Whilst it is virtually impossible to run iPad and iPhone apps natively on Windows and Mac, there are some ways to get the same experience and features through the best iOS simulators/ emulators. For developers, this list also includes ways to upload your dev code for your iOS apps to test on a PC or Mac. App.io makes a return, but this time, it is coming back as an iOS emulator for Mac rather than for Windows. Yes, it is available on both platforms, and both versions run perfectly fine. Sure, you might feel at home with the Mac version since there is a close link of all the operating systems under Apple.
There are a lot of Android emulators for your PC (Windows/Mac). If you search for IOS emulators you get a few names. We have made your task easier by gathering the best iOS emulators. These emulators are going to be useful for gamers or app developers. If you are looking for a good iOS simulator that lets you to run iPhone apps on laptops or desktops then keep reading.
6 Best IOS Emulators
As per our list, we have included free and paid iOS emulators, with detailed information about their features.
Appetize.io
This emulator is available for free and even you can purchase its premium version. It has a very simple interface. This emulator is very useful for app developers.
To install an app you just need a public key. The iPhone 5s and all its further versions can access this emulator even the iPad and iPod. It offers the users 100 minutes of usage in a month. Also, you can monitor your free period usage and set an alert before it reaches the end. To take advantage of more features you can switch to the premium version of Appetize.io
Xcode
This emulator is very smooth and works faster. It has been built-in for testing purposes. Get’s access to various devices and screen sizes as per the iOS. You are not allowed to install any random app, for that you require a source code.
For mac, it comes with an app simulator for iOS, watch/iMessage/tvOS.This Xcode is free for download, and one of the best apps for mac users and developers.
Electric Mobile Studio
This emulator gives you a web kit and chrome debugging tool so you can test your web apps. You get a full-fledged emulation for IOS devices and other applications. It also contains the ability to use the same product on two different machines.
Hot-Key navigations key for mapping the favorite shortcuts. Electric Mobile Studio emulator allows you a 7 days free trial and then you can go for a paid version. This is the best emulator for all windows users.
Smartface
This emulator has a very simple but attractive interface. It’s the best emulator for all the windows web developers, for testing the IOS applications.
You get free and the paid version of this emulator. Smartface is the perfect alternative for the ipadian emulator.
TestFlight
The Testflight is a great emulator for beta testing before heading towards the final rollout for all the app users. This emulator is now owned by apple. For the developer’s support for testing their apps like IOS, iMessage/tv/watchOS.
You must have an app store distribution profile. Also, you are not allowed to download any random application. TestFlight is free for download.
Corellium
One of the known web-based emulators. At first, this emulator was been used by enterprise users but now every individual can use it. This emulator is run or managed by the iPhone jailbreak scenes people.
This tool is a little bit hard to handle, just because of some security reasons. Corellium emulator has different paid plans.
All these IOS emulators are a bit different from the Android emulators. All these emulators generally focus on app development. If you are a beginner or new app developer then you can use all the above emulators for practice purposes.
iOS emulator is useful for running iOS or iPhone applications that are not compatible with the PC operating system. For example, you cannot run Android apps on windows or MAC because the operating systems differ. But we have emulators like BlueStacks which will create a virtual environment for running Android apps on windows. Similarly, there are iOS emulators available in the market, here is a list of 15 best iOS emulators for Windows Computer and MAC PC.
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Test Object
Test Object is an online iOS emulator for MAC computers. An emulator is nothing but a virtual device replicating the features as it is mostly used for developing purposes. Test Object has plenty of features like cloud test, GitHub integration, faster loading time and has many iOS devices in its list to select and run.
You can upload your project to Github and link the account to Test Object. It may take time initially but once loaded, the emulator works faster.
Xamarin
This iOS emulator comes with Microsoft visual studio. This can be used to test your apps on iOS platform using emulator. Code once – publish on various platforms is the flexibility given by visual studio to developers. Usually, the code is written in c# and can be published to different platforms like iOS and Android with slight modifications.
This is beneficial as developers will not have to rewrite code for every single platform that wastes time. Emulator consists of many handy options such as home, lock, settings, screenshots and other options. This emulator in windows has touchscreen support too.
Adobe Air iPhone
Air iPhone is an emulator that can be used for testing purposes and normal usage of iOS apps. This software is totally free. You can download this software from the official website. After installation, open it up. Start downloading app, games and enjoy the iOS look and feel from the emulator. If you want to test your app, upload the file and Air iPhone will let you execute in the emulator.
Ripple
Ripple is an emulator but is different from others. It is a chrome extension. Ripple is a multi-platform emulator useful for testing apps on various devices without actually connecting them. There is no need to download any software as it is a chrome extension.
You can emulate any iOS device for testing your app. It offers many tools like Javascript debugging, automated testing, HTML DOM Inspection and much more.
Appetize.io
Appetize.io is an online emulator. In simple terms, it emulates iOS apps using cloud service online. You do not need to download any software for this. This is mainly useful for developers who want to test their apps.
The process is pretty simple. Make a zip of your project. Go to Appetize.io website. Click on upload button located in the top right position of the navigation bar. Upload the zip file and enter your email address. It takes some time and eventually you will get an email. Click on the link, and you can see that the app uploaded as zip will be streamed online.
Smart face
Smart Face is useful for developing applications on cross platforms. Generally, Apple is strict towards the usage of their operating system. You can develop Android apps using Andy Android Emulator on Windows platform, but you would need MAC to test and build iOS apps. This is the main reason for Android having so many useful apps when compared to iOS.
But with the help of a smart face, you can emulate iOS devices and test your apps. For all the iPhone, iPad models available, you can select one device and emulate. Debugging features like watches, breakpoints and real-time code are also available.
MobiOne Studios
MobiOne Studios iOS emulator is mainly useful for developers. With the help of MobiOne Studios, you can develop iOS apps with less coding. Drag and drop feature makes it easier to develop apps.
If you are not a developer and just want to try out iOS apps and games, this emulator can also be used for this purpose. You can download and use apps in the same way as if you had an iPhone. iPad UI templates are available for a quick start. Design the app using this software and testing process can also be performed with ease. This is a useful software for developers and is a too powerful emulator to load apps and games without lag.
IPadian
If you are searching for a software to just get an understanding of how iOS UI looks like or how it works then IPadian is for you. It is a simulator but not an emulator. You can only run apps designed especially for this software. You will not be able to access iTunes.
Apart from downside, significant advantage using this is that you will get the feeling of using a real iOS device after using IPadian. Majority of the apps you find in the store are working, but few apps connecting to servers will have connectivity issues.
Appy Pie
Appy Pie is an online iOS app creator which also provides iOS Simulator. You can create and test iOS apps by running in emulators. Another option is that you can upload your project to the website and can run Simulator.
Appy Pie works smoothly. It has enough features for quick testing your apps without any software installations on Mac.
iPhone Simulator
Download the iPhone Simulator and install in your Windows. This will have the same look and feel just like iOS devices. You can use it to know more about its options. Especially if you are an Android user, you will feel a little discomfort using iOS. This is the best emulator to get yourself used to the iOS operating system.
Download apps and games to try on this emulator. However, you will have access to a limited number of apps or games due to certain rules and restrictions.
Electric Mobile Studio
Electric Mobile Studio is one of the powerful emulators to run almost all apps of the app store. After writing code, you can deploy in the iOS emulator to debug the functionality and can also check in terms of design. This is really useful for developers.
This point is not considered as a downfall, but Electric Mobile Studio needs at least 6GB RAM to be able to run iOS apps smoothly. During or after development, you can use this software for testing various components in the app. Redesigning is also possible. This tool is a complete professional kit for developers. Prices are high, but it is worthy of its features.
App.io
App.io is an online emulator with robust features and flexible workflow. All you need to do is upload your project zip file in the website. Time taken to upload will be based on your internet connection. Once uploaded, you can now test using App.io as it loads the iOS app in the online emulator itself. No extra software or plugins are needed to make this emulator work.
Keep the browsers up to date. Compatible browsers for this online emulator to work are Safari, Chrome, and Firefox.
RunThatApp
This is a relatively new online emulator in the market. The working procedure is the same just like the others. You upload the zip file of your project, and this emulator will do the work for you and loads the application in whichever iOS device you choose.
As it is new or for some reasons, you have to pay to test your apps. This same feature is available in other emulators for free, but the apps run smoothly once loaded. The responsive touch, UI, features resemble an iOS device.
iMAME
Ios App Emulator For Mac
IMame emulator is useful for running iOS games on windows. While most of the emulators are used for developing and trying existing apps, iMame emulator enables you to play games. That being said, it does not mean that it won’t run apps. This emulator runs both iOS apps and games with ease without lag.
This emulator supports only a limited number of apps and games. To be precise, this emulator cannot run apps below iOS 8.
Nintendo 3DS Emulator
Ios App Emulator For Mac Os
As we all know, Nintendo 3ds is not an iOS emulator but it is a popular gaming console with exciting games. You can play all video console its games with the help of Nintendo 3DS Emulator. This creates a virtual environment and lets you play the console games. The options are configurable. Gameplay will be smooth without any lags. This emulator is available on all major platforms like Mac and Windows.
Iphone Emulator For Macbook
All above mentioned iOS emulators are not the only ones available online but these are the best iOS emulators reviewed and rated by users. The list includes both free and paid versions. Basically, you will get softwares for free, but contains ads. You have to pay a subscription to remove ads and can unlock more iOS features. If you have ever encountered bags, kindly send an email to developers explaining the issue. This is your contribution towards developing a bug-free emulator.