SwiftUI vs UIKit in 2025: What Should iOS Developers Use?
It’s 2025 and if you are an iOS developer, you must have asked yourself this question in the past few months – “Should I switch to SwiftUI entirely or stick with UIKit?” To be honest, this isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. Both have advantages and disadvantages, and the decision depends on what kind of apps you’re building and how modern you want your stack to be.
UIKit: Still Powerful, Still Widely Used
Let’s not write UIKit off just yet. Despite the rumors floating around about UIKit deprecation, Apple hasn’t announced any official end-of-life plans for it. UIKit is battle-tested, especially for large, complex apps. If you’re working on a legacy codebase or maintaining enterprise-level apps, UIKit still makes a lot of sense.
It gives you more control, better backward compatibility, and plays nicely with older iOS versions. There’s also a huge pool of devs, Stack Overflow answers, and tutorials to fall back on. So if you’re managing a production app with years of UIKit under the hood, there’s no real pressure to jump ship just yet.
SwiftUI in 2025: Cleaner, Faster, Better
Now, if you’re starting a fresh project or want to build something future-proof, SwiftUI in 2025 is in a totally different league than it was a couple of years ago. Apple has seriously polished it — layout bugs are down, performance is up, and the integration with Combine, async/await, and even Core Data is much smoother now.
The declarative syntax is also super clean. Less boilerplate, fewer lines of code, and easier previews. For indie devs, prototypers, or anyone building apps for iOS 17+, SwiftUI is a joy to work with.
Should You Worry About UIKit Deprecation?
Let’s get real: UIKit won’t vanish overnight. Even though SwiftUI is clearly Apple’s long-term direction, UIKit is deeply embedded in thousands of apps and internal tools. That said, we’re definitely seeing signs of a slow shift — most of Apple’s WWDC 2025 samples leaned heavily on SwiftUI. UIKit updates were minimal.
So no, you don’t have to abandon UIKit. But if you’re planning your skillset for the next 3–5 years? It’s a good idea to get comfortable with SwiftUI now.
So… Which One Should You Learn?
Here is the bottom line:
- If you’re maintaining or upgrading old projects, UIKit is still your go-to.
- If you’re building something new or planning your long-term career, SwiftUI is the future.
- Want the best of both worlds? Learn both. A hybrid approach (SwiftUI + UIKit integration) is already a thing in many production apps.
You don’t need to pick a side. Just know when to use the right tool for the job.
