How to deploy Phonegap app to iPhone without having Apple hardware (iPhone + Mac)

Question

I have a Phonegap app which works perfectly in Android. I chose Phonegap as a platform mainly because the same code can be used for Android, iPhone, etc.. My question is though, how can I create iPhone app without actually having Apple hardware (iPhone + Mac) as I am having Windows notebook and HTC Desire HD and I am happy with it :-) My app for iPhone will be free so there is no possibility the app itself with compensate for the money for Apple HW. Can you please sum up some options I have how to deploy ready Phonegap app for iPhone ? Or what is the cheapest real option - e.g. buy used iPhone and some kind of used Mac ?

Solution 1

You can do it by compiling in the cloud with PhoneGap Build.

Check https://build.phonegap.com/

Solution 2

Looking at the PhoneGap Cloud page here:

https://build.phonegap.com/docs/ios-builds

it mentions this :

"Note: Since PhoneGap Build uses Apple's standard development process to build applications, you will need to sign up for their developer program to build iOS applications on PhoneGap Build. You will also need a Mac to configure your certificate and provisioning profile."

I presume that this is a once-off thing to set up - i.e. you need to "borrow" a mac from somewhere if you don't have one. Does anyone know if this is correct?

Solution 3

Here is tutorial on How to build iOS application using Windows and OpenSSL. You just need an Apple developer account.

Solution 4

I have used hackintosh in the past in order to simulate a Mac and installed Xcode to build the project for the iOs devices.

The other cheap options are get a Mac mini & a ipod touch.

Solution 5

You could try rent a Mac on this cloud service: http://www.macincloud.com

This way, you don't need actual Mac hardware to build your app - only pay/rent when you need to build. However, in the long run it might not be economical.

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