System Requirements
Windows or Mac?
First things first. You should decide whether you want to use Windows or Mac to create apps.
Mac Cons:
- Cannot create apps for Windows
Windows Cons:
- Cannot create apps for Mac
- If you need to create apps for iOS, you also need a Mac
Xamarin Studio or Visual Studio?
The rule of thumb: Xamarin Studio for Mac and Visual Studio for Windows.
Visual Studio is not available on Mac, if you work on Mac, Xamarin Studio is the only choice.
Xamarin Studio is available on Windows but the Windows edition only supports Android. Visual Studio is a better choice IMHO.
Mac OS X Requirements
- OS X 10.10 or later
- XCode 7.2 or later
- Xamarin Studio 5.10.3 or later
Xcode can be downloaded via the Mac App Store.
Xamarin Studio for Mac can be downloaded here.
Windows Requirements
- Windows 7 or later. Xamarin.Forms Windows support requires Windows 8.1, and Xamarin.Forms UWP support requires Windows 10.
- Visual Studio 2012 or later. We recommend Visual Studio 2015 community edition.
- A Mac computer is required in order to create apps for iOS. And this Mac computer should meet Mac OS X Requirements specified above.
- Xamarin for Visual Studio latest version.
Both Visual Studio and Xamarin for Visual Studio can be downloaded here.