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shakespea... shakespea...
 
M$2 January 15, 2009 02:02 PM

What's the minimum setup for building iPhone applications?

According to "the rules", you pretty much have to build iPhone apps on Mac hardware to get access to all the right libraries. I know there are some hacked together solutions for doing it on other operating systems, but I'm not interested in that. I'm saying, if I don't have a Mac at all, and would be getting one just for the purpose of getting into the iPhone application development game, what's my minimum buy-in look like? I am assuming I do not need the latest and greatest Macbook, no matter how sweet that would be :)
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philipy philipy
 
 January 15, 2009 02:26 PM
I think you've done the research that you pretty much must know the answer yourself. You need an Intel-based Mac with OS X Leopard.

The cheapest option would be a Mac mini:

http://www.apple.com/macmini/

Haven't tried it, but it should be fine for iPhone development. See the forum thread in the sources list for confirmation and details.

If you are really keeping costs low, you might go for one off eBay, but you'll probably have to add Leopard yourself then.

A KVM switch should allow you to flip your keyboard / video output / mouse between your PC and Mac. Though I hear people sometimes have compatibility problems between the Mac Mini and an existing monitor.

Apart from that any other Mac from the last year or two with Leopard installed should be fine too.
Source(s):
http://developer.apple.com/technology/features.html
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1613894

Asker's Rating:
• I have to give best to Philipy for remembering the Leopard requirement, as well as pointing out the mini as indeed the cheapest way to go.


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drmatt drmatt
 
January 15, 2009 08:41 PM
I was going to mention the Mac Mini, but, for me, it's not a cheaper option. You will have to buy a monitor for it. The other Mac have screens included. Just need to factor a monitor into the cost...

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philipy philipy
 
January 15, 2009 10:08 PM
I think he wants to keep his PC & just have a Mac for iPhone development. So he'll share the monitor with his PC using a KVM switch.

I only know all this cos I looked at doing that myself!

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drmatt drmatt
 
January 15, 2009 02:20 PM
Xcode comes with EVERY Mac (it's on the system disk). Isn't that cool! Every Mac comes with the ability to write applications.

If you buy the cheapest Mac right now, you'll get everything you need to program for the iPhone. Try the refurbished section as well!
Source(s):
MacBook: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook?mco=MTE3MzM
Refurbished Mac at Apple: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac?mco=MTE3NjY


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thedev thedev
 
January 15, 2009 03:16 PM
Every Mac comes with XCode, but you may have to download the latest version to develop iPhone apps - and it needs to be running at least Leopard. Tiger and before aren't compatible.

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drmatt drmatt
 
January 15, 2009 08:39 PM
Right! Thank for that info, thedev. Forgot about that bit...

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