Converting to iOS?

App Inventor for iOS
19

Hello, what is your suggestion on buying a laptop for learning to build apps ?
Is the Macbook with M1 the best option if I want to learing building apps on both Android and iOS platform ?
And most importantly, what is lowest configuration of the Macbook (or other laptops) is recommended if I want to do things smoothly but not to broke my bank for it ?
I haven't follow anything about computers for years, since the smartphones and tablets are getting more and more powerful these days. My current hp notebook can't even run Android Studios smoothly.

Thanks

20

To all who are thinking to buy an Apple Device to test apps or other stuffs,

I have a little suggestion for you,

There is a Apple Emulator on browserstack.com

21
22

Thanks for your reply. It seems the macbook air can do the job as well.

23

Apple's cheapest computer is the Macmini and the 8GB ram model would be great for that, and like I said before, I still recommend buying the Mac with the m1 because in addition to being very powerful and energy efficient you will also be able to run your application on it.

By the way, I recommend using the Firefox browser because the workspace works much faster in it (this is significant in large projects)

24

:arrossato: :arrossato: :arrossato: :arrossato: :arrossato:

25

Hello @App_Pro .

Sorry for the delay in my response, I was involved with other things and if it weren't because someone yesterday mentioned me ... (hello @Nicola_Imperati ) I wouldn't have realized how this was.

I suppose you already have enough clearer things.

The announcement they made is mainly because they added the Companion for iOS to the App Store, which is very important to test applications if your device is iOS and not Android.

I just received the email that my first application is approved in iTunes (do not look for it, it will not be available until October and it will also only be available in Spain ... apart from that due to its operation ... well, I do not think you will go it to be able to prove :sweat_smile:) and the truth is that my experience ...

I remember when a few months ago, a friend told me "Luis, look at the App Inventor: I am making applications for my mobile to carry my things", so I went in and was amazed: In just a moment I had already made an APK and it! I had installed on my mobile !.

My experiences in the development of mobile applications had been about 10 years ago with the Google application and there it was still very cumbersome to do anything, but MIT had made a very friendly environment that allowed adding controls in a simple way and accessing their properties, methods and events just like any GUI. In addition, the amount of objects that they offered allowed to perform a number of functions in a tremendously simple way.

In a short time I made a mobile application that we could integrate into a solution that we offer to our clients at work. I showed it to my boss and he really liked the idea. So much so that he told me he wanted it for iOS ... and that's where my odyssey began.

There I discovered that it was necessary to have a mac computer to be able to make applications for iOS (or to find a site like MIT App Inventor that would allow compilable without a mac computer). I found another solution, which went through the acquisition of a development program (pier) that (supposedly) would allow to make the compilable ... but its cost was the same as that of buying a mac.

Then there is the issue of having to sign up for the Apple Developer Program. And then the funniest thing goes to the application (in this case AI2), ask it to give you a request for a certificate to send to Apple so that they can then issue it to you. You take the certificate and add it to AI2 to be able to make an installable. To make this separate certificate you have to be dealing with Apple indicating in which device you are going to do the tests (you need an iOS device, get its identifier ...), an identifier for the application, a Profile ... total that while for Android you can get an APK as you have your program ready, for iOS you have to waste a while asking Apple for permission to let you install YOUR program on YOUR device. What's more, while with your APK you can send the program to (almost) everyone who has Android by mail, WhatsApp or Telegram, if you want to send the application to your cousin who also has an iPhone, you have to ask him to say your device identifier, add it on Apple Developer page ...

And best of all ... YOU HAVE TO ASK APPLE TO REVIEW YOUR PROGRAM! Send screenshots (great fun when you have to send screenshots for 6.5 '', 5 '' devices, iPad and iPad pro when (as is my case) you only have an iPhone 5s ...) I have spent almost a week to get approval ... and it is a normal application, that does not take data, it does not cost money ... I suppose that for the next one it will take less time, at least I know that although your application does not contain adult content you should not say that it is for a range from 5 to 7 years believing that this way you make it clear that it is an application suitable for all audiences ...

And at this point, I'm already curious: if I had a mac with swift and made a program, do I also need to sign up for the Apple Developer Program if I want to install said program on MY mobile? And if I want to send it to my cousin, how do I do it? Can I send you the .ipa by whatssap in the same way that I can send an apk?

26

Well, I think not.
But if AI2 adopts a method similar to that of Thunkable then you can share the link to install the app without having to upload it to the App Store or TestFlight
However the Thunkable link is only available for a few hours ...

27

Thunkable lets you download for one day. You can share the link with more than one person but you can only have one application created with thunkable per device.

I think that right now AI2 needs you to have an account in the Apple development program to be able to do a test, while Thunkable, I think that for that option it does not ask for it at that moment (although you have to enter the permission to enable the downloaded application)

2 Likes
28

Maybe this service could help?
https://altstore.io/

2 Likes
29

Maybe I could ... but what a engineering thing to do for something that with Android is tremendously simple

2 Likes
30

Infatti, non vale la pena di perdere tempo con iOS..questo perchè sono troppo esigenti; invece è tanto semplice programmare app con MIT App Inventor.

2 Likes
31

image

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32

Well, apple is more restrictive, which is why apple apps are more polished and there aren't as many junk apps as in google play.

1 Like
33

Tim come dice un vecchio proverbio.."la matematica non è un opinione"..ed in questo caso le percentuali..parlano chiaro.

1 Like
34

Well, I really didn't want to ... but my boss had a different opinion ...

35

Just to stir the pot a little bit: I do not believe that any of the current AI2 extensions will work with the iOS version. Someone please jump in and correct me if I am wrong. As far as I know, the only environment for developing AI2 extensions uses MIT's specially configured version of Google's Android Studio and the extensions are coded in Java. iOS extensions will have to be coded in Swift; most likely using Apple's development system (with configuration instructions and libraries suppled by the MIT team). So, when the MIT team says they hope to offer the capability to compile AI2 apps for iOS this summer, I do NOT believe that this includes releasing the capability to build AI2 extensions for iOS. And, of course, you won't be able to use any of the many many excellent extensions from third party developers unless and until they port their extensions to Swift for iOS. I hope that I am wrong here, but I don't think so.

36

Yes you are right. In addition, I think that not all existing extension developers will want to migrate their extensions to ios, but new extension developers may appear. But this is only a theory because it is not known if and when it will be possible to create iOS extensions.

1 Like
37

There is no real Apple IOS emulator. Apple is closed source. Those are just testing devices connected.

38

I know, they are real devices connected to it. As they are real devices, you get only 30 min trial to use those