iOS is Apple‘s operating system used exclusively on iPhones and iPads. Unlike what happens with Android, Apple does not want its operating system to run outside its ecosystem, which means that it is not possible to emulate it in virtual machines or emulators to test it. If you don’t have an iPhone or iPad you can’t use iOS, of course. Luckily, there are projects that allow us to test iOS from the computer, such as iPadian.
iPadian is an iOS simulator developed to run directly on Windows. This program will allow us to test the way of working with the Apple operating system, and to know its differences with respect to its rival, Android.
Simulator vs emulator
The first thing that should be clear to us is that iPadian is not an emulator , but a simulator. This means that at no time are we running any line of iOS code, but a completely separate program designed to mimic the appearance and functions of iOS.
Therefore, we are not going to be able to run iOS apps, or access the App Store or anything. It will simply allow us to know how iOS works on an iPad , its appearance, its menus, icons, effects … if we have never used it before, it is a great option to start getting to know in depth the Apple operating system that has managed to stand up. Google with Android.
Of course, we must bear in mind that in performance, even in appearance, it is far from being a real iOS . If you really want to know a little more about this operating system, you should try it on a real iPhone or iPad.
What iPadian offers
The first thing that will come to mind is the possibility of using iOS apps on the computer. And unfortunately this is not possible. iPadian has its own app store where we will find a series of apps that we can use. However, these apps are not iOS, but have been programmed to run on this independent system, web applications.
What iPadian offers us, as we have explained, is the possibility of testing the appearance of iOS directly in Windows. When executing it we will be able to see an interface very similar to the SpringBoard of the iPhone and the iPad. The icons are very similar to the originals, and the effects are actually very well worked.
But it offers little more from there. It is a very poor program , half of the apps do not work and, by far, it offers us the performance and stability of iOS. Aesthetically it may be worth, but in practice it is very poor.
Download iPadian (Watch out!)
iPadian was long ago a free program that allowed us to test the iOS experience. However, today, to simulate the experience of iOS 13, it is a paid program. And not exactly cheap, since to download it we will have to pay $ 25 , without a trial version or any other guarantee.
In addition, there are records on the Internet that the iPadian installer was hiding dangerous malware when downloaded from its official website. Downloading it from other unofficial websites seems to be safe.
If you are still interested, the latest version can be downloaded from the following link .
Minimum requirements to use iPadian
Being a simulator, and not an emulator, the requirements to use this program are not high. All we will need is a Windows XP SP3 or higher operating system, along with a 90 MHz processor and 16 MB of RAM. Or at least that’s the information that appears in your official installer.
Anyway, any computer running Windows 7 or Windows 10 will be able to run iPadian without any problem. Another thing is that, as we have explained, we are worth paying for software that is literally useless.
The only iOS emulator that works
Unfortunately, Apple does not have an iOS emulator as Google offers with Android. Therefore, it is very difficult to test this operating system outside of an iPhone or iPad. However, all is not lost.
There is a project, called Heilei , that allows us to emulate iOS in a virtual machine inside our computer. It is an experimental project, unstable and very complicated to start, but it offers the possibility of testing a real iOS, and of running any Apple app, directly on our PC.
If you need to test iOS, Heilei can be your lifeguard. In addition, this program is completely free, so, unlike what happens with iPadian, we will not have to pay for having a contact with the Apple operating system.
