Is there a way to test a game on iOS without having a Mac or dev account?

just like the title suggests, I'm developing a mobile game and want to test it out on iOS, I have a PC and an iPhone.

 

The Device Simulator might be something to look into.

https://docs.unity3d.com/Packages/com.unity.device-simulator@2.2/manual/index.html

"Device Simulator is an alternative to the traditional Unity editor Game window. By simulating Screen and SystemInfo class behavior, Device Simulator aims to give an accurate picture of how an app will look on a device."

 

though that was helpful as I didn't know it existed, I am actually looking at a way to run the game on my iphone as I build it to test for performance

 

Ah I see... although I'm still not sure what your issue is? (you don't know how to do it?)

Option 1
You could actually build the file and load it onto your phone. Never done ios development but I know it's possible with android.



Option 2
Again, not sure of ios development but maybe xcode and their simulator?

https://developer.apple.com/library...Simulator/GettingStartedwithiOSSimulator.html

Option 3
Unity Remote could possibly be a partial solution for running it on your device.

https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/UnityRemote5.html

Option 4

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/running_your_app_in_the_simulator_or_on_a_device

After you create a project, you can build and run your app on a simulated or real device without needing to lay out the user interface or write code. You may connect a real device to your Mac using a cable, or for iOS or tvOS apps, connect it over WiFi after you pair it with Xcode. For macOS apps, choose a scheme, then click the Run button in the toolbar.

 

I would try setting up a MacOS virtual machine on your PC, then install the Mac version of the editor and all required tools for generating builds for iOS on the Mac as if it were a real Mac. Then you sync your project from your PC to your Mac vm using whatever version control system you should already be using. You should be able to just spit out iOS builds on the VM from the command line without even needing to open the full editor. (I haven't tried this, but I would assume it would work)

 

Unity Cloud Build supports iOS. From memory you need access to a Mac to do the initial account setup with Apple, but after that you give Cloud Build the relevant info and it takes things from there. Instead of getting your own Mac for the setup part I'd look at borrowing, renting, or remote accessing one (I'm sure there'd be services online where you can remote desktop a Mac).

Cloud Build isn't the only service that will build to iOS, by the way. It's pretty common for automated build systems these days, so you could do a bit of a search and find out what others are available which support Unity.

I don't know if you can get around having a dev account. Is that just because you don't have a Mac to use it on?

 

There's an asset on the asset store which allows you to build the xcode project on windows, but you also need a mac for the initial setup. Either way, you need a dev account to sign the app to run on your phone, whether its for development or release

 

Seconded. Below is one of the more affordable options available that includes remote desktop and administrator access, and in fact most of the use cases they describe revolve around developers needing access to macOS.

https://www.hostmyapple.com/mac-vps-hosting

 

Apple added the option a few years ago to build to iOS devices without a paid developer account. It is done in Xcode, so will need access to a Mac for setting up, which already seems to the the case for other steps mentioned above. Here is a recent guide on how to do it: https://makaka.org/unity-tutorials/test-ios-app-without-developer-account

You do still need a paid account to deploy to the App Store.

 

Cool that they changed that. When I was still doing iOS dev, I still had to pay for that dev account to test on devices.

 

thanks for the help everyone, just incase anyone wants to know, I just setup an OSX VM on my computer and I am able to use XCode without a dev account, though the app implodes after one week, works great for testing though!!! thanks again!!!

 

Just know that it's actually illegal (against Apple EULA) to run Mac OSX VM on non-Apple Hardware. Hate how Apple doesn't want everyone to make apps. Android you can easily use Windows/Mac/Linux to build Android games/apps.. With Apple? Gotta use their hardware. Don't own a mac? Too bad. Plus the $100/yr developer license vs Google $25 buy once, makes it difficult to make anything for Apple.

 

If any of this is a factor in your decision to target a platform you shouldn't bother with mobile apps as regardless of which platforms you decide to target you need the actual devices to verify that your games work the cost of which will easily surpass the cost of the development licenses and hardware.

If anything Apple has the advantage as there are far fewer configurations to verify your games run on. You can buy one of their devices and be done with it. With Android there are many different configurations that can foul you up requiring you to buy more devices if you want to ensure everything works properly.

Fewer configurations likewise means more people who have run into problems with them that can answer your questions. If you want an idea of how badly it can go on the Android side of things just search these forums for threads on Samsung devices. There are tons of unanswered threads.

 

I think you missed the point. With Android you don't have to own a MAC just to build for Android. You can use Windows, Linux, or Mac. When *building* for iOS, you need to have access to a Mac (legally), AND you may need the target devices. I'm fine with getting a target device, but not okay to have to buy a Mac just to build for an iOS device (or pay to BUILD for the device).

Besides, is there anyone that buys every single target device? That's what device emulator testing is for. Is it perfect? No, but it should help. If Apple would produce their tools for Windows and Linux as well, that would lower the large cost of a build machine, then you just need to purchase the target devices if you so wish.

 

Good thing I never said anything about buying every single target device then isn't it?

Device emulator testing is only practical for verifying minor differences between devices of the same model. What it isn't practical for is verifying entire families of devices. Some companies like Amazon and Samsung make major modifications to the OS and that can introduce problems that emulation will never help you discover.

With Android you should be buying at least one device from every manufacturer that is known to make major adjustments to the platform. With Apple you don't have to worry about that and thus you can get away with a single device for testing.

Apple hardware is far less expensive than you're making it out to be. You can purchase a new M1 Mac Mini for as low as $499. A 2018 model can be bought used for at least a hundred less than that on eBay.

 

I didn't say you did?

And with Apple you're going to be most likely buying older versions and newer versions to test how it performs?

And buy a machine that I would literally only use it to build iOS/Mac things? Or Apple could just provide their tools for multiple OS's and save us the money. Besides, a M1 Mac Mini is $799.99 in Canada land. Coupled with Apple's $100/yr license, you're looking at around $1000 just to build for iOS. Against Google's $25 pay once entry fee, and use whatever machine you have is IMO, a lot easier of an entry point.

If we're comparing initial costs, I highly doubt you can make a case where an indie developer just starting will be cheaper off on the iOS route, which was my initial point.

I think we're done here. There's no point in debating cost on a thread that's about testing a game on iOS without having a mac. You DO need a mac, legally.

 

You can use it in that limited of a fashion if you want but that doesn't mean it can't be used for more than just those platforms. Mine is currently acting as a build server for my projects. When a repository is updated it checks out the changes, builds all appropriate platforms, and uploads to where I can distribute easily to team members.

Aside from the jump to their M-series SOCs the capabilities and performance of newer devices is slow to change so you can just buy one model and estimate for newer and older ones. I'm currently playtesting with the "ipad 9th generation" which was $270 USD at Walmart.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPad_(9th_generation)

Okay.

 

You need access to one, yes, but do you need to own one? Once you've got a build chain going with something like Unity Cloud Build I don't recall needing regular access to a Mac of my own.

 

Yeah. Just prefer the free options. At least unity does have the build options, though for someone just starting, the cost of the mac build option is over 3x more than the windows one. My project took 15min to build, so at $0.07 per minute, it'd be about $1 to build. But if you're the type to build and test quite frequently the cost might add up quickly. You'd also have to make some sort've automated way to grab the artifact after it's done building and upload to your device. Would be a lot simpler if Apple at *least* made it legal to run it in a VM (with non apple approved hardware).

 

Apple provides a service for that as part of that subscription. Both for internal and external testing.

https://developer.apple.com/testflight/

No. You can rent one from a cloud service like this one.

https://checkout.macincloud.com/

 

Wait, $25/month for unlimited access to mac? That may be the cheapest I've seen.. and that's not even a terrible price. Just skip a meal out each month.

Nice find, might actually use that when I build for mac. Thanks man!