[skrtskrt]

I would like to know how these are on XCode - would love to have the cheapest/most lightweight possible way to build iOS apps (derived from some cross-platform builder like Expo/Lynx/Dioxus) since I have no other use for MacOS.

Looking at tech specs, it seems like the one with 512GB drive might be serviceable. I have a very old 256GB Air and I struggle to keep enough drive space open to have XCode installed on it.

[elxr]

They're fine if you just need it mainly for the build/bundle step.

I've used an 8GB M1 mac for react-native iOS dev for over a year back when the M1 first came out.

If I had to look for the cheapest way to build iOS apps, but still on a laptop form factor (aka no mac minis), and I don't use macOS for day-to-day development, I'd do exactly this.

[chedabob]

8GB RAM and no active cooling would be miserable.

Mac Mini is the best bang for buck at the moment. I have an M1 Air as well, but if I'm away from my desk and doing anything that would push the SOC hard, I remote into my Mini.

[fragmede]

It'll throttle itself when it gets hot during compiles and slow down. You can mod it to cool it down so it will run (compile) faster.

[starkparker]

you'll hit the RAM limit at some point, and you'd almost certainly want to mod it to alleviate the heat issues that kill sustained performance

[ghrl]

I would say if it's only used as the build and publishing device and development happens elsewhere, this would work without problems. 8Gb for building the iOS app and testing on a real device or even an emulator would likely work. Apple's swap is also quite fast.