Native all the way, until you need text

A seasoned macOS/iOS developer has publicly detailed the persistent limitations of native SDKs for implementing complex text features, leading many developers to prefer web-based solutions like WebKit and Electron for rich text rendering and interaction.

The developer, with nearly twenty years of experience, attempted to build a simple Markdown-supported chat app using native tools such as SwiftUI, AppKit, and TextKit. Despite initial optimism about performance and native integration, they encountered fundamental design limitations, such as the inability to select entire Markdown documents or stream responses efficiently, which are core to modern chat applications.

Switching between frameworks, including moving to NSTextView and lower-level TextKit 2, did not resolve these issues. The developer reported performance spikes, blinking cells, and difficulty achieving native-like features such as context menus, dictionary lookup, and accessibility. They found that WebKit, despite its caveats, provided a more reliable and performant solution, with excellent typography and built-in support for Markdown rendering and complex interactions.

Why It Matters

This development highlights a critical challenge for developers aiming to create rich, interactive text interfaces on macOS and iOS platforms. The inability of native SDKs to handle modern text interactions efficiently pushes many toward web-based solutions, which may influence future development strategies and platform evolution. For users, this means that many chat and rich text apps are increasingly web-based, even on desktop environments traditionally associated with native development.

Background

Historically, native SDKs like SwiftUI, AppKit, and TextKit have been the foundation for macOS and iOS development. However, as applications demand more complex text interactions—such as streaming responses, Markdown support, and rich formatting—these tools have shown limitations. Developers have long debated the trade-offs between native performance and flexibility versus the ease of use and features offered by web-based frameworks like WebKit and Electron. Recent experiences shared by a veteran developer underscore these ongoing challenges, especially as chat-heavy apps become more prevalent.

“I still cannot make a simple thing work properly: a chat with Markdown & the ability to select a whole message.”

— Anonymous developer

“If you want to build rich text rendering for long-form chats, SwiftUI & Apple’s native SDKs are not helping you. They stop being an advantage & start becoming constraints.”

— Developer’s reflection

What Remains Unclear

It is not yet clear whether Apple plans to address these native SDK limitations in future updates or if new frameworks will emerge to better support complex text interactions natively. The ongoing development of SwiftUI and TextKit remains uncertain in this regard.

What’s Next

Developers may continue to rely on web-based solutions for complex text features, or await improvements in native SDKs. Future updates from Apple could potentially address these issues, but no official roadmap has been announced. Monitoring platform updates and community feedback will be key to understanding the evolving landscape.

Key Questions

Why are native SDKs struggling with complex text rendering?

Native SDKs like SwiftUI and TextKit are designed for simplicity and performance in common UI scenarios. They lack the flexibility needed for streaming, selection, and complex formatting, which are essential for modern chat apps and rich text interfaces.

Are web-based solutions the only way to implement rich text features now?

Many developers find web-based solutions like WebKit and Electron more capable for complex text interactions, as they offer better performance, control, and feature support for modern chat and rich text applications.

Will Apple improve native text handling in the future?

It is uncertain. There are no official announcements about significant native improvements, but community feedback and ongoing development may influence future updates.

What are the trade-offs of using Electron or WebKit instead of native SDKs?

Web-based frameworks can introduce larger app sizes, potential security concerns, and less seamless integration with platform-specific features, but they currently offer superior flexibility and performance for complex text interactions.