I’ve never been a Mac guy.
My main gripe with Apple is that every Mac they release has a processor that’s about a generation behind. Then they have the audacity to charge the Apple tax. You typically pay 3x for a Mac what you’d pay for a PC with the exact same hardware.
Enter the M1 Mac Mini, Macbook Air, and Macbook Pro. These are entry-level Mac products that price/performance wise are actually semi-competitive with Windows machines at the same price-point. OK Apple, I’m listening.
Mac; MacBook Pro. The 8 Bit notes the likely reason that emulating Nintendo Switch games on M1 Macs is even possible and how an emulator could come to iOS. Developers have been. Feb 07, 2021 Click on releases option and download the latest preview version by clicking of android emulator m1 preview.dmg. It will download a DMG file. Click on the DMG file in downloads folder of your Mac.
But, can it run XCode quickly?
The M1 Chip is Very Powerful, Perfect For Developers Looking to Run XCode
I’m a software engineer, and in 2018 I wanted to try my hand at XCode development. I figured I’d buy the cheapest Mac Apple offered. This was the 2018 Mac Mini, which cost $800, and a multi-core GeekBench 5 score of 3203.
IOS 14 Simulators not working in VS 19. Recently, I started developing in VS 2019 with a new Mac Mini with the new M1 chip. With the most recent version of XCode installed (12.3) and most recent MacOS (11.1), I am getting a black screen when trying to use the iOS 14.3 simulators through VS. However, instead of using the remote simulator in VS. You can’t natively run iPad apps on a Mac computer without using an emulator, though that will change with a new generation of Macs, set to come out by the end of 2020. The new Macs will run on.
I was annoyed by that price/performance ratio, so I decided to build a Hackintosh. This Hackintosh had 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and an Intel Core i7 processor with a multi-core GeekBench 5 score of 5300. I built a machine that was twice as powerful as the top of the line 2018 Mac Mini, for $200 less than the base model. This machine is powerful; it has been fantastic for XCode development.
However, in 2020, Apple released a new M1 Mac Mini for only $700. My first thought was, “Can it compete with my Hackintosh.” And yes, not only can it compete, The M1 Mac Mini has a multi-core GeekBench 5 score of 7386. It blows my Hackintosh out of the water, and the base model is cost-competitive with my 2018 Hackintosh at only $700.
It’s quite impressive. The Hackintosh is officially dead (not just because you can’t buy Apple Silicon processors). I can no longer think of a great reason to build one over the M1 Mac Mini, or M1 Macbook Air. The best reason I can think of is Apple still gouges you if you want a 2TB hard drive. But, other than needing a beast of a machine the M1 Macs have the advantage. Bravo Apple.
Is 8GB of RAM Enough For XCode on the M1 Mac Mini, Macbook Air, and Macbook Pro?
This was the big question I had when I pulled the trigger and got the base M1 2020 Macbook Air. Was 8GB enough RAM to run the simulator without experiencing significant performance issues?
I know from my Hackintosh experience that a Mac can quickly get up over 8GB of RAM when running the XCode simulators. I rarely get my Mac up to 16GB of used RAM, but 8GB is pretty easy to surpass if you’re a developer with multiple tabs open. So I was very curious how much the 8GB model would slow down development.
If you’re curious too, I highly suggest you check out the YouTube video below from Max Tech. This guy went through and meticulously compared the performance of the 16GB model vs. the 8GB model while using tons of common apps.
The conclusion? Even if you edge up close to your 8GB of RAM limit, there’s not a massive drop in performance. He was experiencing things taking 10% longer on the 8GB model when he got around that limit. The integrated SSD’s of your Mac is fast to the point where a minor amount of swapping isn’t going to have a drastic effect on performance.
That said, this next guy is running Photoshop. He REALLY knows how to max out RAM on his machine. When you really give your Mac a task that takes significantly more than 8GB of RAM, you’ll notice a pretty substantial performance drop. It’s also worth a watch if you really want an in-depth example of this.
Personally, I’ll be forking over the extra $200 to get the 16GB model. But, I think unless you’re some type of power user, 8GB will be sufficient for you. The SSD Read speeds are so fast that you won’t notice a big performance drop unless you’re going WAY over the 8GB of RAM like in the Photoshop example above. There are probably very few use cases where that would ever happen.
There are people out there who are worried that swapping to your hard drive over and over could wear down your SSD. And if you intend to max out this machine 24/7 and still be running it in several years, I think that’s a valid concern. Akai mpk49 driver.
For most developers and most people, I think you could easily get by with the 8GB model.
Do You Need To Run The XCode Simulator on the M1?
One of the cool things about the M1 Macs is that they can run iOS apps natively. This got me thinking, do I even need to debug my apps in the RAM hungry simulator anymore? Can I just run them straight from the Mac?… Yes!
There is a “run on Mac” destination for iOS apps in XCode, which will run the app natively on the machine, not in a simulator. It’s cool; you’ll lose simulator functionality like rotation, sleep, home button, etc. But, it’s now possible to avoid using a RAM hungry simulator when developing your apps on M1 devices.
Rosetta 2 Performance Vs. Native Apps
Not all software has an ARM based version of their app yet (like Final Cut Plugins) and you have to run it through the Rosetta 2 simulator.
This usually works rather well. But, there’s definitely a noticeable drop off in performance when comparing non-native apps to native apps on this machine.
This will become less of an issue over time as more companies compile their apps for the M1 chip. But, in the early days of a gen 1 product just keep in mind that there may be some issues.
Conclusion
The M1 Macs are powerful machines capable of XCode development at an OK price point. Well done Apple, I might have to consider becoming a Mac guy now.
For years, if Apple users wanted to run their favorite iOS apps on their computer, they’d have to do so via third-party applications, emulators, or other non-official methods. Now, if you own an Apple Silicon Mac (the newer ones with an M1 processor) and have the Big Sur iOS, you’ll have able to run iPhone and iPad apps on your Mac computer.
See also: Best Apple Macbooks
What’s the Benefit of Using iOS Apps on My Mac?
Applications on the iPhone and iPad have come a long way. Now, you can have the full functionality of word processors, video editors, and other applications in the palm of your hand. Especially if you work on your iPad frequently, you may want to transfer data or workflows from your tablet to your computer. With this new Big Sur OS update, you can do just that.
Can My Mac Run iOS Apps?
As mentioned, you can only run iOS apps on your Mac if your computer has an Apple Silicon chip. To check if your device is capable, follow these steps below:
- Click on the Apple logo in the top left corner of your screen.
- Click on About this Mac.
- If, under the Chip section, it says Apple M1, then you’re capable of running iOS apps on your computer.
How to Run iOS Apps on Mac
Downloading iOS apps on your Mac computer is extremely simple. If you know how the App Store works on your Mac, you’ll have no problem at all!
- Open the App Store on your Mac.
- Click on the search field in the App Store, and type in the app you want to download. Keep note that not all iOS apps are available on the Mac Apple Store.
- In the search results, select the iPhone & iPad Apps tab.
- Click the Get button next to the app search result.
- Download it, and you’ll be able to run iOS apps on a Mac!
What is an Emulator and Should I Use One?
With the new M1 MacBooks and its silicon chips, emulators have become rather obsolete and you don’t see them mentioned often like 10 years ago in the early 2010s. In short, an emulator is a program that ’emulates’ another kind of device or service. For example, in the early days of the Mac, you would have to download an emulator in order to run Windows OS on your Mac. Nowadays, there are more comprehensive services (one even built into the Mac itself) that allow you to do this more seamlessly.
Back in the day, it was extremely common to download emulators from shady third-party websites in order to run iOS apps, Gameboy games, and Windows programs on a Mac. Not only would you have to find the emulator application online, but you’d have to find the individual apps or programs you want to run as well. This made things pretty complicated and many people infected their devices with viruses and general malware.
If you have an older Mac and desperately need to use an iOS app on your computer, yes, you should use an emulator. There are plenty of resources on the internet to help guide you through the process to ensure you don’t download a virus and ruin your computer. If the idea of downloading a program off an unverified third-party source makes you feel uncomfortable, check out which Macs you would need to run iOS apps without an emulator.
Looking for recommendations? Here are just a few worth checking out:
- iPadian
- Smartface
- Appetize
What’s the Best Mac for iOS Apps?
All Macs manufactured in 2020 and beyond will have an Apple silicon chip (also known as Apple M1). If you want to run iOS apps without using an emulator, we would recommend purchasing one of the models below.
- iMac (24 inch, M1, 2021)
- MacBook Pro (13 inch, M1, 2020)
- MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
- Mac mini (M1, 2020)
Ps2 Emulator M1 Mac
Source: androidauthority.com