allow developers to submit their projects designed with the software directly to the App Store, which will allow for app creation on the iPad. Submitting an app to App Store Connect will not require Xcode on Mac as is currently required.
The app will allow users to preview and see changes in real-time as they type, says 9to5Mac:
Swift Playgrounds 4 also lets users preview and see changes in real time as they type. Live editing also works when the developer shares the project with someone else via iCloud Drive, so multiple people can work on the same project at the same time. Users can even test the app in full screen, explore SwiftUI controls, search across all files in a project, use quick inline code suggestions, and easily switch between Swift Playgrounds and Xcode (or vice versa).
Swift Playgrounds 4 requires iPadOS 15.2, which is currently in beta. There’s no word yet on when we can expect iPadOS 15.2, but Apple could release it prior to the end of the year.
