Apple Releases Xcode 4.3, Now Offered as App Instead of Installer - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Apple Releases Xcode 4.3, Now Offered as App Instead of Installer

by

xcode iconApple today released Xcode 4.3 [Mac App Store], making a number of improvements to the software. Among the notable changes, Xcode is now offered directly as an app. It had previously been offered as an installer package, and the move simplifies the installation and update process.

What's New in Version 4.3

Xcode is now distributed as an application, rather than as an installer. This change enables Xcode to be updated directly from the Mac App Store.

- Includes SDKs for Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and iOS 5
- New code signing workflow supports signing OS X apps with Developer ID
- Adds installation of command-line tools to the Downloads preference pane
- Open Developer Tool menu launches Instruments, File Merge, and other tools
- ARC migration tool converts both retain/release and garbage collected code
- Additional bug fixes and stability improvements

Xcode is a free download, but users must be registered members of Apple's iOS or Mac Developer Program in order to submit apps created with Xcode to the respective App Stores.

Top Rated Comments

184 months ago
Awesome, even the dev tools are being dumbed down.

How is it dumbed down? It's simply just better management. Should have been this way years ago IMO.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mdriftmeyer Avatar
184 months ago
XCode 4.4 will be the big jump from Clang 3.0 -> Clang 3.1 where C++11 is fully implemented and all the Macroscalar patented hints are implemented within libc++ [a drop in replacement to libstdc++ from GNU].

http://clang.llvm.org/cxx_status.html

Tons of info over at LLVM/Clang:

http://www.llvm.org/devmtg/2011-11/

Release notes for 3.1 are not any where close to current:

http://llvm.org/docs/ReleaseNotes.html

But it's safe to say XCode 4.4 will be a big hit for the Tools and maturity of LLVM/Clang.

Clang 3.1 also ends cuts off backward compatibility of bitcodes at 3.0 and forward.


LLVM 3.1 removes support for reading LLVM 2.9 bitcode files. Going forward, we aim for all future versions of LLVM to read bitcode files and .ll files produced by LLVM 3.0 and later.

Tons of work going on with Vectorization and gaining advanced vector instruct set full support for AMD and Intel, not to mention ARM.

The mailing archives for cfe-dev [clang] and llvm-dev are heavily traffic'd.

All important changes going to Xcode 4.3 are highlighted here:

https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/DeveloperTools/Conceptual/WhatsNewXcode/Articles/xcode_4_3.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/1006-SW1


----------

Uh-oh ... now I have two XCodes - one (version 4.2.1) in the Developer folder and now the new one (version 4.3) in the Applications folder.

Plus I have a new "Install Xcode" app in the applications folder (version 4.2.1).

What do I do? And what about all the other stuff in the developer folder?

confused

Xcode 4.3 removes Xcode 4.2.x as /Developer no longer exists.

Xcode 4.3 is one unified Application with all the Tools launched within Xcode.

https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/DeveloperTools/Conceptual/WhatsNewXcode/Articles/xcode_4_3.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/1006-SW1
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
balamw Avatar
184 months ago
If this change facilitates the delta updates instead of requiring a huge download for every minor update, I'm all for it.

B
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
184 months ago
Does anyone who has downloaded this have tips on installing over the top of the previous release? Or tips on the best process to take to delete the previous release before downloading and running 4.3?

Or is it just as simple as dragging the previous Developer folder into the trash?

I left Xcode 4.2 where it was and installed 4.3 from the AppStore, once I launched the AppStore version I got this screen to help with the migration...

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
184 months ago
Do you mean it does this when I launch the new version? Because the developer folder and the old version are still there at the moment

You really couldn't try launching it first before writing this post?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
184 months ago
That is the problem. The other tools downloads (graphics, IO, audio, dashcode, auxiliary and accessibility) are just apps inside the DMG and I have no idea where one is supposed to place them.

They appear to be all self contained apps, so looks like you can put them anywhere.

But I agree, it is a bit odd for Apple to just give you a dmg with apps. They should at least give a read me saying you can put them anywhere.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Wednesday March 18, 2026 7:39 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another six months or so, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component...
ios 26 4 yellow

Here Are Apple's Release Notes for iOS 26.4

Wednesday March 18, 2026 11:56 am PDT by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4, which means we're going to see a public launch as soon as next week. The RC versions of the software include Apple's official release notes, giving us final details on what's included in the update. Apple Music - Playlist Playground (beta) generates a playlist from your...
Apple Logo Sketch Feature

Apple Has Now Unveiled Eight New Products This Month

Tuesday March 17, 2026 9:25 am PDT by
Apple has unveiled a whopping eight new products so far this March, including an iPhone 17e, iPad Air models with the M4 chip, MacBook Air models with the M5 chip, MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the all-new MacBook Neo, an updated Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, and now the AirPods Max 2 this week. iPhone 17e features the same overall design as the iPhone...
Related Apple News: Health | Lifestyle | Education | Travel | Ipad