iOS Can iOS development be done on a virtual machine?

[DevOp]

Is it possible and legal to develop an application on a Windows PC with a virtual machine that has an OS X image on it, and pay only when needing to deploy the application to the app store?
If it is possible and legal, what exactly should I install on my PC regarding the virtual machine and image, and where can I download them from?

 

[Phil A.]

It depends on your definition of "legal" - it's against the OS X license terms to install it as a VM on a non Apple machine, but I doubt that's ever been challenged in court

 

[DevOp]

And people develope like that and got their apps in Apple's app store?

 

[keysofanxiety]

And people develope like that and got their apps in Apple's app store?

Yeah, Apple make their money on hardware really. It's just an OS.

As Phil said, it's not technically legit because OS X should be only ran on a Mac, but nobody really cares.

 

[DevOp]

Do you might have some recommendation on what exactly can I download and where from? Where can I get an image to install on a VMware?

 

[AxoNeuron]

I would recommend hackintosh but not a VM. The reason is simple speed. A Hackintosh is running OS X natively on the machine while a VM is trying to run OS X alongside a bunch of other stuff. The big problem with this is that Xcode is a gigantic application. My most recent commercial project takes up 2GB of RAM just by opening it in Xcode, and that's before opening all the other tools I use.

I've submitted an app from my hackintosh and not a single person at Apple knew or cared.

 

[DevOp]

but hackintosh is still getting a new hardware for like 750$ at least.. I'm trying to avoid that

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

but hackintosh is still getting a new hardware for like 750$ at least.. I'm trying to avoid that

Perhaps install OS X on your current computer on a separate partition rather than as a VM? Then you essentially have a Hackintosh that can duel boot in Windows or OS X and it didn't require new hardware.

(Whether this is possible or not depends hugely on what your existing hardware is, I think. I am not a Hackintosh or hardware person.)

 

[grandM]

but hackintosh is still getting a new hardware for like 750$ at least.. I'm trying to avoid that

I tend to agree with ArtOfWar. I saw Xcode running in a VM. It wasn't a pretty sight. I do not recommend a hackintosh because in my opinion it's not legal. However if you would go that way it would probably be better to work with a dual boot.

 

[grandM]

I would recommend hackintosh but not a VM. The reason is simple speed. A Hackintosh is running OS X natively on the machine while a VM is trying to run OS X alongside a bunch of other stuff. The big problem with this is that Xcode is a gigantic application. My most recent commercial project takes up 2GB of RAM just by opening it in Xcode, and that's before opening all the other tools I use.

I've submitted an app from my hackintosh and not a single person at Apple knew or cared.

hahaha, apple didn't notice? That's pretty funny actually.

 

[AxoNeuron]

I tend to agree with ArtOfWar. I saw Xcode running in a VM. It wasn't a pretty sight. I do not recommend a hackintosh because in my opinion it's not legal. However if you would go that way it would probably be better to work with a dual boot.

...it is completely legal to make a hackintosh. The only thing that would be illegal would be to make hackintoshes and sell them with OS X loaded on it without Apple's permission.

Building a hackintosh is totally legal though. Apple truly doesn't care at all. It's a necessity for people like me who want a powerful GPU, lots of RAM, and don't want to have to sell my kidney to afford it.

And it's absolutely amazing to have a hackintosh as a development machine. I have three super-fast SSD's in my hackintosh, one has OS X, one has Ubuntu, and the other has Windows 10. It's amazing being able to develop in all three environments on the same machine.

 

[grandM]

...it is completely legal to make a hackintosh. The only thing that would be illegal would be to make hackintoshes and sell them with OS X loaded on it without Apple's permission.

Building a hackintosh is totally legal though. Apple truly doesn't care at all. It's a necessity for people like me who want a powerful GPU, lots of RAM, and don't want to have to sell my kidney to afford it.

And it's absolutely amazing to have a hackintosh as a development machine. I have three super-fast SSD's in my hackintosh, one has OS X, one has Ubuntu, and the other has Windows 10. It's amazing being able to develop in all three environments on the same machine.

lol well I can imagine one can build a machine equipped with better hardware for the same money that's for sure

 

[1458279]

Either dual boot, or just get another HD. You can get an SSD for cheap and put OSX on it. When you want Mac, boot that SSD, when you want Windows, swap the SSD for your other one.

That's what I do.

One downside is that you can read but can't write Windows drives while in OSX. You can setup a backup drive or split a drive or use something else if you need to write Windows files while in OSX.

 

[lamborghini392]

Is it possible and legal to develop an application on a Windows PC with a virtual machine that has an OS X image on it, and pay only when needing to deploy the application to the app store?
If it is possible and legal, what exactly should I install on my PC regarding the virtual machine and image, and where can I download them from?

Legal? Regarding running mac on non-Apple hardware, that has already been covered. But you have to obtain a legitimate copy of OS X from the app store (so find someone you know with a mac to download it). As easy as it might be, DO NOT download a copy from online since that is piracy which is illegal.

Also I'll add that xcode runs pretty darn well in VMware/OSX (i7 4790k, 8GB RAM, SSD), my only complaint is that it doesn't use any GPU drivers so graphical performance is terrible. Things like program UIs and safari run fine, but the iOS simulator in xcode doesn't work at all. That means you need the xcode 7 beta (since deployment to a device is now free in xcode 7) to test and debug the app. Also I think you need a genuine mac to upload apps to the app store, but I could be mistaken.

 

[firewood]

If your Windows PC is authentic Apple Mac hardware (running Windows using bootcamp, etc.), then running an OS X VM may be legal according to Apple's licenses.

 

[mlts22]

If your Windows PC is authentic Apple Mac hardware (running Windows using bootcamp, etc.), then running an OS X VM may be legal according to Apple's licenses.

When using VMWare Fusion, it will allow one to easily spin up an OS X VM on a Mac, but if one attempts to move the virtual machine to ESXi or VMWare Workstation, the VM will not make it past EFI boot, and wind up with a circle with a slash through it.

I'm sure there are ways around this.

I would consider the hackintosh route as well if I had to go this route. If you try to run OS X in a VM, get a SSD at the minimum (so the operating systems don't have to fight each other for the drive head), and have at least 8 gigs of RAM, so you have headroom for the base OS as well as OS X.