By running virtual desktop using MacInCloud, MacStadium, HostMyApple, Xcode Club etc.

Good to point out that iOS developers want a good solid laptop. It is definitely the case though that there are developers who don't/won't do iOS development but want a solid, well-built laptop with good components, good support, and good drivers. I have no idea if the Surface laptops fit that bill, but I assume they have lots of support from Microsoft.

I've been running a ZBook G3 with Debian 9 and have been having a pretty good experience so far. The laptop feels pretty good but I'm sure a MacBook Pro would be a step up in terms of hardware quality.

I have a MacOS vm running on my new surface pro 2017, I really wanted built in LTE and a detachable keyboard for reading articles, docs, email, etc

XCode even connects over WiFi to my iPhone when both are on the same network, but I did have to jump through a few hoops to get it all working

What's your best online resource for figuring out how to do and, more importantly, maintain that?

Does anything works correctly? e.g. buiilding with xcode?

Not for Swift/Objective C - you'll need a Mac device to run the simulator. I mainly used my Macbooks for Python, node.js, some C and bash.

Edit: changed emulator to simulator (which is true, it's x64 iOS).

Same here. My work provides us with Macs (I just got the touchbar one), and 90% of my time is spent in iTerm ssh'd into my linux work desktop with tmux. We had a choice of a ThinkPad, but it is just so goddamn hard to get used to a different trackpad after a mac.

It is a simulator, not an emulator.