BbitbbitBook Dev Log #9 — After a Year Away: Liquid Glass and Version 1.1.0

The Break: February 2025

February 28, 2025, 1:10 PM. Version 1.0.31 shipped. That was the last update for a long time.

Work got busy. Development stopped. SMART LOTTO and 3weeks faced the same situation around the same period. Side projects are the first to be deferred when the primary job demands more.

Why I Came Back

In 2026, there was time again.

I went through the accumulated idea notes. There was a backlog of things I'd wanted to add to BbitbbitBook — enough to fill several updates.

I also reconsidered the possibility of migrating to SwiftUI. The framework had matured significantly since 2023.

SwiftUI Migration Abandoned

After actually attempting it, the scope became clear.

BbitbbitBook had many carefully built UIKit screens — custom image editing, camera integration, complex layouts. Replicating these in SwiftUI was not as straightforward as expected. The more custom the UI, the harder SwiftUI becomes as a direct replacement.

The decision: keep UIKit, improve the UI/UX within it rather than rewriting everything.

The Tab Bar Library Was Dead

When I resumed development and tried to build, something was broken.

The ESTabBarController-swift library I'd been using for the custom tab bar wouldn't compile. The library hadn't been updated in a long time; a newer Swift version had broken compatibility.

This is one of the risks of relying on third-party libraries. They can stop being maintained at any time. When Swift advances, unmaintained libraries break.

I replaced the entire tab bar with Apple's native UITabBarController.

Liquid Glass Design

Rebuilding the tab bar was an opportunity.

Apple had recently introduced Liquid Glass — the design language for iOS 26, featuring glass-like translucent components with light-refracting effects. I applied it to the tab bar and navigation bar.

New design systems carry risk. Existing users might find the change jarring. But returning after over a year of inactivity felt like the right moment for a visible change.

June 7, 2026 — Version 1.1.0

June 7, 2026, 3:48 PM. Version 1.1.0 shipped.

About 16 months since the previous update.

Main changes: full tab bar replacement, Liquid Glass design, UI/UX refinements throughout.

A bigger update followed almost immediately.