Best iOS App Development Tools to Build Top-Notch iPhone Apps in 2024

Q: What tools do iOS developers use?

IOS Developers can use the tools to simplify, perform or enhance specific tasks—Cocoapods to manage external libraries and scale projects; Firebase for database, user authentication, and hosting; Dash for API documentation and code snippet management; to name just a few. Apps can carry out dozens of different activities, from sending you to push notifications to pinpoint your location using GPS; it’s up to each Developer to select the app they need

Q: Is Xcode better than Visual Studio?

Reviewers felt that Visual Studio fulfills their business needs better than Xcode. While comparing the quality of ongoing product support, reviewers think that Visual Studio is the better option. For feature updates and roadmaps, reviewers preferred the direction of Visual Studio over Xcode.

You all must have heard about iOS at least once in your lifetime. It is one of the famous and well-known operating systems created by Apple and is used in millions of iOS devices worldwide. High-quality mobile apps are built by using iOS, which will dominate the app development industry in the next few years.

Whether you’ve been coding iOS apps for a long time or you’re just beginning to learn the basics, the right set of iOS development tools can take application coding to the next level. The best tools for iOS developers create innovative and modern apps for iOS devices. A powerful iOS application is built with the best tools, which an iOS app development company knows very well.

In this article, we’ve mentioned 13 free tools for iOS developers to help you build better apps in 2022.

1. Xcode

Xcode, Apple’s comprehensive integrated development environment (IDE), stands as the premier toolset for creating applications across all Apple devices. As one of the most powerful and widely used iOS development tools, Xcode caters to both novices and experienced developers alike.

It offers a multitude of features, including a compiler, text editor, and a robust build system, streamlining the app development process.

With debugging tools for rapid issue resolution and asset management tools for keeping code organized, Xcode simplifies the app development journey.

Additionally, it provides templates and code snippets, making it accessible even for beginners, and offers the flexibility to download additional tools for Apple products.

2. AppCode

AppCode is a fully functionality-based iOS tool for developers. It is easily compatible with Swift, Objective-C, JS, C++, allowing iOS developers to use this tool to develop various applications using multiple languages. It has some advanced features like

Machine Learning Assistance
Real-time Collaboration with Version Control
Code Quality Analysis and Refactoring Suggestions,
Cross-Platform Development Support,
Seamless Cloud Integration
Performance Profiling for Optimization
Automated Code Documentation Generation.

3. Alcatraz

Alcatraz is an open-source package manager designed for Xcode 7+. It simplifies the process of discovering and installing plugins, templates, and themes, eliminating the need for manual file copying.

Alcatraz seamlessly integrates into Xcode and primarily comprises plugins, color themes, and templates, providing developers with enhanced flexibility and customization options.

4. Mockingbird

Mockingbird iOS development tool can help you in the initial stage of development. It lets you mock, stub, and verify objects written either in Swift or C language. You can change color and font size, then share your sketch with others.

Mockingbird was initially introduced to reduce the number of handwritten mocks and easier to write tests at Bird. It is preferred over other frameworks because Generating mocks takes a few seconds on large codebases, production code is kept separate from tests, stubbing and verification failure appear inline.

It is used by thousands of large organizations, including Facebook, Twillo, Amazon.

5. Cocoapods

CocoaPods operates as an application compatible with Objective-C and other languages running on Objective-C. It focuses on source-based distribution of third-party code and offers automatic integration into your Xcode projects, simplifying the management of dependencies.

6. Marvel

The Marvel tool for iOS developers allows you to turn hand-drawn sketches into interactive prototypes. With the help of Marvel, you can create prototypes from photos of paper sketches, design directly within the app, edit projects made by your team, and share prototypes via email, URL, or SMS.

You just require a pen and paper to create your prototype using photos of sketches. You don’t have to be a pro in designing skills! Add paper sketches to the Marvel app from your camera, Adobe Creative Cloud, Dropbox, etc. You can also draw directly in the app.

Take photos of screens you draw on paper; after taking all the pictures of all your sketches, tap on the first screen, then Add a Link to connect your screens together. Now tap the play button to see your new prototype!

7. Cocoa Controls

Cocoa Controls helps you improve the quality of your Apple applications with the minimum amount of time. This is a real time-saver for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. It has 1000+ libraries from the open-source community.

It is a great way to find the code which you don’t need to write on your own. This tool can help you cling closely to Apple’s design ideology.

8. Transporter

The transporter is used to deliver content to Apple products. You can easily send music, movies, apps, tv shows on your Apple device. You just need to do one thing, drag and drop your content into the transporter, and get started!

9. Stack Overflow

It is more like a QNA type of tool in which professional programmers ask difficult questions and get answers from their peers. You can learn, share and level up with the Stack overflow tool.

Ask a question on the app, get a notification if someone answers your question. You can also draft questions when you are offline. There are other top active forums for programmers that you should check to make coding work easy.

10. Bjango

Bjango is a collection of photoshop actions and scripts, macOS workflows, Hazel rules for screen designers and developers. For instance, you can resize designs with one click from a scale of 50 to 200% or adjust lighting up to 90 degrees.

11. Dribble

It is one of the greatest platforms for both amateurs and professional designers all over the world. It operates as a self-promotion and networking platform for graphic design, photography, web design, animation, etc. Dribble helps to connect the designers online. This app is supported on iPhones and iPad.

With the help of Dribble, you can follow the expert’s best design and can also share your designs with them.

12. iOS Console

iOS Console, designed for macOS, serves as a debugging tool for managing debug messages and log files. It aids in tracking down errors in applications and provides insights into system operations. Notably, iOS Console features textual filtering and bookmarking capabilities for efficient log navigation.

13. Applyzer

Applyzer tools for iOS developers help you get relevant user data to improve their productivity. It enables you to see your applications rank among all the iTunes stores globally. You just have to create an ID to track your app’s rank.

Applyzer editor has a keyword search option that helps the developers to monitor the used keywords in the app content.

iOS App Development Tools FAQs

What tools do iOS developers use?

You can consider the following tools best for your iOS app development. Xcode is an IDE for macOS that contains a suite of software development tools for Apple’s operating systems. Swift is a powerful and intuitive programming language for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS. Testflight is a beta testing service provided by Apple that allows developers to test their apps with up to 10,000 users before releasing them on the App Store.

Is Xcode better than Visual Studio?

According to reviewers, Visual Studio is better than Xcode at fulfilling their business needs and providing ongoing product support. Reviewers also preferred the direction of Visual Studio over Xcode for feature updates and roadmaps.

Is Xcode a good IDE?

Xcode is the only supported way to use applications by Apple. So if you’re interested in building iOS or macOS apps, you must use it. Even for beginners, it is the best choice for iOS app development. It has a source code checker that will point out errors while typing and then advise you on fixing them.

What is the best IDE for iOS development?

Xcode 8 is the best IDE for iOS app development that shows automatic completions and complete syntax highlighting for Swift. It has an assistant button that breaks the editors into primary work documents & the assistant editor.

Conclusion

We know that iOS is becoming more popular, and business owners are taking advantage of iOS app development tools to expand their business further. To get the full benefit of Apple developer tools, you must hire an experienced and skilled iOS developer from a reputed IOS development company.

If you want to hire a trusted iOS app developer, your search ends here!

Invedus is one of the leading mobile app development companies known for providing quality services with updated technology to meet clients’ expectations.

Tell all your requirements to us, and we will assist you further!