Showing What's New Screens using @AppStorage

// Written by Jordan Morgan // Apr 12th, 2025 // Read it in about 2 minutes // RE: SwiftUI

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The “What’s New” or “Release Notes” view are found in iOS apps the world over. Elite Hoops is no exception:

With SwiftUI and @AppStorage, this type of thing requires me to change, quite literally, one character in my codebase when I want to fire it:

private struct AppSettingsKey: EnvironmentKey {
    static var defaultValue: AppSettings { .init() }
}

extension EnvironmentValues {
    var appSettings: AppSettings {
        get { self[AppSettingsKey.self] }
        set { self[AppSettingsKey.self] = newValue }
    }
}

// MARK: App Settings

final class AppSettings: ObservableObject {
    @AppStorage("hasSeenWhatsNewV12") var hasSeenWhatsNew: Bool = false
}

I version my what’s new stuff, so when there is something to show, I simply increment the number:

@AppStorage("hasSeenWhatsNewV12") var hasSeenWhatsNew: Bool = false

// Becomes...

@AppStorage("hasSeenWhatsNewV13") var hasSeenWhatsNew: Bool = false

Since the app storage macro uses UserDefaults under the hood, it’ll recognize this as a new key — which defaults to false:

@main
struct EliteHoopsApp: App {
	private let deepLinker: DeepLinker = .init()

	var body: some Scene {
        WindowGroup {
        	TheViews()
	        	.sheet(item: $deepLinker.sheetLinkedView) { deepLink in
	                switch deepLink {
	                case .whatsNew:
	                    WhatsNewView()
	                default:
	                    EmptyView()
	                }
	            }
        		.environment(\.appSettings, appSettings)
        		.environment(deepLinker)
        		.task {
        			showPostLaunchAnnouncementsIfNeeded()
        		}
        }
    }

    private func showPostLaunchAnnouncementsIfNeeded() {
        guard deepLinker.linkedView == nil else { return }
        
        if !appSettings.needsViewOnboarding &&
            !appSettings.hasSeenWhatsNew &&
            appSettings.numberOfOpens >= 2 {
            appSettings.hasSeenWhatsNew = true
            deepLinker.sheetLinkedView = .whatsNew
        }
    }
}

And that’s it — once the user has:

1. Gone through onboarding.
2. Opened the app more than two times.
3. And has not seen the latest what’s new view, it’ll show.

A lot of developers will point out that nobody really looks at these things. Maybe they’re right, but I love working on it. It’s a dopamine hit that tells me I’ve finished up a big feature — and I tell people about it succintly and interactively.

And there’s no fluff here. Elocution is for the stage. In apps? A well-timed “What’s New” screen does all the talking you need — and SwiftUI can do it one character.

Until next time ✌️