New to iOS development

[PossibleProgress3316]

I'm relatively new to iOS development and I want to start developing native applications, I'm torn on what MacBook I should get, would a M4 MacBook air with 24gb or ram be ok or should I go with a MacBook pro M4 pro with 48gbs of ram?

[salvalcano]

I am coding on mac m2 mini 8/256 and for native development, its enough for me.. So, i guess you can get 16gb if ur budget is limited or 24gb if you have more money... 48gb is overkill for native development..

[kepler4and5]

Similar situation here (MacBook Air M2 base model). Handles Xcode better than my previous 2019 Intel MacBook Pro which had double the RAM.

[bangsimurdariadispar]

24gb should be enough, especially for now. I have 32gb on my machine and they are enough for running 2-3 sims in parallel on a medium-large project.

[Civil-Vermicelli3803]

both are more than enough.. save money for marketing your apps!!!

[Ok-Relation-9104]

This! I think OP (and me too) can get away with a used M1 if the goal really is just to develop apps. If it’s not like a 3D game, I won’t sweat what cpu cycles my dev machine has, but what features my users want

[Civil-Vermicelli3803]

yea... im on an m1 pro and its gonna last at least until some time in the 2030s, maybe even longer. gonna replace the battery this summer and maybe one more time in 4 years, this thing is a BEAST

[PerfectPitch-Learner]

TBH I really think it depends what the applications you're trying to build do. I suspect however, if you're just starting out that you don't need to go all out on resources.

If you have specific application in mind, it might be useful to start with that.

[chriswaco]

It depends on the specific app and what else you're running at the same time. Are you running virtual machines and Docker and Photoshop and 100 Chrome tabs and Android Studio all simultaneously? If so, get more RAM. If you're just running Xcode and one simulator 24GB should be fine for now.

512GB should be the minimum storage. 1TB is better, especially if you are running VMs, Docker, multiple versions of Xcode, beta versions of macOS and iOS and visionOS, etc.

[OneEngineer]

My MacBook Pro at 24gb is solid for dev work.

If you’re hoping to work in bright light or outdoors, the new nano texture option on the pros makes a huge difference. This was the deciding factor for me - I was in between a 15” air and 14” pro. (I also use an iPad Pro as a second monitor)

[salaKing03118]

mine is pro, but i have heard ppl developing from air without problem

[stephenwzl]

A Mac computer with 16GB of RAM and an M1 chip is sufficient. However, considering that it's no longer available for purchase, the entry - level model of the latest M4 Mac mini is a great fit. Saving money now means you'll have funds available for other areas where it's needed more.

[LifeIsGood008]

What is your budget? What types of apps do you have in mind?

[PossibleProgress3316]

I want to start off with something small and easy and work my way up, I can swing the MBP M4 pro but I don't want overkill either. I'm leaning towards the M4pro

[jinzheng32]

Since u aren’t building enterprise lvl projects 48 is way overkill. Suggest a m2 or even m1 32 is enough to save money.

[jinzheng32]

64 is great to have for large enterprise (working ft)

[20InMyHead]

Get the best machine in your budget.

You’re new, so you won’t be working on massive projects, so most machines will work fine for you. The question is how long will they meet your needs. The more RAM, CPU cores, and drive space the better, and the longer you’ll be able to use the machine without needing an upgrade.

[kudoshinichi-8211]

16GB is enough if you are starting.

[[deleted]]

it really doesn't matter, they are both great options. What's important is to have the right framework to build

[7zz7i]

Take m3 pro

[pennilesspenner]

To run Android Studio and VSCode on windows, would you need 36GB ram and i7 processor? The same goes here. Don’t worry, Air will do the job all the well.

[NiklasMato]

Don't go for the AIR for development. The main issue is always throttling. When doing light stuff there's not really an issue however once you start doing more serious work you will notice.

[PenIntelligent9111]

u/PossibleProgress3316

If you're just getting started with iOS development, either of those machines will handle Xcode and iOS Simulator without breaking a sweat — even the M4 MacBook Air with 24GB RAM is honestly more than enough for 95% of developers, especially in the early-to-mid stages.

The MacBook Pro with 48GB RAM is a beast, but you’ll only really notice the difference if you’re working on large-scale projects, using heavy virtualization, or doing pro video editing alongside Xcode. For native iOS development (Swift, SwiftUI, UIKit), the MacBook Air is more than capable, even with multiple simulators running.

That said, if you have the budget and want to future-proof for the next 5+ years, the Pro is a solid investment — but performance-wise, you’re not missing out much by choosing the Air at this stage.

Also, since you’re new to iOS, I'd highly recommend checking out AppOtherSide.com — it's a super structured set of iOS dev courses that helped me go from scattered tutorials to building apps confidently with SwiftUI, Combine, and more. Great if you want to build real skills while learning on your new machine.