Overview
Play’s Simulator lets you view and interact with your prototypes on your desktop. While we believe it’s important to experience prototypes in their native environment, we know that some users find it more efficient to initially test prototypes on their desktop where they’re designing.
Play's Mac Simulator is only available on Sequoia 15+ and above.
Opening the Simulator
To open the Simulator, click the New Simulator button and a new Simulator window will pop up. You can also open a new Simulator window from the Simulator menu.
Customizing the Simulator
Changing the Simulator’s Device Size
The Simulator can be the size of any iPhone. Select the iPhone model from the Simulator’s menu. We also allow you to create custom Simulator sizes to view a prototype for any platform—iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, or custom, like for a automotive screen or an airplane’s seat back entertainment.
Refresh the Interactions
Click the back arrow button to refresh the interactions and retest your prototype.
Change the Simulator's UI Appearance
Click the circle appearance button to change the UI Appearance (light, dark, auto) of the Simulator.
Adding or Removing Bezel
You can show or hide a bezel around the Simulator from the Simulator’s menu.
Opening Multiple Simulator Windows
One of the benefits of Play’s Simulator is that you can open multiple windows at once. This allows you to see/experience your prototype across multiple iPhone sizes at the same time. From the Simulator’s menu, you can select "New Simulator." The shortcut CMD + N will also open a new Simulator window.
Change the Prototype Displayed by the Simulator
When you open a new project in Play, the Simulator will display the same “Switch Project” button as on iOS. Clicking this button will switch which prototype the Simulator displays. If no projects are open on macOS, the Simulator will stay open but display a loader until a new project is opened.
Recording the Simulator
From the Simulator's menu, you can record the Simulator's content. Click on the stop recording button to save it for easy sharing.
Considerations for the Simulator
Because the Simulator is on your Mac, there are some differences in your prototype to keep in mind.
The Simulator cannot access iOS device hardware. This means interactions with features like Camera, Gyroscope, or Haptics won’t work. The Simulator will show an alert in these situations.
The Simulator handles Scroll triggers differently. Scrolling with the trackpad simulates native scroll behavior pretty well, as does dragging with the mouse. Scrolling with the mouse wheel works but doesn’t simulate velocity based scroll behavior.
The Simulator handles Open URL actions differently. When linking to another App Clip link using an Open URL action, the Simulator will show an alert. When linking to a regular URL using an Open URL action, the Simulator will open the URL in a Mac browser.
The Simulator handles Open Sheet actions differently. Sheets (modals) will open to full screen in the Simulator, rather than scaling down the previous page behind the sheet. We’re working on a workaround that will better match the iOS behavior.
The Simulator doesn’t always recognize Edge Pan gestures. We’re working on a workaround that will register Edge Pan gestures when started on the Bezel.
The Simulator doesn’t register multi-finger interactions, when they’re created in a prototype or the Play specific interactions like two-finger double-tap to reset or two-finger long press to exit. We’re working on a workaround.
If you run into any of these situations, we recommend testing on the iOS app where the considerations are not relevant.
Coming soon…
We’ll continue improving the Simulator and increasing its capabilities in subsequent releases. Here’s what is currently on the roadmap:
Prototype Sharing with the Simulator. You’ll be able to share a prototype file that testers can view on their Macs. This is an alternative for App Clips when sharing prototypes with users who don’t have an iPhone accessible.
Landscape Mode.