Xcode 11 Latest Version

Xcode 11 Latest Version 10.13
Xcode 11 Latest Version 64-bit

Xcode is the Mac app that developers use to create apps for Apple’s platforms, like iOS. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how you can download and install Xcode on your Mac.

Here’s what we’ll get into:

3 approaches to download and install Xcode on your Mac
Tips and tricks to keep your Xcode up-to-date
How to install Xcode betas on your Mac

Ready? Let’s go.

Xcode can only be installed on a Mac. Want to build apps with a PC? Check out your alternatives here.

How To Download Xcode for macOS

How do you download Xcode for macOS? You’ve got a few options:

Introducing Xcode 12. With an all-new design that looks great on macOS Big Sur, Xcode 12 has customizable font sizes for the navigator, streamlined code completion, and new document tabs. Xcode 12 builds Universal apps by default to support Mac with Apple Silicon, often without changing a single line of code. Version Release Build Released Requires macOS SDKs. Xcode 11.0: Beta 1: 11M336w: 3 Jun 2019: macOS 10.14.4+ 10.15 (19A471t) 13.0 (17A5492t) 6.0 (17R5491t) 13.0.

Apple has finally released the brand new IDE for iOS, MacOS and iPadOS developers: Xcode 11.I have to admit, it looks pretty good, more like a stable development environment than before.

Get Xcode via the Mac App Store
Download Xcode via developer.apple.com/downloads
Install through Mac App Store CLI (see below)

Let’s walk through the approaches you can use to download and install Xcode on your Mac, and their advantages. We’ll start with the Mac App Store, because that’s the simplest option.

Here’s how you can download and install via the Mac App Store:

Make sure you’re logged into macOS with your Apple ID
Open the Mac App Store app
Search for “xcode” in the search field, at the top-left
Click on the Xcode app item that appears
Click on the Get or Install buttom at the top-right to download and install Xcode

There are a few things you should know, though. Xcode is a huge app, about 7 gigabyte (GB) in size. You’ll need about 15 GB of free space on your Mac to install Xcode this way.

Installing via the App Store is simple, easy and seamless. Unfortunately, issues with downloading, like a lost connection, etc., usually means you’ll have to reattempt the download.

Author’s Note: Installing Xcode via the App Store never maxes out my download speed — not even close. On a 500 Mbps fiber line, it regularly drops down to 200 KB/s.

Learn how to build iOS apps

Get started with iOS 14 and Swift 5

Installing Xcode on Mac

Installing Xcode via the Mac App Store is as simple as clicking Install. However, there’s an approach that gives you more control: developer.apple.com/download.

Here’s how that works:

Go to developer.apple.com/download and log in with your Apple ID
Click on More in the top-right of the page, next to Beta and Release
In the search field on the left, type “xcode” and press Enter
Locate and click the appropriate version of Xcode in the list
In the panel slides out, click the .xip filename, i.e. Xcode 12.xip and save/download that file onto your Mac

This will download a .xip file, which includes Xcode. The download size is currently about 7 gigabyte (GB). You’ll need at least twice that size of free storage on your Mac to install Xcode with this approach. Downloading Xcode this way is often faster than through the Mac App Store.

Once you’ve downloaded Xcode, open and unzip the .xip file. This may take a while. You can then drag-and-drop the Xcode.app file to your ~/Applications folder. Finally, start the Xcode app. You’ll be greeted with the following prompt:

Click Install in this prompt. Xcode will now attempt to install the Xcode Command Line Tools on your Mac. They are CLI tools used to compile apps with Xcode, among other things. You often need these tools to work with other programming languages on Mac, as well.

A disadvantage of manually installing Xcode through the Developer portal is that Xcode won’t automatically update. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however, because you can use this approach to install multiple versions of Xcode side-by-side. This is helpful for debugging or trying out beta versions of Xcode (see below).

There’s another, more hidden benefit. Installing Xcode through the Mac App Store limits you to the most recent version of Xcode. If your version of macOS or Mac OS X doesn’t support the latest version of Xcode, you can usually install older versions via developer.apple.com!

You can pinpoint the latest version of Xcode that your Mac supports by cross-referencing a few tables on Wikipedia. First, figure out what macOS version you have. Then, go to the Xcode wiki, and find your version of macOS in the min macOS version to run column between Xcode 9.x and 12.x. The version of Xcode you can run is in the row above the one you found. For example, the latest version of Xcode you can run on macOS 10.13.6 (High Sierra) is Xcode 10.1. Keep in mind that running an older version of Xcode often limits for which iOS, Swift and SwiftUI versions you can build.

Updating Xcode to The Latest Version

How do you keep your Xcode up-to-date? Apple regularly releases new versions of Xcode. They typically include bug fixes and performance improvements, as well as new Xcode features, like the minimap.

More importantly, new Xcode versions include new versions of the iOS SDKs, Swift and SwiftUI. You can only use these new technologies with the latest versions of Xcode.

You can update your Xcode to the latest versions like this:

If you’ve installed Xcode via the App Store, updates happen automatically, or you can manually initiate an update in the Updates tab of the app
If you’ve manually installed Xcode via developer.apple.com, you’ll also need to manually install the newer version; updates aren’t automatic

How do you know if Xcode has a new version?

You get a notification on your Mac (if installed via App Store)
Keep an eye on developer.apple.com/news/releases (official)
Check out xcodereleases.com
Follow @XcodeReleases on Twitter

By the way, there’s a 3rd way to download and install Xcode on your Mac. It’s called mas-cli, and it’s essentially a Command Line Interface (CLI) wrapper for the Mac App Store. It uses the App Store – from the command line… Nice!

You can install mas-cli via Homebrew, a package manager for Mac. Installing mas-cli via Homebrew happens like this:

You can then list apps installed through the App Store on your Mac, with:

You can then search for Xcode like this:

Then, copy the numerical code you see on screen to install Xcode:

You can find outdated apps with mas outdated. You can then upgrade all outdated apps with mas upgrade, or selectively update Xcode by its identifier:

Awesome!

Author’s Note: As I understand it, you’ll need to have installed an app via the App Store before you can install it again with mas-cli.

Getting Xcode Beta Versions

Apple regularly releases beta versions of upcoming software, like iOS, macOS and Xcode. This enables developers to try out new features before they become available to the general public, and provide feedback and bug reports back to Apple.

How can you download and install Xcode’s beta versions? Here’s how:

Go to developer.apple.com/download and log in with your Apple ID
Choose one of the following:
- Click Beta in the top-right:
  1. Select Applications
  2. Locate the featured Xcode beta you need
  3. Click Download
- Click More in the top-right
  1. Use the search field to find “xcode”
  2. Locate the Xcode beta you need
  3. Expand the panel by clicking on it
  4. Click the .xip to download
Once you’ve got a .xip, unzip it, copy the .app to your ~/Applications folder, and start the Xcode app.

As we’ve discussed before, you can install multiple versions of Xcode side-by-side with this approach. You can, for example, have the regular Xcode installed via the App Store, and install a beta version of Xcode next to it.

You don’t need to have a paid Developer Account to install betas of Xcode. Just use the free Apple Developer Account. It can occasionally happen that Apple restricts beta software to paid subscribers only, however.

If you’re installing multiple Xcodes, change their filenames to reflect their versions. That makes it easier to tell them apart! Just so you know: when you switch between installed Xcode versions, you usually get that “Install additional components” prompt again. There are ways around that, but it’s simplest to just let it install again whenever Xcode needs to.

Learn how to build iOS apps

Get started with iOS 14 and Swift 5

What's New in this Release

Support for Xcode 11

For more information you can consult the Xcode 11 release notes from Apple.

Support for iOS 13 and iPadOS 13

See our API diff to browse the latest changes.

For more information you can consult the iOS & iPadOS 13 release notes from Apple.

Support for tvOS 13

See our API diff to browse the latest changes.

For more information you can consult the tvOS 13 release notes from Apple.

Support for watchOS 6

See our API diff to browse the latest changes.

For more information you can consult the watchOS 6 release notes from Apple.

Support for uploading iOS, tvOS and watchOS Apps to iTunes Connect

Starting with Xcode 11, Apple stopped distributing Application Loader, which was used to publish Apps to the iTunes Connect website.

We updated our MSBuild tasks to make use of a new tool shipped with Xcode: altool.

This is a necessary step for the IDEs to continue providing the ability to publish Apps to the App Store.

Release History

This version of Xamarin.iOS corresponds to our xcode11 milestone and is based of the 16.2 release.

September 12, 2019 - Xamarin.iOS 13.0.0.19
September 3, 2019 - Xamarin.iOS 12.99.4.26
August 21, 2019 - Xamarin.iOS 12.99.3.5
August 7, 2019 - Xamarin.iOS 12.99.2.40
July 25, 2019 - Xamarin.iOS 12.99.2.26
July 10, 2019 - Xamarin.iOS 12.99.1.27
June 27, 2019 - Xamarin.iOS 12.99.0.159

September 12, 2019 - Xamarin.iOS 13.0.0.19

Tip

This version can be used to submit Apps to the App Store.

This seventh preview is based on Xcode 11 GM. More frameworks and API are now available. Future releases will include additional API as they become available.

Updated frameworks

6852 - AVFoundation
6972 - ClockKit
6919 - CoreAudioKit
6896 - CoreData
6943 - CoreHaptics
6973 - CoreLocation
6908 - CoreMidi
6976 - CoreText
6897 - ImageIO
6934 - MapKit
6956 - MetalKit
6969 - MetricKit
6930 - ModelIO
6978 - StoreKit

Enhancements

6921 - [Foundation] Expose the usage of cellular data in the NSUrlSessionHandler. It can sometimes be useful to turn this off and it was not easy with the existing implementation.
6942 - [MediaPlayer] Enable API that depend on AVFoundation types for watchOS.
6947 - [Versions] Add iOS/tvOS 12.3 & 12.4 as well as watchOS 5.3 to our versions files so we offer those options in the IDEs.

Issues

6906 - Updated mono to include workaround for broken Hebrew and other non-Gregorian calendars.
6926 - [package] Rename bundle identifier for the frameworks we ship. Apple added an App Store check to reject Apps with multiple frameworks with the same bundle identifier.
6899 - [mlaunch] Fix issues launching/installing with the watch simulator.
6948 - [UIKit] Make UITraitCollection thread-safe.

September 3, 2019 - Xamarin.iOS 12.99.4.26

This sixth preview is based on Xcode 11 beta 7. More frameworks and API are now available. Future previews will include additional API as they become available.

New frameworks

This preview includes the following updates to existing frameworks (all API updated to beta 7 unless noted)

6874 - Network (new in watchOS 6.0)

Updated frameworks

6748 - AVKit Community Contribution ❤️
6678 - CarPlay
6858 - CoreMedia
6822 - CoreVideo
6867 - Security (Partial Update)
6837 - Vision
6844 - VisionKit
6882 - WatchKit

Other changes

6878 - Bump the minimum iOS version to 7.0. Deprecation ℹ️
6850 - [registrar] Fix verification of generic parameters to accept unrelated generic types
6819 - [authenticationservices] Remove [Abstract] from ASAuthorizationPasswordRequest
6864 - [runtime] Build native code with -std=c++14. This is required by Apple to compile headers in C++ mode
6855 - [mtouch] Detect when we run into the 32-bit arm size limitation, and report a better error
6859 - [generator] Reference bound Appearance types using global:: syntax
6880 - [Foundation] Ensure that the collection is not modified during the loop
6872 - [UIKit] Fix threading issue in the selector performAsCurrentTraitCollection

August 21, 2019 - Xamarin.iOS 12.99.3.5

This fifth preview is based on Xcode 11 beta 6. More frameworks and API are now available. Future previews will include additional API as they become available.

Updated frameworks

This preview includes the following updates to existing frameworks (all API updated to beta 6 unless noted)

6804 - AuthenticationServices
6771 - ContactsUI
6784 - CoreML
6731 - CoreText
6751 - EventKit Community Contribution ❤️
6746 - ExternalAccessory
6759 & 6801 - FileProvider[UI]
6754 - Foundation
6773 - GameKit
6710 - HomeKit Community Contribution ❤️
6780 - iAd
6733 - MediaAccessibility
6741 - NaturalLanguage
6788 - NetworkExtension
6743 - PdfKit
6789 - QuicklookThumbnailing
6803 - ReplayKit
6767 - SafariServices
6760 - StoreKit
6807 - UIKit
6800 - VideoSubscriberAccount

August 7, 2019 - Xamarin.iOS 12.99.2.40

This fourth preview is based on Xcode 11 beta 5. More frameworks and API are now available. Future previews will include additional API as they become available.

Updated frameworks

This preview includes the following updates to existing frameworks (all API updated to beta 5 unless noted)

6718 - AuthenticationServices
6589 - GameController
6692 - HealthKit
6625 - IntentsUI Community Contribution ❤️
6719 - PassKit
6705 - SoundAnalysis
6717 - UIKit
6645 - VideoToolbox Community Contribution ❤️

Other changes

6703 - [UIKit] Add [BindAs] UIWindowSceneSessionRole to fix casting error

July 25, 2019 - Xamarin.iOS 12.99.2.26

This third preview is based on Xcode 11 beta 4. More frameworks and API are now available. Future previews will include additional API as they become available.

Updated frameworks

This preview includes the following updates to existing frameworks (all API updated to beta 4 unless noted)

6608 - ARKit
6617 - AuthenticationServices
6581 - CallKit
6563 - Contacts
6582 - CoreAudioKit
6600 - CoreLocation
6513 - CoreMedia partial update
6576 - CoreTelephony
6562 - CoreText partial update
6538 - Foundation
6596 - MediaPlayer
6579 - NotificationCenter Community Contribution ❤️
6612 - PencilKit
6521 - Photos
6624 - PhotosUI
6610 - ReplayKit
6577 - SpriteKit
6553 - UIKit

Other changes

6619 - [authenticationservices] Fix ASAuthorization and ASAuthorizationRequest
6609 - [corenfc] Fix typo in wellKnownTypeTextPayloadWithString
6637 - [generator] Do not use hardcoded error var name, use the one in the declaration
6529 - [package] Fix dialog when installing on 10.15
6493 - [registar] Fix NSURLsessionDelegate issues

July 10, 2019 - Xamarin.iOS 12.99.1.27

This second preview is based on Xcode 11 beta 3. More frameworks and API are now available. Future previews will include additional API as they become available.

New frameworks

This preview includes the following new frameworks (all API updated to beta 3)

6438 - BackgroundTasks
6437 - LinkPresentation
6491 - PencilKit

New CoreImage filters

A new CoreImage filter:

6480CIRoundedRectangleGenerator

Updated frameworks

This preview includes the following updates to existing frameworks (all API updated to beta 3 unless noted)

6482 - AuthenticationServices
6460 - ARKit
6434 - AudioToolBox
6434 - AudioUnit
6470 - CallKit
6512 - CarPlay
6508 - ClockKit
6472 - CloudKit
6475 - CoreBluetooth
6511 - IdentityLookup
6510 - IdentityLookupUI
6499 - JavaScriptCore
6457 - MediaAccessibility
6447 - PassKit
6479 - QuickLook
6483 - ReplayKit
6440 - Speech
6481 - VideoSubscriberAccount
6496 - WKWebKit

Other changes

6484 - The IncomingCallNotifications.framework was removed from Xcode 11 beta 3
6505 - [coremidi] Fix creating a native MidiThruConnectionParamsStruct

June 27, 2019 - Xamarin.iOS 12.99.0.159

This first preview is based on Xcode 11 beta 2. Many of the new API are already available. Future previews will include additional API as they become available.

New frameworks

This preview includes the following new frameworks (all API updated to beta 2)

6374 - IncomingCallNotifications
6415 - PencilKit
6351 - SoundAnalysis

New CoreImage filters

New CoreImage filters includes:

CIDocumentEnhancer
CIGaborGradients
CIKMeans
CIKeystoneCorrection
CIKeystoneCorrectionCombined
CIKeystoneCorrectionHorizontal
CIKeystoneCorrectionVertical
CIMorphologyRectangle
CIMorphologyRectangleMaximum
CIPaletteCentroid
CIPalettize
CIPerspectiveRotate

Updated frameworks

This preview includes the following updates to existing frameworks (all API updated to beta 2)

6408 - AuthenticationServices including Sign In with Apple support
6405 - ClockKit
6397 - CoreAnimation
6337 - CoreGraphics
6358 - CoreImage partial update, new filters only
6419 - CoreMotion
6370 - CoreNFC
6433 - JavaScriptCore
6404 - MediaLibrary
6377 - MessageUI
6432 - PushKit
6367 - ReplayKit
6396 - TVMLKit
6391 - TVServices
6378 - TVUIKit
6392 - UIKit partial update
6355 - UserNotifications
6292 - WKWebKit

Enhancements

6389 - Improve bindings for NWProtocolMetadata to more gracefully report incorrect usage

Known Issues

6333 - Unable to use PhotosUI as framework's header can not compile.

AOT-compilation for 32-bit architectures fails on macOS 10.15 Catalina

AOT-compilation for 32-bit device architectures (ARMv7, ARMv7s and ARMv7k)does not work on macOS 10.15 Catalina.

This will be fixed in a future release.

For more information see issue #6925.

Installing on macOS 10.15 Catalina

You might get a security dialog before the installer can be executed. This will be fixed in a future preview. Additional information can be found here.

Using an older Xcode version

Using an older Xcode version (than the one mentioned in the above requirements) is often possible. For more information see the following documentation.

API Diff

The following documents contains a complete list of the API changes since the Xamarin.iOS 12.14 release:

Integrated Mono Features/Fixes

Xamarin.iOS uses a customized runtime and base class libraries (BCL) fromMono 6.0Commit 537654c

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