Avkit

AVKit

High-level media playback UI built on AVFoundation. Provides system-standard video players, Picture-in-Picture, AirPlay routing, transport controls, and subtitle/caption display. Targets Swift 6.3 / iOS 26+.

Contents

• Setup
• AVPlayerViewController
• SwiftUI VideoPlayer
• Picture-in-Picture
• AirPlay
• Transport Controls and Playback Speed
• Subtitles and Closed Captions
• Common Mistakes
• Review Checklist
• References

Setup

Audio Session Configuration

Playback apps need an audio session category and the matching background mode when they support background audio, AirPlay, or PiP.

1. Enable Background Modes > Audio, AirPlay, and Picture in Picture (the audio value in UIBackgroundModes)
2. Set the audio session category to .playback
3. Defer setActive(true) until playback begins so you do not interrupt other audio prematurely

import AVFoundation

func configureAudioSessionForPlayback() {
    let session = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance()
    do {
        try session.setCategory(.playback, mode: .moviePlayback)
    } catch {
        print("Audio session category failed: \(error)")
    }
}

func activateAudioSessionWhenPlaybackBegins() {
    do {
        try AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setActive(true)
    } catch {
        print("Audio session activation failed: \(error)")
    }
}

Imports

import AVKit          // AVPlayerViewController, VideoPlayer, PiP
import AVFoundation   // AVPlayer, AVPlayerItem, AVAsset

AVPlayerViewController

AVPlayerViewController is the standard UIKit player. It provides system playback controls, PiP, AirPlay, subtitles, and frame analysis out of the box. Do not subclass it.

Basic Presentation (Full Screen)

import AVKit

func presentPlayer(from viewController: UIViewController, url: URL) {
    let player = AVPlayer(url: url)
    let playerVC = AVPlayerViewController()
    playerVC.player = player

    viewController.present(playerVC, animated: true) {
        player.play()
    }
}

Inline (Embedded) Playback

Add AVPlayerViewController as a child view controller for inline playback. Call addChild, add the view with constraints, then call didMove(toParent:).

func embedPlayer(in parent: UIViewController, container: UIView, url: URL) {
    let playerVC = AVPlayerViewController()
    playerVC.player = AVPlayer(url: url)

    parent.addChild(playerVC)
    container.addSubview(playerVC.view)
    playerVC.view.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
    NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
        playerVC.view.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: container.leadingAnchor),
        playerVC.view.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: container.trailingAnchor),
        playerVC.view.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: container.topAnchor),
        playerVC.view.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: container.bottomAnchor)
    ])
    playerVC.didMove(toParent: parent)
}

Key Properties

playerVC.showsPlaybackControls = true                    // Show/hide system controls
playerVC.videoGravity = .resizeAspect                    // .resizeAspectFill to crop
playerVC.entersFullScreenWhenPlaybackBegins = false
playerVC.exitsFullScreenWhenPlaybackEnds = true
playerVC.updatesNowPlayingInfoCenter = true              // Auto-updates MPNowPlayingInfoCenter

Use contentOverlayView to add non-interactive views (watermarks, logos) between the video and transport controls.

Delegate

Adopt AVPlayerViewControllerDelegate to respond to full-screen transitions, PiP lifecycle events, interstitial playback, and media selection changes. Use the transition coordinator's animate(alongsideTransition:completion:) to synchronize your UI with full-screen animations.

Display Readiness

Observe isReadyForDisplay before showing the player to avoid a black flash:

let observation = playerVC.observe(\.isReadyForDisplay) { observed, _ in
    if observed.isReadyForDisplay {
        // Safe to show the player view
    }
}

SwiftUI VideoPlayer

The VideoPlayer SwiftUI view wraps AVKit's playback UI.

Basic Usage

import SwiftUI
import AVKit

struct PlayerView: View {
    @State private var player: AVPlayer?

    var body: some View {
        Group {
            if let player {
                VideoPlayer(player: player)
                    .frame(height: 300)
            } else {
                ProgressView()
            }
        }
        .task {
            let url = URL(string: "https://example.com/video.m3u8")!
            player = AVPlayer(url: url)
        }
    }
}

Video Overlay

Add a SwiftUI overlay above the video content and below the system playback controls. The overlay can be interactive, but it only receives events the system controls do not handle.

VideoPlayer(player: player) {
    VStack {
        Spacer()
        HStack {
            Image("logo")
                .resizable()
                .frame(width: 40, height: 40)
                .padding()
            Spacer()
        }
    }
}

UIKit Hosting for Advanced Control

VideoPlayer does not expose all AVPlayerViewController properties. For PiP configuration, delegate callbacks, or playback speed control, wrap AVPlayerViewController in a UIViewControllerRepresentable. See the full pattern in references/avkit-patterns.md.

Picture-in-Picture

PiP lets users watch video in a floating window while using other apps. AVPlayerViewController supports PiP automatically once the app is configured, the device supports PiP, and the current AVPlayerItem is playable video content in an AVPlayer-compatible format. Audio-only items, unsupported containers/codecs, or items that are not ready to display video can make PiP unavailable even when app and device setup are correct. For custom player UIs, use AVPictureInPictureController directly.

Prerequisites

1. Audio session category set to .playback (see Setup)
2. Background Modes > Audio, AirPlay, and Picture in Picture enabled
3. Ready AVPlayerItem with playable video media, not audio-only content
4. Current playback context allows PiP; for custom players, observe isPictureInPicturePossible

Standard Player PiP

PiP is enabled by default on AVPlayerViewController. Control automatic activation and inline-to-PiP transitions:

let playerVC = AVPlayerViewController()
playerVC.player = player

// PiP enabled by default; set false to disable
playerVC.allowsPictureInPicturePlayback = true

// Auto-start PiP when app backgrounds (for inline/non-fullscreen players)
playerVC.canStartPictureInPictureAutomaticallyFromInline = true

Restoring the UI When PiP Stops

When the user taps the restore button in PiP, implement the delegate method to re-present your player. Call the completion handler with true to signal the system to finish the restore animation.

func playerViewController(
    _ playerViewController: AVPlayerViewController,
    restoreUserInterfaceForPictureInPictureStopWithCompletionHandler completionHandler: @escaping (Bool) -> Void
) {
    // Re-present or re-embed the player view controller
    present(playerViewController, animated: false) {
        completionHandler(true)
    }
}

Custom Player PiP

For custom player UIs, use AVPictureInPictureController with an AVPlayerLayer or sample buffer content source. Check device support before creating PiP UI, then check the controller's isPictureInPicturePossible before starting PiP in the current playback context. See references/avkit-patterns.md for full custom player and sample buffer PiP patterns.