Apple Hiring to Build 'Next Generation of Media Apps for Windows'

[trparky]

Windows doesn't support swift.

Swift is just the programming language, the programming language itself doesn't matter once it's compiled to machine code. As long as the compiler can take the source code and turn it into a binary it doesn't matter what language the program was written in.

If I were to take an uneducated stab at this, I would say Apple needs to make a $700 or less laptop as well as run an advertising campaign that shows how iMessage, Facetime, etc. work well when you have both iOS and macOS running together.

The main problem that I have with the Mac platform is that you barely play any games on it due to their insistence on making everything so stupidly thin. That and the fact that you're limited in what kind of hardware you can use with it especially in the video card department.

I need a desktop and the problem is that most Apple desktops are prohibitively expensive whereas I can build a new PC with pieces and parts on the cheap.

Apple and a lot of "expert" analysts seem to think Apple's revenue will be based on services. I don't see why I need to get one more thing.

The problem with that kind of thinking is that hardware sales alone aren't going to be enough to keep Apple afloat, you can see this issue in how iPhone sales have been dropping lately. More people are holding onto their older iPhones longer than in the past and why not? iOS supports devices for four years, that's positively unheard of in the Android community and is the chief reason why I have an iPhone.

I myself had an old iPhone 7 Plus for three years until I got the iPhone 11 Pro.

With that being said, lower sales mean lower profits which means Apple is right back to where they were years ago in a state of being nearly dead. You don't want that.

 

[___joshuaturner]

Maybe just finish them on Mac first? Music App is not good.

 

[falkon-engine]

They should also build iMessages for Windows too...

 

[konqerror]

That x86 only support is some extremely optimistic and wishful thinking. I just don't believe that's realistic and will happen. I'd say iTunes will be discontinued and only available for this reason. Probably, moved to archived Apple support for awhile until it's remnants are removed from all Apple support. Otherwise, the replacement software for iTunes will be x86-64.

Win32 commonly refers to both 32 and 64 bit programs running off the Windows C API. As with all 64 bit transitions, nothing significant changed, so people refer to it under it's original name.

Swift is just the programming language, the programming language itself doesn't matter once it's compiled to machine code. As long as the compiler can take the source code and turn it into a binary it doesn't matter what language the program was written in.

Swift programs cannot currently run on Windows because of the language's dependency on the Objective-C libraries and lower-level Apple libraries like Foundation. These libraries need to interface to OS functions, which are significantly different on Windows than on macOS/BSD/Linux. There is effort to bring these functions into Swift, but it isn't ready yet.

 

[Ludatyk]

They should also build iMessages for Windows too...

Apple haven’t decided to build it on Android... I highly doubt they would bring it to Windows...

 

[Elitegate]

I don't get the hate for iTunes on Windows tbh. Its home to my many thousand song music library, 100s of films all nicely organised in 1 place. To sync the stuff onto my iDevices is as seamless and plugging into the PC.

Whats no to like?

I don't get it either, i guess many people find the way we manage our phones and music collection simply outdated, they stream all their music with Spotify / Apple Music and they Backup with iCloud.

Not me. I backup with iTunes and i also have a huge music collection in my iTunes library that i sync to my phone.

The only thing i dislike about iTunes is the fact that it's slow and bloated, they should optimize the software a bit.

 

[falkon-engine]

Apple haven’t decided to build it on Android... I highly doubt they would bring it to Windows...

I don't disagree, but one can only hope. Also, there's no separate iTunes App for Android, unlike Windows.

 

[Ludatyk]

I don't disagree, but one can only hope. Also, there's no separate iTunes App for Android, unlike Windows.

However there is a Music app on Android. And I'm under the impression.. if it ain't happen yet, it's not going to happen. It's been since 2011 when iMessage was introduced and it has evolved over time, yet it's still locked to Apple ecosystem.

iTunes was introduced in 2001 and later hit Windows in 2003, therefore it's past the mark for Apple to explore other platforms.

 

[MikeZTM]

Win32 commonly refers to both 32 and 64 bit programs running off the Windows C API. As with all 64 bit transitions, nothing significant changed, so people refer to it under it's original name.



Swift programs cannot currently run on Windows because of the language's dependency on the Objective-C libraries and lower-level Apple libraries like Foundation. These libraries need to interface to OS functions, which are significantly different on Windows than on macOS/BSD/Linux. There is effort to bring these functions into Swift, but it isn't ready yet.

Win32 is official Microsoft name for Windows API.
There's no "UWP api" as all UWP special api are still Win32 api or WinRT api that limit access to only allow UWP application to call.

Swift already runs on windows/UWP since Microsoft did the iOS UWP bridge project. And Swift open source actually brought Foundation open sourced. And Microsoft is already using this version of Foundation for the iOS bridge.
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[konqerror]

Swift already runs on windows/UWP since Microsoft did the iOS UWP bridge project. And Swift open source actually brought Foundation open sourced. And Microsoft is already using this version of Foundation for the iOS bridge.

iOS UWP bridge only supports Objective-C because the bridge is an actual Objective-C compiler coupled with API compatibility libraries. Microsoft would have to release a Swift compiler.

You certainly can re-implement the entire Swift and runtime stack yourself, but nobody has spent the time and money necessary.

There's no "UWP api" as all UWP special api are still Win32 api or WinRT api that limit access to only allow UWP application to call.

UWP apps must stick to a certain set of UWP APIs and coding practices, like using XAML and having one window in your app. The set of practices and APIs form the "UWP API".

 

[boswald]

I look forward to Apple replacing iTunes because it is a terrible piece of software. I currently don’t install iTunes on my PC at all and just use the beta web app for Apple Music.

Same here. I can't stand the bloated, slow mess that is iTunes for Windows. I got a new PC as an early Christmas present, so I wiped the drive, threw Linux on it and listen to Apple Music via the website.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

why would having a new form of iTunes be a danger to Mac?

It's not a new for of iTunes that's the threat, it's Apple going after the majority of iOS users.

The result would be neglect of the Mac, because it's not worth the investment. Kind of like the last 7 years or so.
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People should keep in mind that macOS only makes up about 10% of desktop computers which is not much when Windows makes up close to 90%.

Even though macOS is a superior operating system, at this point I have a hard time seeing what Apple can possibly do to catch up.

If I were to take an uneducated stab at this, I would say Apple needs to make a $700 or less laptop as well as run an advertising campaign that shows how iMessage, Facetime, etc. work well when you have both iOS and macOS running together.

I'm surprised how many people are not aware of the integration between the two systems.

But without a larger macOS user base, Apple needs to provide Windows support.

This articulates my point even better.

That said, Apple already makes a $700 or less "computer". It's called an iPad.

And their aim would be to get Windows users to buy one too, to go with their iPhone.

Why aim at the 10% when there's 90% to be had? That runs counter to ...ahem... bean counter thinking.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

The point of iTunes on Windows was so that people who owned a PC could buy an iPod. With iOS devices no longer dependent on iTunes, what's the point of offering these apps on Windows? A bigger priority for Apple should be figuring out how to sell AirPods and Apple Watch to Android users.

Apple seems to be massively overestimating how much anyone will ever care about Apple TV+ (and Apple Music, and Apple Arcade, and all the rest of Apple's "Me too!" products, too.)

Apple Music has tens of millions of users, many of whom owns both Apple and Windows devices. If they want TV+ and all the other services to succeed, they would have to find users who are also on other platforms. As for the new services that launched this year, it's too early to tell the demand for them, since they are only months or even weeks old at this point. People said the same about Apple Music too back in 2015.
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I did. It will never be called UWP Music. It will be the Apple Music app. Just wanted to clarify so no one would be confused.

Are you sure you know what UWP stands for? It's a development platform for windows devices. Why on earth would someone assume it would be called UWP Music?

 

[return2sendai]

And the victory is complete!

 

[Ryan Frazee]

Give us imessage for windows! Switching to bootcamp shouldnt mean losing access...

Is there anyway to access iMessage on a windows machine? ie: Online, or an TRUSTWORTHY app?