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Step 6: Your Phone
Run it on your real device.
Where We Are
The app works in the simulator. Let’s put it on your actual iPhone.
Connect Your iPhone
- Plug your iPhone into your Mac with a cable
- Unlock your iPhone and tap “Trust This Computer” if prompted
- In Xcode, click the device selector at the top (where it says “iPhone 15” or similar)
- Select your iPhone from the list
Sign the App
Xcode needs to know who you are:
- Go to Xcode → Settings → Accounts
- Add your Apple ID if it’s not there
- In your project settings, under “Signing & Capabilities”, select your Apple ID as the Team
- Xcode will handle the rest
Run It
Press Cmd + R or click Play.
The first time, your iPhone might say “Untrusted Developer”. Fix it:
- On your iPhone, go to Settings → General → VPN & Device Management
- Find your developer profile
- Tap “Trust”
Try again. Your app should launch on your phone.
Test Notifications on Device
Notifications behave differently on a real device than in the simulator. Test the full flow:
- Start a 1-minute focus session
- Lock your phone
- Wait for the notification to appear on your lock screen
- Tap it to return to the app
This is the real experience. Simulator can’t fully replicate it.
Use It for Real
Unplug the cable. The app stays on your phone.
Try a real Pomodoro session. Set 25 minutes, focus on something, and wait for the notification. See how it feels. Notice what you’d change.
Checkpoint
By now you should have:
- App running on your real iPhone
- Developer profile trusted
- Notifications working on device
- Using it untethered
What You Learned
- Running apps on real hardware
- Code signing basics
- The difference between simulator and real device
- Notifications require real device testing