ios - What is the difference between ObservedObject and StateObject in SwiftUI

Question

If I have an ObservableObject in SwiftUI I can refer to it as an @ObservedObject:

class ViewModel: ObservableObject {
    @Published var someText = "Hello World!"
}

struct ContentView: View {
    @ObservedObject var viewModel = ViewModel()
    
    var body: some View {
        Text(viewModel.someText)
    }
}

Or as a @StateObject:

class ViewModel: ObservableObject {
    @Published var someText = "Hello World!"
}

struct ContentView: View {
    @StateObject var viewModel = ViewModel()

    var body: some View {
        Text(viewModel.someText)
    }
}

But what's the actual difference between the two? Are there any situations where one is better than the other, or they are two completely different things?

Answer 1

@ObservedObject

When a view creates its own @ObservedObject instance it is recreated every time a view is discarded and redrawn:

struct ContentView: View {
  @ObservedObject var viewModel = ViewModel()
}

On the contrary a @State variable will keep its value when a view is redrawn.

@StateObject

A @StateObject is a combination of @ObservedObject and @State - the instance of the ViewModel will be kept and reused even after a view is discarded and redrawn:

struct ContentView: View {
  @StateObject var viewModel = ViewModel()
}

Performance

Although an @ObservedObject can impact the performance if the View is forced to recreate a heavy-weight object often, it should not matter much when the @ObservedObject is not complex.

When to use @ObservedObject

It might appear there is no reason now to use an @ObservedObject, so when should it be used?

You should use @StateObject for any observable properties that you initialize in the view that uses it. If the ObservableObject instance is created externally and passed to the view that uses it mark your property with @ObservedObject.

Note there are too many use-cases possible and sometimes it may be desired to recreate an observable property in your View. In that case it's better to use an @ObservedObject.

Useful links:

• What’s the difference between @StateObject and @ObservedObject?
• What is the @StateObject property wrapper?