I have been using Linux (especially, Ubuntu) and Windows 7 for a long time. I want to publish iOS apps, but I don't have a Mac or an iPhone. I don't have anyone near me who will lend me a Mac, and I don't actually want to buy them either.
So my question is: how do I publish my iOS app from Windows or Linux? I am not referring to publishing programs for jailbroken iPhones, I want to publish through the Apple Store.
My search results indicate that there is no fool-proof way of publishing an iOS app from Windows or Linux. I also want to make it a paid app, and not give it away for free.
Does anyone know of a way to publish iOS apps from Windows or Linux?
Best Answer
Basically, Apple's policy is that in order to develop for iOS, you need a Mac.
They have all sorts of reasons for doing it that way: increased sales on the desktop market (which isn't exactly Apple's cash cow), controlling the development platform, better brand exposure, you name it.
Now, there may be tools to develop iOS apps without a Mac, but these will never be officially supported, and as such, they may break any time - Apple controls both the target platform and the development tools, and one of the reasons to do this is so that they can change both in tandem more quickly and without having to watch out for compatibility with third-party tools.
Apart from the political issues, if you develop for any platform, you absolutely need a real specimen of the device you're going to deploy to, if only for testing purposes. If you don't, you will miss edge cases, usability no-no's, and you are at risk of hitting cases where the emulation is not accurate.
Bottom line, you want to develop for an Apple platform, you need a Mac - consider a used mac mini, or if you're daring, a hackintosh. Or decide to not develop for iOS.