This presentation announces the official release of LiveView Native version 0.3, a framework for building native mobile and desktop applications using server-side Elixir and Phoenix LiveView. The speaker explains that LiveView Native is not a WebView, but acts as a "native browser," translating server-rendered markup directly into first-class native UI components (like SwiftUI) on a one-to-one basis. This approach allows developers to leverage native platform capabilities and provides immediate support for a wide range of devices within an ecosystem, such as Apple's iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro, all from a single SwiftUI-targeted codebase. The presentation highlights developer experience tools like the "LVN Go" app for Xcode-free development, a multiplayer augmented reality game demo, and a production-ready Slack clone named "Lax." Future plans, including Android support, offline capabilities, and a shared core library built in Rust, are also discussed.
Unveiling LiveView Native: Building Native Apps with Elixir
00:00:29 The Official Release: After three years of development, LiveView Native version 0.3 is officially released and recommended for use.
00:01:15 Core Concept: A Native Browser, Not a WebView: LiveView Native works by rendering server-side markup directly into native UI components (e.g., SwiftUI or Jetpack Compose), rather than embedding a web browser. It maintains a 1-to-1 relationship between markup tags and native UI elements.
00:03:12 Native Styling and Components: Styling is done using the native platform's syntax (e.g., SwiftUI modifiers) within a style attribute. A CSS-like class system using Elixir-based stylesheets provides a familiar and powerful way to manage UI design.
00:09:04 Philosophy: First-Class Native UI: The project deliberately avoids cross-compilation frameworks like Flutter. The goal is to provide a true native user experience by targeting each platform's primary UI framework (SwiftUI for Apple, Jetpack Compose for Android).
00:10:18 Broad Device Support: By targeting SwiftUI, developers can compile apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, Mac OS, and even Apple Vision Pro from a single codebase today. A multiplayer AR game on Vision Pro is demoed to showcase this capability.
00:12:46 Production-Ready Application: A real-world example, "Lax" (a Slack clone), is available in the Apple App Store, demonstrating the framework's capability for building and deploying complex applications.
00:15:53 Enhanced Developer Experience with LVN Go: To simplify development, the "LVN Go" app allows developers to connect to their local server and see changes via live reload without needing to constantly build their project in Xcode.
00:18:35 Future Roadmap: Offline & Android Support: While not yet available, offline support is planned by running a local Elixir node on the device for data synchronization. Android support is under active development but was paused to first solidify the core framework and conventions with the SwiftUI client.
00:20:40 LiveView Native Core in Rust: Key non-UI logic (diffing, DOM management, client lifecycle) is being extracted into a shared Rust library. This will accelerate the development of clients for new platforms like Android and Windows by providing a common, reusable foundation.
00:22:33 Getting Started: Developers can begin learning with interactive Live Books that connect to the LVN Go app, providing a hands-on experience without a complex local setup.