iOS Question is mac requied for b4i

[jitendra_singh]

hi i am new to b4i , i just want to know that i have windows machine and hosted mac builder service but do not have mac machine and do not have iphone so is there any option to see the result of my code in windows emulator or simulator if any, or in other words is it possible to run my code without mac or iphone.

 

[aeric]

You still need an iPhone or iPad to run the app. The simulator cannot run on Windows.

 

[svanneste]

Hi. It exist some emulator (like smart face, test flight) able to run iOS apps in a browser window or in HyperV. So it depends if you have to check 'advanced' capabilities.

 

[hatzisn]

An iPhone isn't always needed (neither is mac with hosted builder) but an Apple account is needed in order to get the certificates which will be used for signing your app. As for seeing how your app performs you can do it by reading the instructions in the following thread (but I have to tell you that the free tier is just 100 mins per month and you cannot debug but just check the release version of your app).

Get screenshots for all iPhone devices for free and easily for use in appstore

There are though cases where a simulator, such as the one in the previous thread, will not do (f.e. debugging or checking GPS or push notifications) and in these cases the iPhone is a must have. Before buying an iPhone you have to make sure that it is able to run the latest iOS in order for you to check every aspect of your app with up to date operating system (acting differently you might end up with unsupported code due to an upgrade in iOS which will end up in errors and breaks of your app) . Thus you must be looking for at least the iPhone SE of 2016 which if we suppose that Apple supports a device for about 7 years it will have 3 years of "life" more.

 

[Erel]

See the requirements section here: https://www.b4x.com/b4i.html