Is there any advantage at all in Swift if redundant code?

Question

var _name = item["name"] as NSString

VS

var _name: NSString = item["name"] as NSString

Is there any advantage in speed or something behind the scenes in adding the extra : NSString besides readability? If not, why keep it at all?

Answer 1

Is there any advantage in speed or something behind the scenes in adding the extra : NSString besides readability?

No. The compiler infers it anyway. Sometimes the compiler can't infer it, so it's required.

If not, why keep it at all?

Who said you should? Don't.