chore: upgrade to Xcode 26.3 and iOS 26.3

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Setup Xcode
       uses: maxim-lobanov/setup-xcode@60606e260d2fc5762a71e64e74b2174e8ea3c8bd # v1
       with:
-        xcode-version: '26.2'
+        xcode-version: '26.3'
 
     # Cache Homebrew packages
     # Note: Static version key (brew-v1) - increment manually when brew dependencies change
@@ -117,7 +117,17 @@ jobs:
     - name: Setup Xcode
       uses: maxim-lobanov/setup-xcode@60606e260d2fc5762a71e64e74b2174e8ea3c8bd # v1
       with:
-        xcode-version: '26.2'
+        xcode-version: '26.3'
+
+    - name: Install iOS Simulator Runtime
+      run: |
+        echo "Installing iOS simulator runtime..."
+        # Initialize CoreSimulator service before downloading
+        xcrun simctl list runtimes > /dev/null 2>&1 || true
+        sleep 5
+        xcodebuild -downloadPlatform iOS
+        echo "Available iOS simulator runtimes:"
+        xcrun simctl list runtimes | grep iOS
 
     # Cache Homebrew packages
     # Note: Static version key (brew-v1) - increment manually when brew dependencies change
@@ -174,16 +184,16 @@ jobs:
 
     - name: Pre-boot simulator
       run: |
-        echo "Pre-booting simulator..."
-        xcrun simctl boot "iPhone Air" || echo "Simulator already booted or unavailable"
+        chmod +x scripts/boot-simulator.sh
+        ./scripts/boot-simulator.sh "iPhone Air" 30
 
     - name: Build for testing (PulseDev)
       run: |
         echo "Building PulseDev scheme for testing..."
         xcodebuild build-for-testing \
           -project Pulse.xcodeproj \
           -scheme PulseDev \
-          -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.2' \
+          -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=latest' \
           -derivedDataPath ./DerivedData \
           -skipMacroValidation \
           ENABLE_ONLY_ACTIVE_RESOURCES=NO
@@ -194,7 +204,7 @@ jobs:
         xcodebuild build-for-testing \
           -project Pulse.xcodeproj \
           -scheme PulseSnapshotTests \
-          -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.2' \
+          -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=latest' \
           -derivedDataPath ./DerivedData \
           -skipMacroValidation \
           ENABLE_ONLY_ACTIVE_RESOURCES=NO
@@ -237,7 +247,17 @@ jobs:
     - name: Setup Xcode
       uses: maxim-lobanov/setup-xcode@60606e260d2fc5762a71e64e74b2174e8ea3c8bd # v1
       with:
-        xcode-version: '26.2'
+        xcode-version: '26.3'
+
+    - name: Install iOS Simulator Runtime
+      run: |
+        echo "Installing iOS simulator runtime..."
+        # Initialize CoreSimulator service before downloading
+        xcrun simctl list runtimes > /dev/null 2>&1 || true
+        sleep 5
+        xcodebuild -downloadPlatform iOS
+        echo "Available iOS simulator runtimes:"
+        xcrun simctl list runtimes | grep iOS
 
     # Cache Homebrew packages
     # Note: Static version key (brew-v1) - increment manually when brew dependencies change
@@ -280,8 +300,8 @@ jobs:
 
     - name: Pre-boot simulator
       run: |
-        echo "Pre-booting simulator..."
-        xcrun simctl boot "iPhone Air" || echo "Simulator already booted or unavailable"
+        chmod +x scripts/boot-simulator.sh
+        ./scripts/boot-simulator.sh "iPhone Air" 30
 
     - name: Run ${{ matrix.test-name }}
       timeout-minutes: ${{ matrix.timeout }}
@@ -293,7 +313,7 @@ jobs:
           -project Pulse.xcodeproj \
           -scheme ${{ matrix.scheme }} \
           -only-testing:${{ matrix.test-target }} \
-          -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.2' \
+          -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=latest' \
           -derivedDataPath ./DerivedData \
           -resultBundlePath test-results/${{ matrix.artifact-name }}.xcresult \
           -disableAutomaticPackageResolution \

.github/workflows/scheduled-tests.yml

@@ -22,7 +22,17 @@ jobs:
     - name: Setup Xcode
       uses: maxim-lobanov/setup-xcode@60606e260d2fc5762a71e64e74b2174e8ea3c8bd # v1
       with:
-        xcode-version: '26.2'
+        xcode-version: '26.3'
+
+    - name: Install iOS Simulator Runtime
+      run: |
+        echo "Installing iOS simulator runtime..."
+        # Initialize CoreSimulator service before downloading
+        xcrun simctl list runtimes > /dev/null 2>&1 || true
+        sleep 5
+        xcodebuild -downloadPlatform iOS
+        echo "Available iOS simulator runtimes:"
+        xcrun simctl list runtimes | grep iOS
 
     # Cache Homebrew packages
     # Note: Static version key (brew-v1) - increment manually when brew dependencies change
@@ -79,16 +89,16 @@ jobs:
 
     - name: Pre-boot simulator
       run: |
-        echo "Pre-booting simulator..."
-        xcrun simctl boot "iPhone Air" || echo "Simulator already booted or unavailable"
+        chmod +x scripts/boot-simulator.sh
+        ./scripts/boot-simulator.sh "iPhone Air" 30
 
     - name: Build for testing (PulseDev)
       run: |
         echo "Building PulseDev scheme for testing..."
         xcodebuild build-for-testing \
           -project Pulse.xcodeproj \
           -scheme PulseDev \
-          -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.2' \
+          -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=latest' \
           -derivedDataPath ./DerivedData \
           -skipMacroValidation
 
@@ -98,7 +108,7 @@ jobs:
         xcodebuild build-for-testing \
           -project Pulse.xcodeproj \
           -scheme PulseSnapshotTests \
-          -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.2' \
+          -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=latest' \
           -derivedDataPath ./DerivedData \
           -skipMacroValidation
 
@@ -140,7 +150,17 @@ jobs:
     - name: Setup Xcode
       uses: maxim-lobanov/setup-xcode@60606e260d2fc5762a71e64e74b2174e8ea3c8bd # v1
       with:
-        xcode-version: '26.2'
+        xcode-version: '26.3'
+
+    - name: Install iOS Simulator Runtime
+      run: |
+        echo "Installing iOS simulator runtime..."
+        # Initialize CoreSimulator service before downloading
+        xcrun simctl list runtimes > /dev/null 2>&1 || true
+        sleep 5
+        xcodebuild -downloadPlatform iOS
+        echo "Available iOS simulator runtimes:"
+        xcrun simctl list runtimes | grep iOS
 
     # Cache Homebrew packages
     # Note: Static version key (brew-v1) - increment manually when brew dependencies change
@@ -183,8 +203,8 @@ jobs:
 
     - name: Pre-boot simulator
       run: |
-        echo "Pre-booting simulator..."
-        xcrun simctl boot "iPhone Air" || echo "Simulator already booted or unavailable"
+        chmod +x scripts/boot-simulator.sh
+        ./scripts/boot-simulator.sh "iPhone Air" 30
 
     - name: Run ${{ matrix.test-name }}
       timeout-minutes: ${{ matrix.timeout }}
@@ -196,7 +216,7 @@ jobs:
           -project Pulse.xcodeproj \
           -scheme ${{ matrix.scheme }} \
           -only-testing:${{ matrix.test-target }} \
-          -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.2' \
+          -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=latest' \
           -derivedDataPath ./DerivedData \
           -resultBundlePath test-results/${{ matrix.artifact-name }}.xcresult \
           -disableAutomaticPackageResolution \
@@ -451,7 +471,17 @@ jobs:
     - name: Setup Xcode
       uses: maxim-lobanov/setup-xcode@60606e260d2fc5762a71e64e74b2174e8ea3c8bd # v1
       with:
-        xcode-version: '26.2'
+        xcode-version: '26.3'
+
+    - name: Install iOS Simulator Runtime
+      run: |
+        echo "Installing iOS simulator runtime..."
+        # Initialize CoreSimulator service before downloading
+        xcrun simctl list runtimes > /dev/null 2>&1 || true
+        sleep 5
+        xcodebuild -downloadPlatform iOS
+        echo "Available iOS simulator runtimes:"
+        xcrun simctl list runtimes | grep iOS
 
     - name: Cache Homebrew packages
       uses: actions/cache@v4
@@ -653,7 +683,7 @@ jobs:
         xcodebuild build \
           -project Pulse.xcodeproj \
           -scheme PulseDev \
-          -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.2' \
+          -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=latest' \
           -quiet \
           CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO \
           -skipMacroValidation || {

Makefile

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ help:
 	@echo "  build-release     - Build for release"
 	@echo "  lint              - Run SwiftLint and SwiftFormat checks"
 	@echo "  format            - Auto-fix formatting with SwiftFormat"
-	@echo "  test              - Run all tests on iOS 26.2 iPhone Air"
+	@echo "  test              - Run all tests on iOS 26.3.1 iPhone Air"
 	@echo "  test-unit         - Run only unit tests"
 	@echo "  test-ui           - Run only UI tests"
 	@echo "  test-snapshot     - Run only snapshot tests"
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ build:
 	@xcodebuild build \
 		-project Pulse.xcodeproj \
 		-scheme PulseDev \
-		-destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.2' \
+		-destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.3.1' \
 		-configuration Debug \
 		CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO -skipMacroValidation
 
@@ -110,15 +110,15 @@ build-release:
 	@xcodebuild build \
 		-project Pulse.xcodeproj \
 		-scheme PulseProd \
-		-destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.2' \
+		-destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.3.1' \
 		-configuration Release \
 		CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO -skipMacroValidation
 
 # Run all tests
 test:
-	@echo "Running all tests on iOS 26.2 iPhone Air..."
+	@echo "Running all tests on iOS 26.3.1 iPhone Air..."
 	@make clean-packages
-	@if xcodebuild clean test -project Pulse.xcodeproj -scheme PulseDev -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.2' CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO -skipMacroValidation 2>&1 | tee /tmp/test_output.log; then \
+	@if xcodebuild clean test -project Pulse.xcodeproj -scheme PulseDev -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.3.1' CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO -skipMacroValidation 2>&1 | tee /tmp/test_output.log; then \
 		echo "All tests completed successfully!"; \
 		grep -E "(Test run.*passed|Test run.*failed)" /tmp/test_output.log | tail -2; \
 	else \
@@ -132,9 +132,9 @@ test:
 
 # Run tests with coverage and print app target percent
 coverage:
-	@echo "Running tests with coverage on iOS 26.2 iPhone Air..."
+	@echo "Running tests with coverage on iOS 26.3.1 iPhone Air..."
 	@rm -rf build/TestResults.xcresult
-	@xcodebuild clean test -project Pulse.xcodeproj -scheme PulseDev -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.2' -enableCodeCoverage YES -resultBundlePath build/TestResults.xcresult CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO -skipMacroValidation 2>&1 | tee /tmp/coverage_output.log | grep -E '(Testing|Test Suite|Test Case|passed|failed)' || true
+	@xcodebuild clean test -project Pulse.xcodeproj -scheme PulseDev -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.3.1' -enableCodeCoverage YES -resultBundlePath build/TestResults.xcresult CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO -skipMacroValidation 2>&1 | tee /tmp/coverage_output.log | grep -E '(Testing|Test Suite|Test Case|passed|failed)' || true
 	@echo ""
 	@if grep -E "Executed .* tests, with [1-9][0-9]* failures" /tmp/coverage_output.log > /dev/null; then \
 		echo "Tests failed! Coverage report may be incomplete."; \
@@ -170,9 +170,9 @@ coverage-badge:
 
 # Run only unit tests
 test-unit:
-	@echo "Running unit tests on iOS 26.2 iPhone Air..."
+	@echo "Running unit tests on iOS 26.3.1 iPhone Air..."
 	@make clean-packages
-	@if xcodebuild clean test -project Pulse.xcodeproj -scheme PulseDev -only-testing:PulseTests -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.2' CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO -skipMacroValidation 2>&1 | tee /tmp/test_output.log; then \
+	@if xcodebuild clean test -project Pulse.xcodeproj -scheme PulseDev -only-testing:PulseTests -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.3.1' CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO -skipMacroValidation 2>&1 | tee /tmp/test_output.log; then \
 		echo "Unit tests completed successfully!"; \
 		grep -E "(Test run.*passed|Test run.*failed)" /tmp/test_output.log | tail -5; \
 	else \
@@ -186,9 +186,9 @@ test-unit:
 
 # Run only UI tests
 test-ui:
-	@echo "Running UI tests on iOS 26.2 iPhone Air..."
+	@echo "Running UI tests on iOS 26.3.1 iPhone Air..."
 	@make clean-packages
-	@if xcodebuild clean test -project Pulse.xcodeproj -scheme PulseDev -only-testing:PulseUITests -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.2' CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO -skipMacroValidation 2>&1 | tee /tmp/test_output.log; then \
+	@if xcodebuild clean test -project Pulse.xcodeproj -scheme PulseDev -only-testing:PulseUITests -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.3.1' CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO -skipMacroValidation 2>&1 | tee /tmp/test_output.log; then \
 		echo "UI tests completed successfully!"; \
 		grep -E "(Test run.*passed|Test run.*failed)" /tmp/test_output.log | tail -1; \
 	else \
@@ -202,9 +202,9 @@ test-ui:
 
 # Run only snapshot tests
 test-snapshot:
-	@echo "Running snapshot tests on iOS 26.2 iPhone Air..."
+	@echo "Running snapshot tests on iOS 26.3.1 iPhone Air..."
 	@make clean-packages
-	@if xcodebuild clean test -project Pulse.xcodeproj -scheme PulseSnapshotTests -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.2' CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO -skipMacroValidation 2>&1 | tee /tmp/test_output.log; then \
+	@if xcodebuild clean test -project Pulse.xcodeproj -scheme PulseSnapshotTests -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.3.1' CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO -skipMacroValidation 2>&1 | tee /tmp/test_output.log; then \
 		echo "Snapshot tests completed successfully!"; \
 		grep -E "(Test run.*passed|Test run.*failed)" /tmp/test_output.log | tail -1; \
 	else \
@@ -221,15 +221,15 @@ test-debug:
 	@echo "Running unit tests with full verbose output for debugging..."
 	@echo "This will show all test output including passing tests"
 	@make clean-packages
-	@xcodebuild clean test -project Pulse.xcodeproj -scheme PulseDev -only-testing:PulseTests -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.2' CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO -skipMacroValidation 2>&1 | tee /tmp/test_debug.log
+	@xcodebuild clean test -project Pulse.xcodeproj -scheme PulseDev -only-testing:PulseTests -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.3.1' CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO -skipMacroValidation 2>&1 | tee /tmp/test_debug.log
 	@echo ""
 	@echo "Full debug output saved to /tmp/test_debug.log"
 
 # Test deeplink functionality specifically
 deeplink-test:
 	@echo "Testing deeplink functionality..."
 	@make clean-packages
-	@xcodebuild clean test -project Pulse.xcodeproj -scheme PulseDev -only-testing:PulseTests/DeeplinkManagerTests -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.2' CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO -skipMacroValidation
+	@xcodebuild clean test -project Pulse.xcodeproj -scheme PulseDev -only-testing:PulseTests/DeeplinkManagerTests -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone Air,OS=26.3.1' CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO -skipMacroValidation
 	@echo "Deeplink tests completed!"
 
 # Clean generated files

PulseUITests/BaseUITestCase.swift

@@ -54,8 +54,21 @@ class BaseUITestCase: XCTestCase {
 
         app.launch()
 
-        // Launch verification - uses longer timeout as app startup takes time
-        _ = app.wait(for: .runningForeground, timeout: Self.launchTimeout)
+        // If the app didn't reach foreground (e.g., previous instance failed to terminate),
+        // retry with a fresh XCUIApplication instance
+        if !app.wait(for: .runningForeground, timeout: Self.launchTimeout) {
+            app = XCUIApplication()
+            app.launchEnvironment["UI_TESTING"] = "1"
+            app.launchEnvironment["DISABLE_ANIMATIONS"] = "1"
+            app.launchArguments += ["-UIViewAnimationDuration", "0.01"]
+            app.launchArguments += ["-CATransactionAnimationDuration", "0.01"]
+            app.launchArguments += ["-pulse.hasCompletedOnboarding", "YES"]
+            app.launchArguments += ["-AppleLanguages", "(en)"]
+            app.launchArguments += ["-AppleLocale", "en_US"]
+            configureLaunchEnvironment()
+            app.launch()
+            _ = app.wait(for: .runningForeground, timeout: Self.launchTimeout)
+        }
 
         // Wait for UI to stabilize after launch
         // CI cold starts need more time for accessibility services to be ready
@@ -98,10 +111,14 @@ class BaseUITestCase: XCTestCase {
     override func tearDown() {
         defer { app = nil }
         XCUIDevice.shared.orientation = .portrait
-        // Do NOT call app.terminate() — on Xcode 26+ it triggers internal
-        // accessibility snapshot queries that throw uncatchable C++ exceptions,
-        // crashing the test runner. XCTest handles app lifecycle automatically
-        // between tests, so explicit termination is unnecessary.
+        // Terminate the app explicitly to prevent "Failed to terminate" errors
+        // in the next test's setUp when app.launch() tries to kill a lingering instance.
+        // With continueAfterFailure = true, any C++ exception from Xcode 26's
+        // accessibility queries during termination is recorded as a non-fatal issue
+        // rather than crashing the test runner.
+        if let app, app.state != .notRunning {
+            app.terminate()
+        }
     }
 
     // MARK: - Subclass Hooks

PulseUITests/FeedUITests.swift

@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ final class FeedUITests: BaseUITestCase {
         // Look for source articles section
         let sourceArticlesText = app.staticTexts["Source Articles"]
 
-        if sourceArticlesText.waitForExistence(timeout: Self.defaultTimeout) {
+        if safeWaitForExistence(sourceArticlesText, timeout: Self.defaultTimeout) {
             // Tap to expand
             sourceArticlesText.tap()
 
@@ -164,19 +164,22 @@ final class FeedUITests: BaseUITestCase {
             if buttonCount > 0 {
                 // Tap the first available source article
                 let firstButton = chevronButtons.element(boundBy: 0)
-                if firstButton.waitForExistence(timeout: Self.shortTimeout), firstButton.isHittable {
+                if safeWaitForExistence(firstButton, timeout: Self.shortTimeout), firstButton.isHittable {
                     firstButton.tap()
 
                     // Check if we navigated to article detail
                     let backButton = app.buttons["backButton"]
-                    if backButton.waitForExistence(timeout: Self.defaultTimeout) {
+                    if safeWaitForExistence(backButton, timeout: Self.defaultTimeout) {
                         XCTAssertTrue(backButton.exists, "Should navigate to article detail")
 
                         // Navigate back
                         backButton.tap()
 
                         let navTitle = app.navigationBars["Daily Digest"]
-                        XCTAssertTrue(navTitle.waitForExistence(timeout: Self.defaultTimeout), "Should return to Feed")
+                        XCTAssertTrue(
+                            safeWaitForExistence(navTitle, timeout: Self.defaultTimeout),
+                            "Should return to Feed"
+                        )
                     }
                 }
             }