Xcode for iPad Pro

Probably not. Mostly they're into productivity apps and the like. Besides, I don't think Xcode would be good as an iOS app—you'd have to give up way too much of its functionality in order to produce something you can use on an iPad.

That is a pretty damning critique of iOS. You are saying it is not good enough to run XCode yet Apple is releasing a "Pro" iPad which uses it. Hardware wise, the iPad Pro has plenty of power to run XCode. It has (according to rumors) 4GB of RAM and a very speedy, possibly quad core, A9 CPU. 32GB is enough for small projects and 128GB is enough for most other projects. It comes down to the operating system and the features it lacks. The main missing feature is a real file system. iOS does have a complete file system internally. You can create files and folders as usual. The missing piece is some way to expose these files and folders to end users easily. Apple did add a basic file picker in the latest update but presenting complete folders with the ability to select multiple files and drag them to other folder is just not there yet.

If Apple did release XCode for the iPad Pro, it would be an instant purchase for me. As it stands though, it is tough to justify over $1000 for the high end model just to test my apps. The reason that XCode would be so compelling is that we would finally be able to code and debug a real touch based UI on the actual device it is targeted for. With the pencil and keyboard, the iPad Pro would be a complete development system. I would use it to make small changes and fixes to my apps while in the field (I develop GPS mapping apps).

Apple tends to avoid discussing future plans, but in the past, the indication was to not expect Xcode on iOS. The option as in the past is to look into Parallels, etc., I think.

I also expect Xcode for iPad Pro.

Announced open sourcing plan of Swift contains this statement:

At launch we intend to contribute ports for OS X, iOS, and Linux.

Everyone thinks `port for Linux` means Swift compiler including standard library and build system run on Linux, and can compile and build an app run on Linux.

I expect all the same as `for iOS`.

Swift compiler including standard library and build system run on iOS, and can compile and build an app run on iOS.

Xcode may not be included in the open source plan, but Xcode for iPad Pro seems more reallistic than a delusion.

I run Xcode on my 13" MacBook Air. Of course, it's not nearly as good as when I do it on my 5K iMac with 2 external screens, but it works, and there's the distinct advantage of not needing a several-mile-long power cord in order to alter code at business meetings. 😝

Apple has ported Pages, Numbers and Keynote, and those work really well, so I don't see any reason Apple couldn't do the port. Sure, you'd give up some advantages of a larger screen, and having an external keyboard would pretty much be a requirement, but the screen size issue is already true with their smaller laptops, and I wouldn't even think of coding using the on-screen keyboard. With the Pencil for IB layouts (even though I prefer code-based layout), what features would be completely missing? With potentially allowing iCloud Drive to manage the projects (and perhaps a super-cool PIP for the simulator), I don't see much reason (beyond the simple fact that it's likely a LOT of work) that it can't be done.

I doubt you could be very productive with the iPad Pro as your primary development machine, but having at least an "Xcode light" for on-the-road coding would be EPIC!!!! And I, for one, would LOVE it! I really, really hope they listen to us on this one and get it done!

I realize this is an old thread but, I felt a reply was worth making at this time.

If any of you here who have commented, are referring to the Simulator aspect of Xcode - then please download the later versions in beta, such as Xcode Version 7.1 beta (7B75) which certainly does have a Simulator for the iPad Pro device (and others).

Did this help you?

Cheers

No-one is talking about simulating the iPad Pro in xCode. They are talking about actually

running xCode on the iPad Pro which isn't possible at this point.

Yes , I noticed that.

I skipped alot of what I was thinking.

Why would anyone want to develop/write code ON an iPad of any sort ? limited input capabilities, etc They are not a cost savings over some models of MBAir, etc. The most outstanding benefit I could see at the moment is in testing on real equipment. At least any kind of MAC has plenty of ports for multiple screens of varying sizes that can make developing and debugging alot easier- the form factor of the iPAD Pro doesn't really lend itself to that.

Just a thought.

Completely support you.

In latest vacation i was made full working prototype of REST API server side and native app completely only on mobile 7" device. It was Android Nexus 7 2013 with KSWEB (php,nginx, mysql) and AIDE (IDE for Android Java C++).

Why in 2015 i can write, compile and run android app on Android, and cannot to do same on iOS?

Apple can make "XCode Light" or "XCode for iOS".
Like MS make "Visual Studio" for OS X. But it's based on Github Atom, instead rewrite Win32 app.

See my comment up above. For someone who's a full-time Apple developer (well, I do some Android when I absolutely have to because it helps pay the bills), having a portable version of Xcode to supplement (not replace) my iMac would be great. I currently have a MacBook Air for that task, and it's ok, but I end up taking my MacBook Air, iPad Air 2, iPhone, etc... with me all the time. If I could combine the MacBook Air and iPad Air 2 into a single iPad Pro device, that would be great. Likely? Nope. But since they're sitting on $200 billion in cash: C'mon Apple, throw me a bone! ;-)

Not gonna happen.

Xcode requires the libraries in Mac OS X to function, including keychain support and pieces from iTunes and Safari. Xcode and the Mac OS add up to 15-20GB of storage on disk. There's also the limited amount of RAM that an app can use on an iPad. How exactly would you run Xcode, Instruments and a Simulator all at the same time? And all on a small screen, anybody recall the complaints from 13" MacBook users when Xcode went from multiple windows to a mono window? And then there's the security risk, no way Apple would allow a compiler on a consumer device.

Xcode on the iPad would be a crippled stepchild of the Mac version.

Tim Cook says he travels with just an iPhone and an iPad Pro. I sure wish I could!

XCode for iPad Pro!

I'll bet TC has never written a line of code in his life.

I'm on my iPad Pro right now, typing on the software keyboard. I think it would be cool to code with it. I tend to not code very linearly but jump from line to line a lot. I love how easy it is to use 2 fingers to move my cursor around the text. It's less movement than moving your hands from keyboard to trackpad, which seems like it would benefit my jumping around my code. Anyway, the are bound to be many trade offs both ways, but it would be great to see Apple begin to experiment this way. Plus, on iOS, we can make our own keyboards for coding.

By the way, I don't plan on buying the keyboard cover because the software keyboard is adequate, and I would lose the ability to move the cursor easily with the hardware keyboard (not to mention it is expensive).

Here is something else TC recently said...

"We feel strongly that customers are not really looking for a converged Mac and iPad. Because what that would wind up doing, or what we’re worried would happen, is that neither experience would be as good as the customer wants. So we want to make the best tablet in the world and the best Mac in the world. And putting those two together would not achieve either. You'd begin to compromise in different ways".

The reason why Xcode requires all the OS X stuff is because it is currently only designed for developing on OS X. They can easily remove that kind of depedencies if porting to iOS. The only thing that is essentially required in this case is a compiler, which is not a technical problem at all.

No one said it's simply a technical problem...

Everything is possible! Xcode will most certainly be available for iPad in the future. Would be cool to have an iPad with lets say 3 ultra-thin screens folded together, where you can detach each screen to be separate. All connected by bluetooth. That would be love....:-)...

I'd love to see an iOS companion app to Xcode even if it was not full featured or maybe re-imagined to make development easier. It could integrate with OS X Server or TestFlight for building and launching. I'm sure someone will write a Swift IDE now that SourceKit and PackageManager are open source.

Now there's an idea. Unfortunately, though, I'm not sure it would be realistically feasible 😟.

Since when did Apple start aiming for the "realistically feasible" ? Of course it can be done, and I think it should be done sooner rather than later! I would love to code on the releasing platform occasionally, and it would add to Apples competitive edge!

I'd be happy to just see support for playgrounds.

You could still write books, blog posts and teach with something like that.

Hi Kasuist ;-)

if you where talking about Swift Playgrounds... Then IBM ( Apples new friend ) has got that covered, take a peek at

https://swiftlang.ng.bluemix.net/?cm_mmc=developerWorks-_-dWdevcenter-_-swift-_-lp#/repl

It's not quite what the folks above are requesting, an Xcode app for iOS. But if you have an Internet connection, the IBM Cloud based build engine sorta fits I would suggest.

this is exactly what I was after! thanks!