What Mac do I need to develop for iOS?

I'm a PC Windows 7 user. Please don't hate me.

I know very little about Mac, other than they are expensive and I can't afford to buy one new. I want to start developing for iPhone and iTouch as a hobby, and if I get good enough, maybe I can even release one or two! I've used Mac a little, but that was mainly an old G3, and since then everything must have changed (Mac-OS and Windows seem to look more and more alike every release to me).

To do the development I realise I need a Mac, and the SDK. What I don't understand is which Mac.

What kind of Mac would be best to look for second user? I'd prefer a laptop if possible, as space is a premium.

I'm in the UK (if that makes a difference).

 

Hello mate,

Basically any! I use both a MBP 17 and a MBA 13. You just need to download xcode and sign up to the apple developer program.

The most important factor with coding is screen real estate! If you buy a laptop try and get the high res unless you plan to code on an external screen.

When I first got into coding I bought a MBP13 to test the water. It was great except for the 1280x800 res.
Now I either code hooked upto a 24" dell or use my MBP 17 with 1920x1200 resolution. I will on occasion code on the MBA 13 with its 1440x900 screen but even that is a bit cramped.

 

Hi MagicMatt,

Well, the only real requirement you need to devleop for iOS, is the ability to run a compatiable version of XCode (4.2 is the most recent full release). You could probably get away with any Mac that either comes with "Snow Leopard" (OS X 10.6) or Lion (OS X 10.7).

If you get one that does not already have Lion, you can upgrade to it for $29.99 through the Mac App Store (directly from the Mac desktop). Once you have Lion, you can download the latest version of XCode and the necessary SDKs.

Other than that, you will probably want 4 GBs of RAM and plenty of hard drive space available. I have a 13.3" MBP that I love, my only gripes with it are the low screen resolution, but it is sufficient for iOS development (which is one of the reasons I purchased it).

Granted, you can write iOS apps with older versions of OS X, but that will limit you to older versions of XCode, which will prevent you from using all of the latest and greatest iOS features. Good luck!

Rich S.

 

kinda wondering, do you have to pay or have a qualification to download xcode?

or it's free?

 

Hi Mobius1,

If you are running Lion, it is free . I am not 100% sure, but they may charge a small amount if you are running Snow Leopard, and the current version does not run on anything older than Snow Leopard. Either way, you get it from the Mac AppStore. Before the Mac AppStore, you typically got it form the support DVD that comes with the Mac, and then update it via Software Update. Good luck!

Rich S.

 

Xcode is free. But if you want to test your apps on a device or submit your apps to the store you will have to enroll in the developer program and pay $99/year.

 

At the very minimum, you need a mac with an intel processor. This will allow you to run OS X 10.6 and the latest version of XCode (4.2). These are required to get your applications on the store. You'll also need to enroll in the $99/year developer program to submit your apps to the store, as noted above.

It would be better if you could get a mac with a Core 2 Duo processor at minimum. This will allow you to run the latest version of the operating system (10.7) as well as the latest version of Xcode. This will give you a compatibility safety net for the future (looking 1-2 years out, systems running 10.6 may not get the latest version of XCode, and may not be able to submit applications to the app store...)

 

To run apps on my iPhone without the developer program I could as well use a jailbreak, couldn't I ?

 

Yes. It is not extremely straightforward, but you can do it.

 

I have a 3GS with a broken screen... thinking maybe replacing the screen and jailbreaking it. I'd like to test my apps on my iPhone when I make them, but I don't see why I should pay $99/year to run my app on my phone... to distribute my app would be fair enough.

So, any Mac that will run Lion.

Core2Duo, 4Gb RAM, and wind in the right direction.


Thank you!

I think it's time for some eBay shopping... unless anyone has other sites they think may be worth a look!

 

Hi MagicMatt,

Change that slightly to at least a Core2Duo, and you are all set If you find a good deal on a Core iX processor, don't pass it up Good luck!

Rich S.

 

yes- if you find a core i7 quad core in your price range that isn't a scam, don't feel restricted to a core 2 duo

 

Am i the only one that finds the c2d to be pretty much enough togheter with a SSD? i do a lot of video encoding and stuff, and the time it takes is comfortable, sure you can do it faster, but there isn't that much time to save.

I found myself a macbook c2d for about $150.. the one in sign, not with an ssd nor 3GB included though.. hehe..

The Core iX is at least twice the money if not even more than that.. if it's worth the money, i'll let the buyer judge that.. Just saying even for me that is pretty strict with hardware otherwise isn't feeling limited by the hardware.. Or well, 6GB ram would be the only thing i could benefit from as 3GB isn't really enough But that's an easy fix..

 

$150? you got a very good deal, they normally go for several times that.

 

The charger was broken and it's also broken on two spots on the macbook, very minor damage though, which you can hardly see if you don't know about it. So i guess it's a good deal

 

I know not many would agree with me but you can get a 2.3 ghz i5 mac mini for 550 bucks from amazon. you get newest version of mac os and be good to go. well just add an old monitor and your gtg.

 

Hi Michel.K,

I wasn't dissing a C2D, I am just saying that you shouldn't limit yourself to it. If MagicMatt could find a Core iX for not much more money, or even perhaps even cheaper, he should not skip it because it is not a C2D. Personally, I purchase a comptuer with the intent to run it for at least 2 years, and I would not want to invest in a C2D Mac at this point. On the other hand, if you find a good deal..... who can scoff at extra money in your pokcet

Rich S.

 

I understand you and i also agree with you, totally!
I'm just saying, that getting a c2d macbook is enough for most taks even today
It seems like the last couple of years (since c2d was released) the hardware has been pretty much enough for most, i used to upgrade my computer every 6months for the past 10years before that, but since then i can't really see a good reason to buy something that is more expensive, if it isn't for a good deal and or the design(or screen) you are after

A c2d will never be as efficient nor as fast as a Core iX cpu, but it's nothing to not consider depending on the price

I can't actually think of anything that would make it better with a Core iX at the moment, if you're not doing really heavy duty tasks like compiling really big graphical stuff or such that could save you a lot of time and that can actually take advantage of all the power.

C2D togheter with a SSD does wonders, i can assure you that at least It's a lot of performance for a small amount (probably half of what a Core iX system would run) though you wouldn't get a fancy enough design as the newer MacBooks nor a trackpad like it. But still, good enough for many for the money spent


Even though i'm saying all this "", i'm sure i will upgrade to a Core iX macbook pro as soon as i can afford it. For now, they are too expensive (or well, not THAT expensive) but i can't justify the price for one, when i got this for dirt cheap

 

I don't think this is realistic. If he could find a mac pro workstation with 2x 6 core xeon processors for even LESS money, he should consider that too. Unsurprisingly, the pricing does not work this way.

As far as longevity, core 2 duo systems will remain compatible with OS X for much longer than 2 years. I would say 4 years from today MINIMUM.

The Core Duo has just been deprecated with OS X Lion. The last Core Duo systems were sold 5 years ago. The last Core 2 Duo systems were sold 5 months ago.

Deprecation also seems to occur more quickly when there is a design need for it, and more slowly otherwise. With PowerPC for example, they had to maintain 2 significant builds of their operating system, and all applications needed 2 builds to maintain compatibility with all systems. It was sort of a mess, and they dropped PowerPC support pretty quickly (3 years after the last shipping PowerPC macs).

Core Duo also has a compatibility issue that requires 2 operating system builds and 2 application builds for universal compatibility, but these builds are easier to maintain than the PowerPC / x86 builds. Core Duo had a 5 year compatibility run from the time point when the last systems were sold.

Again, the last Core 2 Duo systems were sold 5 months ago, and on top of that, they are compatible with Core i processors in terms of software design- Apple only needs one version of OS X to support all Core 2 / Core i processors.

 

Good point masterchef341 which i forgot to mention!

As the core2duo supports 64bit i can see why they won't get "old" soon enough. It can handle everything an Core iX can pretty much, but well, slower. The question one should ask if it's fast enough or not for the intended use.

The core duo as you say though is now clearly "old" and that's mainly because it's not supporting 64bits processing.

 

Well interesting you say that, as I returned an i3 CPU laptop as I thought it was a poor comparison to my C2D. Benchmarking the CPU alone the i3 was faster, but overall the C2D was smoother, especially if graphics were involved. The i5 on the other hand left them both for dust. Changing my HDD to an SDD undoubtedly gave me a far more responsive and useful machine than changing to an i3 laptop.

But yes, if I see any Mac within budget that is easily stowed away in the cupboard when not in use, I'll nab it.

That 2.3GHz iMac Mini is £510 ($798) here in the UK via Amazon. Sucks doesn't it.