Matt Cone January 1, 2013 TutorialsMacDeveloper
Web developers know it’s important to test their websites on every web browser and device possible. And with the growing popularity of the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, it’s only natural that they’ll also want to test their websites on all of those devices. But short of stocking up on a bunch of Apple products, how can developers preview their websites in iOS?
Actually, it’s easy. Anybody can do it by installing Apple’s iOS simulator on their Mac for free. This functional demo, complete with the mobile Safari web browser, allows you to preview your website or web application in iOS. It looks exactly the same as it does on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.
There are limitations to the simulator. You can’t install apps from the App Store in the simulator, so forget about playing Need for Speed: Most Wanted. And many of the apps that come preinstalled on iOS devices are not available in the simulator. Here’s the bottom line: This stripped-down simulator is great for testing websites, but not much else.
Jul 13, 2020 How to run Mac OS X on an iPhone or iPad Using an app called UTM, it’s possible to run Mac OS X Leopard — and earlier versions of Apple’s operating system — in a virtual machine.
Installing the iOS Simulator on Your Mac
Ready to get started? The first step is downloading Xcode and installing the iOS simulator on your Mac. Here’s how to install the iOS simulator on your Mac:
Download and install Xcode from the Mac App Store. It’s free!
Right click on the Xcode icon in the Applications folder and select Show Package Contents, as shown below.
Open the iPhone Simulator application. You can find the alias in Contents → Applications, as shown below.
For easy access to the iOS simulator in the future, drag and drop the iOS Simulator alias on to your Desktop or the Applications folder.
The iOS simulator is now installed and running on your Mac, as shown below.
Cost – It is free of cost. Cornelium is an iOS emulator for PC. It is generally useful for security researchers as it helps them to start a simulated iOS device inside the browser. Jun 19, 2020 An Android or iOS application or a browser gets emulated by an emulator on an operating system considered as a defined one, such as that of Mac and Windows. What it does is that it establishes virtual hardware conditions of that of an Android or iOS device. Following this, we use it for testing besides debugging. Mar 13, 2021 This is an iOS emulator for mac where it allows user to directly launch their app from the Xcode project. What sets this apart from other iPhone emulators and simulators for Windows or Mac is the ability to test web apps by accessing Safari within Xcode. Electric Mobile Studio Photo by ElectricPlum.
As mentioned earlier, you’ll notice that the simulator is missing a lot of the applications and settings that come with every iOS device.
Free Ios Emulator For Mac
Rotating the Simulator
Every iOS device has a gyroscope that keeps track of the screen’s orientation. For example, if you turn the device horizontally, iOS will automatically rotate the screen if you’re using an app that supports the feature. The simulator can rotate, too! It can be a useful tool when you’re developing a responsive website or web app.
Here’s how to rotate the simulator:
Open the iOS simulator, if it’s not already open.
Open the Safari app in the simulator.
From the Hardware menu, select Rotate Left or Rotate Right. The simulator will rotate, as shown below.
To rotate the simulator back again, select a rotation option from the Hardware menu.
Simulating Different iOS Devices
What good would an iOS simulator be without the ability to switch between the different dimensions of the iPhone 4, iPhone 5, and the different versions of the iPad? The simulator lets you use them all on your Mac. Here’s how to simulate a different iOS device with the iOS simulator:
- Open the iOS simulator, if it’s not already open.
- From the Hardware menu, select Device, and then select the type of device you want to simulate.
- The simulator window will change to match the dimensions of the device you selected.
To restore the original window with the iPhone case as a border, select iPhone.
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There are a lot of Android emulators for your PC (Windows/Mac). If you search for IOS emulators you get a few names. We have made your task easier by gathering the best iOS emulators. These emulators are going to be useful for gamers or app developers. If you are looking for a good iOS simulator that lets you to run iPhone apps on laptops or desktops then keep reading.
6 Best IOS Emulators
As per our list, we have included free and paid iOS emulators, with detailed information about their features.
Appetize.io
This emulator is available for free and even you can purchase its premium version. It has a very simple interface. This emulator is very useful for app developers.
To install an app you just need a public key. The iPhone 5s and all its further versions can access this emulator even the iPad and iPod. It offers the users 100 minutes of usage in a month. Also, you can monitor your free period usage and set an alert before it reaches the end. To take advantage of more features you can switch to the premium version of Appetize.io
Xcode
This emulator is very smooth and works faster. It has been built-in for testing purposes. Get’s access to various devices and screen sizes as per the iOS. You are not allowed to install any random app, for that you require a source code.
For mac, it comes with an app simulator for iOS, watch/iMessage/tvOS.This Xcode is free for download, and one of the best apps for mac users and developers.
Electric Mobile Studio
This emulator gives you a web kit and chrome debugging tool so you can test your web apps. You get a full-fledged emulation for IOS devices and other applications. It also contains the ability to use the same product on two different machines.
Hot-Key navigations key for mapping the favorite shortcuts. Electric Mobile Studio emulator allows you a 7 days free trial and then you can go for a paid version. This is the best emulator for all windows users.
Smartface
This emulator has a very simple but attractive interface. It’s the best emulator for all the windows web developers, for testing the IOS applications.
You get free and the paid version of this emulator. Smartface is the perfect alternative for the ipadian emulator.
TestFlight
The Testflight is a great emulator for beta testing before heading towards the final rollout for all the app users. This emulator is now owned by apple. For the developer’s support for testing their apps like IOS, iMessage/tv/watchOS.
You must have an app store distribution profile. Also, you are not allowed to download any random application. TestFlight is free for download.
Corellium
One of the known web-based emulators. At first, this emulator was been used by enterprise users but now every individual can use it. This emulator is run or managed by the iPhone jailbreak scenes people.
This tool is a little bit hard to handle, just because of some security reasons. Corellium emulator has different paid plans.
Ios Simulator For Mac
All these IOS emulators are a bit different from the Android emulators. All these emulators generally focus on app development. If you are a beginner or new app developer then you can use all the above emulators for practice purposes.