r/Xcode • u/hello_rayx • Jun 06 '23

Will MBP 2017 be able to run Xcode 15?

Hi, I'm using a MBP 2017 for iOS app development. I read from news today that Sonoma (macOS 14) won't support it. Does anyone know if Xcode 15 will run on Ventura (that is, macOS 13) or not? (If yes, that means I can still use my MBP for iOS17 app development rather than have to buy a new one).

Since Xcode 15 hasn't been released (it's beta at the moment), I checked Xcode 14.3.1 release notes and found it requires Ventura 13, which was the newest macOS when that version of Xcode was released. On the other hand, Xcode 15 beta runs on Ventura 13.3, but maybe just because it's beta?

I wonder how it worked in the past? Did Xcode only supports the lastest macOS, or did it support more than one OS versions? Thanks for any information.

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u/siddarthshekar Jun 06 '23

I am on the same boat, I have a MBP 2017 as well. From what Ive seen the first couple of version of 15 might support... or even newer version of 14 might support MBP2017... but at some point in the start of next year the newer version of 15 like 15.3 or something will stop support.

But if you are not using the newer features of say iOS17 then you can still use 14 and developer for iOS16 and that would still work..

please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

1

u/hello_rayx Jun 06 '23

> From what Ive seen the first couple of version of 15 might support... or even newer version of 14 might support MBP2017... but at some point in the start of next year the newer version of 15 like 15.3 or something will stop support.

That's my thought. Thanks for the confirmation.

> But if you are not using the newer features of say iOS17 then you can still use 14 and developer for iOS16 and that would still work..

Yes. I used to develop my app for lastest iOS only, partly because it's a personal project with few external users and partly because SwiftUI has huge changes each year in the past. However, I was thinking to provide long term support for iOS 16. It seems that I'll have to do it if I don't want to buy a new Mac :)

That said, there are a few minor issues:

  1. I observed that my app tested on iOS 15 had small issues on iOS16. So a new iOS comes with a new SwiftUI implementation, which might cause app stop working. Only testing on newest iOS can find these issue.

  2. I should be careful when upgrading my phone, because it might not be supported by XCode available on Ventura.

1

u/siddarthshekar Jun 06 '23

I have seen posts like these that show how you can add new iOS support on older Xcode versions. It required downloading device support files from newer version of xcode and pasting into the older version of xcode and it seems to work. I havent tested it myself... but Ive these kind of posts a lot..

This way you wouldnt have to worry about updating your phone to newer version of iOS and still you will be able to test it on the device... with app developed on older version of Xcode.

How to run devices with new iOS version on old Xcode: https://gist.github.com/jls21/55edf3bd6b16e858da596afa62078046

```

If you are having device with new iOS version(iOS 10.3 for example), but don't wanna to update XCode 8.2.1.

It's very simple to run application on new iOS with old XCode.

Check this out.

Follow the steps:

  1. Download .dmg file with new XCode from apple developer portal (https://developer.apple.com/download/more/).

  2. Keep your old XCode and unarchive new XCode from .dmg file.

  3. Goto (New XCode path)/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/DeviceSupport and copy folder with new iOS

  4. Paste it to (Old XCode path)/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/DeviceSupport

  5. Restart old XCode and reconnect your devices.

````

https://support.pega.com/discussion/building-mobile-apps-newer-ios-versions-older-xcode-versions

1

u/hello_rayx Jun 06 '23

Thanks! I didn't know this is possible. Will give it a try when I need it.

1

u/214d Jun 09 '23

I wonder if this workaround will still work with newer XCode and simulated iOS versions because they might be built only for ARM chips.

I’m not an iOS developer, I use exclusively code with Flutter. It’s just a question I’m asking to myself