@Medal: Anatomy of a Production Video Player && Firebase as a Backend

We are looking for hosts and speakers. Please fill out this form if you would like to host or speak at future events.

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Special thanks to Medal for hosting us this month!

Welcome to yet another great evening of learning and networking!
This event will be held both in person and online..

Agenda:
• 6:00 PM - Doors Open. Don't forget your ID!
• 6:30 PM - Welcome
• 6:35 PM - First Talk: Anatomy of a Production Video Player
• 7:05 PM - Community Announcements
• 7:15 PM - Second Talk: Firebase as a Backend for iOS Developers: Building a Real-Time App Without a Backend Team
• 7:45 PM - Networking
• 8:30 PM - Doors close. Regroup at a bar nearby

First Talk Description:
• Anatomy of a Production Video Player
by Boyce Estes

There comes a time in every video feed app's life when it eventually hits a ceiling. Video plays, it works, but it's not quite the seamless playback you want.

This talk takes apart the structure of a production-quality video feed and breaks down each component involved, their limits, and how to optimize them. What do AVURLAsset, AVPlayerItem, AVPlayer, and AVPlayerLayer actually do? What do they cost? How should you prefetch and how deep? And possibly most importantly, how should you measure the state of your player to validate if any of it actually worked?

Boyce Estes has been building in the world of iOS since 2015, in the trenches of start-ups long enough to have done Objective-C to Swift migrations and UIKit to SwiftUI migrations. Boyce got to Medal a little over a year ago and have been working on some of the most interesting problems he has ever helped solve. Boyce loves making seamless, delightful apps, and would love to share some of what he has learned here.

Second Talk Description:
• Firebase as a Backend for iOS Developers: Building a Real-Time App Without a Backend Team
by Artemis Shlesberg

In this talk, Artemis will walk through how he built Mirror, a real-time iOS app, using Firebase as the entire backend — without running his own servers.

We’ll look at how an iOS-first mindset translates into backend decisions, and how Firebase can cover most early-stage backend needs while staying scalable and maintainable.
Topics include:
- Using Realtime Database for low-latency, shared real-time state
- When and why to introduce Firestore alongside RTDB
- Writing Cloud Functions for validation, cleanup, and background logic
- Using Firebase Hosting for lightweight landing pages and invite flows
- Instrumenting product insights with Firebase Analytics
The talk is opinionated and practical, focused on architecture, tradeoffs, and lessons learned — especially for iOS developers who want to move fast without becoming full-time backend engineers. Also, emphasize the modern Swift concurrency approach while working with the Firebase SDK.

Artemis Shlesberg is a senior iOS engineer working at Meta with a background in both computer science and design. He has built and scaled mobile products across fintech and creative industries, working in environments ranging from regulated banking systems to real-time, consumer-facing apps.

Location:
12 W 21ST Street
(between 5th and 6th Avenues)
10th Floor

What you need to bring:
ID

When to arrive:
Doors open at 6:00pm ET
Event will start around 6:30pm ET

Zoom link:
A link to join virtually will be provided on the day of the event.
Note we will start the Meetup around 6:30pm ET

Will food and drinks be provided?
Yes! Thank you Medal!

Call for speakers and hosts:
Please fill out this form if you would like to host or speak at future events.

Code of Conduct:
The iOSoho Meetup is dedicated to providing a safe Meetup experience for everyone, regardless of gender, identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ability, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or religion (or lack thereof). iOSoho Meetup does not tolerate harassment of Meetup participants at any time or in any form. Our Code of Conduct outlines our expectations for all participants.

All communication throughout the Meetup should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any part of the event, including talks, or at the Meetup venue.

Please be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other attendees. Behave professionally and respect the policies of our generous hosting offices. Remember that harassment and sexist, racist, or exclusionary jokes are not appropriate for the Meetup.

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