Make iPhone Apps with App Inventor!

App Inventor has worked with iPhones and iPads since March 2021, and we've added many more capabilities since then. Almost all apps in our list of tutorials work well on the iOS Companion app (see "Future Work" below for exceptions). Now, you can create, test, and share apps for iOS devices!

Check out the following resources for making iOS apps:

Live Test Your iOS App

The image shows a link to the Apple App Store for the App Inventor iOS Companion.

Get the App Inventor iOS Companion for your iPhone or iPad by clicking the button to the right, installing Companion, and following the regular App Inventor instructions to test your app while you code.

Code and Test with a Single iPad

This video shows how to program and test an app with a single iPad!

Test Your App on a Laptop with our Emulator

No phone handy to test your app? Use an emulator on a computer to test how it would look on a mobile device.

Share Your Code for iOS Apps

Share your app source code with other App Inventor users by exporting the code in an .AIA file.

	Live test apps while coding	Test apps with an Android emulator	Share app source code	Use extensions in your code	Install apps on phone or tablet
iOS	✓	✓	✓		**
Android	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

**You CAN build, package, and install iOS apps, but the current process is costly and complex because of strict Apple developer requirements. We are developing an App Inventor-friendly process soon. For now, the current process for developing iOS apps is described here.

Future Work

We are currently working to implement the following:

Building and packaging apps (.ipa files) for permanent installation in an iOS device or for distribution on the App Store is currently in a closed beta. For now, this process is more complex than for building and installing Android apps because of strict Apple developer requirements. The current process for developing iOS apps is described here.
Translator component
Charts component
Spreadsheets component
Clickable images
Navigation component
Near Field Communication (iOS 14 and later)
Twitter component
Bluetooth support
Internet of Things (IoT) extension support (e.g., micro:bit)
AI extension support (e.g., PersonalImageClassifier)
Some WebViewer methods and events (e.g., ErrorOccurred)
The PhoneCall component’s MakePhoneCallDirect and Texting do not work at this time due to privacy and security restrictions enforced by iOS.
iOS devices lack certain sensors, such as the hygrometer, thermometer, and barometer. Consider updating your code to check the Available property of these sensors if you’re working on a cross-platform app.
Extensions written for Android are not supported in iOS.