In Interface Builder there are several places where you can seemingly set the style of the status bar. In a drop down you can select between None, Gray, Black and Translucent Black. The status bar on the screen in Interface Builder immediately changes to match your selection. But when you run your application you will notice that the status bar is back to the default gray color. What gives?
If you look closely at the Attributes Inspector Window in Interface Builder you will notice that it says “Simulated Interface Elements” above the drop down for the status bar, and a few other settings. This discrete headline is Apple’s way of telling you that the changes you make here only apply to Interface Builder, and the purpose is to help you visually design your screens. But to actually implement these settings you have to do something else. It took me a while to understand this “hidden” meaning too…
Setting the style of the status bar in code is easy enough. In applicationDidFinishLaunching you can add this line of code:
[application setStatusBarStyle:UIStatusBarStyleBlackOpaque];
When you run the app, the status bar will be a pleasing black color. However, if you look closely at the status bar while the app is launching, you will notice that it briefly turns gray. That is of course not acceptable.
So take out the line of code you just added to your application delegate. And instead add this to your Info.plist file:
<key>UIStatusBarStyle</key> <string>UIStatusBarStyleBlackOpaque</string>
If you prefer to edit/view Info.plist as an XML Property List, it should look like this:
Status bar style = Opaque black style