Why do Programmers use Macs?

Programmers use macs for various reasons, some use macs for efficiency, others for prestige, and others for the love of the Apple ecosystem.

One of the biggest reasons why programmers macs are to develop apps for mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. These apps can only be developed using a macOS which on runs on a mac.

In today’s insight, we are going to look at:

Using Mac to Develop Applications.

What makes macs good for programming

Are Macs good for Web development

Which mac is the best for developers?

By the end of this article, you will understand why most programmers choose Mac for programming over other computers.

USING MAC TO DEVELOP APPLICATIONS

One of the major reasons why programmers use Macs is to make applications for Apple Devices. If you want to develop applications for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Apple Watch, you will need a Mac. There are ways to go around this but it’s a lot of work and resources.

In order to develop apps for Apple devices, you need Xcode on your computer. XCode is only available for macOS and you cannot install it on a Windows or Linux machine.

Even if you use cross-platform frameworks like Flutter, Xamarin, React Native, Ionic, etc. to develop IOS and Android apps from one codebase, you will still need a Mac to build the IOS app.

The bottom line is that as long as you want to build an app for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Apple Watch, you will need a mac.

If you are interested in developing applications for Android, you can still use a Mac without problems. This makes a Mac desirable for many programmers, as it allows developers to create apps for both android and IOS without problems.

Thus, you only need one machine to develop mobile applications for Android and IOS.

WHAT MAKES MACS GOOD FOR PROGRAMMING?

There are a number of reasons that makes mac computers good for programming. Most Macs are stable and secure; they are less like to succumb to malware than other computers.

Above all, Mac OS X is built on top of Unix, which makes it easier to set up a development environment that provides a good programming experience. Many programs written for Unix or Linux can usually be compiled to run in OS X.

With the introduction of the Apple M1 Ultra, Apple Laptops will become even more powerful, allowing programmers to develop and debug quickly, working with Machine learning models is even better with a mac.

According to Apple, “Developer technologies like Metal let apps take full advantage of the new chip, and optimizations in Core ML utilize the new 32-core Neural Engine, so machine learning models run faster than ever.

The 32-core Neural Engine in M1 Ultra runs up to 22 trillion operations per second, speeding through the most challenging machine learning tasks.”

ARE MACS GOOD FOR WEB DEVELOPMENT?

Since Mac OS X is built on top of Unix, it is much easier to get Apache, Python, PHP, Ruby, MySQL, Perl, etc. up and running.

Actually, most of these come pre-installed nearly on every mac. This makes getting started easier and it makes a Mac good for Web development.

Other pre-installed programs like bash, ksh, zsh, etc. which can be accessed through the terminal make writing shell scripts for servers much easier.

Most of the web development tools are cross-platform and open sources and you will have no difficulties whatsoever using a Mac for web development.

WHICH MAC IS BEST FOR DEVELOPERS?

Macs are broken into separate product lines such as MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Mini, and Mac Pro. You will need a Mac with a good combination of Processing Power, good graphics, RAM, Screen, Battery, and Storage.

Aim as a minimum to get 512GB Storage, 8GB or better, 2.60GHz or better, 14-inch or better, etc.

A MacBook Pro 2021 is a great choice for all your programming needs. If money is no object, this is the best programming computer money can buy.

You will be able to run development tools and software without problems for many programming projects.

You can check out more Mac computers here.

Some programmers also choose to use Macs for prestige; Macs are quite expensive compared to other computers and owning a Mac speaks volumes about one’s finances. Others just prefer Macs solely for the love of Apple products.

It can be seen that programmers use Macs for various reasons, but one of the major reasons why programmers use Macs is to be able to develop apps that are only possible to create on MacOS. Using Macs allows programmers to develop applications for more platforms.

Remember, you cannot develop apps for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV without a Mac. If you are interested in developing mobile applications for IOS and Android check out our article PRACTICAL GUIDE TO MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT (STEP BY STEP).