Running an IOS app on an older Intel MacBook Pro

[Soltee1]

I use my 2013 MacBook Pro to run Guitar Chord Apps. There are several IOS apps available that I would like to use, but on my iPhone 13 Pro screen they are way too small to be of use. I was looking for an IOS emulator but I can't seem to find any. On looking at X-Code it would appear that it is only suitable for testing your own apps, not downloading IOS apps from Apple Playstore.

Anyone with any suggestions??
Soltee1

 

[Fishrrman]

I don't believe there's ever been "an emulator" that will permit iOS apps to run on Intel Macs.
I could be wrong.

I'm going to make an alternative suggestion:
These "guitar chord apps" of which you speak...
... do they also have Android versions available?

If so, you could try this:
Download the free "Nox App Player":

mac – NoxPlayer

See if it will install and run on your Mac.

If it does, then search for Android guitar chord apps and see if they will run under the Nox App Player.

I realize this seems like a "roundabout" way of doing things, i.e., using an Android emulator to run Android apps on the Mac instead of iOS.

But sometimes, what works... works.
Sometimes, we have to take "the winding road" to reach the destination, when we can't get there by way of the seemingly shorter one...

 

[chrfr]

I use my 2013 MacBook Pro to run Guitar Chord Apps. There are several IOS apps available that I would like to use, but on my iPhone 13 Pro screen they are way too small to be of use. I was looking for an IOS emulator but I can't seem to find any. On looking at X-Code it would appear that it is only suitable for testing your own apps, not downloading IOS apps from Apple Playstore.

Anyone with any suggestions??
Soltee1

There is no way to do what you would like.

 

[Soltee1]

I don't believe there's ever been "an emulator" that will permit iOS apps to run on Intel Macs.
I could be wrong.

I'm going to make an alternative suggestion:
These "guitar chord apps" of which you speak...
... do they also have Android versions available?

If so, you could try this:
Download the free "Nox App Player":

mac – NoxPlayer

See if it will install and run on your Mac.

If it does, then search for Android guitar chord apps and see if they will run under the Nox App Player.

I realize this seems like a "roundabout" way of doing things, i.e., using an Android emulator to run Android apps on the Mac instead of iOS.

But sometimes, what works... works.
Sometimes, we have to take "the winding road" to reach the destination, when we can't get there by way of the seemingly shorter one...

Hi Fisherman
I tried that route already thanks. Nox downloads and installs but doesn’t open up correctly so I tried Blue Stacks. That works fine but I suspect that there is no android version of the app as when I try to find it on Google playstore it doesn’t show up.

Perhaps I will just have to persevere with the small screen until I can afford to update to an M1 or M2 MacBook which will probably be after I win the lottery 🫤
Soltee1

 

[bogdanw]

Perhaps I will just have to persevere with the small screen until I can afford to update to an M1 or M2 MacBook

There is no guarantee that the apps you want will run on M1 or M2.
Developers can “Choose Whether to Include Your iOS App on the Mac App Store”
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/apple-silicon/running-your-ios-apps-on-macos
“In some cases, you might choose to prevent your app from running on macOS altogether.”

There was Corellium, but
Apple’s lawsuit against Corellium https://9to5mac.com/2021/08/17/appl...s-appeal-notice-in-lawsuit-against-corellium/
“Corellium does not support logging into an iCloud account or downloading apps from the App Store.”
https://www.corellium.com/devices/ios

Work in progress:
iPhone 11 emulated on QEMU
https://github.com/TrungNguyen1909/qemu-t8030
https://github.com/TrungNguyen1909/qemu-t8030/wiki/Bringing-up-the-emulator

 

[Soltee1]

There is no guarantee that the apps you want will run on M1 or M2.
Developers can “Choose Whether to Include Your iOS App on the Mac App Store”
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/apple-silicon/running-your-ios-apps-on-macos
“In some cases, you might choose to prevent your app from running on macOS altogether.”

There was Corellium, but
Apple’s lawsuit against Corellium https://9to5mac.com/2021/08/17/appl...s-appeal-notice-in-lawsuit-against-corellium/
“Corellium does not support logging into an iCloud account or downloading apps from the App Store.”
https://www.corellium.com/devices/ios

Work in progress:
iPhone 11 emulated on QEMU
https://github.com/TrungNguyen1909/qemu-t8030
https://github.com/TrungNguyen1909/qemu-t8030/wiki/Bringing-up-the-emulator

Hi bogdanw,
Thanks for your reply. I am probably kidding myself that I will ever have the spare cash to be able to upgrade, however re the no guarantee that the app would work, I did contact the developer who advised me that they were working on a MAC OS version for M1 & M2 chips.
Soltee1

 

[desisn.com]

You could buy an used iPad to run the apps you desire. Big enough screen, cheaper and touch controls would probably come handy as well, as these apps are mostly optimized for iOS and Apple gives developers the option to make apps uninstallable on Macs as well:

 

[Soltee1]

Hi Desisn.com,
Thanks for your suggestion although I did consider it already. It’s the old story of too many requirements and not enough money to meet them. The used iPads I looked at that I could afford were either too old or had a very small amount of storage. I’m also now in the situation of really needing to upgrade my 2013 MacBook Pro as Apple will shortly stop supporting it. Going to have to bite the bullet and upgrade.

Also recently found another Music app which works with Mac, IOS and Android. What’s more it’s a better app than the other one.
Cheers Soltee1

 

[vorob]

Recently, I began wondering how to play iOS games on a MacBook with an Intel processor. To my surprise, I couldn't find a straightforward solution. I thought that enthusiasts would create an emulator for any platform, but it turns out that no one has focused on preserving iOS games for Intel-era MacBooks.