IOS 26 How To Recreate Find My App's TabView Sheet Effect

Hey everyone! Today, we're diving deep into replicating that slick TabView/sheet effect you've probably noticed in the Find My app on the iOS 26 beta. This effect, where the TabView remains visible even when the sheet is collapsed, is a really cool UI touch. We're going to break down how you can achieve this in your own SwiftUI projects. So, grab your coding hats, and let's get started!

Understanding the Find My App's UI Magic

First, let's dissect what makes this Find My app UI so special. In this part, we are going to explore the magic behind the Find My app's user interface. The way the TabView and sheet interact gives a seamless and intuitive experience. You have your tabs at the bottom, allowing you to switch between different sections like People, Devices, and Items. Then, you have this sheet that can be swiped up to reveal more details or options. The key here is that the TabView doesn't disappear when the sheet is active. It stays put, providing constant navigation access. This design keeps the user oriented and makes it easy to jump between sections without dismissing the sheet. To replicate this, we need to think about how we structure our views and manage their interactions in SwiftUI. We will focus on how to make the TabView and sheet work together harmoniously, ensuring that the TabView remains visible and functional regardless of the sheet's state. We'll explore different approaches and techniques to achieve this effect, paying close attention to the nuances of SwiftUI's layout and presentation capabilities. Understanding the underlying principles of this design will empower us to create similar engaging and user-friendly interfaces in our own applications. So, let’s dive deeper and uncover the secrets behind the Find My app's captivating UI!

Breaking Down the Technical Approach

Now, let’s talk tech! To achieve this effect, we'll be leveraging a combination of SwiftUI's features. At this point, we are going to talk about the technical approaches. We will be diving into the nitty-gritty details of how to construct this UI. The core idea is to layer a sheet on top of a TabView, but we need to ensure the TabView remains interactive and visible. We can start by embedding our main content within a ZStack. This allows us to layer views on top of each other. The TabView will be the base layer, providing our main navigation. On top of that, we'll introduce a sheet. SwiftUI's .sheet() modifier is perfect for this, as it presents a modal view that slides in from the bottom (by default). However, the default sheet behavior would cover the entire screen, hiding our TabView. That's not what we want! To get around this, we need to manage the sheet's presentation ourselves. Instead of using .sheet(), we can create our own sheet-like view and control its visibility using a state variable. We'll use a VStack to create the sheet's content and a GeometryReader to determine the screen's height. By manipulating the yOffset of the sheet's VStack, we can simulate the sliding up and down motion. This gives us the granular control we need to keep the TabView visible. We'll also need to handle gestures to allow the user to swipe the sheet up and down. A DragGesture will come in handy here. We can track the user's vertical drag and update the yOffset accordingly. Remember to add some damping or animation to make the sheet's movement feel smooth and natural. By combining these techniques, we can create a sheet that behaves just like the one in the Find My app, keeping our TabView front and center.

Step-by-Step Implementation Guide

Alright, let’s get our hands dirty with some code! In this part, we are going to go through a step-by-step implementation guide. We will see how to build this TabView/sheet effect from scratch. First, set up a new SwiftUI project. We’ll start by creating a basic TabView with a few tabs. This will be the foundation of our UI. Let’s create a ContentView struct that holds our TabView. Inside the TabView, we’ll add some TabView. This could be simple views with a Text label, just to represent different sections of the app. Now, let's create the sheet. We'll start by defining a state variable to control the sheet's visibility: @State private var isSheetVisible = false. Next, we'll wrap our TabView in a ZStack. This allows us to layer the sheet on top. Inside the ZStack, we'll place our TabView as the bottom layer. Above the TabView, we'll create our custom sheet view. This will be a VStack that contains the content of our sheet. We'll use a GeometryReader to get the screen's height and position the sheet at the bottom of the screen initially. To make the sheet slide up and down, we'll use a state variable to track the sheet's vertical offset: @State private var yOffset: CGFloat = 0. We'll apply this offset as a .offset(y: yOffset) modifier to our sheet's VStack. To handle the swipe gesture, we'll add a DragGesture to the sheet. We'll track the vertical translation of the drag and update the yOffset accordingly. We'll also add some logic to animate the sheet to fully open or close based on the drag gesture's velocity. Finally, we'll add some visual flair to the sheet. We can add a rounded rectangle at the top to act as a handle and add some shadow for depth. And there you have it! A TabView with a sheet that behaves just like the one in the Find My app. This step-by-step guide should give you a solid foundation for creating similar UIs in your own projects.

Code Snippets and Examples

Time for some code! Let's illustrate the concepts we've discussed with some actual code snippets. In this section, we'll provide some code snippets and examples. These snippets will give you a clearer picture of how to implement the TabView/sheet effect. Let's start with the basic TabView setup:

import SwiftUI

struct ContentView: View {
    var body: some View {
        TabView {
            Text("People")
                .tabItem {
                    Image(systemName: "person.2.fill")
                    Text("People")
                }
            Text("Devices")
                .tabItem {
                    Image(systemName: "iphone.gen3")
                    Text("Devices")
                }
            Text("Items")
                .tabItem {
                    Image(systemName: "tag.fill")
                    Text("Items")
                }
        }
    }
}

This code creates a simple TabView with three tabs: People, Devices, and Items. Each tab has an associated icon and text label. Now, let's add the sheet. We'll wrap the TabView in a ZStack and create a custom sheet view:

struct ContentView: View {
    @State private var yOffset: CGFloat = 0
    @State private var isSheetVisible = false

    var body: some View {
        ZStack(alignment: .bottom) {
            TabView {
                // ... (TabView content from above)
            }

            CustomSheetView(yOffset: $yOffset, isSheetVisible: $isSheetVisible)
                .offset(y: yOffset)
                .gesture(
                    DragGesture()
                        .onChanged { value in
                            yOffset = value.translation.height
                        }
                        .onEnded { value in
                            if value.predictedEndTranslation.height > 100 {
                                withAnimation { // sheet dismiss animation
                                    yOffset = 500 // outside of the screen
                                }
                                isSheetVisible = false
                            } else {
                                withAnimation { // sheet return animation
                                    yOffset = 0
                                }
                            }
                        }
                )

        }
        .onAppear { // sheet present animation
            withAnimation { // sheet present animation
                yOffset = 0
            }
            isSheetVisible = true
        }
        .ignoresSafeArea()
    }
}

struct CustomSheetView: View {
    @Binding var yOffset: CGFloat
    @Binding var isSheetVisible: Bool

    var body: some View {
        GeometryReader {
            proxy in
            VStack {
                RoundedRectangle(cornerRadius: 10)
                    .frame(width: 40, height: 5)
                    .foregroundColor(.gray)
                    .padding(.top)
                Text("Sheet Content")
                Spacer()
            }
            .frame(width: proxy.size.width, height: proxy.size.height * 0.7)
            .background(Color.white)
            .cornerRadius(10)
            .shadow(radius: 5)
        }
    }
}

This code creates a CustomSheetView that slides up and down based on the yOffset state variable. The DragGesture handles the swipe interaction, and the withAnimation blocks provide smooth transitions. These code snippets should give you a good starting point for implementing the TabView/sheet effect in your own projects. Remember to adapt the code to your specific needs and design.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Like any coding endeavor, there are potential pitfalls when implementing this effect. Let's explore some common issues and how to steer clear of them. We are going to talk about the common pitfalls and how to avoid them. This will help you troubleshoot and debug your code more effectively. One common issue is the sheet covering the entire screen, hiding the TabView. This usually happens when the sheet's height is not properly constrained or when the ZStack's alignment is not set correctly. To fix this, make sure you're using a GeometryReader to determine the screen's height and set the sheet's height accordingly. Also, ensure that the ZStack's alignment is set to .bottom so that the sheet starts at the bottom of the screen. Another pitfall is the sheet's animation feeling clunky or unresponsive. This can be due to incorrect animation curves or not properly handling the drag gesture's velocity. To smooth out the animation, use SwiftUI's .animation() modifier with a spring or ease-in-out curve. When handling the drag gesture, consider the gesture's velocity to determine whether the sheet should fully open or close. If the velocity is high enough, animate the sheet to its fully open or closed position. Another issue is the TabView becoming unresponsive when the sheet is active. This can happen if the sheet is intercepting touch events meant for the TabView. To prevent this, make sure the sheet's background is not opaque or use the .contentShape() modifier to define the tappable area of the sheet. Also, be mindful of how you're handling gestures. If you're using a DragGesture on the sheet, make sure it's not interfering with the TabView's tab switching behavior. By being aware of these potential pitfalls and following the solutions outlined above, you can ensure a smooth and user-friendly TabView/sheet experience in your app.

Enhancements and Customizations

Now that we've got the basics down, let's explore some ways to enhance and customize this effect. In this section, we'll delve into enhancements and customizations. This is where you can really make the TabView/sheet effect your own. One enhancement is adding a blur effect to the TabView when the sheet is active. This can help focus the user's attention on the sheet's content. You can achieve this by applying a .blur() modifier to the TabView when the sheet is visible. Another customization is adding a parallax effect to the sheet's content. This can create a sense of depth and make the UI more engaging. You can achieve this by offsetting the sheet's content based on the sheet's yOffset. For example, you could move the sheet's title and body content at different rates, creating a parallax effect. Another enhancement is adding a dismiss button to the sheet. This gives the user an explicit way to close the sheet, which can be helpful in some cases. You can add a button to the sheet's header and use a state variable to control the sheet's visibility. Another customization is adding different sheet heights. You could have the sheet open to different heights based on the content being displayed. For example, a sheet with a short amount of content could open to a smaller height than a sheet with a lot of content. You can achieve this by using different yOffset values based on the sheet's content. By exploring these enhancements and customizations, you can create a TabView/sheet effect that is both functional and visually appealing. Remember to experiment and find what works best for your app's design and user experience.

Conclusion: Mastering the TabView/Sheet Effect

So there you have it, folks! We've walked through the process of creating that slick TabView/sheet effect you see in the Find My app on iOS 26. We've covered the technical approach, step-by-step implementation, code snippets, common pitfalls, and even some enhancements and customizations. We really nailed down the TabView/sheet effect. By now, you should have a solid understanding of how to implement this UI pattern in your own SwiftUI projects. Remember, the key is to layer a sheet on top of a TabView while ensuring the TabView remains visible and interactive. Use ZStacks, GeometryReaders, and DragGestures to achieve this effect. Don't be afraid to experiment and customize the effect to fit your app's design. This TabView/sheet effect is a great way to create a seamless and intuitive user experience. It allows users to easily navigate between sections of your app while also accessing additional details or options in a sheet. By mastering this UI pattern, you'll be able to create more engaging and user-friendly apps. So go forth and create some amazing UIs! And as always, happy coding!