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iOS notes

Compared with the Android shell:

  • Camera work needs a physical iPhone or iPad. The Simulator has no camera Wi-Fi join and no USB camera. For UI work, set ZC_DEMO_AUTOSTART=1 on the Runner scheme and the Simulator boots into a demo live-view session with synthetic frames, camera values and AF boxes (CONTRIBUTING.md). Protocol changes are covered by just test without hardware.
  • Local Network permission (NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription) is required for every path. Bonjour types are declared in NSBonjourServices: _ptp._tcp for cameras and _openzcine-mon._tcp for Share This Feed. A denied permission makes LAN sockets time out; the infrastructure search reports it as its own reason (Camera Wi-Fi).
  • Joining the camera access point. iOS 18 and later use AccessorySetupKit: the system picker lists Nikon Z hotspots by declared SSID prefix, then joinAccessoryHotspot. iOS 17 falls back to NEHotspotConfiguration, which needs the Hotspot Configuration entitlement. Only a setup declared as Camera AP can produce a join prompt. Router, hotspot and cable setups contain no join code at all.
  • Camera permission is used only to read the network name and key from the camera’s Connection wizard screen, and on iPad to read an HDMI capture device.
  • Sockets. PTP-IP runs on two BSD TCP sockets per session (OpenCine Sources/OpenCineNikon/PTPIPTransport.swift). A blocked read cannot be cancelled, so a missed deadline closes the socket and recovery reconnects.
  • USB-C goes through ImageCaptureCore (ICDeviceBrowser, requestSendPTPCommand). ImageCaptureCore owns the USB endpoints and often opens the PTP session itself, and it catalogues the card on attach. The app vetoes its per-item thumbnail and metadata fetches, which dominate the connect delay on a full card. See transport.
  • Initiator identity. The app persists one 16-byte initiator GUID and never replaces it once stored, because the camera keys its pairing profile to it. Camera Wi-Fi keys live in the Keychain.
  • No internet on the camera access point. Frame.io delivery and the RED LUT download offer an internet hop: leave the camera network, finish, then rejoin.
  • Frame.io sign-in uses ASWebAuthenticationSession and needs iOS 17.4. The rest of the app targets iOS 17.0.

See Camera Wi-Fi, iOS app and Troubleshooting.