iOS development — the development of Software for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad Mobile Devices — can be a costly enterprise, particularly for those that prefer to program in a Windows or Linux environment.

To begin with, iOS development can only be legally undergone on the Mac OS X Operating System, using the Xcode integrated Development Environment (IDE) in the Objective-C programming language. Potential iOS Programmers who prefer a Windows or Linux environment, and who are hence unlikely to own an Apple computer, will therefore be required to part with at least a few hundred dollars for the requisite hardware in order to get started developing for iOS devices.

In addition to costs for Programmers unfamiliar with Mac programming, there exist costs that all developers, regardless of preferred development environment, will have to incur. In order to write software for iOS platforms, developers are required to register for Apple’s iOS Developer Program, a $99/year service providing the various tools required to get iOS programs up and running on Apple devices, and for distributing them to end users. The primary development tool is the iOS Software development kit (SDK), consisting of the iOS simulator for running, testing, and debugging iOS Software on the computer, the aforementioned Xcode IDE, and the various code libraries needed for control of device-specific functions. Next is a suite of tools allowing software to be run directly on the device, in order to test software on the hardware itself, and thereby enabling the developer to catch any hardware-specific bugs. Finally, membership in the program gives developers the ability to distribute their completed software through Apple’s App Store.

Even after the Software has been developed, tested, and distributed, there is cost to be accounted for. For each copy of the app sold, Apple takes 30% of the sale price. Hence developers are continuously losing a significant amount of revenue in the form of commission.

On a final note, iOS development is particularly pricey for those with an abundance of ideas but a lack of programming experience. In addition to the costs previously mentioned, these people will need to pay up to thousands of dollars to hire experienced iOS developers to implement their ideas.

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