Getting Started with iOS Development : Best Online Courses and Resources To Learn iOS Development

What is iOS?

If you are someone reading this article, you are most probably familiar with iOS, and you are looking to find best resources to learn iOS Development. But if you are someone not familiar with iOS or want to know a good defination of iOS, I would suggest you to read this definition by Technopedia:

iOS is derived from Mac OS X and is a Unix-like OS. There are four abstraction layers within iOS:

Core OS Layer: Provides low-level features as well as frameworks for security and interaction with external hardware
Core Services Layer: Provides services required by upper layers
Media Layer: Provides the necessary technologies for graphics, audio and video.
Coca Touch Layer: Where frameworks are located, which are often used when creating an application

iOS comes with a lot of default apps, including an email client, a Safari Web browser, a portable media player (iPod) and the phone app.

Developers can use the iOS software development kit (SDK) to create applications for Apple mobile devices. The SDK includes tools and interfaces for developing, installing, running and testing apps. Native apps can be written using the iOS system frameworks and the Objective-C programming language. Included in the iOS SDK are Xcode Tools, which include an integrated development environment (IDE) for managing application projects, a graphical tool for creating the user interface and a debugging tool for analyzing runtime performance. It also includes an iOS simulator, which allows developers to test apps on a Mac, and an iOS developer library, which provides all the necessary documentation and reference material.

Source : Technopedia

What is Swift?

So, if you are willing to learn iOS Development, you must be wondering what programming language to learn? And the answer is SWIFT. Yes, this is the only option you have. And if you someone who says, Why Swift? Well, You don’t really have a choice. Apple decided that part for you. The rule is: if you want to make an iPhone app, and get it into the Apple Store, then you’re going to have to develop it using Apple’s Swift programming language.

Now, what is swift?

A brief defination about Swift will be:

Swift is a programming language for creating iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS apps. It builds on the best of C and Objective-C, without the constraints of C compatibility. Swift adopts safe programming patterns and adds modern features to make programming easier, more flexible, and more fun. Swift’s clean slate, backed by the mature and much-loved Cocoa and Cocoa Touch frameworks, is an opportunity to re-imagine how software development works.

This is another detailed definition about Swift which I found on Swift Documentation:

Swift is a general-purpose programming language built using a modern approach to safety, performance, and software design patterns.

The goal of the Swift project is to create the best available language for uses ranging from systems programming, to mobile and desktop apps, scaling up to cloud services. Most importantly, Swift is designed to make writing and maintaining correct programs easier for the developer. To achieve this goal, we believe that the most obvious way to write Swift code must also be:

Safe. The most obvious way to write code should also behave in a safe manner. Undefined behavior is the enemy of safety, and developer mistakes should be caught before software is in production. Opting for safety sometimes means Swift will feel strict, but we believe that clarity saves time in the long run.

Fast. Swift is intended as a replacement for C-based languages (C, C++, and Objective-C). As such, Swift must be comparable to those languages in performance for most tasks. Performance must also be predictable and consistent, not just fast in short bursts that require clean-up later. There are lots of languages with novel features — being fast is rare.

Expressive. Swift benefits from decades of advancement in computer science to offer syntax that is a joy to use, with modern features developers expect. But Swift is never done. We will monitor language advancements and embrace what works, continually evolving to make Swift even better.

Tools are a critical part of the Swift ecosystem. We strive to integrate well within a developer’s toolset, to build quickly, to present excellent diagnostics, and to enable interactive development experiences. Tools can make programming so much more powerful, like Swift-based playgrounds do in Xcode, or a web-based REPL can when working with Linux server-side code.

Source : swift.org

Though apple is not democratic with their users, still WE LOVE APPLE! Now, the problem is, if you want to be an iOS developer, you need to own a MAC, yes, that’s one more restriction, but the good thing is, which came few months ago, you get to learn or build iOS apps even if you own a LINUX, and I expect apple to make Swift available to Windows users as well.

What salary to expect as an iOS developer?

No matter, How much interest you have in particular technology, whether it be iOS or Android or Front-end, etc, there is one major factor which will either turn you towards that path or away from that path, and it is your salary. Obviously you expect a good salary for the work you do, and being an iOS developer is something which will only motivate you to be on this path, because of the pay which it offers.

I tried to explore the salary of an iOS developer around different parts of the globe on platforms like glassdoor, payscale and I would like to show you some figures:

First I would like you to have a look at salary of a Mobile Application Developer (US), without any specific platform:

Now, we should have a look specifically at the salaries of iOS developers in different parts of the world:

iOS Developer Salary in USA:

iOS Developer Salary in UK:

iOS Developer Salary in Australia:

iOS Developer Salary in India:

iOS Developer Salary in Canada:

What are the best Resources to learn Swift Programming?

If you are someone who has learnt Objective-C, Swift will be very easy for you, but, if you are someone very new to iOS Development you should be thankful that you no longer have to learn the difficult Objective-C in order to make iOS apps. Swift is much better and easier to learn for the beginners.

My recommendation always include online courses, because it is something which can be utilized from any part of the world just with the help of a laptop and internet connection. The best way to learn online is to enroll in such courses which helps you build projects as you keep on learning, and asks you to make a capstone project in the end using everything you have learnt.

Best Online Courses I would recommend in order to learn iOS Development are:

All the courses mentioned below are awesome, but the ones with are (awesome)².

iOS 10 & Swift 3: From Beginner to Paid Professional (Udemy)
The Complete iOS 10 Developer Course – Build 21 Apps (Udemy)
iOS Developer Nanodegree (Udacity)
iOS App Development Essential Training (Lynda)
Learn the Swift Programming Language for Beginners (Lynda)
The Complete iOS 10 Developer – Create Real Apps in Swift 3 (Udemy)
How to Make a Freaking iPhone App – iOS 10 and Swift 3 (Udemy)
iOS App Development with Swift Specialization (University of Toronto) (Coursera)
iOS Development for Creative Entrepreneurs Specialization (University of California) (Coursera)
iOS 10 App Development Essentials 1: Create Your First App (Lynda)
Programming for Non-Programmers: iOS 10 and Swift (Lynda)
Swift 3 Essential Training: The Basics (Lynda)
iOS 10 and Xcode 8 – Complete Swift 3 & Objective-C Course (Udemy)
Full Swift 3 Course. From Dummy to Advance. Build 60+ Apps (Udemy)

Best Books to learn iOS Development are:

Other Good Resources to practice, learn and stay updated(blogs) to learn iOS Development are:

Guys I want to make this platform the best one stop destination for everyone looking for best resources for any topic to learn online, so I request you all to please comment any other resource you think might be helpful, and I will update the article including those resources.