Software & Apps > Apps The 5 Best iOS Emulators for PC Test and run iPhone apps on Windows By Scott Orgera Scott Orgera Facebook Twitter Writer Scott Orgera is a former Lifewire writer covering tech since 2007. He has 25+ years' experience as a programmer and QA leader, and holds several Microsoft certifications including MCSE, MCP+I, and MOUS. He is also A+ certified. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on July 30, 2020 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Apps Best Apps Payment Services If you'd like to know how a particular app will appear and function on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch from a Windows laptop or desktop, you'll need an iOS emulator for PC. This type of software is helpful for app developers, quality assurance professionals, or anyone looking to run iPhone apps on a PC. We compiled a list of the best iOS emulators for Windows. Check these out and see which ones might work for your needs. These apps are available for different versions of Windows. Check individual application requirements to see if an emulator works with your operating system. 01 of 05 Best Browser-Based iOS Emulator: Appetize.io What We Like No software to install. Works on any device. The free version is ideal for simple development validation and testing. Has premium options for professional developers. What We Don't Like Occasional lag as the canvas representing the iOS device is rendered. Only works in a web browser. Appetize.io allows you to upload your app to its website or through an API. Within seconds, your app runs within any major web browser on your PC. The service offers advanced features in addition to emulation, including automated testing, scalable enterprise deployments, and network usage analysis. A free trial plan limits you to one concurrent session and 100 minutes of app streaming per month. Paid subscriptions range from $40 per month up to $2,000 for large-scale requirements. Visit Appetize.io 02 of 05 Most User-Friendly iOS Emulator: Smartface What We Like Frequently updated to keep up with operating system updates. Reliable and user friendly. What We Don't Like A slight performance loss for CPU-intensive apps. Requires an Apple device to work. Smartface is a powerful emulator that supports iOS development on PCs, allowing for a cross-platform programming experience. It requires an iOS device with the Smartface app to be connected to a Windows machine, which must have iTunes installed for recognition purposes. Once that setup is in place, you can initiate emulation with a couple of taps and clicks. Visit Smartface 03 of 05 Most Powerful iOS Emulator for PC: Xamarin.iOS What We Like Code iOS apps from a PC. More flexibility than other iOS emulators. What We Don't Like Takes time and technical know-how to set up. Requires a Windows PC and a Mac. Configuring Xamarin to build and test iOS apps on a PC is no easy task. Still, once it's up and running, it's a powerful environment for coding iOS apps from a PC. Xamarin gives you access to the same UI controls that Objective-C and Xcode offer, while also being able to code in C# with the .NET BCL behind it. This programming is done within the Visual Studio IDE. At a minimum, you need a Windows machine with the latest version of Visual Studio and a network-connected Mac with Xamarin.iOS and the Apple build tools installed. These tools consist of the latest versions of Xcode and the iOS SDK, which are available for download with an Apple Developer account. Visit Xamarin.iOS 04 of 05 Best Makeshift iOS Emulator: Adobe AIR What We Like Supported by a reputable company. Frequent updates to reflect the changing iOS interface. What We Don't Like Doesn't provide a perfect 1:1 emulation. Has limited functionality. Using the Adobe AIR runtime framework, you can create a new instance of the iOS GUI on a Windows PC. While not technically an emulator in the true sense of the term, this tool allows developers and testers to get a feel for what an app will look and behave like on iOS without running it in that operating system. Hardware replication limits mean that you don't get an apples-to-apples comparison in terms of an app's behavior. Also, what you see within AIR iPhone may not be exactly what renders or occurs on an actual iOS device. Still, if you want an idea of what something looks like on an iPhone, AIR Adobe is a suitable option. Visit Adobe AIR 05 of 05 Best iOS Emulator for Beginners: Ripple What We Like A minimal learning curve for those unfamiliar with emulators. Ideal for testing websites for iOS devices. What We Don't Like Hasn't been updated in a few years. Isn't supported by its developers. Ripple is a browser-based tool that emulates mobile environments, including iOS. It's specifically designed to assist with the development and testing of HTML5 applications. Ripple requires Google Chrome and the Ripple Emulator add-on, which can integrate with other tools for debugging and running automated test scripts. Visit Ripple Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up! Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit