All right. So in this lecture, we're going to be covering some of the tools that you'll need in terms 1
of software and hardware to start developing for iOS. 2
First and foremost, you will need a Mac of some sort. 3
Now, it doesn't have to be the latest or the greatest, but it just has to be able to run OS 10. 4
So it's now called macOS. 5
And the reason why we need macOS is because we need to install a piece of software called Xcode that 6
will allow us to develop our iOS app. 7
So this means that iPads, even iPad pros are out of the question. 8
But if you had a iMac or if you have a MacBook or even a Mac Mini, it will work just fine. 9
So if you don't already have a Mac and you don't want to invest a lot in, you know, brand spanking 10
new top of the range MacBook, then one of the cheapest ways is probably just going onto eBay and getting 11
a second hand Mac mini for around 500 dollars. 12
And it's a pretty great deal and it'll do just fine. 13
But what do you do if you only have a PC? 14
Well, the other option is that you can go for something called MacinCloud. 15
So if you head over to macincloudcom, they have a service where essentially they offer you a 16
Mac in the cloud. So you can be using your PC and you have a remote connection to a Mac that is just 17
for you. 18
And it's already got Xcode pre-downloaded so you can just get up and go. 19
Now there's a lot of people who ask about Hackintosh or how can you run a Mac, sort of dual-boot a Mac on your 20
PC without having to pay for a service like Macincloud. 21
Well, there's a number of ways that you can do this. 22
But one of the major downsides is that Apple is very strict about controlling their software and the 23
environment in which their software runs. 24
So even if you're using Macincloud, even if you're using a Hackintosh solution, you won't be able to 25
run your app on a physical iPhone device that you own. 26
The only way that you can do that is by having an actual Mac, but you will be able to run it on a simulator 27
inside Xcode. 28
So this is a simulated version of an iPhone. 29
And for all intents and purposes, it will work just as well. 30
It's just say, if you're really excited about having your app on your iPhone, then you really need 31
to find a way of either borrowing somebody's Mac or, you know, getting one cheaply. 32
The best resource, according to past students, is a website called a Hackintosh 33
.com talked in detail about how to run Mac OS on a PC, but I would still recommend try out some of 34
the earlier solutions rather than going towards building a hackintosh. 35
It's just that we've had a lot of students on the in-person programming Bootcamp who've tried to do 36
this, and it's always given them a lot of headaches. 37
So if you can, really try and avoid this, this is almost the last-ditch solution. 38
Now, the software that you'll be using is Xcode, and this is a piece of software that's written by 39
Apple and allows you to write code, allows you to design your app as well as run your app within the 40
simulator that it comes with. 41
And this is completely free. 42
And in the next lecture, we'll be showing you how to download it and how to get it set up. 43
But in order to be able to download the latest version of Xcode, which is Xcode 12, you're going to 44
need to update your operating system to at least Mac OS Catalina 10.15. 45
If you're already running Mac OS Big Sur, that's fine as well, of course. 46
But note that Mac OS Catalina 10.15.4 is currently the minimum requirement to run 47
Xcode 12. 48
So if you find that you are unable to download it, it might be because you need to update your Mac 49
OS operating system first. 50
To check which version of OS you're running is super simple. Simply just head to the left upper corner 51
where you've got the Apple symbol, and then go to about this Mac, and you should be able to see the 52
versioning right there. 53
In order to update the latest version of Mac OS, all you have to do is head over to the Apple symbol 54
again, go to system preferences and then go to software update. Here 55
you should be able to see the update for Mac OS Katalina and you can simply click through the wizard 56
to update your Mac OS. 57
Now, another thing to note when you're updating your Mac OS is to check the age of your laptop or your 58
desktop because there are certain hardware requirements in order for us to be able to install the latest 59
version of Mac OS. 60
So here I've included a list that Apple has given. 61
So check your computer against this one to see if you meet the requirements. 62
But if you do have any difficulties updating your Mac OS, then this might be one of the reasons. 63
And if this happens to you, it might be that you have to go down the Macincloud route or you might 64
just have to pick up a cheap version of a Mac mini off eBay. 65
But that's a tip that tripped up some people when they're updating their OS. 66
So when you're testing your app, you've got the choice of either testing it on a physical device if 67
you own an iPhone or an iPad. 68
So because the course is aimed at teaching you how to make apps for iPhone, a lot of the design that 69
you'll be making and a lot of the project stubs will have the design and layouts optimized for iPhone. 70
So you can still follow along with everything we do in the course with an iPad, 71
but just be aware that some of the designs might look a little bit stretched and they might not look 72
exactly the same as you see on the iPhone. 73
But it will work just fine. 74
If you don't have an iPhone, you don't have to run out right away and get one. 75
This is something that I would recommend, 76
you know, once you realize that you're really into this or if you're at the point where you're about 77
to release on the App Store, then you have to test your app on a physical device; t's at this point when 78
you would actually get an iPhone. 79
So, as I mentioned, Xcode comes bundled with a iOS simulator and it's sort of like a virtual phone 80
that runs on your computer. 81
And you can essentially, you know, use the rotate gestures, the shake gestures. 82
You can zoom in and out, you can tap, etc. So it's just a simulated iPhone and that works just as 83
well. 84
The only times when it doesn't really work so well is when you are using notifications or if you're 85
using Apple Health or Apple home or some of those things, it can get a little bit tricky. 86
Another thing that you should always ask yourself before you make any app is do you actually need an app 87
or can you actually make do with a mobile responsive website. Now 88
because we have a mobile app development agency as well at the London App Brewery, one of the things that we 89
tend to recommend, we have a lot of clients who come to us and say, you know, I want you to make 90
this app. 91
And we actually spent a lot of time turning people away and telling them, look, you can get this made 92
much quicker and much cheaper by just getting a web designer to make a website for you that's mobile 93
responsive, that scales nicely on the phone because unless you're tapping into some of the sensors 94
within the phone, say if you need the location or if you need to be able to send people notifications, 95
something that is inherent about the phone that you need. 96
Otherwise, if you just need to display information, then making an app is a very time and money costly 97
way of going about that. 98
So always think about whether if you actually need to make an app before you make any app. 99
And finally, we're just going to mention that prior to Xcode 7, so Xcode 6, in order to actually 100
download the app that you coded up, that you developed within Xcode onto your physical iPhone device 101
that you own, you actually had to pay Apple 99 dollars a year in order to be on the Apple developer 102
program. 103
So as of Xcode 7, 104
so I think that was September 2015 when it launched, 105
you are now able to do this on any free Apple account. 106
So all you need is just your normal iTunes account, which you used to download 107
apps. it will be able to get your code and your app onto your physical iPhone device. 108
Now, when would you consider signing up for Apple developer program? 109
This is when you're ready to launch your app onto the App Store and start generating revenue. 110
So I would recommend that try to delay signing up for the Apple developer program for as long as you can, 111
because you're charged on a yearly basis, rolling essentially. 112
So if you're not yet ready to take advantage of the Apple developer program, if you haven't got your 113
app together yet, if you're not ready to upload to the App Store, then there's actually no point paying 114
Apple for that privilege. 115
So build your app, test it thoroughly, once you're ready and about 116
to launch it to the App Store, then start paying for your Apple developer program license. And this 117
gets you access to something called iTunes Connect. 118
This is a portal where you can upload your apps, you can check your app analytics, how many times 119
it has been downloaded, how many people are using it. 120
You can check your sales, 121
you can see how much money you are making every day, etc., etc. 122
So this is something that we're going to cover in one of the last sections when 123
we guide you through how to actually upload an app to the App Store. 124
So all of that is coming up. 125
All right. 126
So those were all the tools that you'll need in order to get started. 127
And in the next lesson, I'm going to show you how to install and set up Xcode so that you'll be able 128
to get up and running very quickly and we can get started making our first app.