Macbook Air vs Macbook Pro for iOS development

Question

ayushv2005 OP

Created Aug ’18

Replies 3

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Views 16k

Participants 5

This question has been discussed in the past, so apologies in advance for raking it up once again. However I’d really appreciate some inputs on the following, with regard to the current Macbook range -

I develop iOS games and am currently using a MacBook Pro 13” (early 2011), with an Intel Core i5 2.3 Ghz processor. Over the years I’ve upgraded its RAM to 8GB and also replaced the original HDD with an SSD drive. However over the past year, the simulators (especially iPhone X) run extremely slowly, and there are unresolved issues with the Graphics Card as mentioned on these threads -

https://forums.developer.apple.com/thread/96511

https://forums.developer.apple.com/thread/88446

I’m looking to purchase a new MacBook and am trying to decide between the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (without Touch Bar), both 13” and 256GB hard disk capacity.

There is a considerable price difference between the two, and I wanted some feedback on whether the current MacBook Air is adequate for the purpose of iOS Development.

I often have Photoshop and Illustrator running alongside Xcode during the development phase. Also Safari is in use most of the time. Sometimes I use Cheetah 3D for modelling. And ya - iTunes is also running in the background for playing music.

1) Can the current MacBook Air handle the above load without hiccups?

2) Do the iOS simulators (iPhone X especially) run smoothly on the MacBook Air?

3) This thread highlights the unresolved issue with Intel HD3000 Graphics Cards, that affect the Simulators - https://forums.developer.apple.com/thread/96511

Is this issue also present in the current MacBook Air that has HD6000 Graphics Card?

~Thanks,

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Answer 1

Claude31 OP

Aug ’18

Your requirements of apps to run in parallel (which are power and memory hungry) you should consider:

- at least 16 GB RAM ; less is probably the cause of slow down

- 1 GB hard disk

- probably a larger screen (or external display)

So, MacBook air may be short on those, notably its RAM limited to 8GB

As cost may be an issue, you should consider revisiting your requirements and not ask so much to the machine.

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Answer 2

KMT OP

Aug ’18

> with regard to the current Macbook range -

Apple engrs., when talking about hardware for Xcode, favor max ram (32 if possible) and a fast SSD - that's where I'd put my money, not in a graphics card. As for that 256 GB SSD...way too small, I think, for today's work.

Be sure to budget for a backup and when you do the math on SSD, double what you think you'll need now, then double it again. Tons of free space is your friend. You don't want to have to go to the well twice.

>Over the years I’ve upgraded its RAM to 8GB

Only 8 GB? Ouch... Can you go to at least 16GB or more? Faster/bigger SSD? Might be a cheap save, at least for another year or so, and might help graphics performance too.

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Answer 3

iPadProPerson OP

Dec ’20

I have the same use cases and promblem except its 2020 which should i get m1 base macbook air or pro 13

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