I'm going to be working on some iPhone apps so I've been given a golden ticket to buy a Mac. However the golden ticket isn't worth that much, and I'm thinking iMac. What's a good machine for iPhone development? closed Ask Question Asked 11 years. I would suggest going for a maxed out Mac Mini and the best monitor you can fit in your.
I'm an absolute zero when it comes to Apple products but I need a Mac for developing my iPhone app. I plan just to hook it up to my network in my server room and let it run and hopefully never have to touch it unless I need to reboot it. Any suggestions on the minimalist and cheapest Mac I should be looking for that meets Xamarin's requirements? Apr 12, 2017 Is A MacBook Pro Good Enough For iOS Development? My 2013 MacBook Air. Since 2009 I’ve coded more than 50 apps for iOS, Android and the mobile web. Most of those apps, including all apps I’ve. That Good Ol’ 100 Mhz i386 PC. Xcode, iOS, Swift and The MacBook Pro. The State of The MacBook Pro.
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- edited January 2015You're going to have to work on it to use the Simulator and to plug in devices for debugging. The Simulator doesn't run on Windows, it runs on a Mac. You'll have to work on it regularly if you're going to be writing iOS applications, even if you develop with Visual Studio. But to answer your question, a Mac Mini will suffice.
- Accepted AnswerHi @MarkFredrickson,As @rmacias has stated, a Mac Mini is more than adequate for developing Xamarin.iOS apps.Please let me know if you have any other questions.Thanks,Kevin
- edited January 2015Also, for what it's worth, I've bought several refurbished Macs and all of them have been great. Like brand new. It'll save you a few bucks.
- Thanks for the info. I can get a Mac Mini with Lion for $160. If I hook it up to a KVM switch, can I switch between my Windows and the Mac for development or do I need a separate monitor/kb for the Mac?
- XCode 6 doesn't support Lion. You'll need at least Mavericks. If the Mac Mini is capable of running at least Mavericks, you're good, but if not, you'll need a newer Mini.I personally would use a separate monitor and have it side by side with your Windows Monitor. It's easier interacting with the simulator and stepping through code than constantly switching a KVM. At least, it's easier for me. I guess it's preference though.
- If you know which version of the Mini you're looking at, this chart should help you determine the latest OS version it can run.
- I was able to get an iMac (silver 2009) for around $270 on amazon. Works GREAT and supports latest Mac-OS
- @rmacias - thanks for the links. I think Xamarin ought to update this link which is what I was going by.But I thought Lion was Mountain Lion. Didn't realize it was different. Wonder why they didn't call it Cougar instead of Mountain Lion, or named Lion African Lion.That Mac Mini is too old so now I know what to look for I can look around. I'll check Amazon too.
- edited January 2015Yeah, looks like the doc needs to be updated. Under the hood, Xamarin relies on XCode and the Apple Developer tools to build iOS Apps. One thing you'll learn is that Apple is very aggressive when it comes to dropping support for older tools and operating systems. And this happens every year when a new version of iOS or Mac OS comes out. In turn, new versions of XCode are required, thus new versions of Xamarin are needed to support the newer tools. And Apple is very aggressive in dropping support for older operating systems when updating XCode.Good luck with your search! iOS development is a completely different beast, especially if you have a .NET (C#) background, but once you get the hang of it, it's kind of fun actually.
- All,Thanks for point out the issue with the Getting Started guide. I've updated those to bring that up-to-date with the current requirements.Thanks,Kevin
- What about a MacBook Air? A 2009+ runs Yosemite and a 11' wouldn't take up much desk space. Or would a 13' be better?