Xamarin Studio platform options

Xamarin Studio enables .NET developers to build applications that target three distinct platforms: Android, iOS, and Mac. Xamarin Studio is the Core Integrated Development Environment and is required for development on any of these target platforms. In addition to Xamarin Studio, you will need to install the specific plugin for your target platform. These plugins are detailed in the following sections.

Xamarin.Android

The Xamarin.Android package is required to develop applications that target the Android platform. Android development with Xamarin can be performed on any Windows PC or Mac that meets the minimum system requirements. The Android SDK is required for development, and it will be downloaded during the Xamarin Studio installation.

Xamarin.iOS

Xamarin.iOS is required to develop applications that target the iOS platform. The iOS development with Xamarin can be performed on any Windows PC or Mac that meets the minimum system requirements. However, in order to develop on a Windows PC a networked Mac is required as a build and deployment machine. Xcode and the iOS SDK are also required for development, and they must be installed prior to installing Xamarin.iOS. Additionally, at the time of writing this Xamarin Studio is unable to generate a proxy file for WCF services. Therefore, if you intend to utilize the WCF services in your iOS application, you will need a Windows machine to generate the proxy files.

Xamarin.Mac

Xamarin.Mac is required to develop applications that target the Mac platform. At the time of writing this, Mac development with Xamarin can only be performed on a Mac running at Lion (OS X 10.7) or higher, which meets the minimum system requirements. Xcode is also required for development, and it must be installed prior to installing Xamarin.Mac.