This is the best podcast/conversation I’ve heard regarding storyboards in iOS.

The main complaint regarding storyboards usually comes from developers who haven’t taken the time to learn them. Storyboards do come with a learning barrier, and as programmers we instinctively skew to a POV where learning a GUI is a waste of time. Sometimes it is.

But all developers should learn to suppress their instincts occasionally, because otherwise you inhibit your ability to learn and grow. I learned storyboards when they first came out, and noticed the benefits straight away.

Less boilerplate, everything that is coded in a “constructor” sense, is taken care of in the storyboard. Storyboards force you to apply SOLID principles more…most of these gripes from storyboard conflicts only occur in environments where sloppy coding practices reign supreme.

However, there are of course occasions where you wouldn’t want to favour storyboards (namely if you’re incorporating a different UI framework, or an architecture pattern). Every iOS dev should also build at least 1 app programmatically too, just for the experience and the knowledge gained in UIKit.

The SwiftCraft podcast episode covers all of these points, it’s worth a listen.