Apple device for iOS development?

Cromulent · 16 Nov 2019 at 00:27

I'm looking for an Apple device for iOS development but I'm not sure what to get. Could anyone recommend a decent laptop?

I might want to run some virtual machines so 16 or 32GB of RAM would be good.

b0rn2sk8 · 16 Nov 2019 at 08:58

You have three options, Air, 13" Pro or 15" Pro. The Air is a 'cheap' Mac for people who don't do serious work, its only dual core so discount that immediately.

What's your budget?

Are you looking new or used?

Will this be a primary machine?

Does it need to be a laptop? If not a Mac Mini may be a more economical fit. You could get a Mac Mini and a decent Windows laptop for the same price as a 15" Pro (new).

I suppose it depends if you are looking to use Apple's development tools exclusively. 3rd party tools tend to be cross platform which is where the mac mini comes in again.

Cromulent · 16 Nov 2019 at 11:33

Budget is as high as needed. I was looking at the new 16" MBP. It wouldn't be my primary computer but I would use the Apple development tools. I'd do some serious work on it.

tombrr · 16 Nov 2019 at 13:21

If budget isn't an issue I'd go for the new 16" Macbook Pro, nothing will bet it bar the iMac Pro and Mac Pro.

b0rn2sk8 · 17 Nov 2019 at 01:15

This pretty much.

JamesM · 17 Nov 2019 at 19:13

With Apple you have to buy with the future in mind.

If no budget then 16" would be my choice, with ram upgrade and storage upgrade.

I wouldn't bother with a CPU upgrade unless you were doing rendering, video encoding, etc.

Cromulent · 19 Nov 2019 at 06:11

JamesM said:
With Apple you have to buy with the future in mind.

If no budget then 16" would be my choice, with ram upgrade and storage upgrade.

I wouldn't bother with a CPU upgrade unless you were doing rending, video encoding, etc.

Thanks for the reply. That seems to be the best option for me at the moment. I also need to factor in the cost of an iPhone and maybe an iPad as well.

One thing is for sure this is going to be expensive.