My use case is a Repeat Timer app. The user can configure a repeating timer, say: 8 minutes with 3 sets So I would like to configure either 3 alarms (8mins, 16mins, 24mins) or a repeating alarm (8mins every 3 mins) BUT... I would like the first and second alarms to break through but only for 5 seconds for example, and then stop (so the user doesn't need to tap the screen to silence the alarm). I don't think this is possible after reading the API docs, but am asking the question anyway. Thanks for any advice or guidance here, and happy WWDC!

Since the iOS 26.2 update, we have been experiencing anomalous behavior with the DeviceActivityMonitor extension when utilizing the ScreenTime API. Specifically, we are receiving the eventDidReachThreshold event within a few minutes of initiating monitoring, despite configuring a high usage limit. The process of turning off Screen Time -> restarting the device -> turning on Screen Time does not work. Any ideas? Thanks Filed Feedback Assistant: FB21560904

Hi I'm trying to build a screen time app and the Apple docs and APIs really leave something to be desired. I want to block apps on a schedule. That's it. To do this I need my DeviceActivityMonitorExt to know which apps to block. I need to somehow pass a DeviceActivitySelection from the main app into this DeviceActivityMonitorExt. How can I do this?

Hi We have an AppleTV app that is used to continuously display information (digital signage). One of our clients reports that their AppleTV returns to the homescreen by morning. While our recommendation is to setup Mobile Device Management to lock the AppleTV into running only our app, not every client will have the IT knowledge to set this up. So we're trying to figure out possible causes for the app getting closed. We've not received any crash reports, nor does the device give any indication the app crashed. The energy saving settings are set to run continuously without sleep. The client is reporting this happens every night, so it seems unlikely to be caused by tvOS updates. Are there other things I could rule out to find the cause of this issue? Any ideas are welcome, thanks!

From some moment of time, Universal Links stopped working for our app. As per my understanding, application reinstall or update caused system to fetch AASA file from CDN, which started to reply with 404 for our domain (https://app-site-association.cdn-apple.com/a/v1/app.link.digidentity.eu). In the meantime, nothing has changed inside our app or on our BE (https://app.link.digidentity.eu/.well-known/apple-app-site-association). Executing "curl -v https://app-site-association.cdn-apple.com/a/v1/app.link.digidentity.eu" returns following result * IPv6: (none) * IPv4: 17.253.15.197, 17.253.29.202, 17.253.37.203, 17.253.37.208, 17.253.57.197, 17.253.57.208, 17.253.29.196 * Trying 17.253.15.197:443... * Connected to app-site-association.cdn-apple.com (17.253.15.197) port 443 * ALPN: curl offers h2,http/1.1 * (304) (OUT), TLS handshake, Client hello (1): * CAfile: /etc/ssl/cert.pem * CApath: none * (304) (IN), TLS handshake, Server hello (2): * (304) (IN), TLS handshake, Unknown (8): * (304) (IN), TLS handshake, Certificate (11): * (304) (IN), TLS handshake, CERT verify (15): * (304) (IN), TLS handshake, Finished (20): * (304) (OUT), TLS handshake, Finished (20): * SSL connection using TLSv1.3 / AEAD-CHACHA20-POLY1305-SHA256 / [blank] / UNDEF * ALPN: server accepted http/1.1 * Server certificate: * subject: C=US; ST=California; O=Apple Inc.; CN=app-site-association.cdn-apple.com * start date: Jul 7 00:05:26 2025 GMT * expire date: Sep 30 19:08:48 2025 GMT * subjectAltName: host "app-site-association.cdn-apple.com" matched cert's "app-site-association.cdn-apple.com" * issuer: CN=Apple Public Server ECC CA 11 - G1; O=Apple Inc.; ST=California; C=US * SSL certificate verify ok. * using HTTP/1.x > GET /a/v1/app.link.digidentity.eu HTTP/1.1 > Host: app-site-association.cdn-apple.com > User-Agent: curl/8.7.1 > Accept: */* > * Request completely sent off < HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found < Apple-Failure-Details: {"cause":"dial tcp: lookup app.link.digidentity.eu on 10.100.53.53:53: dial tcp 10.100.53.53:53: connect: connection refused"} < Apple-Failure-Reason: SWCERR00302 Network error (temporary) < Apple-From: https://app.link.digidentity.eu/.well-known/apple-app-site-association < Apple-Try-Direct: true < Cache-Control: max-age=3600,public < Content-Length: 10 < Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 < Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2025 10:36:47 GMT < Vary: Accept-Encoding < Expires: Thu, 21 Aug 2025 10:36:57 GMT < Age: 2952 < Via: http/1.1 uklon5-vp-vst-011.ts.apple.com (acdn/1.16221), https/1.1 uklon5-vp-vfe-007.ts.apple.com (acdn/4.16219), http/1.1 defra1-edge-lx-005.ts.apple.com (acdn/260.16276), http/1.1 defra1-edge-bx-006.ts.apple.com (acdn/260.16276) < X-Cache: hit-fresh, hit-stale, hit-fresh, hit-fresh < CDNUUID: e06b4b03-f97d-48f8-97bb-774359a39fa2-4464142837 < Connection: keep-alive < Not Found * Connection #0 to host app-site-association.cdn-apple.com left intact On our end, we did not find any reason why it can be not available for Apple to fetch. Is SWCERR00302 an indication of problem on our end? Any help is appreciated

We have a login flow where the user authenticates in Safari, and at the end of the process the authentication server redirects back to our app using a Universal Link. On most devices, the app opens automatically without any confirmation banner. However, on several iPads, Safari always shows the “Open App A?” banner after the redirect. The user must tap Open every time. Other devices running the same iOS version do not show this issue. Expected Flow (working devices): Start authentication Safari login Authentication server redirects using a Universal Link App A opens automatically Problematic Flow (several iPads): Start authentication Safari login Authentication server redirects using a Universal Link Safari shows “Open App A?” confirmation banner User must tap Open App A starts Questions: Is this a known issue in iOS? Or is this expected behavior under certain conditions (i.e., is there a specific Safari/iOS specification that causes this banner to appear)? Is there any way to prevent Safari from showing the “Open App A?” banner and allow automatic redirection? ＊This issue did not occur on iOS 16, but it started appearing after updating to iOS 17. Devices : iPad 9th Gen/iPad 10th Gen

Our app provides a calendar that integrates with the default calendar app. Specifically, we use iOS EventKit to perform CRUD operations on calendar data. Recently, we have received reports from users that all of their events have disappeared. However, after reviewing our implementation and logs, we have not been able to identify the cause. Some users have also reported that all data in their default calendar app has disappeared as well. Does anyone have any idea what might be causing this? To delete an event within our app, users must press the delete button and then confirm the deletion in a dialog. Additionally, it is not possible to delete more than two events at once. We've seen many people in the community discussing a bug where calendar events disappear after updating to iOS 18. If you have any information about when or why this happens, we'd appreciate it if you could share your insights.

Hi all — I’m building a Wallet-style transaction details view using FinanceKit and I’m running into a gap around merchant location. What I’m seeing FinanceKit gives me great core fields (amount, currency, status, dates, MCC, merchantName, transactionDescription), but I’m not seeing any address or place/location metadata on a Transaction. For example, a small/local merchant where I can plausibly infer a single place: Fetched transaction: Transaction( id: 8D142B16-3E0E-40B8-945A-2E7C0CF65F1D, accountID: 14939CF4-DBC3-4A9D-8292-5FEA495B8461, transactionAmount: 47.24 USD, creditDebitIndicator: .debit, transactionDescription: "Local Dental Care", originalTransactionDescription: "Local Dental Care", merchantCategoryCode: 8021, merchantName: "Local Dental Care", transactionType: .pointOfSale, status: .booked, transactionDate: 2025-08-20 22:27:50 +0000, postedDate: 2025-08-21 11:22:06 +0000 ) Because this appears to be a single-location practice, I can usually resolve it to a place using MapKit search heuristics. But for big-box chains, I don’t get enough signal to determine which store: Fetched transaction: Transaction( id: 3F8E9F74-7565-4D24-9038-8FD709184799, accountID: 14939CF4-DBC3-4A9D-8292-5FEA495B8461, transactionAmount: 441.77 USD, creditDebitIndicator: .debit, transactionDescription: "The Home Depot", originalTransactionDescription: "The Home Depot", merchantCategoryCode: 5200, merchantName: "The Home Depot", transactionType: .pointOfSale, status: .booked, transactionDate: 2023-12-27 23:07:02 +0000, postedDate: 2023-12-29 03:09:41 +0000 ) There’s no store number, address, phone, or any stable identifier. With hundreds of locations, I can’t deterministically choose a map pin or fetch the right brand assets. What I’m trying to achieve I’d like to replicate the Apple Wallet experience: show a small map snapshot and merchant visuals (logo/name that match Apple Maps / the Place Card) on the transaction detail screen. Without a location hint, I have to either: Ask users to pick a store manually, or Make a guess based on a coarse, app-defined region …neither of which feels great. Questions Is there any way in FinanceKit today to access merchant location or a resolvable identifier (e.g., address, city/state, store number, Apple Maps place identifier, network merchant ID/MID, terminal ID, etc.)? If not, can FinanceKit expose additional merchant metadata (even opt-in / privacy-preserving) to enable Wallet-like enrichment? A few examples that would unblock this: merchantAddress (or components: street/city/region/postalCode/country) merchantPhone (often unique per store) merchantIdentifier (stable per physical location, e.g., network merchant ID / store number) mapsPlaceURL or mapsPlaceIdentifier (linkage to the Apple Maps Place Card) brandAssetURL (logo/brand reference similar to what Wallet shows) With even one of the above, I could reliably: Render an accurate map snapshot, Fetch the correct brand assets, and Avoid prompting the user or inferring via fuzzy search. Context / constraints I do not want to (and shouldn’t need to) request or monitor the user’s device location to resolve a merchant’s store location. For small merchants, MapKit text search is often enough. For large chains, I need a store-level identifier. If there’s an existing field or recommended approach I’m missing, I’d love pointers. If not, please consider this a feature request for richer merchant metadata in FinanceKit so developers can build Wallet-quality transaction details. Thanks!

Is there a way to increase the frequency of UWB background ranging?

Hello Apple Developer Support Team, I am the Account Holder of my Apple Developer Program team (Team ID: T2BKUF6E93). My iOS app is using Swift WeatherKit (WeatherService) on device. Although my environment is completely configured, the system WeatherDaemon consistently fails to generate the WeatherKit JWT token. My environment: Team type: Apple Developer Program (paid) Team ID: T2BKUF6E93 Account role: Account Holder Xcode: latest version Device: iPhone (real device) Provisioning Profile: iOS Team Provisioning Profile (auto-managed) Entitlement: com.apple.developer.weatherkit included WeatherKit Key: created successfully (.p8 downloaded) Bundle ID: correct and WeatherKit capability enabled App reinstalled after each configuration change Device rebooted Even after enabling WeatherKit capability and generating a WeatherKit Key, the system still fails to generate JWT: Failed to generate jwt token for: com.apple.weatherkit.authservice Error Domain=WeatherDaemon.WDSJWTAuthenticatorServiceListener.Errors Code=2 "(null)" The error persists across: multiple device restarts full clean/rebuild in Xcode deleting and reinstalling the app pulling the latest provisioning profiles waiting more than several hours for backend propagation What I suspect My WeatherKit entitlement and/or WeatherKit Key may not be fully propagated to the provisioning server or WeatherDaemon backend, even though everything appears correctly configured on the Developer Center. I kindly request the support team to: Verify whether the WeatherKit Entitlement is correctly attached to my app ID and provisioning profile. Verify whether my WeatherKit Key is properly registered and propagated for my team. Check if there are any backend propagation delays or stuck states for my Team ID (T2BKUF6E93). Confirm whether WeatherDaemon has permission to generate JWT for my app. Thank you Please let me know if any logs, screenshots, or provisioning profile identifiers are needed. Thank you for your help! Best regards, Jiangyang

Hi everyone, I’m developing a screen-time and focus app that uses Apple’s Family Controls framework to block distracting apps and reward users through a gamified experience. Apple approved Family Controls (Distribution) for the main app identifier, but they did not approve the required extension target (which implements DeviceActivityMonitor, required for the framework to function). Because of this, I can’t archive or upload the app to TestFlight — and I’ve been stuck in limbo for over 2 months. This is severely delaying my launch. The app works perfectly, but I can’t release it because the extension wasn’t included in the entitlement approval. Has anyone else run into this with Family Controls? Is there any known way to escalate or fast-track approval for additional app IDs or targets? Would really appreciate any help, advice, or hacks. 🙏 Thanks, Enzer

We’re seeing unexpected NFC behavior once our app has 50+ Advanced App Clips created. Expected: Scanning an NFC tag with a URL that is NOT an App Clip invocation should show the standard “Open in Safari” notification. Actual: After we create ~50+ Advanced App Clips, scanning NFC tags for URLs on the same domain that are not associated with App Clips consistently shows “CPSErrorDomain error 2” instead of the Safari prompt.
 QR codes for the same non–App Clip URLs work as expected (shows Safari prompt). Clearing the App Clips “Experience Cache” sometimes helps briefly, but the error returns on consequent scans. Notes: Domain has valid AASA. App Clip invocation URLs work as expected.
 The issue appears tied to the number of Advanced App Clips configured. Below ~50, non–App Clip NFC scans behave correctly; above that, they fail.
 Affected across multiple devices and iOS versions tested. Repro steps: Configure 50+ Advanced App Clips for paths on a single domain.
 Encode a different URL on the same domain that is NOT listed as an App Clip invocation into an NFC tag.
 Scan the NFC tag on iPhone.
 Observe “CPSErrorDomain error 2” instead of the “Open in Safari” notification. Impact: blocks our NFC use case for regular web links once we scale App Clip experiences. Sysdiagnose #: FB20563121

Its possible to add the Declared Age Range entitlement to extensions, in particular I'm looking at a Notification Service Extension. However the DAR requestAgeRange() API takes a view controller as a parameter. Presumably therefore its not possible for a notification service extension to obtain the age range itself directly? Yes the extension can read it from shared groups if the app reads it and set it into the group. However the scenario I'm thinking of is this: App runs and gets the age range. Sets its functionality accordingly. The server sends pushes which are intercepted by the notification service extension, the extension adjusts its functionality based upon what the app wrote to shared groups The user changes the age range setting, but the app doesn't run. The extension keeps receiving pushes but its functionality is now out of sync with the age range as its not able to obtain it directly

anyone has the same problem which is that your device activity extension ain't working even tho all the code work perfectly in the console, I setup it in the right way , tried to make schedule and it did the same exact thing when I tried to create usage threshold. anyone know the reason for this bug? here is my extension code import ManagedSettings import FamilyControls import Foundation import OSLog import UserNotifications class MonitoringExtension: DeviceActivityMonitor { private let defaults = UserDefaults(suiteName: "group.com.William.app") private let logger = Logger(subsystem: "com.William.app", category: "MonitoringExtension") override func eventDidReachThreshold(_ event: DeviceActivityEvent.Name, activity: DeviceActivityName) { let activityRaw = activity.rawValue logger.info("Limite atteinte: \(activityRaw)") scheduleNotification(title: "Limite dépassée", body: "Tu as utilisé trop de temps sur \(activityRaw).") guard let data = defaults?.data(forKey: "\(activityRaw)_selection"), let selection = try? JSONDecoder().decode(FamilyActivitySelection.self, from: data) else { logger.warning("Pas de sélection pour \(activityRaw)") return } let store = ManagedSettingsStore() // ← LE SEUL QUI MARCHE store.shield.applications = selection.applicationTokens if !selection.categoryTokens.isEmpty { store.shield.applicationCategories = .specific(selection.categoryTokens) } logger.info("BLOCAGE ACTIF via ManagedSettingsStore.default") } override func intervalDidEnd(for activity: DeviceActivityName) { super.intervalDidEnd(for: activity) let store = ManagedSettingsStore() store.clearAllSettings() // ← Débloque à minuit logger.info("Restrictions levées à la fin de l'intervalle") } private func scheduleNotification(title: String, body: String) { UNUserNotificationCenter.current().requestAuthorization(options: [.alert, .sound]) { granted, _ in guard granted else { return } let content = UNMutableNotificationContent() content.title = title content.body = body let request = UNNotificationRequest(identifier: UUID().uuidString, content: content, trigger: nil) UNUserNotificationCenter.current().add(request) } } }

At WWDC25 we launched a new type of Lab event for the developer community - Group Labs. A Group Lab is a panel Q&A designed for a large audience of developers. Group Labs are a unique opportunity for the community to submit questions directly to a panel of Apple engineers and designers. Here are the highlights from the WWDC25 Group Lab for watchOS (part 1). 1. I'm really excited about the new design system on all platforms. Liquid Glass is super cool. What do developers need to keep in mind when building for watchOS 26? To adopt the new design system, start with updating your app for watchOS 10 – If you have done so, your app will be mostly ready for watchOS 26. For more information, see Design and build apps for WatchOS 10. You can then look into Liquid Glass specific APIs to fine tune your app. This topic is covered in Adopting Liquid Glass. If you have SwiftUI views using any custom style, make sure they are still legible and fit with the new design system. 2. Something that really stood out to me were updates to the Smart Stack, with the system prioritizing Widgets when they're most relevant. Tell me more about these new opportunities for apps. Workout apps that record workouts using HealthKit may be automatically suggested on the watch face and appear in the Smart Stack without adding a widget. Relevant widgets are a great way to present information related to a date, location, point-of-interest type, sleep schedule, or fitness condition in the Smart Stack when it is relevant. Relevant widgets don't need to display a empty state view when they are not relevant. They are only shown in the Smart Stack when relevant. The watchOS 26 Design ToolKit in the Apple Design Resources includes a set of templates that you can use to layout your widgets. 3. Is the Wrist Flick gesture available to developers in the same way as Double Tap is? The system uses Wrist Flick to dismiss notifications and incoming calls, silence timers and alarms, or return to the watch face. There is no separate API for the Wrist Flick gesture. Apps that are using XCUIAutomation to make sure their user interface behaves as intended can use the XCUIDeviceHandGesture.flick to automate tests that verify that their app responds appropriately to the Wrist Flick gesture. For apps using automated testing, the XCUIDeviceHandGesture.doubleTap can be also be used to automate testing of the app with the Double Tap gesture. See XCUIDevice.perform(handGesture:) 4. Can HRV measurements be triggered on demand via API in watchOS? Guidelines or processes for enabling energy-intensive biometric sampling on development devices for IRB-approved research? You don’t have direct control on the sampling rate in watchOS. You can use HealthKit (HKQuantityTypeIdentifierHeartRateVariabilitySDNN, to be specific) to query the HRV data, once the system has sampled and persisted the data to HealthKit. If that doesn’t help, we suggest that you file a feedback report with your concrete use case for us to investigate. Specific to IRB-approved research using Apple Watch or its companion iPhone, you might want to look at this FAQ and SensorKit to see if they can be of any help. 5. What is the best advice for someone who is new to making a watchOS app that’s been on iOS and iPadOS? You can start with exploring the system experience features on watchOS, such as notifications, controls, and widgets, and getting familiar with the system spaces, like Smart Stack, watch face, and control center. Knowing the watchOS app design principles and practices is important as well. Design and build apps for WatchOS 10 is a great resource for this topic. SwiftUI is an amazing across-platform framework, and you will use it to create your watchOS app. If you're already using it, great! Keep in mind some watch-only constraints. Comparing to iPhone or iPad, Apple Watch has a limited battery and smaller screen size, which significantly impacts how people use your app and how your app works. 6. Was there any extension this year to the 7 day limit on querying Apple Health data on the watch? There is no change on the limit this year. You can get this official limit at runtime using earliestPermittedSampleDate. There are some exceptions, and so don't be surprised if you see some data types are retained longer. The companion iPhone holds the full set of the health data. If you need to access the health data that has been purged from the Apple Watch, consider doing it with your iOS app, and then passing the result to your watchOS app.

At WWDC25 we launched a new type of Lab event for the developer community - Group Labs. A Group Lab is a panel Q&A designed for a large audience of developers. Group Labs are a unique opportunity for the community to submit questions directly to a panel of Apple engineers and designers. Here are the highlights from the WWDC25 Group Lab for watchOS (part 2). 7. For widget (complication) update budgets, is there an overall budget or are scheduled update separate from APNS updates? For context I have a complication that is updated on a fixed schedule (every 20 min), but there can be times of the day that are more "interesting" where pushes make sense. Like timeline updates, the system budgets WidgetKit push notifications and delivers them opportunistically. You can use WidgetKit push notification updates as an addition to timeline updates. For more information, see Updating widgets with WidgetKit push notifications. 8. It seems like the new Control Center widgets can be sourced from either the iPhone or directly on the Watch. Can we control whether a control appears in the watch list, or will it always be a combination of all controls from both sources? iPhone controls will be automatically available on the companion Apple Watch, even if they don’t have an associated watchOS app. When an iPhone control is tapped on the Apple Watch, the action is performed on the iPhone. Controls whose actions foreground the iOS app will not appear on Apple Watch. If a watchOS app has controls, no controls will appear on Apple Watch from the companion iOS app. 9. From UI/UX perspective, what are the current practices for Designing watchOS apps that feels native. The WWDC23 session Design and build apps for WatchOS 10 covers the details of watchOS design principles and how to apply them in your app using SwiftUI. A lot of SwiftUI APIs, such as NavigationSplitView, vertical tab view, list view, and etc, already implement the look and feel native to watchOS. 10. When adopting the new design system on watchOS, it seems like the main place we will use the glass effect is for our buttons in toolbar? Standard buttons in system apps seem to continue to use a flat appearance and full width. We leave the choice to you – You can use the new GlassButtonStyle API or .buttonStyle(.glass) to apply the liquid glass material to buttons. Learn when to use the Liquid Glass styles in Get to know the new design system. 11. Is there any way to gracefully migrate extensions when their bundleIDs have to change? e.g., converting a multi-target watch app to single-target, which drops the .watchkitextension from both the app and WidgetKit ext bundleIDs Updating a watchOS app to single-target is covered in TechNote TN3157: Updating your watchOS project for SwiftUI and WidgetKit. Xcode provides a tool that can do the update automatically, and the technote describes the details about how to use it and how to clean up the project after the automatic update. If there's something that technote doesn't address, please reach out to us on the Developer Forums. 12. What is the status of WatchConnectivity? Is that still the preferred way for iOS + watchOS communications? The Watch Connectivity framework is still supported, and is appropriate for the communication between an watchOS app and its companion iOS app. The systems also provide other APIs for the apps to exchange data. For example, watchOS supports Apple Push Notification service (APNs). If data for your widget changes on your server, your widget can receive a WidgetKit push notification, and update accordingly. That’s the preferred mechanism for widget updates.

I'm developing an IOS time management app, and want to sync data from ios local calendar. How to incrementally synchronize data after full synchronization?

Summary: I'm developing an iOS audio app in Flutter that requires background audio playback for long-form content. Despite having a paid Apple Developer Program account, the "Background Modes" capability does not appear as an option when creating or editing App IDs in the Developer Portal, preventing me from enabling the required com.apple.developer.background-modes entitlement. Technical Details: In the app that I am developing, users expect uninterrupted playback when app is backgrounded or device is locked similar to Audible, Spotify, or other audio apps that continue playing in background The Problem: When building for device testing or App Store submission, Xcode shows: Provisioning profile "iOS Team Provisioning Profile: com.xxxxx-vxxx" doesn't include the com.apple.developer.background-modes entitlement. However, the "Background Modes" capability is completely missing from the Developer Portal when creating or editing any App ID. I cannot enable it because the option simply doesn't exist in the capabilities list. What I've Tried: Multiple browsers/devices: Safari, Chrome, Firefox, incognito mode, different computers Account verification: Confirmed paid Individual Developer Program membership is active New App IDs: Created multiple new App IDs - capability never appears for any of them Documentation review: Followed all Apple documentation for configuring background execution modes Different regions: Tried changing portal language to English (US) Cache clearing: Logged out, cleared cookies, tried different sessions Apple Support Response: Contacted Developer Support (Case #102633509713). Received generic documentation links and was directed to Developer Forums rather than technical escalation. Has anyone else experienced the "Background Modes" capability missing from their Developer Portal? Has anyone successfully used the App Store Connect API to add background-modes when the GUI doesn't show it? What's the proper escalation path when Developer Support provides generic responses instead of technical assistance? Things I have attempted to solve this: audio_service package: Implemented as potential workaround, but still requires the system-level entitlement Manual provisioning profiles: Cannot create profiles with required entitlement if capability isn't enabled on App ID Other perhaps important facts about the environment where I am building the app: macOS Sonoma Xcode 15.x Flutter 3.5.4+ Apple Developer Program (Individual, paid)

In the past I was always able to install every major macOS version on an external drive so that I can test my apps. But now I'm unable to install macOS Tahoe 26 on an external drive. Actually, as far as I'm aware, there are not even official links to macOS 26 installers, but only instructions on how to update to macOS 26 from an existing macOS installation. So I thought I'd install macOS 15 on a separate drive and then update to macOS 26, but whenever I run the macOS 15 installer, tell it to install on the external drive, and reboot after the setup process completes, my MacBook just boots into my main macOS partition as if nothing happened. 3 months ago I somehow managed to install macOS Tahoe beta 1 on an external drive, I don't remember how (but I don't think it was anything crazy); booting into that beta 1 partition and trying to update doesn't work either, as my MacBook again boots into my main macOS partition. I already asked help about the update problem one month ago here, but nobody replied. Could someone at Apple please provide instructions on how one is supposed to install macOS 26 on an external drive (if possible before it becomes available to the public)? Are we supposed to buy a separate Mac for every macOS version that we want to test our apps on?

I'm building a voice-to-text keyboard extension that needs to open the main app briefly for audio recording (since keyboard extensions can't record audio), then return the user to their original app. The flow I'm trying to achieve: User is in WhatsApp (or Messages, Slack, etc.) User taps "Voice" button in my keyboard My main app opens via deep link (myapp://keyboard/dictation) App starts recording App automatically returns user to WhatsApp I cannot find a way to detect which app the keyboard is running inside, or which app opened my main app via the deep link. UIInputViewController.textDocumentProxy - No host app information available UIApplication.OpenURLOptionsKey.sourceApplication in application(_:open:options:) - When opened from a keyboard extension, does this return the host app bundle ID or the keyboard extension bundle ID? Private APIs (for research only, not production): _hostBundleID on UIInputViewController - blocked/returns nil on iOS 18 KVC approaches - all blocked Hardcoded app support - Works but requires maintaining a list of popular apps and showing multiple buttons instead of a single "Voice" button My questions: When a keyboard extension triggers a URL open (via SwiftUI Link or UIApplication.shared.open), what does sourceApplication contain? The host app or the keyboard extension? Is there any supported way for a main app to know which app it was launched from, specifically when that launch originated from a keyboard extension? How do apps like "Wispr Flow" achieve seamless return-to-app with a single voice button? They seem to auto-return to whatever app the user was in. Environment: iOS 18.0+ Xcode 16 SwiftUI keyboard using KeyboardKit Any guidance on the recommended approach would be greatly appreciated. I understand there may be privacy reasons for limiting host app detection, but the UX of requiring users to manually swipe back (or tap app-specific buttons) is significantly worse than automatic return.