Developers can start building apps today and first system ships by year’s end, beginning a two-year transition

‎Download apps by Apple, including TestFlight, Walkie-Talkie, Apple Store and many more. Click the Start button. App Signer will now sign the app with your Apple ID and also convert it to an IPA file, so that Xcode can install it. Connect your iOS device to your Mac or Windows PC via a USB cable. Go back to Xcode and click Window Devices.

Cupertino, California — In a historic day for the Mac, Apple today announced it will transition the Mac to its world-class custom silicon to deliver industry-leading performance and powerful new technologies. Developers can now get started updating their apps to take advantage of the advanced capabilities of Apple silicon in the Mac. This transition will also establish a common architecture across all Apple products, making it far easier for developers to write and optimize their apps for the entire ecosystem.

Apple today also introduced macOS Big Sur, the next major release of macOS, which delivers its biggest update in more than a decade and includes technologies that will ensure a smooth and seamless transition to Apple silicon. Developers can easily convert their existing apps to run on Apple silicon, taking advantage of its powerful technologies and performance. And for the first time, developers can make their iOS and iPadOS apps available on the Mac without any modifications.

To help developers get started with Apple silicon, Apple is also launching the Universal App Quick Start Program, which provides access to documentation, forums support, beta versions of macOS Big Sur and Xcode 12, and the limited use of a Developer Transition Kit (DTK), a Mac development system based on Apple’s A12Z Bionic System on a Chip (SoC).

Apple plans to ship the first Mac with Apple silicon by the end of the year and complete the transition in about two years. Apple will continue to support and release new versions of macOS for Intel-based Macs for years to come, and has exciting new Intel-based Macs in development. The transition to Apple silicon represents the biggest leap ever for the Mac.

“From the beginning, the Mac has always embraced big changes to stay at the forefront of personal computing. Today we’re announcing our transition to Apple silicon, making this a historic day for the Mac,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “With its powerful features and industry-leading performance, Apple silicon will make the Mac stronger and more capable than ever. I’ve never been more excited about the future of the Mac.”

Family of Mac SoCs to Deliver Powerful New Features and Best-in-Class Performance

For over a decade, Apple’s world-class silicon design team has been building and refining Apple SoCs. The result is a scalable architecture custom designed for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch that leads the industry in unique features and performance per watt, and makes each of them best in class. Building upon this architecture, Apple is designing a family of SoCs for the Mac. This will give the Mac industry-leading performance per watt and higher performance GPUs — enabling app developers to write even more powerful pro apps and high-end games. And access to technologies such as the Neural Engine will make the Mac an amazing platform for developers to use machine learning. This will also create a common architecture across all Apple products, making it far easier for developers to write and optimize software for the entire Apple ecosystem.

macOS Big Sur Enables Transition to Apple Silicon

In macOS Big Sur, Apple is offering a range of technologies to make the transition to Apple silicon smooth and seamless. With everything built into Xcode 12, such as native compilers, editors, and debugging tools, most developers will be able to get their apps running in a matter of days. Using Universal 2 application binaries, developers will be able to easily create a single app that taps into the native power and performance of the new Macs with Apple silicon, while still supporting Intel-based Macs. With the translation technology of Rosetta 2, users will be able to run existing Mac apps that have not yet been updated, including those with plug-ins. Virtualization technology allows users to run Linux. Developers can also make their iOS and iPadOS apps available on the Mac without any modifications.

Quick Start Program Lets Developers Get Started Today

Apple Developer Program members can start moving their apps to Apple silicon today by applying for the Universal App Quick Start Program. The program provides access to documentation, forums support, beta versions of macOS Big Sur and Xcode 12, and includes the limited use of a DTK, which will enable developers to build and test their Universal 2 apps. The DTK, which must be returned to Apple at the end of the program, consists of a Mac mini with Apple’s A12Z Bionic SoC inside and desktop specs, including 16GB of memory, a 512GB SSD, and a variety of Mac I/O ports. Developers can apply to the program at developer.apple.com, and the total cost of the program is $500.

Images of Developer Software

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Apple’s five software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud. Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

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Before you can get going with iOS development there are a couple of hardware requirements that you will need to satisfy. In this post, we’ll take a look at those requirements, discuss the various options for satisfying them and focus on the cheapest way to get started for those who want to develop iOS apps.

Minimum Requirements

I’m not going to beat around the bush. Bottom line is that if you want to get started with iOS application development you’re going to need (or at least have access to) a Mac and at it ideally will be running latest version of OS X.

If you’re a PC owner, you’re out of luck I’m afraid. The Xcode development tools are only available on OS X and there isn’t really a viable PC alternative at present. I guess it’s a marketing choice on Apples behalf but for now if you want to join the world of iOS developers it’s a really a Mac or nothing.

“The Mac Mini can be a great entry level solution but add a Thunderbolt Display and the costs start mounting.”

Development Hardware Options

So what does this mean if you haven’t already got a Mac and want to get started? Well, you have a few options.

The first is the Mac Mini. At around £399 / $499 at the time of writing, this is a pretty good option if you want to get started and already have a display kicking around that you can hook it up to. The down-side though is that if you haven’t, and you start adding the cost of one of Apple’s Thunderbolt Displays into the mix, you’re looking at another £899 / $999 at the time of writing and the costs are mounting pretty rapidly.

The next option then is the iMac. A 21.5-inch iMac is available from £899 / $1099 and is a pretty good alternative to the Mac Mini / Thunderbolt Display combo and is around £300 / $300 cheaper. It definitely gets around the problem of having to buy a separate screen and if you’re looking for a desktop solution this is probably your best bet.

Develop Apple Apps Without Macbook Pro

For those looking for a more mobile alternative though (such as for coding in front of the TV – yes I admit I do that sometimes), you’ve really got a choice between the Macbook, MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro. The entry level MacBook is $1299 / £1049, an 11-inch Macbook Air is available from around £749 / $899 and a 13-inch MacBook Pro is a little more expensive at £999 / $1299. My preference out of these would be the 13-inch MacBook Pro though. All of them are viable alternatives but the one thing I have learnt is that Xcode loves screen real-estate so where possible I’d go for the biggest screen you can afford.

“The iMac is perfect for those who don’t mind being bound to the desktop.”

iOS Device Options

In terms of the iOS Device s