If you’re looking for a way to test iOS apps on a Mac or PC, you’ll need to use a simulator. Simulators differ from emulators in that they aren’t designed to replicate hardware, but rather model the underlying state of the hardware.
If you’re bored of the Mac command line this is both cool and geeky and should keep you entertained for a bit. JSLinux is a fully functioning version of Linux running entirely in a web browser, meaning if you have almost any modern web browser suddenly you can run a basic version of linux on any computer. I'm actually testing on a Mac and am downloading Apple's dev tools as we speak in hope of a Safari Emulator that uses the svg file as compared to any other file which would give erronous results compared to actual Ipad and Iphone results. Unfortuantely I do not have the funds to purchase a Ipad at the moment.
A good simulator will model these conditions so well that the simulation itself can emulate the hardware. You can simulate iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and even Apple TV environments using simulation software, though for best results you’ll need a Mac.
Here are your three best choices.
1. Xcode 9 Simulator (Mac)
It might seem obvious, but the best simulator for iOS devices comes from Apple itself. Installed as part of Xcode’s toolsThe Best Mac Apps to Install on Your MacBook or iMacThe Best Mac Apps to Install on Your MacBook or iMacLooking for the best apps for your MacBook or iMac? Here's our comprehensive list of the best apps for macOS.Read More, Simulator functions like a standard Mac app on your desktop. Because Xcode is only available on the Mac platform, Apple’s Simulator is not available for Windows users.
Simulator allows you to pick a specific device environment for testing — like an iPhone 7 Plus running iOS 10.3. For developers, particularly small teams, this mitigates the requirement to purchase a lot of expensive devices purely for testing purposes.
Apple’s solution includes support for running multiple simulators that interact with each other. That gives you the ability to do things like run a watchOS simulation to test your Watch app’s integration with its iOS counterpart.
The official simulator also provides access to all the iOS APIs and core services. If you’re building an app that utilizes Game Center for multiplayerHow to Use (and Disable) Game Center on Mac & iOSHow to Use (and Disable) Game Center on Mac & iOSApple's Game Center strives to make playing mobile games a social activity again, but using the service isn't quite so straightforward any more.Read More or HealthKit for activity data10 iPhone and iPad Apps That Take Accessibility to the Next Level10 iPhone and iPad Apps That Take Accessibility to the Next LevelIn the past, accessibility has been seen as optional or a nice 'bonus' feature, but that view is outdated. Here are 10 apps that make life easier for a wide variety of iPhone users.Read More, you can use these tools to test whether the app is interacting with the system correctly.
Spent so much time in the iOS simulator that I start trying to scroll other applications using mouse drag
— Gaya Kessler (@GayaKessler) July 21, 2017
No software solution can replace a real physical device, but Xcode 9’s Simulator comes pretty close. For rapid testing and deployment purposes you just can’t beat a solution that’s built into the IDE you’re using.
The best part is that it’s completely free, along with the rest of the Xcode development environment.
2. Visual Studio With Xamarin Live (Windows, Mac) [No Longer Available]
Microsoft has done a lot of work over the past few years to position Visual Studio as the development platform-of-choice for cross-platform developmentVisual Studio Code Is the Perfect Text and Scripting Editor for MacVisual Studio Code Is the Perfect Text and Scripting Editor for MacMicrosoft's text editor supports myriad languages, and you don't even need to compare it to Xcode, since they serve different needs.Read More. In May 2017, they introduced Xamarin Live, an iOS app that allows you to push to and test native apps on a connected iOS device.
As you may have realized by now, this isn’t the same as Apple’s Simulator. You can’t switch between device profiles to simulate different environments, but that’s no reason to write it off. Xamarin has been somewhat of a game changer for C# developers who use Visual Studio that are interested in building, testing, and deploying native iOS applications.
The arrival of Xamarin Live is just another offering on Microsoft’s part to tempt developers over to the platform. Xamarin uses shared C# UI code and app logic to streamline development, though you’ll need Visual Studio Enterprise and a basic Xamarin plan (starting at $99 per month) to use it.
3. Visual Studio With Xamarin and a Mac (Windows, Mac)
Another option for Visual Studio users who are developing with Xamarin is to use the Xcode Simulator on a networked Mac. You can still develop within Visual Studio for Windows or Mac, except simulations will be sent to your Mac over the network (then streamed back to you). This provides access to a broader range of simulation environments, but it takes some setting up.
On the Mac you’ll need Xcode with the latest version of the Xamarin.iOS SDK. You can then configure Xamarin to push your code to Xcode’s Simulator. The benefits here are for those developing cross-platform apps in C# using Visual Studio, who wants to make full use of Apple’s excellent Simulator.
This is a better option than using the Xamarin Live iOS app (above), but it’s also a more expensive endeavour since not everyone has a Mac. If you’re already using Visual Studio for Mac, you can install Xcode and launch the Simulator using Xamarin right there on your desktop.
The same fees apply for Xamarin (starting at $99 per month), plus you’ll need Visual Studio Enterprise, and some Apple hardware to boot.
4. Appetize.io (Browser)
And now for something completely different: Appetize.io is a dedicated, browser-based testing solution for mobile applications. It allows you to run mobile apps in your browser by means of simulation, which can be uploaded via the Appetize.io website or using a dedicated API.
Apps are streamed through the browser, and can be embedded into any web page using an iframe. This makes the platform ideal for testing purposes, proofs of concept, demonstrating a prototype to clients, or quickly sourcing a round of feedback on a new look or feature.
The web-based nature of the platform means you can pass a link to anyone, anywhere, and have them test your app. As with Simulator, you can pick from an extensive range of device and software combinations.
There are drawbacks to this method however, notably that performance dips compared to running the simulation on a MacWhen Is It Better to Choose Web Apps Over Native Mac Apps?When Is It Better to Choose Web Apps Over Native Mac Apps?Some of the most popular Mac applications are available both as native apps and web apps, but which is best?Read More. It’s also not deeply integrated into the development environment, like Xcode’s Simulator or Visual Studio with Xamarin running a remote iOS simulator.
Full iOS 10 support now released! Try out a demo at https://t.co/uqFOoH5Ptr
— Appetize.io (@appetizeio) September 23, 2016
Then there’s the issue of cost. You pay for “virtualization time,” so the more time you want to spend running your apps, the more you’ll need to spend. The basic package starts at $40 per month, though you can sign up for a free trial of 100 minutes for two users to test it out first.
Avoid the Rest
There is no true iOS simulator for Windows, and if there was Apple would likely begin court proceedings to shut it down. With this in mind, there are many apps out there posing as iOS simulators. Many simply don’t work, some have been used to spread malware, others claim to be free but drop hidden costs on you at the last minute.
The best option for testing your iOS apps is to develop on a Mac and use Simulator. Xamarin Live Player extends a helping hand to cash-strapped developers, but in the long run investing in a Mac might be worth it considering the cost of Xamarin and Visual Studio Enterprise.
Appetize.io appears to be perfect for end-of-development cycle testing, but the browser-based solution has its own set of pros and cons, and a price tag to match.
Let us know how iOS simulations integrate into your workflow in the comments below.
Explore more about: App Development, Programming.
Safari is a default browser on Mac built for better battery performance. Apple claims you can browse 2 hours longer and watch Netflix videos 4 hours longer compared with Google Chrome or Firefox. But for a normal user – especially those migrated from Chrome or using Chrome in parallel – Safari is still not a user-friendly browser unless you have appropriate settings to use it more productively. In this article we explore 10 Safari tips to improve your productivity and user experience.
1. Pinning Tabs
Pinning tabs on the browser allows adding a site’s icon on the left side of the tabs. This tabs will be active in the background even you have closed the particular tab and helps to reopen the page quickly. This is very useful feature to quickly go to the needed page when viewing many sites on a single browser window.
When you are on a page, go to “Window > Pin Tab” to add the icon of the site to the left side of the browser tabs. Right click on the pinned tabs and choose close or unpin option any time to remove the pinned site.
2. Reader View – Block Ads
Reader view is the wonderful option allows you to view the page content without distracting ads and sidebar content. When a website supports a reader view, Safari will display a wrench icon (4 lines) left to the site address on the address bar. Click on it to view the plain content of a webpage without any advertisements. Reader view is also available under “View > Show Reader” and you use “View > Hide Reader” to see the default web page again.
Safari Reader View Options
When the reader view is on, you can see an icon to increase or reduce the font size at the right of the address bar. By clicking the font sizing icon you can also change the background color of the page and font family to make it comfortable for reading.
Reader view option will be visible only if the page supports it, otherwise you will see the wrench icon on the address bar.
3. Viewing Full URL
Safari by default shows the domain name in the address bar without the complete URL including the page name. This may look fine when you view random sites, but cause difficulties for users wanting to explore more categories on a particular site by looking into the URL. Also developers creating websites need to know the complete URL instead of the domain name.
You can enable viewing full site address in Safari under preferences. Go to “Safari > Preferences” or press “Command + Comma (⌘+,)” to open preferences and navigate to “Advanced” tab. Enable the smart search field option “Show full website address”.
When moving the cursor over the address bar you can also see an + icon to add the page to reading list.
4. Viewing Web Page Source
Viewing the source of a webpage not only helps to understand the design concepts of the page but also helps to learn CSS / HTML quickly. Especially for web developers, inspecting an element on a page will save lot of time. By default Safari browser does not show the developer options like Google Chrome or Firefox. Fortunately, you can enable it under the “Advanced” tab of the preferences.
Once enabled, Safari will show “Develop” menu. Now right clicking on the page will show “Show Page Source” and “Inspect Element” options. You can use these tools to view the source code of a webpage.
5. Using Safari Extensions
Though it is easy to get browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox, there are also useful extensions available for Safari. Open Safari browser and navigate to Apple’s Safari Extensions page. There are hundreds of extensions like Ad blocker, translators, screen capture tools, etc. Click on the “Install Now” button to add the extension to Safari.
Safari Extensions
6. Tab Navigation Using Command + Number
When you opened lot of tabs, it is easy to go to the particular tab using “⌘+ number”. For example, use “⌘+1” to go to the first tab and “⌘+5” to go to fifth tab on the browser. This is a default setting in Safari and you can enable it under preferences in case if it is not working for you.
You can also enable opening a link in new tab (otherwise it may open on the same tab) and make a opened tab active when new tab is opened.
7. Disable Website Tracking
Websites track user’s activity for various needs, with the interest based advertising technologies, websites like Google uses the tracked data to show relevant ads on the sites you visit. For example, if you have viewed a page related “web hosting” you may notice any further pages you open will have web hosting related ads. Safari allows to disable this website tracking by sending additional header on the request.
In order to request websites not to track your activities, enable the option “ Ask websites not to track me” against “Website tracking” under “Privacy” tab of Safari preferences.
Though Safari sends “Not to Track” request to websites, it is up to the sites to obey or disobey the request.
8. Clear History and Caches
Over the period of time there will be lots of unnecessary data accumulated as history and cache. This will slow down the performance of the Safari when viewing the web pages. You can clear the history under the menu “History > Clear History…”.
When you have enabled the developer menu (as explained in section 4 above) you can also delete cache under “Develop > Empty Caches”. For a developer, it is very useful to set “Disable Caches” to view the modifications instantly on the browser without problems.
9. Show All Tabs Icon
There is icon called “Show all tabs” available at top right corner of Safari browsera. This icon helps to view all open tabs in a single browser window classified under domains. You can easily close or choose the required tab when you have many open tabs.
10. Using iCloud with Safari
If you are using multiple Apple devices like Mac, iPhone and iPad, use iCloud sharing to store bookmarks, reading list and passwords across all your devices.
Bonus Tips – Share Icon
It is very easy to share article what you are seeing on the Safari browser. Just click on the “Share” icon to share the article on external social sharing sites like Facebook and Twitter or add the page to reading list and bookmarks.
Sharing Options in Safari
Click on the “Show sidebar” icon to view bookmarks, reading lists and shared links.