Sample CodeiOS, iPadOS, Mac CatalystReviewed 2026-07-21View on Apple Developer

Enhancing live video by leveraging TrueDepth camera data

At a glance

Item Summary
Purpose Apply your own background to a live capture feed streamed from the front-facing TrueDepth camera.
App architecture A Metal, Swift sample with the source-visible chain AppDelegateCameraViewControllerAVFoundation APIs.
Main patterns View-controller organization, Delegate or data-source callbacks
Project style 4 scanned source file(s) across Metal, Swift, organized around ranked entry, type, and file boundaries.
Execution model Source-visible boundaries: DispatchQueue(label:), DispatchQueue.main.async; none alone proves a background thread.
State/event model Source-visible mechanisms: NotificationCenter.
Key frameworks/packages UIKit, AVFoundation, CoreVideo, Metal, metal_stdlib; these are source dependencies, not architecture labels.

Project structure

Source bundle/
├── TrueDepthBackdrop/
│   ├── AppDelegate.swift
│   ├── CameraViewController.swift
│   ├── PreviewMetalView.swift
│   ├── Shaders/
│   │   └── PassThrough.metal
│   ├── Base.lproj/
│   │   ├── LaunchScreen.storyboard
│   │   └── Main.storyboard
│   └── Info.plist
├── Configuration/
│   └── SampleCode.xcconfig
└── TrueDepthBackdrop.xcodeproj/
    ├── .xcodesamplecode.plist
    └── project.pbxproj

Structure observations

  • Architecturally prominent files are ranked from entry points and role-named declarations; resource-only paths are omitted.
  • Primary languages: Metal, Swift.
  • The verified tree contains 6 project/configuration file(s) and 6 source declaration(s).

Overall architecture

Reference code

TrueDepthBackdrop/AppDelegate.swift:10 — architecture anchor

@UIApplicationMain
class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate {
    var window: UIWindow?
}

Interpretation

The arrows summarize the source-visible entry, role-named types or folders, and framework direction; when nodes come from structural folders, the sequence is a high-level interpretation rather than proof that every adjacent node calls the next. Ownership is claimed only where the next section cites a stored property or assignment. The diagram is intentionally limited to the dominant path into AVFoundation.

Ownership and state

Ownership evidence

TrueDepthBackdrop/AppDelegate.swift:12 — stored dependency or nearest verified ownership anchor

@UIApplicationMain
class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate {
    var window: UIWindow?
}
Owner Object or state Relationship Mutation authority
AppDelegate UIWindow (window) stores or receives App/module collaborators
CameraViewController SessionSetupResult (setupResult) stores or receives Owning lexical scope
CameraViewController AVCaptureSession (session) creates and retains Initialized by the owner; the binding is immutable
CameraViewController DispatchQueue (sessionQueue) creates and retains Initialized by the owner; the binding is immutable

Composition arrows indicate a source-visible construction expression or locally owned value state; aggregation means the owner stores or receives a dependency without proving exclusive lifetime ownership.

Concurrency, scheduling, and thread safety

Evidence limit: actor isolation, async/await, or Task creation does not by itself prove background-thread execution; Sendable conformance alone does not prove thread-safe mutation.

Concern Source mechanism Verified placement or handoff Evidence
Queue scheduling DispatchQueue(label:) The source constructs a dispatch queue; its label alone does not prove a thread. TrueDepthBackdrop/CameraViewController.swift:37
Queue scheduling DispatchQueue.main.async The source addresses the main dispatch queue. TrueDepthBackdrop/CameraViewController.swift:152

@MainActor/MainActor.run, DispatchQueue.main, and RunLoop.main are reported as distinct isolation, queue, and event-loop mechanisms. A plain Task is kept separate from Task.detached; neither is labeled as a background thread.

Reference code

TrueDepthBackdrop/CameraViewController.swift:37 — representative execution boundary

@available(iOS 11.1, *)
class CameraViewController: UIViewController, AVCaptureDataOutputSynchronizerDelegate, UIImagePickerControllerDelegate, UINavigationControllerDelegate {
    // ...
    private let sessionQueue = DispatchQueue(label: "session queue", attributes: [], autoreleaseFrequency: .workItem)
    // ...
}

State propagation, frameworks, and dependencies

Evidence limit: an import proves a source-level compilation dependency at the cited line; it does not prove runtime use, architectural adoption, or whether a Swift package is a direct application dependency.

Category Mechanism or module Verified role Evidence
State propagation NotificationCenter NotificationCenter distributes named process-local events. TrueDepthBackdrop/CameraViewController.swift:239
Source import UIKit The cited file imports this module; runtime use and architectural role are not inferred. TrueDepthBackdrop/AppDelegate.swift:8
Source import AVFoundation The cited file imports this module; runtime use and architectural role are not inferred. TrueDepthBackdrop/CameraViewController.swift:9
Source import CoreVideo The cited file imports this module; runtime use and architectural role are not inferred. TrueDepthBackdrop/CameraViewController.swift:10
Source import Metal The cited file imports this module; runtime use and architectural role are not inferred. TrueDepthBackdrop/PreviewMetalView.swift:8
Source import metal_stdlib The cited file imports this module; runtime use and architectural role are not inferred. TrueDepthBackdrop/Shaders/PassThrough.metal:9
Source import MetalKit The cited file imports this module; runtime use and architectural role are not inferred. TrueDepthBackdrop/PreviewMetalView.swift:9

receive(on:) describes downstream delivery scheduling, while subscribe(on:) describes upstream subscription/request/cancel scheduling. An import Combine alone establishes neither behavior nor a Store, reducer, Redux, or other application architecture.

Class and protocol design

TrueDepthBackdrop/AppDelegate.swift:11 — representative type boundary

@UIApplicationMain
class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate {
    var window: UIWindow?
}
Type Responsibility Depends on or conforms to
AppDelegate Receives callback-driven events UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate
CameraViewController View lifecycle, callbacks, and feature coordination UIViewController, AVCaptureDataOutputSynchronizerDelegate, UIImagePickerControllerDelegate, UINavigationControllerDelegate
PreviewMetalView User-interface presentation and input forwarding MTKView
SessionSetupResult Represents the result of an operation Concrete collaborators/imported frameworks
Rotation Defines a closed set of feature states or choices Int
VertexIO Represents a feature value or composable behavior Concrete collaborators/imported frameworks

No local protocol conformance is claimed as protocol-oriented design; external framework conformances are listed only as dependencies.

Access control

Symbol Access Verified effect Likely rationale
setupResult (TrueDepthBackdrop/CameraViewController.swift:30) private Use is restricted to the lexical declaration and same-file extensions allowed by Swift. Inference: keep state mutation or dependency lifetime inside the owning implementation.
session (TrueDepthBackdrop/CameraViewController.swift:32) private Use is restricted to the lexical declaration and same-file extensions allowed by Swift. Inference: keep state mutation or dependency lifetime inside the owning implementation.
isSessionRunning (TrueDepthBackdrop/CameraViewController.swift:34) private Use is restricted to the lexical declaration and same-file extensions allowed by Swift. Inference: keep state mutation or dependency lifetime inside the owning implementation.
sessionQueue (TrueDepthBackdrop/CameraViewController.swift:37) private Use is restricted to the lexical declaration and same-file extensions allowed by Swift. Inference: keep state mutation or dependency lifetime inside the owning implementation.

Reference code

TrueDepthBackdrop/CameraViewController.swift:30 — representative boundary

@available(iOS 11.1, *)
class CameraViewController: UIViewController, AVCaptureDataOutputSynchronizerDelegate, UIImagePickerControllerDelegate, UINavigationControllerDelegate {
    // ...
    private var setupResult: SessionSetupResult = .success
    // ...
}

Swift declarations without a modifier are internal; explicit private, fileprivate, private(set), public, or open entries above are interpreted by language semantics. Objective-C/C samples instead rely on header and implementation boundaries, which are not equivalent to Swift lexical privacy.

Logic ownership and placement

Logic Owning type or file Placement rationale
View lifecycle, callbacks, and feature coordination CameraViewController The source’s Controller suffix makes this role explicit.
Receives callback-driven events AppDelegate The source’s Delegate suffix makes this role explicit.
User-interface presentation and input forwarding PreviewMetalView The source’s View suffix makes this role explicit.

Design patterns

Pattern Source evidence Purpose or tradeoff
View-controller organization TrueDepthBackdrop/CameraViewController.swift:14 A controller is the verified coordination boundary; this is MVC-style only where a separate model is present.
Delegate or data-source callbacks TrueDepthBackdrop/AppDelegate.swift:11 Callback protocols invert event delivery back into the sample’s owner.

Naming conventions

  • Types: Controller: CameraViewController; Delegate: AppDelegate; View: PreviewMetalView.
  • Protocols: no local protocol declaration in the scanned source.
  • Methods: viewDidLoad, viewWillAppear, viewWillDisappear, didEnterBackground, willEnterForground, viewWillTransition, addObservers, observeValue.
  • Files: TrueDepthBackdrop/AppDelegate.swift, TrueDepthBackdrop/CameraViewController.swift, TrueDepthBackdrop/PreviewMetalView.swift.

Architecture takeaways

  • AppDelegate is the main source-visible entry or composition anchor for this sample.
  • Framework work reaches UIKit, AVFoundation, CoreVideo, Metal through a deliberately small high-level chain; the detailed API graph remains inside the cited implementation files.
  • Stored-property evidence identifies lifecycle collaboration; it does not by itself prove exclusive object ownership.
  • Access-control conclusions separate verified language visibility from the likely design rationale.
  • The source does not justify labeling the design protocol-oriented.

Source map

Source file Relevant symbols
TrueDepthBackdrop/AppDelegate.swift Cited implementation, AppDelegate, UIKit
TrueDepthBackdrop/CameraViewController.swift Cited implementation, CameraViewController, DispatchQueue(label:), DispatchQueue.main.async, NotificationCenter, AVFoundation, CoreVideo, SessionSetupResult
TrueDepthBackdrop/PreviewMetalView.swift Metal, MetalKit, PreviewMetalView, Rotation
TrueDepthBackdrop/Shaders/PassThrough.metal metal_stdlib, VertexIO