Anyone in the Portland area who uses #TriMet care to Test Flight my app? It’s a re-write of the currently shipping version of PDX Transit however it is now 100% SwiftUI and uses Swift Data and Swift Concurrency — includes App Shortcuts, Widgets, & a SwiftUI version of PDX Transit for Apple Watch. Also has fun things like on device translations for service alerts and look around in Maps. Unlike the previous version, it has an iPad optimized layout too.
#pdxtransit #portland #publictransit

I had to get CREATIVE on getting the sub sequence of transit stops for a Leg from when you’re supposed to board and then exit.

These iPad Lockscreen #WidgetKit widgets for PDX Transit have been fun to build too! :) There are two: one with shortcuts to the app and another showing your top 4 bookmarks.

Wallpaper from @BasicAppleGuy which is also the default wallpaper included in the original iPad with Retina display.

I ended up adding the large size widget for the single transit stop widget which links you to its service alerts in the app. I’m happy with these.

I learned a lot about using #WidgetKit these past 8 days. I created two types of Widgets for #PDXTransit based on the bookmarks you save in the app Still tweaking the UI though but you get the idea.

Still tinkering with the styling of my #WidgetKit widget for #PDXTransit.

Not quite done yet but this Widget with your bookmarked transit stops for #Trimet is feeling more and more real! It works too!

Now that I have #AppShortcuts complete for #PDXTransit, I’m getting into Widgets with #WidgetKit.

Got a bit more feedback… really enjoying the look of this so far.

My app, #PDXTransit, turns 10 years old this year this August. I wrote it when I moved to Portland back in 2015.

Well, this year for its 10th birthday, I plan to release a complete re-write using the latest technologies from Apple including an iPad-specific user experience.

Here's a sneak peek at what I've been working on the past few years with #SwiftUI, #SwiftConcurrency, and #SwiftData!!!

(and of course it comes with a re-write of its companion app for Apple Watch!)

Some of my favorite features in #PDXTransit
• Shortcut to get arrivals outside of the app
• Shortcut to get service alerts outside of the app
• Look Around capability when looking at arrival times
• Translations in Service Alert details

Here’s my latest build of PDX Transit running on iPadOS with the latest frameworks… TabView, SwiftData, Swift Concurrency, the latest in Navigation Stacks, etc. etc.

If your use case for Swift Data is dead simple, the iCloud Sync stuff just works. I understand Swift Data still has a number of outstanding issues needing to be fixed but seems to be working just fine here.

I’m using it to sync the bookmarked transit stops that show up in the sidebar. This is turning out quite nice I suppose.

For my use case, I can use the new TabView's footer API for an empty state message that additional items will go in the list (bookmarks).

The organization/customization APIs for this are actually pretty nice too. A bit limited (and confusing) to use but they do work and they work well.

There's also a bottom bar modifier that takes views for the new sidebar (TabView). Except it doesn't get a frosted background when content scrolls behind it as you'd expect. :(

Heh... I still think the larger iPads are comically too large...

Coming up on 10 years (in 2025) of PDX Transit for iOS and macOS!!!

Adding Look Around really does add a lot of value to #PDXTransit. It’s not always available but for the majority of the time it is and it’s especially nice when the default camera position is facing the transit stop head-on!

Instead of a button toggle, I think I’ve landed on probably the cleanest solution for Look Around’s previewer. Using a TabView with the “page” style modifier so users can swipe left/right between that and arrival times.

I may need to use TipKit to provide an initial hint that this is swipe-able since the “dot” indicators at the bottom are a tad bit difficult to see.

I've updated the UI for Look Around with a Preview first before launching into Look Around.

I'm thinking I like this better and makes the Arrivals view feel more immersive. I might get rid of the segmented control and have a button in the titlebar of the floating card with an on/off state instead.

Tapping on the preview image launches the user into full screen Look Around.

I've added MapKit's Look Around feature to #PDXTransit's #SwiftUI re-write. Funny how much this simple API can add a lot of value to the app!