Providing timely updates to users is key to improving their mobile experience, explains Lyft iOS engineer Max Husar, although it will increase development scope and effort. To achieve a balance between flexibility, reliability, and reusability, Lyft engineers used iOS ActivityKit to add dynamic content to their app.
ActivityKit was introduced by Apple with iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 17 to enable sharing live updates from an app using the Dynamic Island available on newer devices or the lock screen on older ones. A cornerstone of ActivityKit are Live Activities, which can be seen as an evolution of notifications in that they allow the user not only to receive up-to-date information or launch an app, but also perform functionality without launching the app through buttons and toggles.
