IOS development

[Jalaloedien]

I'm getting started on IOS development and I'm looking at my options for hardware.
Does anyone here have any recommendations on what Mac machine would serve as a good development machine to start with? I'm saying to start with because I don't want to buy the most expensive mac there is just to start messing around with IOS dev. Ideally I would like to get a Macbook Air, but the 1.3Ghz processor and 4GB or RAM concerns me since I know what Eclipse and Netbeans can do to my Windows machine with 8GB of RAM.
I would prefer a laptop to a desktop because my current situation means that I need to be flexible about where I set up office in my house. The base model Macbook Pro is next alternative because I can at least upgrade the RAM to beyond 4GB...at a sacrifice of weight, screen resolution and IO speed.
Any thoughts? An please keep the fanboy/Mac-bashing/Trolling to a minimum

 

[Lord Flacko]

The MacBook Air is for menial tasks (eg typing documents, emails and that kind of stuff).

The ideal Mac would have been the top spec 13" MacBook Pro with a 2.9 GHz Core i7 processor, 8 Gb RAM and 750 Gb HDD. I believe this model has been discontinued as I haven't seen it at any stores and on Apple's website.

You're forced between the entry level 13" (MD101) and the 13"Retina Models.

 

[Jalaloedien]

Ok, so the non-retina Macbook Pro would be my best bet. 500g heavier than the Air, but what the hell... as long as it serves its purpose
The Retina Macbook Pro with 8GB of RAM would be great, but I just cant justify spending that much extra.

 

[Lord Flacko]

Go for the standard 13" MacBook Pro. The components on the Retina Models are soldered onto the logic board. No upgrades can be done on them. After the warranty has expired and if you have extra cash, replace the 500 Gb HDD with a SSD. Hopefully the prices will have gone down a bit by then.

 

[[)roi(]]

Shop the 2nd hand market.

 

[bboy]

Err don't the older macbook pro's have really crap resolutions? Like 1280 x 800?

I started with a mac mini, cheapest way to go and is very portable if you have a screen at your destination.
I then bought a macair 13 inch, which still does very well, not the fastest thing though, I would use the mini over this.
Finally bought a 27" iMac which really blows the other two out the water but ovbiously costs.

If I had to go back, I'd skip the air and go cheap mini... then when serious go full 27" iMac.

 

[zippy]

I'm getting started on IOS development and I'm looking at my options for hardware.
Does anyone here have any recommendations on what Mac machine would serve as a good development machine to start with? I'm saying to start with because I don't want to buy the most expensive mac there is just to start messing around with IOS dev. Ideally I would like to get a Macbook Air, but the 1.3Ghz processor and 4GB or RAM concerns me since I know what Eclipse and Netbeans can do to my Windows machine with 8GB of RAM.
I would prefer a laptop to a desktop because my current situation means that I need to be flexible about where I set up office in my house. The base model Macbook Pro is next alternative because I can at least upgrade the RAM to beyond 4GB...at a sacrifice of weight, screen resolution and IO speed.
Any thoughts? An please keep the fanboy/Mac-bashing/Trolling to a minimum

I have MacBook pro with 4gb ram. Runs xcode and the iphone and ipad simulators with no noticeable performance issues.

 

[itareanlnotani]

I'd say ignore Lord Flacko, an Air is *plenty* fine for development work. I do a _lot_ of stuff on mine, and its more than capable.
I usually have a few vm's for different OS stuff (I do embedded stuff, linux, and OSX/iOS depending on my mood!)
The SSD is key. Compiling is more disk based than cpu based, so fast disk is more important.

As for ram - 4G is ok, but if you can get 8G model, do so, as you can't upgrade it later without access to BGA reflow equipment.

XCode on the other hand is buggy crap. Its gotten better, but I can still crash it at whim doing simple tasks.

Don't be tempted by any of the quick dev stuff like Sencha. Its good for a quick prototype, but Objective C is where you want to be for anything else.

If you're doing gaming apps, then also look at Unity, which is pretty good.

If you have the money though, a Retina Macbook is pimp.

 

[[)roi(]]

Err don't the older macbook pro's have really crap resolutions? Like 1280 x 800?

Not if you consider the 15" or 17" MBPs. Performance wise they'll be on par if not better than most MBAs, RAM upgradable, throw in an SSD and they have a lot of life left.

The reason of course for this approach is to try to lower the startup costs without too much compromise.

Agreed re 27" iMac...