About Simulator

Explains how to develop, debug, and test iOS and Watch apps on a Mac during development.

At a Glance

By simulating the operation of your app in Simulator, you can:

Find major problems in your app during design and early testing
Test your app using developer tools that are available only for Simulator
Learn about the Xcode development experience and the iOS development environment before becoming a member of the iOS Developer Program

This guide walks you through Simulator, starting with the basics of how to use it and moving on to the tools found within the simulator that can assist you in testing and debugging your apps.

Organization of This Document

Read the following chapters to learn how to use Simulator:

Getting Started in Simulator, to understand the functionality of Simulator, and gain a working knowledge of the various ways to launch it
Interacting with Simulator, to learn about the various ways of interacting with Simulator, including taking screenshots and changing the scale of simulated devices
Interacting with iOS and watchOS, to learn about the specific ways of interacting with simulated iOS and watchOS devices, including gestures and hardware manipulation
Interacting with tvOS, to learn about the specific ways of interacting with tvOS, including using the focus-based user interface and using external remotes with Simulator
Testing and Debugging in Simulator, to understand the tools available within Simulator to assist you with testing and debugging your apps
Customizing Your Simulator Experience with Xcode Schemes, to learn about additional ways to customize your Simulator experience through Xcode schemes

About Simulator

At a Glance

Organization of This Document

See Also