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If I install Mac OS in a virtual environment (VMware) on my Windows computer, will I be able to install Xcode in the virtual environment and use it to develop iOS applications ?

More specifically, will it be possible to run the simulator in VMware? Will it behave as good as on a normal MAC computer?

Jean
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Finutv
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4 Answers4

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Yes, it will. But there may be some license issues (You can only install a copy of MAC OS in a virtual environment if you do own a license). You may also encounter some difficulties installing MAC OS on VMWare. But once you get past them, Xcode and the iPhone simulator should work fine.

You can look at this article for instructions on how to install Mountain Lion in VMWare:

Easily Run Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Retail on PC with VMware Image – Simple Steps

Jean
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  • This is encouraging! This is an iAtkos Mountain Lion 2 running from within VMware in Windows 7. I am using Core i3 4130 4GB of Ram and the performance is impressive. Haven't get a hand on XCode though, but your answer is a delight. Installing iAtkos ML 2 on Vmware is a breeze. You only have to downlodad dmg2iso if your iatkos happen to be in dmg format – swdev Feb 18 '14 at 06:29
  • Apple licensing does not permit you to install onto VMWare, unless VMWare is itself running on Apple logo hardware. https://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1000131 – David May 11 '16 at 00:02
  • Apple licencing... yeah as if even apple employees obey that (news: they violate their own terms) In Australia, you own software and hardware when you buy it (the law) so we can do what we want with it. So if you're worried about licence, just grab a cloud vm in Australia and you're sorted. ;-) Not that apple 'ever' chased down an average joe for violating the licence... you can also buy an osx licence over the counter for next to nix, especially older versions from apple store and other apple retailers, so buy the software, then put it where you like... Apple don't really care. – Dawesi Feb 25 '18 at 13:44
  • then again there's this: https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/11/microsoft-now-lets-ios-developers-deploy-run-and-test-their-apps-directly-from-windows/ – Dawesi Feb 25 '18 at 13:47
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It is possible to develop iOS Apps using XCODE on a Windows machine running Mac OS on VMWare, but I would advise having at least 8-16GB (or more) of RAM.

Ryan D'souza
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yes you can use virtual environment for xcode but i am suggesting you that you should have at least 8GB RAM if you don't then don't go for virtualization because its decreasing the speed.

Mark Buffalo
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mosmin sherasia
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Yes, it's possible! Tested on Windows 10 Pro (64 bits) with VMWare 12.5 - Emulating OS-X 10.11.6 (El Captain) and X-code 8.0

Guillermo
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