koobas.hobune.stream
Can I use a used Mac Mini for iOS development?
Hello there.
I'd like to deploy on iOS, however, I don't have a Mac nor any of my friends (or anyone in a radius of some miles)... These devices are extremely expensive in my country (in some stores a brand new one costs ten times the minimum wage - yeah, the income of almost one entire year), so I'd like to know if I can buy a used one to deploy my stuff on iOS.
If the answer is positive, I'd appreciate if you could give me some advice on what models to look for since in my country they are even selling the old PowerPCs (e.g.: 7200) and they're relatively popular in the consumer-to-consumer websites, but obviously they're not suitable for Unity development.
Thank you in advance.
Basically, all you need is a iOS developer account, which is not very cheap (ironic) and yearly (x2 ironic).
https://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/
That means, ownership of a Mac, doesn't matter brand new or a used one.
If you have Unity Pro, you can try Unity Cloud: http://unity3d.com/unity/cloud-build
Here are some more basic stuff: http://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/iphone-basic.html
Thank you. I don't have Pro though. I'm aware of the extortive, Italian-$$anonymous$$afia-style 99/year fee; I thought you needed a brand new $$anonymous$$ac to create an Apple account or something (S/N verification and stuff)... If that's not the case, then okay. :). I found a 'cheapo' used $$anonymous$$ac $$anonymous$$ini from 2010 (2.4GHz Core2Duo, 4GB, Nvidia 260$$anonymous$$). These Apple devices are too much overpriced imho though. For the price of that used and obsolete hw I could buy a much better PC. Capone would be proud. :P
@Beliar - I agree 100%, but also keep in $$anonymous$$d the willingness to pay for overpriced products is why most of us here create games for iOS... good luck trying to get money from the Android crowd, they all want/expect everything to be free, unlike the Apple crowd who will pretty much buy anything.
@shopguy - I agree that it's almost impossible to make money on Android and I hope it's easier on the "dark side of the Force"... In any case I don't think most games are 'overpriced' like the Apple stuff, except of course for IAPs, so the "willingness to pay for overpriced products" doesn't make much of a difference here imho, but simply the "willingness to pay".
You need a relatively recent Mac, since deploying to iOS typically requires the latest (or second-latest) OS. So a 2009 Mac mini or later is fine.
Thank you Eric. Since you said that the latest or second latest OS is needed, then I think that also means I won't be able to build my projects when the support for my hardware is dropped, right? (What could happen on the next OSX version afaik)
The easiest route to go is to install OSX on your PC.
Check out these resources for help on how to do this: http://www.macbreaker.com/2014/01/install-osx-mavericks-on-pc-with-niresh.html http://www.hackintosh.com/
Keep in mind that you will still need an iOS developer account: https://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/
Can I use a hackintosh? Don't they verify the hardware or something? I'm aware of the dev account, but isn't a 'real' $$anonymous$$ac necessary to create one? Can I just buy and install this: http://store.apple.com/us/product/$$anonymous$$C573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard on any ordinary PC (supported)? Is it legal to install Apple OSs on non-Apple hardware?
@BeliarTheEvil Yes, they don't verify the hardware. OSX is just needed so you can use XCode (what Unity exports $$anonymous$$ac projects to). It is legal to install OSX on non-Apple hardware as long as you purchased a copy of the OS. $$anonymous$$ac computers use the exact same type of hardware as a Windows PC. Installing Snow Leopard would be find and you would be able to upgrade it to the latest OSX Yosemite for free from the $$anonymous$$ac App Store.
@lolzrofl - Interesting. What about using a V$$anonymous$$? :B
It's not legal, or at least it's a violation of the EULA. Apple doesn't sell the OS; they make money by selling hardware.
@BeliarTheEvil I believe it's possible with a V$$anonymous$$ as well. Here is a guide that seems simple enough: http://www.skylineosx.com/running-os-x-on-windows-virtualisation/#.VFg8Yfkhjv4
