If you mean Objective-C code with minimal usage of C functions/structs/etc., then IMO Swift is actually the better systems language. Cf. the just-announced System library.
To me, Swift is a fairly high-level language, and I like that. I cut my teeth on the bare metal, and don't really miss working at that level.
My point was that Swift is better than pure Obj-C for systems programming. Admittedly, that might be a poor comparison, since Obj-C was specifically built to be used alongside C as the systems language.
But yes, I think the ultimate goal is that Swift will be better than C/C++ for systems programming too. It still has a ways to go, and there are a lot of libraries that will need to be written, but I do think it's possible.
https://www.objc.io/issues/18-games/metal/
C++ is used for Metal shaders.