Adding Apple frameworks > flutter plugins doc

src/_data/sidenav.yml

@@ -170,6 +170,8 @@
         - title: iOS
           permalink: /development/platform-integration/ios
           children:
+            - title: Leveraging Apple's system libraries
+              permalink: /development/platform-integration/ios/apple-frameworks
             - title: Adding iOS App Clip support
               permalink: /development/platform-integration/ios/ios-app-clip
             - title: C interop

src/development/platform-integration/ios/apple-frameworks.md

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+---
+title: Leveraging Apple's System Libraries
+description: Learn how to apply knowledge of Apple's APIs and frameworks when building Flutter apps.
+---
+
+This document is for iOS developers looking to apply
+their existing knowledge of Apple's APIs within Flutter.
+This includes accessing the device hardware and interacting 
+with specific frameworks like `HealthKit` or `MapKit`.
+
+<!-- Add once SwiftUI PR is merged -->
+<!-- For an overview of how the SwiftUI framework compares to Flutter, 
+see [Learning Flutter as a SwiftUI developer][].  -->
+
+### Flutter plugin overview
+When developing an app with Flutter, you can interact 
+with system libraries using plugins. 
+Plugins are Dart libraries that contain platform-specific code. 
+In the case of an iOS app, 
+the platform code can be written in Objective-C or Swift. 
+
+In your Dart code, you use the plugin's Dart API and 
+behind the scenes the native plugin code will directly call 
+the system library being used. This means that you can write 
+the code to call the Dart API once, 
+and it will work for all the platforms 
+that the plugin has been written for. 
+
+To learn more about plugins see [Using packages][]. 
+This document links out to some commonly used plugins, 
+and their examples, but there are thousands more available on [pub.dev][]. 
+And, if you can't find what you're looking for, you can create your own. 
+
+### Adding a plugin to your project
+When using Apple frameworks within your native project, 
+you usually just need to import it into your Swift or Objective-C file. 
+
+In Flutter, you must first run `flutter pub add package_name` 
+in the terminal, from the root of your project. This adds 
+the dependency to your [`pubspec.yaml`][] file. You can then import 
+the package in your Dart file. 
+
+Occasionally, you may also need to change app settings or 
+initialization logic- which will be explained in the package's 
+"Readme" page on [pub.dev][].
+
+### Accessing the photo library
+In Swift and Objective-C, you use `PhotoKit` and the `PhotosUI` framework
+to access user photos.
+
+In Flutter, you can use the [`image_picker`][] plugin, 
+which supplies an `ImpagePicker` class that is used to 
+display the user's photo library.
+
+### Accessing the camera
+In SwiftUI and UIKit, to allow your app's users to take a photo, 
+you use the `UIImagePickerController` class, 
+with the `.camera` `sourceType`.
+
+In Flutter, to access the camera, 
+you'll use the same [`image_picker`][] plugin that was 
+referenced above. The code will look similar, 
+only now the `source` for `pickImage` is the camera.
+
+### In-app purchases
+In Swift and Objective-c, you use `StoreKit` to 
+offer in-app purchases.
+
+In Flutter, you can support in-app purchases through the 
+Google Play store on Android and the 
+Apple App Store on iOS by using the 
+[`in_app_purchase`][] plugin.
+
+### Payment processing
+In Swift and Objective-C, you use `PassKit` to process 
+Apple Pay payments in your app. 
+
+In Flutter, you can use the [`pay`][] plugin to 
+add Google Pay payments on Android
+ and Apple pay payments on iOS.
+
+### Push notifications
+In Swift and Objective-C, you use the `UserNotifications` 
+framework for pushing user-facing notifications.
+
+In Flutter, you can use the [`firebase_messaging`][] plugin, 
+which uses Firebase Cloud Messaging. 
+
+### Accessing GPS coordinates
+In Swift and Objective-C, you use the `CLLocationManager` class, 
+of the `CoreLocation` framework, 
+to access the user's location. 
+
+In Flutter, to access the user's location, 
+you can use the [`geolocator`][] plugin. 
+
+### Accessing sensor data
+In Swift and Objective-C, you use the `CMMotionManager` class,
+of the `CoreMotion` framework, to access sensor data
+like the accelerometer or the gyroscope.
+
+In Flutter, to read sensor data, 
+you can use the [`sensors_plus`][] plugin.
+
+### Embedding maps
+In Swift and Objective-c, you use `MapKit` to embed 
+Apple Maps within your app. 
+
+In Flutter, you can embed Google Maps using the 
+[`google_maps_flutter`][] plugin. 
+
+### Network requests
+In Swift and Objective-C, to make an HTTP request you use the
+ `URLSession` class.
+
+In Flutter, you can use the [`http`][] package.
+
+### Persisting data
+In SwiftUI, to persist small pieces of data in your application, 
+you would likely use the `@AppStorage` property wrapper.
+
+In Flutter, to utilize the operating system's key-value storage, 
+you can use the [`shared_preferences`][] plugin. 
+
+### Accessing health data
+In Swift and Objective-C, you use the `HealthKit` framework
+to access health and fitness data.
+
+In Flutter, you can use the [`health`][] plugin 
+to access `HealthKit` data.
+
+### Leveraging machine learning
+In Swift and Objective-C, you might use the `CoreML` framework 
+for integrating machine learning models into your app, 
+or `VisionKit` for text recognition.
+
+In Flutter, you can leverage Google's ML Kit with the [`google_ml_kit`][] plugin. 
+This supports various features like text recognition, 
+face detection, image labeling, landmark recognition and barcode scanning.
+Alternatively, you can create a custom model with Firebase. For more information, 
+see [Use a custom TensorFlow Lite model with Flutter][].
+
+### Leveraging speech recognition
+In Swift and Objective-C, you might use the `Speech` framework for performing 
+speech recognition.
+
+In Flutter, you can use the [`speech_to_text`][] plugin, which exposes 
+device specific speech recognition capabilities.
+
+### Leveraging augmented reality 
+In Swift and Objective-C, you might use the `ARKit` framework 
+for creating augmented reality apps. 
+
+In Flutter, you can use the [`ar_flutter_plugin`][]. 
+
+### Accessing weather data
+In Swift and Objective-C, you might use the `WeatherKit` framework 
+for accessing weather conditions and forecasts. 
+
+In Flutter, you can use the [`weather`][] package, 
+which uses the [OpenWeatherMap API]. 
+Alternatively, there are other packages 
+that pull from different weather APIs.
+
+### Accessing and managing contacts
+In Swift and Objective-C, you might use the `Contacts` framework 
+for accessing the user's contacts. 
+
+In Flutter, you can use the [`contacts_service`][] plugin, 
+for accessing and managing contacts.
+
+### Adding quick actions
+In Swift and Objective-C, you use the 
+`UIApplicationShortcutItem` class 
+for defining quick actions. Quick actions 
+expose commonly used functionality on the home screen.
+
+In Flutter, you can use the [`quick_actions`][] plugin.
+
+<!-- [Learning Flutter as a SwiftUI developer]: -->
+[Using packages]: {{ site.url }}/development/packages-and-plugins/using-packages
+[pub.dev]: {{site.pub-pkg}}
+[`shared_preferences`]: {{site.pub-pkg}}/shared_preferences
+[`http`]: {{site.pub-pkg}}/http
+[`sensors_plus`]: {{site.pub-pkg}}/sensors_plus
+[`geolocator`]: {{site.pub-pkg}}/geolocator
+[`image_picker`]: {{site.pub-pkg}}/image_picker
+[`pubspec.yaml`]: {{ site.url }}/development/tools/pubspec
+[`quick_actions`]: {{site.pub-pkg}}/quick_actions
+[`in_app_purchase`]: {{site.pub-pkg}}/in_app_purchase
+[`pay`]: {{site.pub-pkg}}/pay
+[`firebase_messaging`]: {{site.pub-pkg}}/firebase_messaging
+[`google_maps_flutter`]: {{site.pub-pkg}}/google_maps_flutter
+[`google_ml_kit`]: {{site.pub-pkg}}/google_ml_kit
+[Use a custom TensorFlow Lite model with Flutter]: https://firebase.google.com/docs/ml/flutter/use-custom-models
+[`speech_to_text`]: {{site.pub-pkg}}/speech_to_text
+[`ar_flutter_plugin`]: {{site.pub-pkg}}/ar_flutter_plugin
+[`weather`]: {{site.pub-pkg}}/weather
+[`contacts_service`]: {{site.pub-pkg}}/contacts_service
+[`health`]: {{site.pub-pkg}}/health