How to Develop iOS Apps on Windows
In the past many developers have been discouraged from building iOS apps primarily due to the system requirements. The common notion is that if you do not own a Mac Book, you cannot develop iOS apps. The main issue that holds you from iOS app development in Windows was the Xcode, the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) we use to design and develop an iOS app. Xcode is only compatible with Mac OS. However, with advancements in developer tools, it is now certainly possible to develop iOS apps on Windows.
How to Develop iOS Apps on Windows
While there is no standard way offered by Apple to develop iOS apps on Windows, it is certainly not impossible. Various tools (or combination of tools) enable you to develop iOS apps on Windows. A few popular methods are -
- Use Virtualbox and Install Mac OS on Your Windows PC
- Rent a Mac in the cloud and use RDP to access your Mac in the cloud
- Code with a Swift Sandbox
- Build using React Native
- Use the hybrid framework named Xamarin
- Install OS X as a bootable OS to your PC
However, with all the above tools, you are sure to experience delays and lags which can be really frustrating for a developer. Unity is increasingly becoming a popular tool for developers who are interested to develop iOS apps on Windows. Unity is a powerful IDE.
Unity is essentially known as a game development engine that can be used on Android, iOS, Windows, and many other platforms. But its rapid development and powerful features also make it a good choice for building non-gaming apps and to make iOS apps on Windows. Unity's "Cloud Build" feature supports iOS app development on Windows in simple steps.
By registering as an Apple developer and joining the unity cloud build, it is easy to set up, create, and build iOS projects. With a free to use editor for development and distribution, it is possible to completely build iOS on Windows. While installing Unity, don't skip to check "iOS deployment" and your Unity (on Windows) will be ready to build an Xcode project. Next, just assign this Xcode project on a Mac with Xcode installed and you will be ready to compile the project to be run on your iOS device.
If you wanted to start building on iOS and unavailability of a Mac OS was what was stopping you, then these alternatives are exactly what you need. Although these might be a little complicated that directly building on Mac, they are tried and tested alternatives by developers worldwide. In the end, iOS application development is all about familiarizing yourself with Xcode. Once you're comfortable there, you can develop your app with the tools mentioned above, which will help you get started on the right path.
However, before you start iOS app development on Windows, it is extremely important to come up with an iOS app design that you can test and get feedback from users and internal stakeholders. Remember the popular 80-20 rule which says that 80% of your time should be spent on design and only 20% on coding.
Would you interested in iOS development? Click and learn more about the Everything You Need to Know about iOS Development.
The Best Tool for iOS App Design
Undoubtedly, it is extremely important to choose a high-quality industry standard tool for designing an iOS app. Wondershare Mockitt is your perfect choice. This fully cloud based tool, enables you to create wireframes and interactive prototypes with build-in widgets and templates. The design community has lauded this tool as an extremely designer friendly tool as it enables you to simply drag and drop widgets and icons and create a full-fledged prototype within minutes.
You can select elements from the Toolbar and the Libraries palette and place them onto the canvas to design your prototype easily and rapidly. You can arrange and connect components as you desire. Once your design is ready, it is likely that you will want to share it with your team to iterate further. Mockitt enables you to preview your prototypes on any device and share your prototypes with anyone or specific people with a single click. Of course, you can control the visibility of the project by managing the permissions.
As you or your development team sets out to develop iOS apps on Windows, they will continually refer to the design. Things can quickly get out of hand when a developer is expected to code by just looking at the design. Mockitt allows you to optimize the collaborative efforts of your design and development teams through Mockitt's browser-based inspect and export tools. Developers can easily generate the exact specifications and say good bye to interpretation based disconnects. Developers can obtain the required design resources such as annotations and cutting diagrams through Mockitt link and start programming.
Mockitt is an all-in-one prototyping tool that can meet the requirements of product managers, designers, and developers in product design and team collaboration. There is no need to purchase multiple tools to switch back and forth.
Mockitt has been established for several years now. It has been deeply involved in the field of product design collaboration and has served many well-known companies. The strong community also regularly contributes to the libraries of this tool. All of this makes the tool a preferred design utility. The number of users has now reached 1.9 million all over the world, which speaks volumes about the credibility of the tool as well.
