IOS development: how can I trigger low memory alerts on a device?

Question

I would test the features of my application well in low memory conditions, but this is difficult to verify. How can I trigger low memory warnings that trigger the didReceiveMemoryWarning method in my views when the application is running on a device and not on a simulator? Or how can I test my application in these possible conditions?

The reason I can’t use the simulator is because of my application using Game Center, and the invitations do not work on the simulator.

Answer 1

To test the device, simply add code that periodically allocates large chunks of memory without freeing it up (i.e. leaks for the intended purpose). You can do this in a separate thread or in response to a timer or using any mechanism that best allows you to test and monitor the behavior of your application.

You can also create a standalone application that does something similar, and is designed to run in the background if you want to easily reuse this and / or test multiple applications.

Answer 2

You can call the private method :

[[UIApplication sharedApplication] performSelector:@selector(_performMemoryWarning)]; 

Remember to use it only for debugging, otherwise your application will be rejected.

Answer 3

The iOS Simulator Simulate Memory Warning menu item allows you to simulate a memory warning.

Answer 4

Using Tools, use the menu item: Tool → Simulate Memory Warning.

To use the Tools in your application from Xcode, use the item "Product → Profile".

Answer 5

I rewrote Enzo Tran's answer in Swift:

 UIControl().sendAction(Selector(("_performMemoryWarning")), to: UIApplication.shared, for: nil) 

Answer 6

Creates a menu command that will call it.

Hardware > Simulate Memory Warning from the simulator.

Answer 7

Converted @ChikabuZ to fast 3:

 UIControl().sendAction(Selector(("_performMemoryWarning")), to: UIApplication.shared, for: nil) 

Answer 8

If someone for some reason tries to do this in Swift 3 - here's how to allocate 1.2 GB of RAM.

  for i in 0...1200 { var p: [UnsafeMutableRawPointer] = [] var allocatedMB = 0 p.append(malloc(1048576)) memset(p[allocatedMB], 0, 1048576); allocatedMB += 1; }