macOS Developing Retina Apps with Xcode on Macbook Air

[9876544]

Hello Guys,

I was wondering, if you have experience with developing retina apps in Xcode on MBA.

I am thinking about purchasing new Macbook and Pro 15 is quite expensive so instead of that I was thinking about buying 13 inch Air and connect it to my 29 inch screen. I would certainly prefer 13 inch Air over 13 inch retina. (too thick)

The only question is the testing of retina apps on it?

Regards,
Aster007

 

[macbackfiles]

Yes, you may test retina app on none retina mac. However it will be quite difficult because everything will be HUGE.

How to test: You need Quartz Debug Tools from apple.
Here is instruction full : https://developer.apple.com/library...eptual/HighResolutionOSX/Testing/Testing.html

But usually from my experience it is not a problem at all, cause all bugs related to screen scaling are very easy to fix.

 

[jowettgo]

Developing such apps and web applications makes it easier using already-built scripts. Google some of these scripts using the keywords that targets your goal... code scripts are widely available both for free and paid, one such site is codebasket.net, free scripts, etc.

 

[ohbrilliance]

Have you compared the 13" MBA with the 13" rMBP? The MBA may be thinner at the edges, but there's nothing in it on the thicker parts. The MBP also has a smaller footprint. I suggest you reconsider the size or weight of the rMBP as a reason to go for a MBA. The topic of this thread already highlights a compromise you're making for what IMO is a negligible physical difference between the two.

 

[gnasher729]

Yes, you may test retina app on none retina mac. However it will be quite difficult because everything will be HUGE.

How to test: You need Quartz Debug Tools from apple.
Here is instruction full : https://developer.apple.com/library...eptual/HighResolutionOSX/Testing/Testing.html

But usually from my experience it is not a problem at all, cause all bugs related to screen scaling are very easy to fix.

To clarify: This tool can turn your external monitor into a blown-up "retina" display. So instead of say 1920x1080 non-retina, it will display 960x540 retina pixels. Lets you detect non-retina graphics which sticks out badly on a retina display, and generally check that everything behaves alright.

 

[bumper314]

I do two things to test Retina OS X apps on my non-retina display:

Use AirDisplay to turn an iPad Retina into a second display.

Use a 10.8 Mountain Lion guest in VMware Fusion set to a retina resolution using the Quartz Debug solution mentioned above. A 10.9 Mavericks guest doesn't work for some reason.