macOS Do you have to be on the latest MacOS for Xcode?

[Penne]

I'm using my late 2013 MacBook Pro 13" to develop apps and games with Xcode.
Now, from what I understand, I won't be able to run monterey since my MacBook is too old.
Would it be best to buy a new Mac or is there any other way to get around this?
I guess it's possible to wait and use the older Xcode until there's a new feature or API I need, but it doesn't feel like an optimal solution.

What do you guys recommend?

 

[casperes1996]

The very latest Xcode and its current betas, Xcode 13, will and does work with Big Sur. Xcode generally (at least) will support both the very latest and prior release of macOS. - That said, this doesn't mean you'll be able to use all the APIs. For example, even if you run Xcode 13 with Big Sur, you won't be able to use async-await.
If you're developing as a hobby it's all good. If you're developing professionally you'll probably want to be able to test your stuff on the latest release, even if you don't explicitly develop for it.

Eventually we may get a DosDude patcher tool or similar from another developer that will allow you to install Monterey on older unsupported devices

 

[MisterSavage]

I had an iMac that was about 7 years old and found that using Xcode was just miserable with it. For simple projects it was fine but when I started trying to do anything complex a compile would bring my machine to its knees and it felt like it took forever.

After my iMac got bricked by a major OS update I always drag my feet with upgrading but end up finally doing it so I can use the latest Xcode beta features. But to answer your question I believe for a while you're good with an older OS.

 

[Penne]

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I thought the newest Xcode was only supported on the the latest OS.
Good to know I’ll still be able to use it 😊
I guess I’ll wait a while and see then.

I’m hesitant to use an upgrade patcher to install the latest macOS on an unsupported device.
I assume it’s against the rules?
Don’t know if Apple can track it and suspend your developer account.

Thanks again for your help

 

[MisterSavage]

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I thought the newest Xcode was only supported on the the latest OS.
Good to know I’ll still be able to use it 😊
I guess I’ll wait a while and see then.

I’m hesitant to use an upgrade patcher to install the latest macOS on an unsupported device.
I assume it’s against the rules?
Don’t know if Apple can track it and suspend your developer account.

Thanks again for your help

When I started using SwiftUI it was a factor in my finally upgrading to the latest version of the OS. I could write/compile code just fine but in order to have the SwiftUI previews in Xcode I needed to upgrade. So it did work when I had not yet upgraded but I couldn't use the latest and greatest features.

Don't know anything about the other question.

 

[xStep]

Xcode generally (at least) will support both the very latest and prior release of macOS.

Note that Apple does drop the previous OS version when ever they feel like. For instance Xcode 12.5 dropped support for Catalina and is also now required to submit to the App Store.

if your just learning than load the latest version of Xcode that can run on your system and go for it.