Member Avatar for mitchfizz05

Hello all.
I love iPod touches.
I love iPads.
I love iPhones.
I love Windows PCs...
I HATE macs!

Is there ANY way to make an app for iOS without a mac?
(I don't want to make a web app though, but even if you find a way for that please tell me!)

PLEASE HELP!

Thanks

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Dani AI

Generated

Thread context: asked whether iOS apps can be made without owning a Mac. Several replies suggested third-party tools, Flash and running OS X in VirtualBox. Those ideas point at real options but miss the practical, legal and signing details that matter when moving from "toy" to App Store-ready.

Practical, reliable options

  • Rent or remote-access a real Mac (hourly or monthly services) and run Xcode there. This avoids downloading multi-gigabyte OS images and gives full access to the simulator, device deployment and App Store upload tools.
  • Keep development on Windows with a cross-platform framework (React Native, Flutter, Xamarin/.NET MAUI, Unity) or plain web stack, then offload final iOS builds to a remote Mac or CI service that supports macOS runners. CI services can automate builds, code signing and uploads.
  • Buy inexpensive Apple hardware (used Mac mini or similar) if native Xcode/Swift learning is the goal and long-term cost justifies it.

Key constraints and steps people often miss

  • Apple requires macOS/Xcode for the official build, signing and App Store packaging steps. Distribution to the App Store requires an Apple Developer Program membership and correctly provisioned certificates/profiles.
  • Common workflow: develop locally on Windows, push code to git, trigger a macOS build (remote desktop or CI), generate or import signing certificates/provisioning profiles on that Mac, build the IPA, then upload via Xcode/Transporter or CI automation to App Store Connect and TestFlight for testing.
  • Frequent failures come from code-signing mismatches: check bundle identifier, certificate validity, provisioning profile device lists (for ad-hoc) and use automatic signing in Xcode or a signing manager like fastlane/match on CI.

Warnings

  • Running macOS on non-Apple hardware (Hackintosh, unofficial VM images) violates Apple licensing and is unstable; it is not recommended for production or App Store submission workflows.
  • Some older or defunct toolchains once claimed to remove the need for a Mac; those are either deprecated or still require a Mac for final signing.

For someone with limited internet like , a short-term cloud Mac session or hourly CI build is the least painful, legal and robust path to a true native iOS app.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for C0ding

In my case, i love Windows and Mac as well, and as for developing apps,
yeah, there are Third-party software or tools to make apps, but they will
never be as good as making them in a mac os computer. when i said Third-party,
i meant there are software out there that can allow you to make apps in Windows
and then to be run in iOS.

Member Avatar for C0ding

If you have a mac, all you need to do is create an account
in the apple website as a developer, is free, then the next
step is to downloas xcode also free for members only, then
start coding, i did the same, and the newest version of xcode
have new interface that make things a bit easier than before.
now it let you code like if we were coding in visual basic :-)

Member Avatar for mitchfizz05

Man! Your teasing me now! I want to make apps for iOS with the real X-Code.
:'(

Member Avatar for VengefulToast

You can use Adobe Flash to make an app. You can draw buttons and custom GUIs. You have to learn action script though to learn how to handle the events the button creates.

Member Avatar for Tumlee

You can use Adobe Flash to make an app.

How can he use Adobe Flash to make an iOS app, when iOS doesn't support Flash?

Apple pretty much has the whole App-making thing locked down to where you can't produce any iOS app without owning an Apple computer. From what I've heard, when Apple doesn't like an app they try to find something to reject it just to annoy the developers. Your best bet is to find a way around that, perhaps to virtualbox OSX so you can run xCode on a computer you want to use.

Member Avatar for mitchfizz05

Looked into virtual box, but when I went to download OSX I found out it was about eight gig.
I dont have that much Internet.
D:

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