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Claude Code Can Now Build and Test iOS Apps in Apple's Simulator

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Anthropic today said Claude Code for desktop has been updated to work with the iOS Simulator, with the integration available in public beta.

claude-code-ios-simulator.jpg

Claude Code can open in-progress apps in the iOS Simulator pane when it's instructed to build, run, or check an app. Claude can watch the iOS Simulator live as it runs, interact with it, and then iterate until a project is finished. Developers can continue to use the iOS Simulator as Claude works.

The pane in Claude Code drives the simulator directly, and it does not need computer use, which lets Claude control the screen the way a person would. With direct access, it works without the macOS Accessibility and Screen Recording permissions required for computer use.

Claude's screenshots of a device in iOS Simulator are sent to Anthropic and kept per standard conversation retention settings. Anthropic suggests users not sign in to real accounts on a device Claude uses.

iOS Simulator integration is available in Claude Code Desktop on macOS, and Xcode with the iOS platform installed is required. The simulator pane is available in local sessions only. Instructions on using the iOS Simulator with Claude Code can be found on Anthropic's website.

Article Link: Claude Code Can Now Build and Test iOS Apps in Apple's Simulator
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/07/21/claude-code-ios-simulator/
Just asked Claude, more expensive than using Claude Code & what it does/did. (edit: just found a brilliant use for it)
 
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Luftkopf said:
Brace yourselves for an avalanche of vibe-coded slop.
Click to expand...

Harsh, and possibly true, but then there's folks like me with good ideas but no computer science degree who have been empowered with AI. I learned some python from evening classes (my day job is in life sciences) and could only write simple data transformation scripts that would take me weeks to debug.

With AI - I'm writing creating genuinely useful programs I could never have dreamed of.

Let's not be totally down on AI!
 
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CalMin said:
Harsh, and possibly true, but then there's folks like me with good ideas but no computer science degree who have been empowered with AI. I learned some python from evening classes (my day job is in life sciences) and could only write simple data transformation scripts that would take me weeks to debug.

With AI - I'm writing creating genuinely useful programs I could never have dreamed of.

Let's not be totally down on AI!
Click to expand...
I fully agree with you.
 
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Interesting, I guess that saves developers from having to test apps by hand in the simulator? Reading the linked article on the website, it seems like that's what they're going for, though I personally find that testing how an app looks and "feels" is the one of the most human-dependent parts of development.
 
CalMin said:
Harsh, and possibly true, but then there's folks like me with good ideas but no computer science degree who have been empowered with AI. I learned some python from evening classes (my day job is in life sciences) and could only write simple data transformation scripts that would take me weeks to debug.

With AI - I'm writing creating genuinely useful programs I could never have dreamed of.

Let's not be totally down on AI!
Click to expand...
Agree. I’m in marketing and web design. I can build things so much faster and am able to add features that would have taken me months to figure out.
 
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Luftkopf said:
Brace yourselves for an avalanche of vibe-coded slop.
Click to expand...
Like some have already commented, I have mixed feelings about this.

In one hand, discovering genuinely good apps will be harder, because you won’t be able to know whether an app is code-vibed, containing many bugs that the “code prompter” doesn’t know how to properly solve, or has been written by a coder even if it’s with the help of AI. No way to know unless you already know the dev.

But on the other hand… like user @CalMin said, this tools, that are getting better and better at coding, allow us, mere mortals that never were able to learn code, to easily make small programs or scripts.

Let me share an example. There’s been a software niche that wasn’t covered until a few months: an Obsidian-like knowledge management software, with local LLM integrated RAG system. Most of the local RAG systems I know are based on complex configuration that involve several software components.

So there’s a guy (or gal, idk) that six months ago started building this app for macOS, Canto, using AI to develop it much faster, quickly implementing new features in few days. I haven’t tried it yet, so I still don’t know how polished it is, but if it wasn’t for AI-assisted development, apps such as this one wouldn’t exist.
 
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