Larger search bar in iOS 11? How to opt-into new style?

Question

I noticed that in the App Store app, the UISearchBar they're using is larger. (see attached) — Currently when I compile for iOS 11b9 using Xcode 9b6, it still uses the old style, which is too small and is clipped by the status bar.

Is there some clean way to enable/mimic this larger variant of UISearchBar, while still maintaining backwards compatibility with older iOS versions?

Answer 1

I did find after the iPhone X announcement (and subsequent video additions to the Developer site) that there is a bit of a workaround necessarily: https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/fall2017/201

For iOS 11+ only:

1. Apply the UISearchController to the "navigationItem" not the UIViewController itself. Then set it to be "active" (= true).
2. Ensure this hidesNavigationBarDuringPresentation is true.
3. Monitor the delegate callback to track when it was dismissed, and then remove it from the "navigationItem" until it's needed again.

... Honestly it seems like this was a bit of an afterthought, but it does work and is good enough for now.