Xcode includes the Xcode IDE, Swift and C/C/Objective-C compilers, Instruments analysis tool, simulators, the latest SDKs, and hundreds of powerful features: Innovative tools help you create great apps. Swift is an intuitive programming language that is safe, fast, and modern. SwiftUI is a revolutionary framework to create user. Find the Download URL The first thing you have to do is find the file that you need to download. To do this, open up XCode and click on “Preferences Components” to see a list of available simulators to download. Click the down arrow next to the simulator you want to download to begin the normal download process. If you want to take your app development seriously when it comes to iOS one of the best suites you can download to help you along with this is XCode 10. This suite of software development tools can be used directly on a Mac OS system or through an iOS Emulator that can be downloaded for your PC. With the Xcode Simulator we can use Safari to open those files in up to 25 Apple devices from iPhone 5s to iPad Pro (3rd Generation) Essential Tools. In order to proceed you will have to have the latest version of Apple Xcode installed on your computer and either Pano2VR installed or a copy of krpano downloaded. Getting Started.
With the help of an iOS emulator, Windows-based PCs can run the iOS software. The Operations of iOS software are enabled by the iOS emulator. In this post, you’ll find the list of the Top 14 iOS Emulators for Windows. Additionally, you’ll learn some important bits of information about the iOS emulators.
3 Types of Emulators;
To begin with, there are three types of iOS emulators mainly. They are as follows:
- The first type is the iOS emulator developed for Android.
- Next, the iOS emulator developed for Mac.
- And last, the iOS emulator developed for Windows.
An iOS Emulator is useful for people who wish to test out the iOS Apps and softwares on different platforms. Often the app developers use these in order to test and improvise their applications.
Contents
- 1 14 Best iOS Emulators in 2021
14 Best iOS Emulators in 2021
Here is the list of the 14 best iOS emulators available for you. The list is compiled by a team of tech geeks. You can just go through this, and find the best match for your needs.
1. MobiOne Studios
The first iOS emulator on our list is MobiOne Studios. This emulator has been discontinued by the developer, but still works completely fine when downloaded. You can use it to test out various iOS apps or games on your computer. The best part is that this emulator is not resourced hungry at all. So, you don’t have to worry much about hardware boundings.
The emulator is also very helpful for developers who are planning to develop cross-platform applications for smartphones.
2. AIR iPhone
If you are aware of the Adobe AIR framework, then this iOS emulator might become your favorite. The AIR iPhone is an iOS emulator based on the same framework.
You can easily install and use this emulator without any complexity. All you have to do is download and install the emulator, and then run iOS apps in it. That’s it.
3. iMAME
The next name on our list is iMAME. This emulator is specially developed to play iOS games on your computer. So, if you just want to play your favorite iOS games on your PC, you can give this one a try for sure.
iMAME is not much heavy on resources. But, it still is able to optimize the performance of the system according to the specifications of the game.
4. Appetize.io
The next iOS emulator on our list is Appetize.io. This emulator is often compared with the App.io for legit reasons. This is due to the fact that both the emulators share many similarities. The experience on this emulator will be very smooth and fine.
The only drawback is that the initial startup is somewhat laggy, but the rest is very smooth.
5. Smartface
Smartface is a popular name on our list. The popularity is due to the fact that it is very much developer-friendly. It allows iOS app development through debugging. Also, it provides a good variety of applications to download and play from the App Store.
Using this, you can easily test and debug your code. The debugging module offers useful features like breakpoints and real-time coding changes. You can also use it to test out real-time code changes. However, the best part is that it is completely free to use.
6. App.io
App.io, the name which I mentioned above is also a very popular iOS emulator for Windows users. This emulator is available for both Windows and Mac systems.
It is developed with great care and works to provide you best possible experience. The only drawback is that it not completely free of cost. However, there is a 7-Day Free Trial available in order to use it.
7. Electric Mobile Studio
The next iOS emulator on our list is the Electric Mobile Studio. This emulator is often used by the professionals for both iPhone and iPad app developments. This emulator is also not free of cost, but it does offer a free trial. The full version costs around 40$.
Although, if you are professional and looking for a good option, you can definitely put your money in this. The user experience is very smooth, and many advanced features are present.
8. Xamarin TestFlight
The next iOS emulator is Xamarin TestFlight. It works on Mac, and is now owned by Apple. You must have already guessed by now that it is not free to use. Also, the setup and interface are a bit complicated for beginners. However, once you understand it, the experience turns very smooth.
It is often opted by the developers to test their projects, websites, and apps.
9. Ripple
Ripple is the next iOS emulator on our list. This one is often termed as the fan-favorite. It is an excellent emulator used for testing any kind of iOS application, be it newer or older. Unlike most of the iOS emulators, it offers a good range of features. The only setback of Ripple is that it still is in the beta stage. However, it works completely fine.
The best part is that you don’t have to face the hassle of the setup. This is because it is a Chrome extension. Just add and use it without having to download and install it.
10. TestFlight
TestFlight is another Apple-owned iOS emulator on our list. This emulator is widely used by the developers for the beta testing of their iOS apps coded with Xamarin. Therefore, it is known as the official recommendation of Apple for the testing of your iOS apps.
The best part of using this emulator is that is completely free of cost. It has extensive documentation and supports apps for iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and iMessage. The only setback of using it is that you have to create an App Store distribution profile.
11. Remoted iOS Simulator
Remoted iOS Simulator is developed by Xamarin. It is a very popular name among the developers. You can easily set up and use this emulator to test out your iOS Apps on your PC.
Also, it offers a debugging option with the help of Windows Visual Studio Enterprise. The interface of this emulator makes it stand out among all the other emulators available in the competition.
12. iDOS Emulator
iDOS Emulator is the next name on our list. There aren’t many reviews available on this iOS emulator on the internet. But, you can definitely give it a try. iDOS is carefully developed to try out iOS games and apps on different platforms.
This emulator is not very simple to set up and use. If you are a newbie, so I’d not suggest using this one, to begin with. However, if you are a professional, you can try it.
13. iOS Simulator in Xcode
The iOS Simulator in Xcode is provided by Xcode, which is owned by Apple. The Xcode software development environment for Mac provides its own app simulator for iOS, tvOS, watchOS, and iMessage. Hence, if you are using Xcode, then it is enough to emulate different types of interactions whether it is tap, device rotation, scrolling, or some other actions used by the users.
If you are on Mac, you can directly launch the apps from the Xcode project. The ability to test web apps by accessing Safari within Xcode gives it an edge over other emulators.
14. iPadian
This one is my personal favorite iOS Emulator. iPadian is very easy to set up and use. Additionally, it offers all the basic features that you need. While also providing some advanced features. This emulator is often used by casual users as well as developers.
The credit to the popularity and wide usage of this emulator goes to its interface. The UI is very user-friendly, self-explaining and simple.
Final Words
These were the Top 14 iOS Emulators available for the year 2020. For any queries, doubts or suggestions, feel free to ask me in the comments section. For the download links, you can perform quick googling. Or, you can ask me for the particular link via the comments if you are not able to find any. Hope I helped you.
Also Check: How to Fix iMessage Not Working Error
Dear fellow iOS developers, the wait is finally over! We are now able to simulate push notification in iOS simulator using the latest Xcode beta release (11.4-beta).
Without further ado, let’s see how this can be done.
Download Old Simulators Xcode
The Steps
In order to be able to simulate a push notification in iOS simulator, there are a few steps that need to be taken.
- Download and install Xcode 11.4-beta and above.
- Create a sample app that requests for permission to receive push notifications.
- Run the sample app and grant it permission.
- Put the sample app into the background.
- Create an Apple Push Notification Service (APNS) payload file.
- Drag and drop the payload file onto the target simulator.
Now let’s go through these steps in detail one by one.
1. Download and install Xcode 11.4-beta and above
By the time this article is being published, Xcode 11.4 is still under beta release. Thus, you can download it here.
If you are reading this after Xcode 11.4 officially released, just go ahead and download it in the Mac App Store.
Do note that the Xcode beta release is bundled within its own sandbox, therefore you do not need to worry that the beta installation will overwrite your current Xcode version.
2. Create a sample app that request for permission to receive push notifications
Fire up Xcode and create a new “Single View App” project.
Go ahead and open the AppDelegate.swift
file and import the UserNotifications
framework.
Next, add the following block of code into the application(_:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:)
method to request permission to receive push notifications.
Here’s how your AppDelegate.swift
should look like.
3. Run the sample app and grant it permission
Now press ⌘R to build and run the sample app, you should be prompted to grant permission to receive push notifications.
Go ahead and tap “Allow” to grant the permission.
4. Put the sample app into background
You can press Shift + ⌘ + H to bring your app to the background in a simulator.
Note that this step is very important if you want to see a push notification banner being shown at the top of the screen.
We will get into showing push notifications when app in foreground later.
5. Create an Apple Push Notification Service (APNS) payload file
The APNS payload file is a JSON file that contains information about the push notification. You can find out more by referring to this Apple’s documentation.
Before creating the payload file, we need to grab the sample app’s bundle ID from Xcode.
After getting the sample app’s bundle ID, we can proceed to create the payload file. For demonstration purposes, we will use a payload file with the following content.
Note that the value of “Simulator Target Bundle” will be the bundle ID you just retrieved from Xcode.
At the moment, just save the APNS payload file on your desktop.
6. Drag and drop the payload file onto the target simulator
Now, drag the payload file you just saved and drop it onto the simulator to see everything in action. (In order for this to work, the sample app must be in background)
Congratulations, you have just received your first push notification using a payload file. 🎉
But wait! Besides drag and drop, you can also trigger a push notification in simulator by using Terminal. Let’s have a look at how this can be done.
Simulate Push Notifications Using Terminal
In order to simulate push notifications using Terminal, you must first get the iOS simulator identifier.
In Xcode, press Shift + ⌘ + 2 to open the “Devices and Simulators” window. You can follow the instructions in the image below to get the simulator identifier.
Once you get the simulator identifier, you can trigger a push notification using following command:
For my case, this is the command I will use.
Download Simulators Xcode Tutorial
Simulate Push Notifications When App In Foreground
Lastly, let’s look at how you can simulate a push notification when your app is in foreground.
Head back to Xcode and open AppDelegate.swift
.
First, conform the AppDelegate
class to the UNUserNotificationCenterDelegate
delegate. Next, implement the userNotificationCenter(_:willPresent:withCompletionHandler:)
delegate method.
Last but not least, set the AppDelegate
as delegate of UNUserNotificationCenter
. Add the following line of code into the application(_:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:)
method.
At the end, your AppDelegate.swift
should look like this.
Now, bring your app to foreground and drop the payload file onto the simulator, you should see the push notification banner magically appear at the top of the screen. 🎊
Known Issues
Up until the publish date of this article, I found out that the badge number is not showing up. On top of that, no sound is played when the push notification is triggered.
At this moment, Xcode 11.4 is still under beta release. I am sure Apple will fix these issues before the official release.
Further Readings
I am super excited about this new feature in Xcode. How about you? Share this article to your friend if you feel the same too!
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Thanks for reading! 👨🏼💻