Older iOS Simulator runtimes and Rosetta destinations in Xcode

In Xcode > Settings > Components, the Add Platforms button lists previously released simulator runtimes; filter by platform and version, select one or more and click Download & Install. If a project’s platform has no runtime at all, Xcode also shows a Get button next to the run destination, but that installs the newest runtime only. From the command line, -buildVersion picks an OS version and -exportPath saves the download so you can install it on other Macs. To install a downloaded file, select the Xcode you want with xcode-select -s, run xcodebuild -runFirstLaunch to install system components including simctl, then run xcodebuild -importPlatform with the .dmg.

Apple’s documentation says Xcode chooses which variant of a runtime to download: the universal variant on Intel Macs and when you use Rosetta run destinations, and otherwise the Apple silicon variant to save disk space. An Apple silicon variant is arm64 only, so it offers no Rosetta destination. Download the universal variant with -architectureVariant universal and the Rosetta destinations come back. Xcode 27 also fixed Components showing a Get button for simulators already downloaded and used with Rosetta. Rosetta itself is winding down, see Rosetta 2 end of support, so treat this as a stopgap while dependencies add arm64 slices.

Settings > Components shows how much storage each component uses. Click the information button next to a runtime, then Delete, to remove it. Xcode 27 resolved an issue where some deleted runtimes reappeared after a reboot, and its runtimes include a pre-built dyld cache, so a simulator’s first launch is much faster. Xcode 27 installs and runs only on Apple silicon Macs; its other requirements and dates are in Xcode 27 release date and requirements, and the new device tooling in Xcode 27 Device Hub.

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