Check if an URL has got http:// prefix

NSString * urlString = ...;
NSURL * url = [NSURL URLWithString:urlString];
if (![[url scheme] length])
{
  url = [NSURL URLWithString:[@"http://" stringByAppendingString:urlString]];
}

Better to use the scheme property on the URL object:

extension URL {
    var isHTTPScheme: Bool {
        return scheme?.lowercased().contains("http") == true // or hasPrefix
    }
}

Example usage:

let myURL = URL(string: "https://stackoverflow.com/a/48835119/1032372")!
if myURL.isHTTPScheme {
    // handle, e.g. open in-app browser:            
    present(SFSafariViewController(url: url), animated: true)
} else if UIApplication.shared.canOpenURL(myURL) {
    UIApplication.shared.openURL(myURL)
}

You can use the - (BOOL)hasPrefix:(NSString *)aString method on NSString to see if an NSString containing your URL starts with the http:// prefix, and if not add the prefix.

NSString *myURLString = @"www.google.com";
NSURL *myURL;
if ([myURLString.lowercaseString hasPrefix:@"http://"]) {
    myURL = [NSURL URLWithString:myURLString];
} else {
    myURL = [NSURL URLWithString:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"http://%@",myURLString]];
}

I'm currently away from my mac and can't compile/test this code, but I believe the above should work.