Adding iOS Simulators to Xcode install

Yesterday I got a new MacBook Air and had the pleasure of installing all the usual tools I need as a hobby developer including Xcode, VS Code (with the C# and MAUI Dev Kit extensions), Hyper.js terminal and others.

But one thing I hit early on was the need to install the additional Xcode tools. When I did that, I saw that only Mac SDK's are downloaded by Xcode by default. I had to hit a toggle to grab any additional ones including iOS, WatchOS and TvOS.

I only cared about iOS simulators at this stage so I clicked that toggle and triggered the download of iOS 17.0u devices. It hit network errors though and failed a few times.

In the end, I decided I would look into it later as I wasn't actually developing any code yet, just installing tools.

Fast forward to the next day (aka today) and I remembered I needed to finish sorting that. So I opened Xcode, and wondered what to do next. I clicked through the toolbar menu and discovered the Simulator app (you can also get to this from Spotlight) under Xcode -> Open Developer Tool -> Simulator, so I opened it. I mistakenly assumed that the simulators would be there, or at least a way to get them. Wrong.

I had to do a bit more digging and I wanted to share what I learned. It turns out I had to go to Xcode -> Settings -> Platforms tab and there I could see the toggleable platforms.

All I need to do now is toggle the platforms I want, let them download and voila! I hope this helps you save the time digging around the menus like I did!