XCode / iOS Dev minimum OSX version?

Hey guys,

I've seen a few cheap Mac minis (C2D era) around the Internet and I'm consider maybe, just maybe, picking one up for myself as a birthday present in a few months in order to do proper iOS development (since Apple frowns upon Hackintosh setups). That, and I'm probably going to have to take a class on iOS development in the near future.

I see that the latest OSX version officially available for the particular model I'm looking at (MB138LL/A) is 10.7.5 (Lion), and I'm curious as to how that'd work out for my plans. I see on Apple's website ( https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/referencelibrary/GettingStarted/RoadMapiOS/index.html) that 10.7 is the minimum OS version allowed for iOS development at the moment, though I'm not sure how often this requirement changes. Does Apple have a tendency to force upgrades on its developers arbitrarily often? As in "OK, for 2015 you must be using OSX 10.8 in order to submit apps", or are they forgiving to those who don't upgrade so often?

 

Apple does tend to force obsolescence so it's entirely possible that they will change the minimum OS X requirement in the future. A mid-2009 Mac Mini should not cost too much more than the one you're looking at while still being fully compatible with Mavericks. When Mavericks launched, system requirements did not change from Mountain Lion, so owners of older machines got a bit of a break there. They might not be so lucky with 10.10.

 

Well, that's good to hear. I'm just browsing around the Internet to look for cheap systems (since I'm not buying into the high resale thing for ancient machines), though if both systems are x86 and are similar, what's up with Mavericks not working on an early 2009 mini, for example? I suppose it's got something to do with driver support and the like?

Anyway, I see the MB463LL/A on Amazon for ~$320 (figure that's a decent price), though I see it has the GeForce 9400M. Have those had any major problems over the life of the product, or did it escape the nVidia problems, so to speak?

EDIT: And I take it I'll have to pay for an OS upgrade to Mountain Lion before I can get the free Mavericks upgrade?

 

AFAIK, the 9400M was not problematic. Only the 8600M GT was affected.

Also, Mavericks is a free upgrade from OS X 10.6.8 onward. The only thing you would need to pay for is Snow Leopard or Mountain Lion if the system you buy comes with OS X 10.5, but that would be unlikely. If the machine came with 10.6-10.6.7, 10.6.8 is free as well.

 

$320 seems like a fairly high price especially when a new Mac Mini, with a Core i5 processor and 4GB of RAM, can be purchased for $550. I've even come across the 2012 Mac Mini server edition (the one with 8GB of RAM, two 500GB hard drives, and a quad-core Core i7 chip) for $500 on Craigslist. Unlike MacBooks, the Mac Mini shouldn't be carrying the same high resale value especially since it's Apple's budget system. I would see if you can't find a better deal than someone selling theirs on the Amazon Marketplace as $320 seems like it's $50-$100 higher than it should be for a system with a Core 2 Duo CPU.

 

I can certainly wait for a good deal on a mini. $500 for a new mini sounds pretty good, and if I come across something like that, I just might jump on that. Though I'm still focused on the older model for cost-savings. Anyway, I'm just going to sit back and browse around for deals and probably bounce prices on this thread if I see something that looks good.

 

Keep an eye on the Apple refurb store as you can score decent deals on newer machines. They all come with a one-year warranty and can be extended with AppleCare if you so desire. There are no Minis available at the moment, but stock is updated fairly regularly.

 

Just curious about that; does the Outlet run some kind of student discount/freebie as the brand-new stock does?

 

Don't think so. The company I used to work had a discount deal with Apple, but it was only on new machines. Even then, the refurbs were still cheaper. Not sure if that would be the case with a student discount, though.

 

Student discounts apply only to new Macs. I tried throwing a refurbished MacBook Air in my cart after associating my store session with my university but I didn't get any discount beyond the refurbished price. It beat out the cost of a new unit with the education discount though. So, for refurb units, there are no further discounts beyond what Apple is already giving you. I've also come across some refurb deals on OWC on older models. They don't have any now but I remember seeing a Core 2 Duo Mini on there for around $230 back before christmas. I remember seeing first generation Core i Minis on there too for around the same price as the C2D Mini you listed here. Keep an eye out, check eBay, check your local Craigslist, etc.

 

Would an old MacBook work?

Apple MacBook Pro Intel Core 2 Duo 2 66GHz 4GB 320GB 13 3" MC375LL April 2010 411378273895 | eBay

Little bit more than a mini but you can carry it around and whatnot. Even though the screen resolution is not amazing, at least it's IPS, could replace your Thinkpad X61.

 

not IPS, the first Macs with IPS was the original 15" retina everything prior was TN ( some better than others ). however for Mavericks you will want a mid 2011+ model to get it to work right.

 

Not really looking for a laptop due to the cost and the fact that I'm doing just fine with my X61t on-campus. I just want to have a simple, inexpensive box to add to my collection back home and the mini works just fine for that role. Besides, I can get a decent 21.5" 1080p IPS monitor for cheap anyway, and if needed, an extra keyboard would also be cheap (already have plenty of mice).

I was browsing around different sites and saw a base 2012 mini for $510 on Apple's Outlet, though now the deal's gone. Hopefully another good deal like that comes back up in the future.