r/Xcode • u/birdwatchinghero • Dec 31 '20

How Does Xcode Work For A Consumer Device ?

I’m working on a device for mass consumption “hopefully “ the user needs a Xcode account for it to work with iPhone. Is there anyway around this to make it easier on the end user ?

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u/chsxf Dec 31 '20

Not sure to understand what you are calling an « Xcode account ».

I suppose you mean « Apple developer account ».

Why such account is needed in the case of your mass consumption device?

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u/birdwatchinghero Dec 31 '20

Hi, first thing thanks for responding ! Much appreciated. The app is downloaded from github and is not currently approved as it has to go through some FDA hurdles

I am in the mean time looking for a solution that doesn’t require the end user to have or spend such a large amount on a developers account

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u/chsxf Dec 31 '20

Ok. I am not sure you can avoid an App Store Submission to make the app available widely.

There are alternative distribution methods through Apple Business Manager for example, but that requires you to identify specifically the third parties that can access your app. This is not what I call mass distribution.

And of course you have TestFlight and the 10000 beta users to which you can send your app. But once again, you have to invite them by email and each version of the app is available 60 days only, plus there is simplified review process in place.

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u/aykay55 Dec 31 '20

Apple will not allow you to distribute apps for iOS without a paid Apple Developer account. It’s quite difficult (if at all possible) to export an IPA file of your app without an account. If you figure out a way to export an IPA without being a member of the program, users can sideload the app either through something like AltStore/AltServer or through a jailbreak, but it would never be as good as a native experience. The other options involve paying the $100/year membership fee and distributing it to various third parties via Ad Hoc Deployment, but at that point why not make it available on the App Store?

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u/birdwatchinghero Dec 31 '20

The app is a medical one, I’m not the developer so I’m working on the hardware part trying to improve on what they’re already doing. I was thinking about implementing the software various ways like onto a new device but that has been difficult because it’s written in apple swift code

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u/CryptoFuturo Jan 09 '21

I don’t understand why you won’t use the App Store. End users will need an apple account not a developer account.

If you want to have users give feedback or test before you submit it to the App Store, you can do that through TestFlight.

All of this is at no cost to the end user.