Apple's project 'Marzipan' will let iOS apps run on the Mac in 2018 - report
As a way to bolster software offerings on Mac, Apple is reportedly planning to blur the lines between its macOS and iOS platforms, allowing iPhone and iPad apps from the hugely successful iOS App Store to run on a Mac.
The massive change will come as early as next year, according to Bloomberg, which cited continued struggles to get software makers to embrace the Mac App Store. With the expected upcoming changes, developers will be able to create a single application that can work with either a touchscreen, a mouse, or a trackpad.
The hope, according to author Mark Gurman, is that applications on the Mac will be updated more frequently and be of higher quality than their current state. The report cited the official Twitter app, which is regularly updated for iPhone and iPad, but less frequently so for Mac.
The blurring of lines between macOS and iOS will reportedly occur with next year's major software updates. If Apple sticks to its usual release pattern, then iOS 12 and macOS 10.14 would be announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, before launching to the public in September.
According to Gurman, the project is code-named "Marzipan."
The report noted that Apple's Mac hardware could one day run custom A-series chips, much like the iPhone and iPad. But it would appear that plans to allow iOS apps on the Mac will work with existing Mac hardware, powered by Intel processors.
The Mac App Store debuted in early 2011 on OS X Snow Leopard, offering both free and paid applications.
Like the iOS App Store, Apple takes a 30 percent cut of all apps sold on the Mac App Store. But unlike on iOS, Apple still allows users to install non-App Store content, leaving many developers sticking to selling to customers directly.
The massive change will come as early as next year, according to Bloomberg, which cited continued struggles to get software makers to embrace the Mac App Store. With the expected upcoming changes, developers will be able to create a single application that can work with either a touchscreen, a mouse, or a trackpad.
The hope, according to author Mark Gurman, is that applications on the Mac will be updated more frequently and be of higher quality than their current state. The report cited the official Twitter app, which is regularly updated for iPhone and iPad, but less frequently so for Mac.
The blurring of lines between macOS and iOS will reportedly occur with next year's major software updates. If Apple sticks to its usual release pattern, then iOS 12 and macOS 10.14 would be announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, before launching to the public in September.
According to Gurman, the project is code-named "Marzipan."
The report noted that Apple's Mac hardware could one day run custom A-series chips, much like the iPhone and iPad. But it would appear that plans to allow iOS apps on the Mac will work with existing Mac hardware, powered by Intel processors.
The Mac App Store debuted in early 2011 on OS X Snow Leopard, offering both free and paid applications.
Like the iOS App Store, Apple takes a 30 percent cut of all apps sold on the Mac App Store. But unlike on iOS, Apple still allows users to install non-App Store content, leaving many developers sticking to selling to customers directly.
Comments
And no, I think your 2018 prediction is just panicked nonsense. They’re not going to force iOS devs to produce macOS versions anymore than they force iOS devs to make iPad or tvOS versions today.
The number of quality Mac apps available today has never been higher, so I don’t really think they need to bolster anything.
This maybe apple’s way of saying the Touchbar has been a failure. Otherwise why didn’t they come out with a keyboard for the desktop as an option.
Maybe Tim Cook wants a Surface Pro, Surface Lap, and a surface Book.
this kind of exists already if you build your own apps. You can use the mouse to run an app in a simulator. Mouse replaces touch. You get too simulated touches if you use some kind of keyboard modified -- though it is nowhere near as intuitive as the device.
The problem is it will really only work for single window applications that are network bound -- rather than needing access to the local filesystem( and I bet Apple's guidelines will say that). Even then it will need the developer to do some UI work. Which isn't that different to now.
The big gain will be games, provided they can go full screen.
You sure it’s not like when Voldemort fired his phasers and destroyed the Death Star?
How will they be universal? How will many of them even work on OS X, given that they’d require more than one point of interaction? This sounds more like a fake rumor yet again.
We don't need a machine that can run multiple platforms (if you think diff please provide use cases). Keep the Mac and iOS separate. If a UI/HI concept makes sense to move then so be it but this looks like a watering down of both platforms. I want to be able to have my desktop machine for its hi perf and large screen. Typically I don't need those kind of resources for a mobile devices for communication. No matter how you look at it I stinks of compromise. I also can't think of a case where I need to have an app for my iPhone that needs to run on my iMac.
I think the solution is to leave them separate and continue to let each platform excel on its own. If the goal is to sell more apps for the iMac then start upgrading to keep up and bypass hardware that is available for Windows -- innovate on the iMac and the MacBooks and release new models with something beside a touch bar and expect to get people to run for that; also if you are going to introduce/embrace a new port then stick with it Lighting, Thunder, USB C & justify pulling one or better yet stripping a MB to one single port.
I think that you need to reread the article... particularly this part: I do not think that there is any backtracking of the original stance from the Jobsian days. It is just a common build with all the binaries for touch based wearable watch, mobile phone and tablet; pointer based devices like the AppleTV; mouse and trackpad based desktops and laptop portables; and soon (I hope) voice based digital assistants like the home pod. These will always remain separate targets, but the developers toolchain will be significantly simplified. Developers already separate the user interface, from the business logic from the data from the communication protocols between the different parts.... all that this adds is an additional interface view (pretty easy for apps that already support a light mobile interface with a heavy desktop browser view) - most of the code, which is sitting in the cloud, anyway, remains the same
Apple are the only one who can pull this off, because of the their control of all the target platforms - of course it does not work well when developers also want to target Windows, Chrome, Android etc. desktop, browser and mobile operating systems.
In my experience, the reason why developers have been slow to embrace the Mac AppStore has been because there are many toolchains that target multiple mobile operating systems, but few that target multiple desktop operating systems as effectively and economically as targeting the desktop browser has been. So I doubt that this strategy will change much... unless, Apple creates a compelling case for developers to build apps that interact directly with their desktop counterparts without the round trip via the cloud.
Now, deal with footdragging on equivalent access for tvOS.
iOS has some serious changes but doesn’t appear much different on the surface. If you look at the changes they’re making under the hood, they are making iOS/tvOS more flexible to various screen sizes.
For instance, table cells are now automatically sized and fonts are sized according to dynamic type. The UIToolbar has been changed in ways that I find buggy, but appear to make it more flexible to different size classes. Oh and there are size classes, changes to the tab bars... and huge changes in the view controller stack.
They’ve also made changes to the external screen system. I thought this had to do with AirPlay 2 (also an issue) but they could be prepping for handling multiple and different size screens.
Also, the @available syntax lets you target platform and version for specific SDK calls.
I think if Apple did this, they would do it “right”. They would also let developers opt into Mac as another platform by making it another target.
As a Developer, I’m hoping they do this soon. I’d also make sure it’s done well.