Native Input Components

Native input components are platform-provided UI elements for collecting user input on iOS and Android. These include UITextField and UITextView on iOS, EditText on Android, along with platform-specific pickers, switches, and selection controls. Design systems must decide whether to use, customize, or replace these native components.

What Are Native Input Components

Native input components are built into iOS and Android SDKs, providing ready-to-use input functionality. These components integrate with platform features including keyboards, dictation, autocorrect, autofill, and accessibility services.

Using native components ensures platform-appropriate behavior. Native text fields trigger native keyboards with appropriate prediction and correction. Native pickers integrate with platform accessibility. Native switches animate and respond like users expect.

Design systems can customize native components through styling or replace them with custom implementations. The choice affects development effort, platform integration depth, and cross-platform consistency.

How Native Input Components Work

iOS native input components include UITextField for single-line input, UITextView for multi-line input, UISwitch for toggles, UIDatePicker for date selection, and UIPickerView for general selection. UIKit and SwiftUI provide these components with configurable appearance.

Native Input Component Overview:

iOS Components:
- UITextField/TextField: Single-line text input
- UITextView/TextEditor: Multi-line text input
- UISwitch/Toggle: Boolean toggle
- UISegmentedControl/Picker: Option selection
- UIDatePicker/DatePicker: Date/time selection
- UIStepper/Stepper: Numeric increment/decrement

Android Components:
- EditText/TextField: Text input
- TextInputLayout: Material Design input wrapper
- Switch/SwitchMaterial: Boolean toggle
- CheckBox: Multiple selection
- RadioButton: Single selection
- Spinner: Dropdown selection
- DatePicker/DatePickerDialog: Date selection

Customization Options:
- Colors and tints
- Fonts and text styles
- Border and background styling
- Custom accessory views
- Animation parameters

Android native components include EditText for text input, TextInputLayout for Material text field styling, Switch for toggles, and various pickers. Jetpack Compose provides modern implementations with composable architecture.

Customization capabilities vary by component. Text field colors, fonts, and backgrounds typically customize easily. Picker appearance customization may be more limited. Some behaviors cannot be modified without replacing the component entirely.

Custom components replace native implementations entirely. Custom text fields handle all input, keyboard, and accessibility themselves. This approach provides maximum control but requires implementing all functionality native components provide free.

Key Considerations

• Native components integrate with platform features automatically
• Custom components require implementing platform integration manually
• Styling customization capabilities vary by component
• Accessibility implementation comes free with native components
• Update compatibility differs between native and custom
• Testing effort increases with custom implementations

Common Questions

When should design systems use custom versus native input components?

Use native when customization achieves design goals. If styling native components achieves the desired appearance and behavior, the effort of custom implementation is unnecessary.

Consider custom when native limitations block requirements. If native picker appearance cannot match design requirements, custom implementation becomes necessary.

Evaluate feature depth. Custom text fields must handle autocorrect, dictation, autofill, and accessibility. Incomplete custom implementations provide worse experiences than styled native components.

Cross-platform consistency requirements may push toward custom. If identical appearance across platforms is required, custom components provide more control than styled native components.

What customization is possible with native components?

Text field customization typically includes background color or image, border style and color, text color and font, placeholder appearance, clear button appearance, and accessory views.

Picker customization varies significantly. iOS wheel picker row appearance can be customized. Android Material pickers have theming options but structural changes are limited.

Switch customization includes on/off colors, thumb appearance on some platforms, and animation timing in some cases.

When customization reaches limits, wrapper components can add visual elements around native components. A custom border view might wrap a native text field, providing visual styling while preserving native input behavior.

How do custom input components maintain platform integration?

Accessibility implementation requires explicit work. Custom components must implement UIAccessibility protocols on iOS and AccessibilityNodeInfo on Android. Labels, hints, traits, and actions must be provided programmatically.

Keyboard integration requires proper first responder management. Custom inputs must request keyboard, respond to keyboard appearance, and handle input correctly.

Autofill requires content type hints. Custom components must indicate content type (email, password, address) for platform autofill to work.

Text selection, dictation, and paste require implementation. Native text components provide these free; custom components must implement them.

Summary

Native input components provide platform-integrated input functionality with varying customization capabilities. Design systems should use styled native components when possible, reserving custom implementations for requirements native components cannot meet. Custom components require implementing platform integration features that native components provide automatically. The decision affects development effort, maintenance burden, and feature completeness.