Top 10 iOS App Development Tools You Must Use for Your App
The iPhone’s popularity and market share continue to rise. According to Statista, Apple had 23.4% of the worldwide smartphone market in the last quarter of 2021. And the reason behind this is the following — gen development tools. Every year technological advancement led iOS to grow to the peak.
Knowing about such tools is a must if you belong to the development sector or are using iOS apps and frameworks for businesses. You’ll need to be familiar with the top iOS app development tools to create dynamic iOS apps that can make it in the fiercely competitive iOS app market. And for the same, here is a blog post with a list of all top iOS App Development Tools.
Top iOS App Development Tools to Lookout
1. Xcode
Apple’s official tool is called Xcode. With Xcode, you can make apps for Apple tvOS, iPad, iPhone, and macOS. It is easy to do so with tools like a good code editor, compiler, debugging system, and build system. It is mainly an integrated development environment (IDE) used to make iOS apps and put them on the Apple App Store. With Xcode’s source code checkers, you can find mistakes and get suggestions for how to fix them while making an iOS app.
Features of Xcode
- Xcode has testing tools like XCTest and UI Testing that make it easier to find solutions to problems.
- Source editor with message bubbles, code folding, syntax highlighting, and advanced code completion
- Interface builder to design UI/UX without writing a single line of code and connect that design source code within the Xcode editor Simulator to run, test, and debug the iOS apps for streamlined development.
- Open-source LLVM compiler that makes it easier and faster to compile code
2. Code Runner
iOS app developers utilize it as another potent weapon in their arsenal to create applications that are very complex and dynamic. Because it is compatible with twenty-three different programming languages, it is a powerful and adaptable instrument that programmers may utilize. In addition, it is a simple tool that software engineers may use to debug the code.
Features of Code Runner
- Run the code file from the currently open Text Editor.
- Run the code file using the file explorer’s context menu.
- In the Text Editor, execute the selected code snippet.
- Execute code according to the Shebang.
- Execute code based on the filename glob.
- Execute the custom command.
- Stop the code from executing.
- View the output in the Output Window.
3. AppCode
AppCode is the second most popular tool among developers because it is easy to use and has a lot of integrations with third-party apps. JetBrains’ IntelliJ IDEA platform is what AppCode is built on. JetBrains sells AppCode as a “Smart IDE for Swift/Objective-C for iOS and macOS.” With AppCode, it’s easy to write code for iOS apps and look at how it works. AppCode is made to find different coding mistakes, which makes it easy to fix problems quickly.
Features of AppCode
- It lets iOS apps be debugged in depth to find bugs and fix them.
- Compared to other tools, AppCode has more features for editing and refactoring code, such as Override/Implement, Localization, Intention Actions, and Live templates.
- Help write clean code with artificial intelligence, easy file navigation, code completion, formatting, and refactoring.
- Use testing frameworks like XCTest, Quick, Kiwi, Catch, and Google Test to test the individual parts of your iOS mobile app.
4. Adobe XD
It is a well-known tool for designers to design and work together. Adobe XD is a fast and powerful UI/UX design tool for mobile apps and websites. This tool lets you make smartwatches, websites, and mobile apps with prototypes, wire frames, and animations. It is a vector-based UI/UX tool that enables you to create designs for any device, including Windows, Android, and iOS. Even at Space-O, our designers use the Adobe XD tool to design mobile apps and websites.
Features of Adobe XD
- Voice navigation can be used to control the prototype.
- Adobe XD is a lightweight tool that works well with other Adobe products. It also doesn’t use up a lot of your computer’s resources.
- It makes it possible to create designs in 3D.
- Make parts that can be used more than once throughout your design.
- Repeat Grid lets you automatically make copies of elements and put them in a grid.
5. Zeplin
Zeplin is a popular add-on for Sketch, AdobeXD, Photoshop, and other design programs. It’s a tool for working together that helps designers and developers talk to each other. For example, if you get a design from Photoshop, which doesn’t give you a code of procedure, Zeplin can help developers get design code snippets, style guides, specs, and assets of the iOS app design. You can load wire frames and visual designs from Sketch right into Zeplin and add the techniques to your Zeplin project folders.
Features of Zeplin
- Zeplin makes it easy for teams to work together by giving native app design files the structure they need. It lets team members from different profiles work together to complete the designs.
- Designs can be shared with just one click.
- Integrations with popular project management tools like Slack, Jira, Teams, and Trello
- Links to Storybook and GitHub make it easy to get to UI elements in your code base.
