SQLite is already a popular API for persistent data storage in iOS apps so the upside for development is obvious. As a programmer you work with a stable, well-documented API that happens to have many good wrappers available in Objective-C, such as FMDB and Encrypted Core Data. All security concerns are cleanly decoupled from application code and managed by the underlying framework.
$ git clone https://github.com/sqlcipher/sqlcipher.git
Select the Build Settings pane. In the search field, type in "Header Search Paths". Double-click on the field under the target column and add the following path: $(PROJECT_DIR)/sqlcipher/src
Start typing "Other Linker Flags" into the search field until the setting appears, double click to edit it, and add the following value: $(BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR)/libsqlcipher.a
Start typing "Other C Flags" into the search field until the setting appears, double click to edit it, and in the pop-up add the following value: -DSQLITE_HAS_CODEC
Expand Target Dependencies and click on the + button at the end of the list. In the browser that opens, select the sqlcipher static library target: