9 iOS App Development Languages & Tools to Become a Successful Developer

With over one quarter (28%) of market share worldwide, Apple iOS is a mobile operating system that needs no introduction. Used across millions of iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices, this high-end mobile OS platform creates unlimited possibilities for developers to build high-quality, innovative Apps. However, whether you’re a seasoned developer or just beginning to learn the ropes, developing a great iOS app is impossible without the right set of iOS app development languages and tools.

Planning to develop your own iOS app, but not sure what programming languages and tools you should use? Go through our list of nine tried-and-tested iOS app development languages and tools that you can learn to become a maestro in iOS app development. If combined intelligently, these tools and language can help you develop your next iOS app quicker and more efficiently.

Let’s get started!

Objective-C

Developed by Tom Love and Brad Cox in 1984, Objective-C is a general-purpose, object-oriented programming language based on the language C.

Prior to the launch of Apple’s own programming language called Swift, it was the primary language for developing apps for iOS.

As Objective-C is still not going to anywhere, you can learn and use it to develop robust, secure and scalable iOS apps.

Swift

Developed and launched by Apple back in 2014, Swift is a modern programming language easier to learn and use than Objective-C.

Having surpassed Objective-C in terms of popularity and usage, it is now the primary programming language of Apple for developing cutting-edge apps for iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and beyond.

Swift is clearly the future of iOS app development and therefore you shouldn’t miss to learn it.

C# / C++

Where C# is known to be the most versatile programming language ever, on the other hand, C++ has been one of the oldest and most popular programming languages of all times.

With the help of Xamarin, a Microsoft-owned cross-platform mobile app development tool, you can leverage the power of C# to build native apps for the iOS platform.

Moreover, you can also use built-in C++ libraries in your iOS apps.

Python

Created by Guido van Rossum in 1991, Python has been one of the most scientific programming languages ever.

Being a high-level, dynamic programming language, it can prove extremely useful for you if you’re developing an iOS app powered by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

In iOS app development, you can take advantage of Python to create functions, libraries, and back end processing tasks.

HTML5 / CSS3

If you’re looking to develop a hybrid iOS app that has a single code base and works across all operating systems, then you can use a combination of HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript for the same.

To make iOS app development this route quicker and easier, you can make use of cross-platform mobile app development tools, such as Ionic and PhoneGap.

XCode

XCode is Apple’s official IDE for developing apps for all Apple platforms!

Including everything you need to create amazing iOS apps, it serves as a lightning-fast source code editor, acts as a debugging tool to identify and eliminate problems from your app code, and allows you to preview your iOS apps before you launch them.

Being extremely fast and smooth, it is the first choice of developers to create iOS apps.

Flutter

Created by Google, Flutter is an open-source mobile app development framework to build lightweight and interactive native apps for both iOS and Android platforms.

Packed with high-fidelity, beautiful Cupertino (iOS-style) widgets, it allows you to build expressive and flexible UIs in minutes, delivering full native performance on iOS devices.

TestFlight

Offered by Apple, TestFlight is one of the best mobile app testing tools that make Beta Testing more simple and easier for iOS app developers and testers.

With this awesome testing tool, you can invite up to 10,000 external testers to test your apps.

For internal testing, you can add up to 25 members, of which each one can test the app on up to 30 devices.

AppCode

Developed by JetBrains, AppCode is an intelligent Swift/Obj-C IDE for iOS/macOS app development.

With a deep understanding of your code structure, it handles your routine tasks as, regularly monitor the quality of your code, and saves you from extra typing.

Supporting a number of programming languages, including Swift, Objective-C, C++, JavaScript, etc, AppCode facilitates app development for iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV.

Have a great iOS app idea in mind or facing any issues developing your iOS app? Feel free to discuss with our iOS app experts.