I decided to build a thought experiment. Using Xcode 16’s current tooling and extrapolating Apple’s design trajectory, I reverse-engineered what using the would actually feel like. Here’s what I found.
You cannot download the Xcode iPhone 17 Simulator. But you can feel its shadow in every new Xcode beta: a placeholder plist file, a string in a localization table ( "iPhone17-sim" = "Future Device" ), and the quiet dread of knowing that in 18 months, Apple will announce a feature that works only on the iPhone 17—and your simulator will grey out that button with a message: xcode iphone 17 simulator