What can you learn from the iPhone simulator?
The simulator shows how your app behaves on a virtual iPhone. Use it to see whether a screen opens, a button responds and text fits. Plan a separate physical-device check for anything that depends on the real hardware or on the way the phone is used.
Which Xcode can your Mac run?
Look up your macOS version in Apple’s Xcode compatibility table. Compare the available Xcode version with the platform version you need to build for and the simulator or device version you need to test. Keep your project files, Swift code, images and tests together. A built copy alone will not let you edit those files later.
Do you need a paid account to test your app?
Xcode is available free. For personal testing on an actual device, Apple documents signing with a free Apple Account through a Personal Team, with limits and periodic renewal of test provisioning. App Store distribution has its own requirements and ordinarily uses paid Apple Developer Program membership.
Can your first screen count two taps correctly?
Use a blank local screen in the iPhone simulator or sketch it on paper. A counter that starts at 0 should show 2 after two taps.
- Start with a blank local appDraw a screen with a label that reads 0 and an Add button. Use the iPhone simulator as the run destination if you try it locally. Leave the app disconnected from accounts and services.
- Trace each tapThe first tap should display 1 and the second should display 2. Check that the label stays readable and that tapping the label itself does nothing.
- Restart from a clean launchIf you have not added saving, expect 0 on a fresh launch. Decide separately whether the real app needs to remember the number.