Advance
A Swift animation library for Apple platforms using physics-based springs and simulations for realistic motion.
What is Advance?
Advance is a Swift animation library for iOS, tvOS, and macOS that uses physics-based simulations, including springs, to power realistic motion in user interfaces. It provides fine-grained control over animations through frame-based updates and supports both timed and simulated transitions. The library solves the problem of creating natural-feeling, interactive animations that respond dynamically to user input.
iOS, tvOS, and macOS developers building applications that require fluid, physics-driven animations for UI elements and interactions. It's particularly useful for those seeking more realistic motion than standard easing curves provide.
Developers choose Advance for its physics-based approach, which enables animations that feel more natural and responsive. Its flexibility in combining timed and simulated animations, along with support for custom types and simulation functions, offers greater control than many built-in animation systems.
Overview
Physics-based animations for iOS, tvOS, and macOS.
Use Cases
Best For
- Creating spring-based animations for UI elements like buttons or views
- Building interactive interfaces with realistic physics responses
- Animating custom value types beyond CGPoint or CGRect
- Smoothly transitioning between different animation types (e.g., timed to spring)
- Implementing gesture-driven animations with velocity preservation
- Developing macOS or tvOS apps with advanced animation needs
Not Ideal For
- Projects targeting iOS 9 or earlier, as Advance requires iOS 10+ and Swift 5.0.
- Teams wanting simple, declarative animations like SwiftUI's .animation() modifier without physics complexity.
- Cross-platform applications needing animations on Android or web, since Advance is exclusive to Apple ecosystems.
- Apps with strict performance budgets on low-end devices, where frame-based updates might cause unnecessary CPU overhead for basic transitions.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Uses configurable spring physics with tension and damping to create fluid, natural animations, as shown in the Spring class examples for realistic motion.
The Animator class allows seamless transitions between timed and simulated animations, preserving velocity for interactive effects, demonstrated in the decay function example.
Via the VectorConvertible protocol, developers can animate any equatable type, with built-in extensions for common types like CGPoint, extending beyond standard UIKit animations.
Updates on every frame via CADisplayLink enable real-time adjustment of animation parameters, providing fine-grained control over simulation states.
Cons
Limited to iOS, tvOS, and macOS, with no native support for SwiftUI or newer frameworks like visionOS, requiring additional bridging work for modern Apple development.
Requires understanding of physics concepts and a more verbose API compared to UIKit's UIView.animate or SwiftUI animations, which can slow down prototyping.
Frame-based animations can increase CPU usage, potentially affecting battery life on mobile devices when many animations run simultaneously, as noted in the reliance on CADisplayLink.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
LottieAn iOS library to natively render After Effects vector animations
SpringA library to simplify iOS animations in Swift.
IBAnimatableDesign and prototype customized UI, interaction, navigation, transition and animation for App Store ready Apps in Interface Builder with IBAnimatable.
ViewAnimatorViewAnimator brings your UI to life with just one line
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