iOS Best Apple computer for development

[Cromulent]

I want to start making some small iOS games, and obviously, I need a mac to do the actual programming. I've been programming on Linux and windows for a couple of years, but I want to get back into Apple.

What hardware would you recommend? I need a Mac and an iPhone.

 

[glenthompson]

You can do it on any current Mac. You don’t mention price constraints or portability needs. For programming screen real estate is usually of paramount importance. That leans towards the 27” iMac or iMac Pro. If money is not an issue you can’t go wrong with the new Mac Pro but prepare to empty your wallet. If you want to use existing monitors, a Mac Mini could work.

For a portable option consider the 16” MBP. The current 13” is a non-starter due to the butterfly keyboard.

Finally, if price is important check the refurbished store for suitable models.

 

[Cromulent]

Sorry forgot to mention price. I like the look of the 16 inch Mac Book Pro and could use with my existing monitors which would be great.

What I would really like is to have some sort of switch that allows me to plug my mouse into the MBP and my desktop PC along with my keyboard and monitors so I can switch between Apple and Windows with the flick of a switch. If I could do that the MBP would be perfect I think.

 

[casperes1996]

Sorry forgot to mention price. I like the look of the 16 inch Mac Book Pro and could use with my existing monitors which would be great.

What I would really like is to have some sort of switch that allows me to plug my mouse into the MBP and my desktop PC along with my keyboard and monitors so I can switch between Apple and Windows with the flick of a switch. If I could do that the MBP would be perfect I think.

That’s called a KVM switch and they exist plentifully.

If you only plan on desktop use, Mac Mini might be better than the laptop. A lot cheaper.

The 27” iMacs are the best value but only if you need/want an extra display (An amazing display at that. Great for code with the high resolution).

Also do note that you can often make the program on another device that doesn’t run macOS and only need macOS for final distribution and compilation. Even testing can often be done on other devices (unit testing I mean, not device testing to my knowledge). This will not be the same as native code since it’d be with something like Microsoft’s Xamarin which is a cross platform library that can be trans compiled to work on iOS through a Mac and a lot of game engines have that function too, like Unity, Unreal, probably more

But yeah, macOS is great, so good to use, and wonderful for programming. Also since you’re familiar with Linux you’ll feel right at home too. Open Terminal and all your familiar tools work (get brew. It’s like apt for Mac)

 

[Senor Cuete]

Personally i find the 21 inch iMac to be just right. The 27 inch seems too big for me. You really spend most of your time looking at a relatively small area in the center of the screen anyway. A Mac book screen is probably too small but as you say, you would use other displays as well. This could be a good way to go, since you would be using XCode - a big screen hog - and several other applications at once.

 

[EnderTW]

I personally use a 16 inch macbook pro only because I value being able to sit and code on the couch, at a desk, on my bed (rarely), at a coffee shop (pre covid), etc. 16 inch / 15 inch only because you need screen real estate when doing this stuff. xcode / unity has some large workflows that require screen space, if you're just doing vs code / web development, 13 inch would be perfectly fine but I would wait until they relaunch with scissor / 14 inch due to decreasing bezels.

I have a gaming pc but I never use this macbook pro in clamshell, for travel I take my ipad pro.

 

[sundialsoft]

If you can buy a Mac from new then get a brand new one. Apple make older devices obsolete (I had to sell my lovely i7 MBP because of this). You need sufficient memory not loads (eg: 8Gb) and as much disk space as you can afford. If you have access to a large display then that will help. Remember you need BACKUP !! I have a network attached time machine and two USB hard drives for backup. Don't lose your work.
ps: I'm using a 2015 MBA with Xcode and it's working fine. I am buying the brand new MBA in two weeks. I have a 4k monitor with USB-C.

 

[wlisik]

I personally code on MacBooks :: both Air & Pro. Both 13" display. I usually connect (via HDMI) to Sharp TV when at home; or use wireless ultra-wide angle external display (NTD ScreenWall 120") when at work