Apple Plans to Let Developers Release Universal Apps That Work Across iPhone, iPad, and Mac

[ApfelKuchen]

For who ? For consumer users ? I'm afraid that they forget that majority of MacOS users are "professionals" like developers, content creators etc. There isn't at least one useful app in appstore for me right now because sandboxing and many various technical reasons. Apps like Adobe, Office are distributed outside the appstore. Why the hell is launchpad still there ? It's useless, I'd like to meet the person who came with this stupid idea. Windows with UWP failed and they are doing the same mistake again ? Tim Cock will ruin the company once again.

Yes, for the consumer users. If professional users are really the majority of Mac users, then it's a large enough market to pursue independently of the consumer market. There will undoubtedly still be professional Mac apps that will not be bundled with an iOS version.

I believe professional users are now in the minority, thanks to the many people who have purchased Macs after joining Apple from the iOS side of things. For those consumers, the absence of a bundled Mac app in conjunction with an iOS purchase has been a point of irritation. People who buy apps like 1Password would like the option to have a cross-platform bundle, rather than make two retail purchases in two different stores.

But whether pros or consumers are the majority doesn't change the fact that both are significant user bases, each with differing requirements, both of which deserve to be served.

What is Launchpad for? If you can't guess, than you don't use iOS. Since I've been using Macs way longer than I've been using iOS, I don't think to use Launchpad. However, there seems to be a fair number of consumers who came to Mac from iOS. For them, Launchpad is the equivalent of the iOS Home screen. Different strokes for different folks. Remove the icon from your Dock and get over it.

And for what it's worth, Launchpad pre-dates Tim Cook's regime - it's been around since OS X Lion. Blame Steve.

 

[DNichter]

I don’t know that much about it so developers can let me know. Is it simply impossible to write one app that runs on both Intel and ARM chips? Could Apple have smart enough people and the money to pull something like that off?

 

[loby]

I am with you. I am afraid that this is going to be an even bigger step down the road of making the Mac less attractive to those of us who have been long-time users (I have been since 1987) by making the ecosystem more closed.

Sorry, Apple does not make money off of the old timers anymore. They are gunning for the younger crowd who like emojis and toy apps.
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Yeh, I could see this happening. The precursor or rather the indication that was going to happen is Apple's latest advert stating that the iPad can be a "computer" replacement.
If Apple truly want to make tablets (i.e. iPad) replacements for desktop computers then they need universal apps and a universal app store.
This would also allow for more apps to become Continuity compatible thus creating a more encompassing Continuity experience.
The only functional difference would be that when the app is running on an iPad it will run in Touch Screen mode and when running on Mac it will run in Mouse/Keyboard mode. Thus I guess we're talking about "adaptable input" apps.

Will be interesting to see how this develops.

I wouldn't mind seeing Bootcamp coming to iPad so we can run Windows OS & apps. It would kinda turn your iPad into a Surface Pro. Now that would be cool!

A good way to put the nail in the coffin of Microsoft too....probably won’t happen. Microsoft is not that dumb.
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Don’t forget, this is still a rumour.

And hope it stays a rumor....

 

[firewood]

I don’t know that much about it so developers can let me know. Is it simply impossible to write one app that runs on both Intel and ARM chips?

Nope. Xcode and predecessor tools have been able to (optionally) compile and build multi-architecture fat binaries for many years (back to the 68k and PPC days). Currently, it's fairly trivial to build a fat x86-64/arm7/arm64 binary using Xcode's command line tools (lipo is one). You can't (yet?) submit such a build to the app store, but a developer can build a single iOS app executable that runs on the Simulator (x64-64 code) and that they can also put in an IPA bundle for installing on their iOS devices (arm64 code).

 

[rowspaxe]

I don’t know that much about it so developers can let me know. Is it simply impossible to write one app that runs on both Intel and ARM chips? Could Apple have smart enough people and the money to pull something like that off?

Actually, Microsoft demonstrated this last year. Windows has been platform agnostic since WIndows 2000. So yes, Apple could be smart enough to do it years later

 

[jdawgnoonan]

Seems just like this, only missing Apple TV, as UWP covers PC, Phone (whatever they have left), and Xbox

Yeah, except there will not be an app gap. From a consumer application perspective, Windows is mainly a legacy OS (as is Mac OS). Mobile apps and web applications are truly the modern application platform.

 

[DNichter]

Nope. Xcode and predecessor tools have been able to (optionally) compile and build multi-architecture fat binaries for many years (back to the 68k and PPC days). Currently, it's fairly trivial to build a fat x86-64/arm7/arm64 binary using Xcode's command line tools (lipo is one). You can't (yet?) submit such a build to the app store, but a developer can build a single iOS app executable that runs on the Simulator (x64-64 code) and that they can also put in an IPA bundle for installing on their iOS devices (arm64 code).

Okay so the idea of one App Store, one app, any platform is certainly possible. Just with different UI’s for each and obviously touch versus point and click. I’d imagine this would be great for both platforms.
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Actually, Microsoft demonstrated this last year. Windows has been platform agnostic since WIndows 2000. So yes, Apple could be smart enough to do it years later

Good to know. I can see this benefiting both macOS and iOS. I am hoping for monitor support for the iPad.

 

[magamen]

makes sense, this way developers can more easily distribute across devices thus more sales and more developers and raising revenue

 

[Eric5h5]

Actually, Microsoft demonstrated this last year.

Apple demonstrated it with PPC + x86 apps back in the day.

--Eric

 

[69650]

Hopefully this will lead to more functional iPad apps rather than poor relations of the corresponding Mac app.
[doublepost=1513818416][/doublepost]Dear Mac Rumours, Why is there no mention of Apple’s decision to relax the rules on template based apps?

 

[Brammy]

Hopefully this will lead to more functional iPad apps rather than poor relations of the corresponding Mac app.
[doublepost=1513818416][/doublepost]Dear Mac Rumours, Why is there no mention of Apple’s decision to relax the rules on template based apps?

https://www.macrumors.com/2017/12/20/app-store-guidelines-updated-template-apps/

 

[steve333]

Is there an app similar to f.lux in the app store?

 

[ackmondual]

As long as devs are using things like Asset Catalogs, App Thinning should mean that only the required resources for that device are downloaded. When you download a universal app on iPhone, it doesn't download the iPad assets as well. I'd expect it to work the same if universal apps worked on Mac too.

This is contingent with developers using the latest APIs etc, but that historically hasn't been a huge issue.

IIRC, the strike against app thinning was you can't backup your apps, but if THAT wasn't the reason that ability was lost, it was something else anyways.

 

[AgentAnonymous]

Because that worked out so well for Windows 8.

Stupid idea. Desktop programs are designed for the efficiency and accuracy of a keyboard and a mouse. iOS apps are designed to be simple so that they work with fingers and touch.

 

[Xenc]

My main worry about universal apps is bloat.

Universal apps are trimmed when hosted by Apple. You only download what’s relevant to the device you’re installing it on. “Fat” unibins are not allowed on the App Store.

 

[germinator]

Terrible news. Trying to constrain two or three very different platforms to use the same OS is a huge mistake.

Besides:

Do the Mac apps need to be "approved" by the App Store (=censorship)?
Will macOS 10.14 still run applications from "anywhere"?
Will current cocoa apps still be supported? For how long?

Update: After reading the original report, I am relieved. It seems that it's nothing more than runtime environment to run iOS apps on macOS.

 

[ChrisA]

I'm hoping this means things like the full version of Office can finally end up on the iPad.

Yes, of course and you will be able to edit 4K multi camera video using Final Cut Pro in you iPhone.

No, of course not. It works the other way around. Simple phone apps will run on the Mac but not the other way around.

 

[fairuz]

If Microsoft can make native x86 run on arm, i think Apple can too

Anyone can, but emulating the processor and other things is going to be slow. Apple used to do it with PowerPC using Rosetta.

 

[firewood]

Will current cocoa apps still be supported? For how long?

32-bit clean 68k MacOS, PPC Classic and Intel Carbon apps were (or are still) supported for several years after they were first deprecated. So, since Cocoa hasn't been deprecated yet, it probably has at least a few more years of support left.

 

[cmaier]

Because that worked out so well for Windows 8.

Stupid idea. Desktop programs are designed for the efficiency and accuracy of a keyboard and a mouse. iOS apps are designed to be simple so that they work with fingers and touch.

Yet they can share the same data model and have different data models, and keeping it as multiple targets in one Xcode project that share the uikit paradigm will be better for everyone.

 

[ChrisA]

I knew it would only be a matter of time before Tim Cook started leading Apple towards one operating system and this is the beginning of the change. And I’m not sure I will like what the future will bring...

Their plan is to get rid of the Mac. Apple will never admit to that but I see them merging the two lines and turning the Mac into a large size iPad with Arm CPU.

 

[rowspaxe]

Good to know. I can see this benefiting both macOS and iOS. I am hoping for monitor support for the iPad.

Funny, that is the one thing i don't want for the ipad! I love the surface hybrid concept, i am less convinced by the "all in one" scenario. Excepting videographers and photographers, most people don't need a super powerful laptop (imo). I think most will be happier with a thin mobile client and a more powerful desktop, all data living in the cloud. I could see a desktop renaissance in coming years. Personally, I am way way more productive on a desktop

 

[Macaholic868]

The Mac already is a dumbed down consumer platform...

Why are you buying Apple’s products and/or wasting time posting here if you feel that way? Seems like a major waste of time to me.

 

[zunamo]

Biggest impact will be for the iPad, it will finally become a productivity device. Currently, iPad apps feel like iPhone apps with larger real screen real estate. With this change, advanced features of desktop apps can be made easily available on the iPad. New gestures have to be designed to perform something similar to keyboard shortcuts etc, but I think Apple can think of something for that.

 

[VictorTango777]

Exactly. My guess is that the iOS <--> macOS integration will be more of deprecating macOS APIs and less expanding iOS APIs. Since Swift and its build chain are now designed for Linux first, I expect Apple to completely move its iOS and macOS development to Linux in exactly the same way and reason it dropped OSX Servers in its data centers.

I think it is happening already, considering decade old Finder UI bugs that are still not resolved, and Mac users having to dig into Terminal to view system logs because the Console application has been crippled since Sierra. It appears that Mac OS engineering at Apple has been taken over by a bunch of Linuxheads who don't give a damn about fixing UI issues, because they think that everybody should do everything in the command line.