Report reaffirms Apple still plans to 'allow iPad apps to run on Macs this year'
Despite multiple reports saying key features in "iOS 12" have been delayed to allow Apple to improve performance and squash bugs, one highly anticipated feature expected to make it easier for developers to port apps from iOS to macOS is said to still be on target to launch later this year.
Word first surfaced on Tuesday that overhauls initially planned for the next major release of iOS, including a redesign of the app home screen, were pushed to 2019 to allow the company to focus on performance and reliability.
Later in the day, a second report chimed in to reaffirm those details, but also alleged that Apple's so-called project "Marzipan," rumored to simplify developer tools with a unified code base, remains on track to launch this year. It has been alleged that the changes will make it easier for developers to bring iOS applications to the Mac, and even run a unified code base for apps on all major platforms, including tvOS and watchOS.
On Wednesday, Axios -- which broke the original story on "iOS 12" features getting the ax -- weighed in again, and corroborated that "Marzipan" remains on track for this year. Interestingly, wording chosen by reporter Ina Fried alleged that iPad apps themselves could run natively on macOS, suggesting little or no changes would be necessary.
"The signature new feature for the Mac -- the ability to run iPad apps -- is a significant undertaking that adds a high degree of complexity to this year's OS release," Fried wrote.
Fried also revealed that changes to macOS planned for this year, presumably with a 10.14 update, include a new "project around security," and performance improvements for waking and unlocking.
If Apple sticks to its regular annual release pattern, as is expected to do, then both "iOS 12" and "macOS 10.14" should be unveiled at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference in June, before launching to the public in September.
A lack of quality options on the Mac App Store has been one of the main criticisms of the online storefront since it debuted with Snow Leopard in early 2011. The iOS App Store, meanwhile, is regarded as one of the largest and highest quality app repositories on the planet, and bringing down barriers between the two could offer Mac users more downloadable options.
Word first surfaced on Tuesday that overhauls initially planned for the next major release of iOS, including a redesign of the app home screen, were pushed to 2019 to allow the company to focus on performance and reliability.
Later in the day, a second report chimed in to reaffirm those details, but also alleged that Apple's so-called project "Marzipan," rumored to simplify developer tools with a unified code base, remains on track to launch this year. It has been alleged that the changes will make it easier for developers to bring iOS applications to the Mac, and even run a unified code base for apps on all major platforms, including tvOS and watchOS.
On Wednesday, Axios -- which broke the original story on "iOS 12" features getting the ax -- weighed in again, and corroborated that "Marzipan" remains on track for this year. Interestingly, wording chosen by reporter Ina Fried alleged that iPad apps themselves could run natively on macOS, suggesting little or no changes would be necessary.
"The signature new feature for the Mac -- the ability to run iPad apps -- is a significant undertaking that adds a high degree of complexity to this year's OS release," Fried wrote.
Fried also revealed that changes to macOS planned for this year, presumably with a 10.14 update, include a new "project around security," and performance improvements for waking and unlocking.
If Apple sticks to its regular annual release pattern, as is expected to do, then both "iOS 12" and "macOS 10.14" should be unveiled at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference in June, before launching to the public in September.
A lack of quality options on the Mac App Store has been one of the main criticisms of the online storefront since it debuted with Snow Leopard in early 2011. The iOS App Store, meanwhile, is regarded as one of the largest and highest quality app repositories on the planet, and bringing down barriers between the two could offer Mac users more downloadable options.
Comments
Heh. Nope.
If iPad apps are to run “natively” on a Mac then “little or no changes” makes no sense. It would have to be no changes at all, otherwise it ain’t native.
But here’s a thought:
If Apple allows iPad apps to run natively on Macs, then I’m not sure the implications would be that great for the Mac’s long term future.
I’m not saying they can’t do it. I’m saying they won’t do it because it would encourage a store full of really poor applications.
What I think they’ll do is make it much easier for developers to write apps that can cover all their platforms from a file loaded to a single store. You buy an app, and all your devices get the app native to that platform.
But I don’t expect them all to have the same UI.
I know what I'll like, the apps for controlling things via iOS that still requite a web interface on the Mac (e.g. ecobee). The less use of the web the better these days and iOS apps are a way on the Mac to avoid the web.
Actually, from a developer point of view, iOS and macOS are already very very close.
What is different: everything that deals with file, because of the iOS sandbox, and the actual UI code, that is different, the toolkits are different, with a different hierarchy of Objective-C/Swift classes.
My personal guess (as an experience developer) is that this project concern a new User Interface toolkit, either on macOS, on iOS or probably on both, that allows to write user interfaces that run on both platforms, plus some other limited stuff, mostly support in XCode to allow building for both platforms.
My guess is also that this will not be transparent and automatic, but it will allow a developer, with a explicit design decision, to target both platforms at the same time, with the same code base, but ossibly with custom code and functionalities on each of the two (or more) platforms.
Maurizio
also interesting that Korg took their Gadget app on iOS and launched it on the Mac last year - it’s essentially the same version (albeit full fat version without the optional purchases) with the added benefit that you can use the sounds as plug ins on things like Logic Pro.
iMac
well????
This is my larger point of pointing out why Apple came up with UXKit internally (https://sixcolors.com/post/2015/02/new-apple-photos-app-contains-uxkit-framework/). From what we have gathered, UXKit is essentially marrying UIKit and AppKit. AppKit has a lot of cruft it has gathered over the last 20+ years (a lot of carryover from the NeXTStep days). They really need to come up with a new framework for the Mac. I imagine we will see the emergence of something like UXKit at WWDC this year, though I've predicted that for the last two years
If that is so, I say an Apple branded "toaster-fridge" is imminent.
Here we have 2 different CPU architectures, but fat binaries could have code for both (and bit-code could help).
Even more possible is the ability to have the same APIs (or even ABIs) in both systems, and be able to have the same backend, but customized UI for each platform (like today you can run the same "fat app" in both iPhone and iPad with a different UI for each.
A-Series processors feature Intel Core performance and fast Apple custom graphics. The iPad Pro storage capacities are up to 512GB matching the high end SKUs for popular MacBook Pro laptops. I think this is the time... Apple is going to do what they said they would never do... Merge the mac and iPad... You heard it here first.
While anything is possible, everything Apple has said indicates they understand apps must be custom designed for their target platforms. Adding new APIs and IDE support to Xcode to make universal iOS + macOS apps a thing sounds cool, but it isn’t at all the same as running touch-based iPad apps on a pointer-based Mac. Just as we don’t run iPad apps on tvOS.
This is about frameworks and code sharing, not applications.
As usual Gruber gets it:
https://daringfireball.net/2017/12/marzipan