BetterSegmentedControl
A customizable Swift replacement for UISegmentedControl and UISwitch with extensive styling options.
What is BetterSegmentedControl?
BetterSegmentedControl is a Swift-based iOS UI component that serves as an enhanced replacement for Apple's UISegmentedControl and UISwitch. It solves the limitations of native controls by offering extensive customization options for colors, layouts, animations, and segment types. Developers use it to create more visually appealing and functional segmented interfaces in their iOS apps.
iOS developers building apps that require customizable segmented controls or toggle switches, particularly those needing design flexibility beyond Apple's native components.
Developers choose BetterSegmentedControl for its high degree of customization, ease of integration with Interface Builder, and additional features like iPad cursor support and accessibility compliance, which are not fully available in standard UIKit controls.
Overview
An easy to use, customizable replacement for UISegmentedControl & UISwitch.
Use Cases
Best For
- Replacing UISegmentedControl with custom-styled segments
- Creating toggle switches with advanced animation options
- Building interfaces that require icon-based segmented controls
- Developing apps with right-to-left language support
- Designing iPad-optimized apps with cursor interactions
- Implementing accessible UI components in Swift projects
Not Ideal For
- Apps built entirely with SwiftUI that prefer using native SwiftUI components or frameworks
- Projects where app binary size minimization is critical, as adding third-party dependencies can increase size
- Teams requiring cross-platform UI components, since BetterSegmentedControl is iOS-only and UIKit-based
- Simple prototypes or MVPs that only need basic, out-of-the-box segmented controls without advanced customization
Pros & Cons
Pros
Offers a wide range of options for colors, insets, corner radii, and animations, allowing developers to tailor the control precisely to design specifications, as highlighted in the features list.
Can serve as both a segmented control and a switch, reducing the need for multiple components and simplifying UI logic, which extends beyond Apple's native controls.
Supports design in Interface Builder and easy installation via Swift Package Manager or CocoaPods, making it quick to add to projects without complex setup.
Includes built-in accessibility support and right-to-left language compatibility, ensuring the control is usable by a wider audience and meets iOS guidelines.
Cons
Limited to UIKit-based applications, so it cannot be directly used in SwiftUI projects without creating wrapper views, which adds complexity and potential compatibility issues.
While it supports custom segments, implementing highly customized views requires deeper knowledge of the component's API and may involve more code than simpler alternatives.
As a single-component library, it lacks the broader ecosystem and community support of larger UI frameworks, which might limit long-term maintenance or feature additions compared to more comprehensive kits.
Open Source Alternative To
BetterSegmentedControl is an open-source alternative to the following products:
UISwitch is a UIKit control in iOS that provides a graphical toggle switch for selecting between two states, such as on/off.
UISegmentedControl is a UIKit component in iOS that displays a horizontal set of segments, each acting as a button for selecting among different options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
HMSegmentedControlA highly customizable drop-in replacement for UISegmentedControl.
DGRunkeeperSwitchRunkeeper design switch control
TwicketSegmentedControlCustom UISegmentedControl replacement for iOS, written in Swift
SJFluidSegmentedControlA segmented control with custom appearance and interactive animations. Written in Swift 3.0.
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