Do you know iOS app users spend two times more than Android users? Hence, it makes them a significant user base for any app or website. As per Statcounter, iOS has captured the second-largest market share in the mobile operating systems market. Thus, providing iOS testing web platform users with a seamless and remarkable user experience is a must.

Developing an iOS app already costs a fortune for business owners. In addition, testing and maintaining its quality adds up to the expense. Therefore, testers prefer to use an iPhone simulator online to test the application rather than spend a budget on real devices.

Although, with numerous simulators available in the market, it becomes challenging to select one for your project.

In this blog, we have listed the top 9 iOS simulators to choose from per your requirements and easily test your iOS application on multiple devices.

But first, let us get to know the iOS Simulator in detail.

What is an iOS Simulator?

An iOS Emulator or Simulator is used to imitate any device that runs on iOS. A simulator represents the UI of the iPhone, iPad, or Apple devices on the Mac computer. You can perform several actions like emulating taps and device rotation using your keyboard and mouse to interact with the Simulator.

Why is an iOS Simulator needed?

1.   Easily Manage Application Maintenance

With thousands of devices and iOS versions existing in the market, you must provide an intuitive service to them equally. To keep up with technology changes and upgrades in operating systems, iOS apps must be constantly adjusted.

2.   Less Expensive

Testing on real devices manually might guarantee better quality than the iPhone simulator online. But, it is nearly impossible to get access to all the iOS versions and different devices at once. Moreover, it will cost a fortune for your business, making iOS simulators a better choice.

The Best 9 iOS Simulators

●    LambdaTest

The LambdaTest iOS simulator allows you to test the compatibility of your native web and iOS apps on multiple iOS versions with different iPhones and iPads from your Windows PC.

Testing iOS mobile apps with LambdaTest is simple and intuitive, enabling you to instantly upload your app with just a few clicks and start testing on any iOS device. Hence, it facilitates you to test the UI compatibility of your native iOS app on various versions and helps you launch your app faster without any errors.

Moreover, it comes with a rich set of features.

• Speedy tracking and reporting of bugs.
• Find and rectify issues in iOS apps with in-built native simulation.
• Geolocation testing.
• Usability testing of mobile web and native apps.
• Ensure the responsiveness of apps on multiple devices and screen sizes.
• Test locally and privately hosted builds.
• Parallel automation test for windows.

●    iPadian

The main feature that makes iPadian an excellent iOS simulator is that it showcases the same screen as an iPhone device on your computer. Hence, it makes it extremely easy for you to test if the iOS application features are working as intended or not.

It is highly popular among people and used worldwide because it simulates the original device experience quite well. iPadian has an app store of its own that contains apps compatible to run on Windows, ensuring the best experience for an Apple device to you.

The main advantages of using an iPadian are given below.

• Imitates the basic appearance, design, or features of an Apple device
• Using it gives you an impression of how iOS works, so you’ll be able to compare the difference between Android and iOS.
• Run 1000+ apps and games designed to run on iPadian.

●    Appetize.io

Appetize.io offers a freemium service that delivers a variety of features and cross-platform application development. It provides an easy-to-use interface by just embedding apps in websites and testing them for free for the first 100 minutes.

Appetize.io lets developers stream and embed iOS apps in the browser to test and enhance their features. You can get the live preview of your application through this simulator and demo any version of your app.

It is trusted by many prominent brands like Shopify, Doordash, Abbott, Washington Post, etc., and provides live mobile app support, making it a reliable simulator.

The features of Appetize.io that make it stand out from the competitors are given below.

• Ease of use- start testing your app by embedding it on the web.
• Support automated integration testing.
• It can be used for various purposes like training, automation testing, mobile app development, regression testing, etc.

●    Xcode

When we talk about iOS simulators, we cannot forget Xcode, a simulator developed by Apple. With this software development environment for Mac, you can build and test apps for iOS, tvOS, watchOS, and iMessage using an app simulator.

It allows Mac users to build and launch apps directly from the Xcode project by emulating user actions like taps, device rotation, scrolling, etc.

Here are some of the exclusive features of Xcode.

• Easy to launch and run your app in Xcode.
• Choose various device options like iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air, or Apple Watch to run an iOS simulator.
• Quickly alert and fix the errors.
• Instantly opens files and provides easy search within Help.

●    TestFlight

TestFlight, now owned by Apple, is often used by developers to conduct beta testing of their applications. Developers can send internal and external links to the beta testers to collect feedback on the application before launching the app in the market.

You can send an invitation link (internal or external) to the tester and provide them with the information on the Test Information page to let them know what they are supported to test. Based on the email you provide to the tester, you can monitor and review the feedback received from them.

Here are the main features of TestFlight.

• Can be tested by 10,000 testers using a public link.
• Testers can test the beta version of your app by downloading the TestFlight app.
• Easily send an invite link to the tester with just their email.
• Supports apps for iOS, iPad, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, and iMessage
• Provide automatic updates to ensure testers have the latest version to test.

●    Corellium

Corellium is another web-based iOS emulator, used to offer comprehensive features and stability just like iOS real-time devices.

Using this tool, you can run a simulated iOS device within the browser and enhance your app development game on mobile or wearable devices.

This iOS simulator device is highly crucial because simulator tools are often not cut out for security testing. Whereas, Corellium is mostly used by security researchers to trace and remove bugs in the application to provide a robust and secure app infrastructure.

Here are some features that make this iPhone simulator online an excellent choice for you.

• The ability to collaborate remotely, gain root access, and accelerate graphics provides seamless feature integration.
• Convenient and efficient to deliver a similar performance just like a real device.
• Excellent tool to debug security issues in the application.

●    Xamarin Remoted iOS Simulator

One of the widely-known software development platforms is Microsoft Visual Studio, and Xamarin is a remote iOS simulator. It is a paid plug-in facilitating the development of iOS apps.

It allows you to view your iOS app on Windows alongside Visual Studio 2019 and Visual Studio 2017, making it easier for you to test the application.

Some of the unique features of the Remoted iOS Simulator are mentioned here.

• Allows you to have the feature of having a Windows touch-screen device.
• Installed automatically in Visual Studio 2019 and Visual Studio 2017 as part of Xamarin.
• Provide access to powerful iOS tools like ARkit, Core ML 2, Siri Shortcuts, and Touch ID.

●    Smartface

Smarface is used by developers to build apps on cross-platform technologies, easily supporting iOS and Android on Windows. Thus, it eliminates the need for an Apple device to perform all these tasks, making it one of the best iOS in-browser emulators and simulators.

Smartface helps you with cross-platform development since Apple restricts cross-platform technologies. It supports all the technologies like Java, Swift, Objective-C Kotlin, Iconic, etc., and emulates iOS applications on a Windows or Linux machine without a Mac.

Smartface is a highly efficient iPhone simulator online that you can use to develop, test, and run your iOS apps on a Windows PC with just a few clicks.

There are several reasons mentioned below that make Smartface a great iOS emulator.

• Support cross-platform development.
• Does not require Mac to emulate the device.
• Faster and more efficient tool.
• Allow the development and testing of iOS apps on Windows PC.

●    Delta Emulator

If you want to build and test a gaming iOS application, Delta Emulator is the best choice for you. It allows you to simulate and play video games on your iPhone/iPad.

Delta Emulator is made available to download by the developer Riley Testut. You can install it without Jailbreak on your iOS [iPhone/iPad] using AltStore.

Here are some of the fundamental features of Delta Emulator.

• Operated well with native iOS framework.
• Provide easy controls and graphic calibration for games.
• Ensures the best gaming environment.

Conclusion

We hope this blog helps you decide on the best iOS simulator for your app from the market. You can easily find the iPhone simulator online and download it from their website.

The iOS simulators and emulators mentioned in this blog are a combination that can be used on Windows PC and Macs. At the same time, some listed simulators can only imitate the iOS environment without creating its local version on your device. Moreover, some of them support cross-platform technologies rather than designed exclusively for iOS apps.

Whether developing an iOS app, debugging, or exploring the iPhone environment, iOS simulators are highly useful and make your life easy. However, consider app requirements and budget, read reviews, and conduct proper research before going for any simulators.