Hacker News Reader

If I remember correctly, you still needed Xcode to actually compile and run the code, because of restrictions imposed by Apple.

Right, but did this mean you had to deal with all the Xcode problems, or did you have more of an IntelliJ like experience?

AppCode gave you an IntelliJ-like experience, and personally I found it significantly better than Xcode when writing code.

But the friction of needing to keep around Xcode anyway whenever you wanted to run your code meant it was just easier to stick with Xcode.