SwiftLeeds 2026
The SwiftLeeds Talkshow 2026
Today, I’m getting ready to pick up my wife and son at Manchester Airport. I’ve been in Leeds for the last couple of days attending SwiftLeeds 2026. This was my second time, after attending for the first time last year. Once again it was a blast, and although the conference ended two days ago, I’m still reminiscing about it with a big smile. SwiftLeeds doesn’t feel like a conference — it feels like a party by developers, for developers. Everyone is there to have a nice time, to laugh together, but also to learn and teach together. The welcoming atmosphere isn’t just down to our community, but also to Adam Rush and his great team.
There were many great talks this year, but three resonated with me most. First was Claire Sivadier’s talk “Who Let the App Intents Out?” about what is possible with App Intents. It was fun and useful at the same time, with plenty of amusing dog emojis (and I’m not even a dog lover). Claire gave a good overview of App Intents and inspired me to look at how I can integrate them into my app ScaleDiary.
The second inspiring talk was Joe Allen’s talk, “Building an Audience for Your Apps”. Joe showed how you can build an audience in a genuine and unobtrusive way. He also addressed my reservations about collecting email addresses and “spamming” people. After his talk, I felt much more at ease about building a mailing list and will definitely give it a try for the apps that I’m creating. In the end, it’s not only about selling your product to your users, but also about making a connection and improving the product that you put so much love into creating.
Last but certainly not least, the talk by my fellow Dutchie Frank Solleveld blew me away. Actually, I think it blew us all away. Originally, Daniel Jilg was supposed to give a talk in that timeslot, but unfortunately Daniel fell ill. Frank stepped in with only the morning to prepare. He talked frankly about his struggles in becoming an iOS developer and dealing with imposter syndrome. It was a beautiful and personal account of a journey to become an indie developer, and it showed me that while we’re all on different journeys, many of us share similar doubts and fears.
In addition to the talks, SwiftLeeds also hosts drop-in sessions. This year, I had a drop-in session with Rob Swift discussing my app TimeTails. It was an enlightening session that gave me new tools and insights to improve the UI of my app. Some of the changes are already under way, and it shows how valuable human contact and feedback still are. While AI can already help you in many ways, it cannot speak from personal experience, and it certainly can’t replace the connection and enthusiasm of people who share a passion.
And there was plenty of that passion outside the talks too, from the SwiftLeeds Talkshow to singing karaoke together. This year, there were also conflicting emotions at the conference. While there was a lot of enthusiasm about the possibilities of AI, there was also fear and uncertainty about where we’re heading: how these developments will affect our jobs and skills, and what software engineering will look like in the future. Still, the drop-in session makes me hopeful. I hope that if AI ends up doing more of our work, it leaves us more time for what it can’t replace: meeting each other, sharing our passion and, of course, singing karaoke at SwiftLeeds. See you next year!
