Questions about iOS development with Unity

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Hello,

I have read different forums, manuals and such questions have been asked before but I want to make sure that nothing has changed recently because some of the forums related to this topic are old.

So we are planning to make an iOS app using Unity for the Ipad. We have the Ipad, Mac and a Unity PRO license. But we currently do not have the Apple Developers account.

Here are some set of questions that we have. As this is the first time we are making something on iOS, hopefully someone with experience in the iOS department could provide a clear picture.

  1. Currently we don’t want to deploy or publish our app on the app store. We just want to make it work and test on about 50 Ipad devices. So do we really need the developers account even if we are not publishing the app on the store?

  2. I came across something called the “testflight” which makes deploying apps easier on the Ipad. Does testflight work with windows? Because we are using windows for developing with Unity. We do however have Mac systems for deployment purposes. So can we make something with Unity on windows for iOS and test it on Ipad using testflight on windows itself?

Apologies if my questions sound lame but it would be of great help to me and my team if someone could answer the above questions.

Thanks!!

1 Answer

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==“do we really need the [Mac] developers account”

Yes. Apple has it set up that way.

When an iPhone/Pad receives an ipa through USB or from some other site, it still needs an extra code (an AdHoc Distribution Certificate?) which can only be made on the Mac dev site.

In fact, the Mac Dev site has a distribution method for exactly what you propose – only giving the app directly to many specific devices. I think “Ad Hoc Distribution.”

==“Does testflight work with windows?”

Like asking if a ham sandwich works with windows. I guess, but there’s just no reason to ever use TestFlight on Windows. TestFlight is just a web page, where the developer uploads the final ipa product.

From the users’ perspective, they use only iPhones/Pad to download. Open a browser or the TestFlght Ap if using it, check for new builds, download.

From the dev’s perspective, the new build will first appear on a Mac, since it’s made through Mac-only Xcode. If you were making the App on Windows, you’ve zipped it and sent it to your “Build” Mac, and are on that machine now. May as well upload it from there.