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Apple users who wanted to run their favorite iOS apps on their computer had to use third-party apps, emulators, or other non-official, complicated ways to Run iOS apps on macOS. But now, if you have a newer Apple Silicon Mac with an M1 processor and at least Big Sur, you can run iPhone and iPad apps on your Mac computer without any problems.
Let’s look at what you need to do. When Apple Silicon Macs came out, you could run iOS and iPadOS apps on your Mac. It’s easy to do if your Mac has an M1, M2, M1 Pro, M1 Max, or M1 Ultra processor. Well, most of the time, at least.
In this post, we’ll go over how to run iOS apps on macOS Monterey. The steps are the same for other versions of macOS, though.
How to run iOS apps on macOS
Running iOS apps on a Mac can be done in a few different ways. The easiest way is to use BrowserStack’s real device cloud; all that you have to do is signup for a free account and start testing instantly.
Alternatively, you can run iOS Apps on Mac using Apple’s Xcode development environment; This will allow you to create an app from scratch and then run it on your Mac. This guide explains how to run iOS apps on Mac using the following methods:
Using BrowserStack
- Login to BrowserStack’s App Live platform from your Mac.
- You can either upload an app from a URL or a local system. If you would like to test an existing app that is available on the App Store, you can install the app once you select the device in the next step.
- Next, Select the iOS device. After selecting the device and uploading the app, a real device will be opened with the app installed on it.
- Show Home Screen: Using this option, the user can come to the Home Screen of the device; it’s similar to the physical Home button on the iPhone.
- Install New App: The user can install a new app on the go using this option.
- Capture Screenshot: It will capture the screenshot of the current screen as shown below.
- Kill/Uninstall: Using this option one can kill the running App or Uninstall the same.
- Rotate Device: Rotating Device change the screen orientation from portrait to Landscape and vice-versa.
- Change Location: By using the change location option, the user can change the geolocation of the device so that the App can be tested for different geolocations.
FAQ
Can you run iOS apps on M1 Mac?
If your computer has Apple’s M1 or M2 chip, you can use your favorite iPhone (and iPad) apps natively on your Mac, too. Just look for the Designed for iPhone or Designed for iPad designation in the Mac App Store.
How do I install iOS apps on my Mac Big Sur?
- Download and install iMazing.
- Plugin your iPhone or iPad to your Mac with iMazing running.
- Select your iPad or iPhone in the left hand column in iMazing.
- Click on the “Apps” icon for the iPad or iPhone.
- Click “Manage Apps” on the right of the screen.
Can macOS Big Sur run iOS apps?
Overview. Macs with Apple silicon can run many iPad and iPhone apps as-is, and these apps will be made available to users on the Mac through the Mac App Store. For more information, see Running your iOS apps in macOS, and watch iPad and iPhone apps on Macs with Apple silicon. macOS Big Sur 11.0.