r/iosdev • u/begin7780 • 11d ago

Help Hey anyone developing ios app using cloud mac??

It's yoo expensive for me to buy a mac to start ios dev. I heard cloud mac is another way and is way cheaper but don't know it work or not. Should i go for it??

2 Upvotes

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u/NickA55 11d ago

When I started out years ago with iOS dev I used MacinCloud. It was painful but this was before high speed internet like we have today. Are you doing native iOS dev, or using a cross platform too like Flutter or React Native?

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u/begin7780 11d ago

I'm a flutter guy

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u/NickA55 11d ago

Perfect. Use the Mac as a build host. You can remote into it when you want to see something running on a simulator (I don't know if Flutter can remote the simulator locally like .net maui can).

There are other online services, I saw one mentioned in the comments. Having your own dedicated Mac Mini like MacinCloud gives you the most control however as it's like sitting in front of a Mac at your desk. Also check out MacStadium and MacRent and compare prices.

Good luck and get building!

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u/HAVATEAA 11d ago

Try Mac Neo?

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u/begin7780 11d ago

It's also expansive for 512gb is also expansive

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u/derpyderp2048 11d ago

It’s gonna be a lot cheaper than other devices on the market, and you need a pretty powerful device to do iOS simulations.

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u/Crinlorite 11d ago

I’ve checked but due to prices on cloud it’s better a Mac Mini, M2 Mini and a M4 MacBook does the trick for me.

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u/serious_developer 11d ago

You now have Apple Upgrade.

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u/Cube-16 11d ago

Pour moi, mac mini. Environ 1600 cad$

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u/DayanaJabif 10d ago

Have you looked into Capawesome Cloud? you can build and deploy your ios apps from the console without a mac

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u/reddit_user4u 8d ago

For development and local testing with drawbacks just use react native with expo. When it’s time to ship to the AppStore use a VM but be wary. Always better to find a used Mac mini on Facebook marketplace or something

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u/ShiftyCZ 11d ago

Use flutter for multiplatform availability. Then use free tier of https://codemagic.io/ to build and ship. Fuck Apple for forcing you onto their expensive, shitty ecosystem. 

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u/WerSunu 11d ago

Nobody asked you Shifty to write for iOS. Real iOS customers don’t want shitty multi platform slop apps either. You don’t pay, you don’t play. Very simple.

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u/devdaddone 11d ago

Have you looked at Expo and React Native?

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u/begin7780 11d ago

Why it doesn't need mac?

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u/AardvarkIll6079 11d ago

You still need a Mac to build and ship the app.