Swift Vs. Objective-C: Which One Is Best For iOS App Development?

With the fastly revolving mobile app development industry, have you also finally made a decision to create an iOS application? If yes, then probably your first question is which is the best language to create an app. While there are a plethora of languages available in the market, Swift and Objective C are tremendously growing languages but still, the battle continues to decide who is the winner.

Objective C is an object-oriented programming language used by Apple since the ’90s but Swift was created by Apple and for Apple in 2014. It introduces newer, easier and simpler ways to create iOS applications. Despite this fact, IT managers and CTOs are still struggling to choose between Objective-C and Swift programming languages.

To shed the clouds of doubts, here we have compared both languages in detail and prepared a complete guide that helps you make a better decision. So let’s identify which is the best language for app development and ensure you better solutions that stand in future for decades. 

Let’s get straight into the comparison…

A Detailed Comparison Between Swift Vs Objective-C 

Basic Understanding: Head To Head Comparison of Objective-C and Swift

Objective C is a compiler-based language that emerged in the 1980s but was later acquired by Apple’s Swift and is considered as the primary programming language for iOS app development. But the fact is, this stable and long-running code has become obsolete to a certain extent. Before you make a decision to hire an iOS app development company, you need to understand that Swift is an open-source programming language. It is simple, easy and clear to understand by the developers. The major difference between Swift and Objective C is, it combines the advantages of two earlier languages C and Smalltalk. It is majorly used for creating an app for OS X and iOS. Whereas Swift is a comparatively new language designed to create apps for iOS operating systems.

Programming Features: Swift Vs Objective-C

Both programming languages offer a wide set of features and aid in iOS app development. But while making a difference between these languages, you need to know Swift has several programming features like Objective C such as safe programming patterns, Syntax and complete access to Cocoa Frameworks. However, here Objective-C is little outshined by supporting the same features as C++ except for STL and include other foundational frameworks. 

Error Handling: Swift Vs Objective C

If there is one thing that most troubles the app developers, that’s only error handling and debugging. But if you choose to hire an iOS app developer who has a good knowledge of Swift or Objective-C then surely you won’t face any performance issues. But the question is who is better at handling errors: Swift or Objective C?

Swift handles the error by using the protocols and avoids the unexpected flow of program control. On the other hand, Objective C uses a more powerful way to handle errors. It has nil that safely handles the errors by safely sending messages to nil objects. 

Language Performance: Swift Vs Objective C

If you noticed, right from the start we are very much concerned about the app performance. So how will you decide which language will ensure you unmatched app performance?

Simple the more stable and mature technology you choose to access, the higher the performance will be. But the performance can be greatly affected by your decision to hire an iPhone app development company. The more skilled and experienced they are, they’ll ensure you better UX, easier refactoring and maintenance of the app by choosing the right technology.

Now let’s compare the languages to know which is stronger to ensure better performance…

As per Apple, Swift is 2.6 times faster than Objective-C. And I can easily put my faith in this statement as it is a new language with the purpose to be swift. 

Even though Objective-C is has a garbage collector, still, it isn’t as efficient as the code written in Swift. 

In addition, simpler syntax and performing type checking at the compiler time makes Swift outperform Objective-C. 

Further, to optimize the memory management Swift employs ARV (Automatic Reference Counting). In addition, Swift supports Dynamic libraries which makes your app performs well. 

Community and Support: Swift Vs Objective C

The outgrown community and proper support of developers can help you understand the needs for successful development. Despite having the support of professionals, it is also worthy to be a part of a community of experts who will stand by your side throughout the development journey. By backing you up with their experience and knowledge, they help you create a perfect solution. So before you go jump into the market to hire an iOS app developer, you need to understand that Objective-C is still supported by Apple and requires a license to access it. On the other hand, Swift is an open-source language that provides detailed documentation. 

However, the major upside of this huge openness is, more people will be involved in the project and more sources of developers are available.

Nevertheless, Objective-C leverages a mature community for over 30 years whereas Swift’s community is at a growing stage.

Language Stability: Swift Vs Objective-C

Surely, a more stable language will ensure better app development environments. However, if coming to the other side, the lack of the latest releases can reduce the chance of being compatible with modern needs. So when there is a Swift Vs Objective-C, who will be the winner?

Let’s see how both of these languages stand on this point…

Objective-C has been existing for over 30 years and the last released its version 2.0, 5 years back in 2016. Surely, it is highly stable but we all know about the bugs we counter while developing an app with Objective-c.

On the contrary, Swift is young and 7+ years old now, but Apple never skipped a chance to update it. Swift 5 was released in 2019. Today iOS app development companies have a 5.2.4 version of Swift that makes it sound a little more unstable than Objective-C. However, they are constantly improving it and making it a perfect language as per the modern needs.

These are the major comparison points of these programming languages, but if you still have a doubt, then you can look for the expert’s consultation.

Summing up

With this detailed comparison guide, here we are not aiming to declare any winner. Both languages are powerful enough to build iOS applications and have their own limitations and benefits. But the choice of programming language is vary depending upon the requirement of your app type. To make it clear, you can hire an iOS app development company. They will help you choose a more appropriate approach to creating an app. And Alcax is a globally recognized leading app development company that can customize your app that perfectly fits your business needs by embracing the right technologies and methodologies. So if you have any doubt or plans of app development in mind, then you are welcome to book a free consultation slot with our experts.