Top 10 iOS App Development Tools For Startups

Whether you are a novice or an experienced iOS developer, it is important to use the right set of tools to create high-quality applications. Apple has a number of advanced tools and technologies to make app development easier for iOS developers. These tools help them build highly-functional and user-friendly iOS apps. And in this blog post, we will share some of the best iOS app development tools that developers use to build custom iOS applications.

1. Xcode

Xcode is the primary choice for novice developers to develop applications for iOS and macOS. Its integrated development environment (IDE) includes a text editor, a parser, a compiler, and a build system. Xcode manages everything from designing and developing to deploying apps to the Apple store.

Also Read: How to Submit and Publish Your iOS App to the Apple Store?

The tool consists of strong debugging and file management features, which allows developers to return to the task, upon finding a fault. It also includes pre-written templates and code snippets for new programmers that help them create their own apps.

If you’re looking for a tool that minimizes app development time, creates consistency, and accelerates the app development process, Xcode should be your go-to choice.

Features-

1. The tool offers a version editor to display the running timeline of commits.

2. Source Editor in Xcode helps you program the app with syntax highlighting, advanced code completion, and other context-sensitive information in line with your code.

3. It has a ‘live issues’ feature that highlights coding errors.

4. Designing and testing a graphical interface in Xcode doesn’t require writing a line of code.

5. iOS SDK allows you to build, install & run apps and debug them in a Mac-based simulator.

2. AppCode

Developed by JetBrains, AppCode is a powerful iOS development tool built on the IntelliJ IDEA platform. The tool supports several programming languages like Swift, Objective-C, C++, and JavaScript.

One of the major perks of using the AppCode tool is that it eases writing and analyzing code. The intelligence code assistance of AppCode regularly catches code errors which helps developers fix them on time.

Features-

1. Works with multiple programming languages in a single environment.

2. Intelligence code assistance helps in creating clean code.

3. Easy for developers to test, run, and debug the app with the help of built-in tools and integrations.

3. CodeRunner

Next on the list of iOS development tools for startups is CodeRunner which is a lightweight and multi-language programming editor. It comes with advanced code compilation, a built-in console, customizable key binding, and a powerful IDE platform that offers some remarkable features to help developers write code effortlessly and efficiently.

What makes this tool one of the best out there is it allows you to build advanced apps while offering debugging support and fixing syntax errors. It supports up to 25 languages.

Features-

1. File navigator

2. Documentation sidebar

3. Automatic indentation support

4. Code templates

5. Textmate syntaxes and themes

4. Mockingbird

The Mockingbird tool is mostly used to examine the application in the early stages of development. It helps mock, stub, and verify Swift and C objects in Swift unit tests. The tool provides drag-and-drop functionality for mobile app design. It supports adjustment of alignment, font, and color, and allows sharing sketches with the team.

Mockingbird was initially introduced as a tool to minimize the frequency of mocks and simplify unit testing on iOS. Developers prefer MockingBird over other frameworks because it is quicker in generating mocks, doesn’t mix the production code with the tests, and displays the stuttering failures upfront in the code. Big corporations like Amazon and Facebook rely on this tool.

Features-

1. Real-time mobile app design using drag and drop.

2. Convers low-fidelity wireframes into high-fidelity previews.

3. Easy to wireframe

5. Simulator

The Simulator tool is used by iOS developers to quickly test applications before submitting them for approval to the Apple team. It’s an Xcode tool installed on Mac that enables developers to run iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV applications in a window.

A simulation environment is made up of a simulated device and simulated software that has its own files and settings which get saved to every device that gets tested. And so, there isn’t much back-and-forth between screens.

Features-

1. The tool assists developers in prototyping and debugging apps.

2. The graphics of an application can be easily modified with this tool.

3. Offers smooth interaction with apps on iOS, watchOS, and tvOS with keyboard and pointer support.

6. CocoaPods

CocoaPods is a popular dependency manager consisting of more than 58,000 libraries and helps streamline the integration of third-party libraries into Xcode projects. It is specifically designed for large-scale iOS app development projects. Swift and Object-oriented C developers rely on this tool. Today, the tool is leveraged by 83,000+ active developers and has been integrated into over 3 million iOS apps.

Using CocoaPods requires creating a Podfile, a text file that briefs you about how your app depends on other libraries. This dependency manager resolves dependencies and fetches source code for the libraries, which are placed in an Xcode workspace.

Features-

1. Removes dependency conflicts between libraries.

2. Incorporating third-party libraries is easier.

7. Fabric

Fabric is a robust yet lightweight tool that allows developers to build a variety of applications in real-time. The tool consists of several development kits, which is effortlessly integrated into the app development environment and simplifies developing high-performance applications.

Fabric helps developers automate the beta distribution and application deployment process. It also makes it easier for them to integrate new features into the application.

Note: Fabric has been shifted to Firebase and consists of two plans- a free spark plan and a premium Blaze plan.

Features-

1. Easy testing of code snippets.

2. Helps manage all SDKs and saves from the hassle of switching between accounts.

8. Applyzer

This iOS development tool is quite easy to use and assists developers in monitoring the app’s position on the app store. They can create an account and integrate the app ID to track the app’s position.

The tool allows content developers to search for keywords in the app’s content and view a list of all the keywords that have been used along with their results. It is not purely a development tool but holds significant importance for app developers, marketers, and publishers.

Features-

1. Provides hourly app insights.

2. Helps determine the relevant competitive keywords.

9. AlamoFire

AlamoFire is a library that developers can use to create iOS apps. The library is HTTP-based and acts as a replacement for Apple’s networking stack. HTTP methods, statistics, network improvement, authentication services, and request forwarding are a few aspects it keeps a track of. AlamoFire is built entirely on Swift and can handle web requests and responses on iOS and macOS.

Features-

1. HTTP response validation

2. Authentication with URL credential

3. Network reachability

4. Public key and TLS certificate pinning

10. Marvel

iOS developers utilize the Marvel app to turn hand-drawn concepts into interactive prototypes. It’s one of the popular tools used to bring ideas to life. Prototypes created with this app may be sent by email or SMS, or one can simply import images of sketches to use as a starting point for a new design.

Features-

1. Allows creating screens directly or adding images from Sketch or Photoshop.

2. Converts designs into specifications automatically.

3. Supports over 1 million icons and stock photos to design.

So, these are some of the popular and widely-used iOS development tools preferred by Startups. If you have got any queries regarding these tools, drop them in the comments below.