Hello,
I have a windows desktop computer and I wanted to know if you need a mac to be able to start developing for iOS and OSX. In the sense of just coding and making it all work then exporting for mac or iOS. I believe you need OSX to export and send off to the app store. But when it comes to just simply making a app first without the exporting part, can I do it with windows? Also on windows using corona sdk can you run a iOS simulator.
Thanks.
Yes, you need a Mac to build OS X and iOS apps with Corona.
And you need a Windows machine to build Win32 desktop apps and Windows Phone 8 apps.
You can build for Android on both.
The Corona Simulator on both Windows and Mac supports simulating an iOS device.
If you plan on building iOS and OS X apps, then you will need to buy a Mac. No way around it. You can either get a cheap MacMini or go for a more expensive MacBook or iMac… which you can also dual boot or virtualize Windows on for the other platforms you need. I prefer dual booting since I work on Win32 desktop apps too and I want full support of my GPU and not VMWare’s virtualized video driver.
Also, several of our developers use MacInCloud which lets you rent Macs over the Internet and they have Corona SDK installed.
Rob
Awesome thanks guys. I guess my last question would be. Could I make the app first in windows and when I am ready to export it to mac I just open the same file in a Mac desktop and export it from there? Would that work? Thank you.
Yes you can. Many developers go this route.
Rob
>> Could I make the app first in windows and when I am ready to export it to mac I just open the same file in a Mac desktop and export it from there?
For basic functionality, yes. But note that iOS specific features such as notifications, in-app purchase, ads, and many iOS specific plugins are not supported in the simulator on neither OS X or Windows. You have to test on a real iOS device. And for OS X desktop app testing, it’s best to test on a real Mac. Just like Win32 desktop app testing is best done on Windows. That’s why our Corona Simulator is called a “simulator”, because it’s meant to be a close approximation, but it’s not an actual hardware emulator.
Also, our Windows Corona Simulator has some limitations. It does not support native WebViews and VideoViews.
I’m using a Windows desktop connected via network to a Mac Mini. I edit files on the Windows computer, but the result is displayed on the Mac’s display (in Corona simulator). When I save changes, simulator is updated and I only use the OSX to publish.
Former I have used a Mac Pro.
From my experience, you don’t need a powerful Mac just to build for devices.
I’ve chosen this method because I’m not very familar with OSX and because Apple hardware is very expensive compared to Windows.
I just added the Mac Mini, a keyboard and a mouse (you can find non Apple compatible ones). The monitor is a PC one.
Doing this way you don’t have to change the way you are working.
But as Joshua says, you will need to buy one !
What do you guys have to say about a virtual machine? I’ve used one to get windows and OSX but i never tried building an app on it.
–SonicX278
Thanks so much guys. Really appreciate the replies. Ask for Mac. I do have a Mac Pro I use. But its a desktop and I am going to be on the go a lot so thats why I asked about developing on windows and exporting on mac thing. Since Ill be using a windows tablet to whole time. Thanks so much guys!
You’re mileage may vary with VM’s. They frequently don’t give you full access to the graphics card that we need. Real hardware is always better and if you run into problems running in a VM, our response will be to use real hardware.
Rob
I agree. I tried VM… I dont like it. I was thinking of doing it with a Surface pro… but then I said nah. I wish apple had a tablet like the iPad pro but ran full OSX. I would never touch a windows computer again because I would just boot camp that sucker. But anyways. Thanks guys for all the help.
I prefer a MacBook bootcamped with Windows as well. This way you get full hardware support with both OSes. Particularly with the video hardware. VMWare’s virtual OpenGL driver for Windows is surprisingly good, but I still prefer to use the real OpenGL driver from the video hardware’s manufacturer. Also, when developing on both OS X and Windows, you’ll need to be mindful of line-endings in your code files ("\n" on OS X; “\r\n” on Windows).
I also have a Windows touchscreen laptop. That’s useful for our own internal multitouch experiments on the desktop. If touchscreen PCs such as the Surface become more popular, then who knows, we might just add a little multitouch goodness to the Windows Corona Simulator. 
I also have a touch screen laptop. It would actually be awesome with multitouch on the laptop for the windows simulator. I’ve made multiple games with multitouch it I was really a pain always building it.
–SonicX278
That would be awesome! I can’t wait for that to happen! @JoshuaQuick #multitouchgoodness
Here is the feedback request for it!
Votes are a good thing!
Rob
Awesome!! I am doing it now! Thanks!~
Yes, you need a Mac to build OS X and iOS apps with Corona.
And you need a Windows machine to build Win32 desktop apps and Windows Phone 8 apps.
You can build for Android on both.
The Corona Simulator on both Windows and Mac supports simulating an iOS device.
If you plan on building iOS and OS X apps, then you will need to buy a Mac. No way around it. You can either get a cheap MacMini or go for a more expensive MacBook or iMac… which you can also dual boot or virtualize Windows on for the other platforms you need. I prefer dual booting since I work on Win32 desktop apps too and I want full support of my GPU and not VMWare’s virtualized video driver.
Also, several of our developers use MacInCloud which lets you rent Macs over the Internet and they have Corona SDK installed.
Rob
Awesome thanks guys. I guess my last question would be. Could I make the app first in windows and when I am ready to export it to mac I just open the same file in a Mac desktop and export it from there? Would that work? Thank you.
Yes you can. Many developers go this route.
Rob