A subset of Apple's Swift language designed for embedded use, introduced at WWDC 2024. Removes features that require a Swift runtime (reference counting, classes by default, dynamic dispatch) to produce a no-allocation language suitable for Cortex-M and RISC-V MCUs. Aims to deliver Swift's safety and ergonomics in firmware footprints.
Explore on a side project to evaluate Swift's value-semantic safety story for firmware. Not yet ready for production programs unless there is a specific driver (Apple-silicon target, internal Swift expertise, R&D goal).
One of the most genuinely-novel language stories of 2024-26. Worth tracking closely — Apple's first-party investment makes it far more likely to mature than community-driven niche languages. Conceptually parallels Rust as a memory-safe alternative, but without Rust's borrow-checker model.