With the introduction of new macOS, 10.14 Mojave, Apple started building iOS-like apps for Macs. Aside from the adaption to the big screen, the apps look and work exactly the way they do on your iPhone or iPad. As of this writing, there are four iOS apps you can use on an updated Mac: Home; News; Voice Memos; Stocks. Jun 03, 2019 Third-party developers will be able to release their iOS apps on the Mac starting this fall. This might seem like a small change, but it requires a ton of radical changes behind the scene.
- Apple will help iOS developers repurpose their apps for MacOS with an updated UIKit that makes it easier to adapt to Mac features not present on iOS apps. These include scroll bars, mouse input.
- Mail is likely the default email app on your Mac, but just in case you have others downloaded, you can set the default reader. Here's how: Launch Mail from your dock or the Finder. Click Mail in the menu bar at the top of the screen. Click Preferences. Click the dropdown next to Default Mail Reader. Click the app you'd like to set as the default.
Update: The post is updated to make it compatible with Xcode 5 and iOS 7.
Update #2: You can now refer to this sample chapter of our Beginning iOS 9 Programming with Swift book to learn what you need to start iOS programming.
So far over 600 6000 readers have signed up the free iOS tutorials. First, thanks for those joining our community. Before we begin to talk about iOS programming, let’s go through the tools you need to build your first app.
1. Get a Mac
How To Build Ios Apps On Mac Computer
Yes, you need a Mac. It’s the basic requirement for iOS development. To develop an iPhone (or iPad) app, you need to first get a Mac with Intel-based processor running on Mac OS X version 10.8 (or up). Probably you still own a PC, the cheapest option is to purchase the Mac Mini. The retail price of the entry model is US$599 (if you purchase via Amazon, the used model starts at US$490). You can pair it with the monitor of your PC. The basic model of Mac mini comes with 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor and 4GB memory. It should be well enough to run the iOS development tool smoothly. Of course, if you have more budget, get the higher model or iMac with better processing power.
2. Register an Apple Developer Account
Don’t mix this up with the paid iOS Developer Program that we’re going to talk about in later section. Everyone can register as an Apple developer for free. By registering the developer account, you’re allowed to download Xcode, access documentation of the iOS SDK and other technical resources such as development videos.
You can go to Apple’s developer website for registration. The registration process is very straightforward. Simply create an Apple ID (if you don’t have) and fill in your personal profile.
Running Ios App On Mac
3. Install Xcode
To start developing iPhone and iPad apps, Xcode is the only tool you need to download. Xcode is an integrated development environment (IDE) provided by Apple. Mac graph drawing apps. Xcode provides everything you need to kick start your app development. It already bundles the latest version of iOS SDK (short for Software Development Kit), a built-in source code editor, graphic user interface (UI) editor, debugging tools and many more. Most importantly, Xcode comes with an iPhone (or iPad) simulator so you can test your app even without the physical devices.
To download Xcode, launch Mac App Store on your Mac. If you’re using the latest version of Mac OS, you should be able to open the Mac App Store from the icon in the dock. In case you can’t find it, you may need to upgrade the Mac OS.
In the Mac App Store, simply search “Xcode” and click “Free” button to download it.
Once you complete the installation process, you’ll find the Xcode folder in the Launchpad.
At the time of this writing, the latest version of Xcode is 5.1.1, which adds the support of iOS 7.1. For the upcoming tutorials, they’ll be based on this version. Even you’ve installed Xcode before, I suggest you to upgrade to the latest version if you’re planning to follow our tutorials.
4. Enroll in iOS Developer Program (Optional)
A common question about developing iOS app is whether you need to enroll in the iOS Developer Program. The short answer is “optional”. As mentioned earlier, Xcode already includes a built-in iPhone and iPad simulator. You can develop and test out your app right on your Mac.
Without joining the iOS Developer Program, however, the simulator is the only mean to run your apps. You can’t deploy and test the app on your device. Needless to say, you’re not permitted to submit your app to App Store. In other words, you can’t sell your app!
The simulator is powerful, however, it doesn’t simulate all features of iPhone. For instance, it doesn’t come with the camera or video capture feature. So if you’re building a camera app, the only way is to test it on a real iOS device. In other words, you have to join the iOS Developer Program!
So should you enroll in the program now? The iOS Developer Program costs US$99 per year. If you’re a new comer and just start exploring iOS development, you can rely on the simulator to test out your app first. You can wait until you have a solid plan to distribute your apps on App Store before enrolling in the program.
That’s all for today. Take some time to register your developer account and install Xcode. Once you’re ready, check out the next post and start to build your first app.
How do i enable in app purchases on my ipad. Got a question? Leave me a comment or ask it at our AppCoda Community Forum.
Apple products are extremely popular choices for blind and low vision users. This is due to Apple’s VoiceOver screen reader program, which is included on all current iPhones, iPads, iPod touch, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Mac computers.
VoiceOver enables the user to interact with the device without the need to see what is on the screen. Apple has provided some information as to how VoiceOver works for the end-user:
iOS: http://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone/
macOS: http://www.apple.com/accessibility/mac/vision
Apple TV: http://www.apple.com/accessibility/tvos
Apple Watch: http://www.apple.com/accessibility/watch
macOS: http://www.apple.com/accessibility/mac/vision
Apple TV: http://www.apple.com/accessibility/tvos
Apple Watch: http://www.apple.com/accessibility/watch
As a developer, there are a number of things that you can do to make your app more accessible to users of VoiceOver. Apple has provided guides for developers on how to make their applications accessible.
iOS: https://developer.apple.com/accessibility/ios/
macOS: https://developer.apple.com/accessibility/macos/
macOS: https://developer.apple.com/accessibility/macos/
Useful Resources
- Google Scanner for A11y (GSCXScanner) - a developer assistant that sits in an iOS app's process scanning it for accessibility issues to catch them before the developer even writes a test for them: https://github.com/google/GSCXScanner
- GTXiLibis an iOS framework developed by Google for accessibility test automation: https://www.google.com/accessibility/blog/post/GTXiLib-announce.html
- Matt Legend Gemmell has written a guide for iOS app developers on how to provide VoiceOver accessibility support for visually impaired users. It includes both technical information and also a discussion on how to approach accessibility, as well as points to be aware of. The guide is at: http://mattgemmell.com/accessibility-for-iphone-and-ipad-apps
- David Ronnqvist has written a number of guides to making iOS apps accessible to VoiceOver users: http://ronnqvi.st
- How to Build Accessible iOS Apps by Donald Burr: notes created from Episode 364 of the NosillaCast Mac Podcast.
- Lysette Chaproniere has created a comprehensive AppleVis Guide for iOS app developers on Taking Your Accessibility from Good to Great.
- Darrell Shandrow Hilliker has created a comprehensive AppleVis Guide for app developers and educators on Teaching and Testing iOS App VoiceOver Accessibility.
- The AppleVis Forum contains a dedicated area for app developers to seek and share information on accessible app development.
Some developers have written online about the experience of making their apps accessible:
- 5 Things We Learned About Developing An iOS Game for Blind Players, by Diana Hughes
- Ilkka Pirttimaa, developer of an iOS app called BlindSquare, discusses in a blog post “why making your apps accessible is just the right thing to do”
Download Ios Apps On Mac
Please use the contact form on this site if you need more information, would like to submit your app for testing and evaluation or know of any additional resources that should be added to this page. Local notes app mac.