iOS (Mac noob here) will imac 4k be enough for swift ?

[amitshrivastava]

Hello,

I have worked on windows platform and now switching over to iOs for development , i will be purchasing a mac and an iphone, i am totally new so kindly forgive if i make some silly comments ...

I am looking to buy an iMac 21.5 4k with 8GB RAM and 1 TB fusion drive 3.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz), Radeon Pro 560 with 4GB of VRAM...

I just need to know if i will be able to work and develop in swift and later use Android Studio as well with this mac with out any issues...

I am extremely limited with the budget as i need to buy an iphone for testing the apps as well ...

If there any cheaper alternative with good monitor i am open to that as well ...

Kindly guide ..

Thanks

Amit Shrivastava

 

[guzhogi]

I would say pretty much any Mac would be fine, except for maybe the MacBook. A 4K iMac should do pretty well. My only gripe would be that it hasn't been updated in about a year now.

Also, you can install Windows on iMacs (both under VM & natively through Bootcamp), so that's a bonus as well.

 

[amitshrivastava]

@guzhogi - thanks that is very reassuring , i had asked the question on swift language forum and they also said same , but some had the view that only a 16GB one with 256 GB ssd will be a better then, the member however then directed me to this site ...

I can now go to the apple premium and look for a good deal now and start work on the mac eco system ...

I will revert back for more guidance as i am just beginning ....

Amit Shrivastava

 

[grandM]

@guzhogi - thanks that is very reassuring , i had asked the question on swift language forum and they also said same , but some had the view that only a 16GB one with 256 GB ssd will be a better then, the member however then directed me to this site ...

I can now go to the apple premium and look for a good deal now and start work on the mac eco system ...

I will revert back for more guidance as i am just beginning ....

Amit Shrivastava

8 GB will suffice for Xcode for smaller apps
Android Studio I do not know
It would be more future proof with 16 though
Many developers use a mac mini by the way
You might already own a decent screen

 

[PhoneyDeveloper]

I would definitely get 16GB RAM unless it's possible to upgrade the RAM. If this is a development machine you probably don't need a 1TB drive. You can expand the hd with an external if needed. You should have a backup drive also.

The Mac mini is another way to go. Also, MacBook Pro or Mac Air can work with an external drive and external monitor.

 

[amitshrivastava]

@grandM -thanks, i do have an old lg monitor which is not so good, i was looking for the new mac mini but it does not give me a good screen, as portability is not needed for me , i looked at the 21.5 inch option...

Unfortunately in my part of world they do not sell modified versions only the standard one, so i am left with the high end version with 8GB if i go for 21.5 4K ...

So should i buy it or not i need to get started sooner then later ....

@PhoneyDeveloper - thanks, yes it is a developer machine and i want to start off soon, but if i go for mac mini, i will need to buy an external monitor and a monitor as good as 4K can cost as much as the mini mini itself...

So should i wait or buy the iMac 4K with 8GB RAM it will have 4GB for video as well and 1TB fusion drive ...

Amit Shrivastava

 

[grandM]

Why do you need a 4k screen? I own a dell u2713h, it's awesome! It's 27'' and runs at 2560. If you want to save money, simulate how much a mini 2018 cost when you add 16 GB yourself (at start 8 probably suffices) and hook up an external SSD and a decent 27''. If you make a decent living you can always upgrade. Why do you need a separate video card?

 

[kyussmondo]

As others have said, any MacBook Pro or iMac will be more than capable. RAM is a good upgrade. Depending on what else you are planning to use the Mac for then 256GB SSD. SSD is preferable over a Fusion in terms of speed.

As others have said, the new Mac Minis are also a good alternative. Make sure you get at least the i5, the Core M3 will be underpowered. Remember to factor in the cost for a monitor. To be honest, I use a 1080p monitor at work and it works fine for me.

 

[AnonMac50]

From experience, Android Studio eats up a lot of RAM. 8 GB is fine for Xcode I think (even 4 GB), but with Android Studio I would say at least 16 GB. If you haven’t purchased the computer yet, I would recommend you find a 16 GB model, or maybe a Mac mini 2018 (because you can upgrade the RAM yourself).

 

[Vjosullivan]

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[sundialsoft]

Hello,

I have worked on windows platform and now switching over to iOs for development , i will be purchasing a mac and an iphone, i am totally new so kindly forgive if i make some silly comments ...

I am looking to buy an iMac 21.5 4k with 8GB RAM and 1 TB fusion drive 3.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz), Radeon Pro 560 with 4GB of VRAM...

I just need to know if i will be able to work and develop in swift and later use Android Studio as well with this mac with out any issues...

I am extremely limited with the budget as i need to buy an iphone for testing the apps as well ...

If there any cheaper alternative with good monitor i am open to that as well ...

Kindly guide ..

Thanks

Amit Shrivastava

Any modern Mac will work well. Personally I would get more RAM. A large screen is very useful. I use a MBP and sometimes use a second screen.
The device simulators are very good so you can do a lot of testing on them. Physical devices are useful of course and some things just can't be tested on the simulators.
If you look at second hand hardware get something reasonably new. Just a year old maybe.
Swift has reached a good place however a huge quantity of older Swift code is out there so you will need to remember to look for Swift 4 examples or be prepared to update a lot of stuff.

 

[yoz-y]

I have designed, developed, tested and released an iOS app written in Swift 4 using a mid-2009 macbook pro with a core 2 duo, 8GB ram, third-party SSD drive and "hacked" to run XCode 10 and Mojave.

A 21.5 4k iMac will be just fine, provided there is an SSD in it.

I develop iOS apps using Xcode on a 2011 MacBook Pro and 2011 iMac, so any Mac will indeed do.

Unfortunately, neither machine can run Mojave and the latest version of Xcode requires it. So, i’m finally in the market for replacement machines.

In short, any Mac that can run Mojave will be fine for running Xcode and developing iOS apps.

You can install Mojave on your mac using this patched installer: http://dosdude1.com/mojave/