Apple Still Expected to Allow iPhone and iPad Apps to Run on Macs Later This Year

[MacBH928]

When everyone was asking for the iPad to be more capable, Apple decided to dumb down the MacOS to iOS level... Amazing!

honestly, this is a stupid idea because an app that is designed to use your fingers is very different from an app that is designed to use keyboard+mouse. Unless the app will be deisgned to fit both or it will be 1 app but it has finger-GUI and a keyboard-GUI

 

[asiga]

It's quite interesting that Apple is pushing into iOS with the same strength that I'm running away from it.

A decade ago, every new Mac rumour made me wish buying a new Mac.

Today, every new Apple rumour reminds me that I need to plan faster my final leave from Apple products, because they are pushing so hard, that the day could be far closer than I thought.

 

[Brian Y]

When everyone was asking for the iPad to be more capable, Apple decided to dumb down the MacOS to iOS level... Amazing!

honestly, this is a stupid idea because an app that is designed to use your fingers is very different from an app that is designed to use keyboard+mouse. Unless the app will be deisgned to fit both or it will be 1 app but it has finger-GUI and a keyboard-GUI

I don't know which version of iOS you're using, but iOS 11 on the iPad Pro is dang near perfect IMO. Which is odd, as it sucks on iPhones.

I think how successful this is depends entirely on how it's implemented. For example, I could quite easily see this being really useful if they do something like "sidebar apps" - flick open notification centre to see iOS icons and an iOS style app.

If it's just larger iOS apps, then no thanks!

 

[atifkhan]

Looks like they are adding mouse support for iPads

 

[TomOSeven]

What? You mean as apposed to actually just going to the Udemy site via Safari browser and loggin in to access your courses and content therein? There is nothing beneficial to this other than transfering over saved content like your logon credentials. Everything else is managed at the website service.

Do you honestly not see a difference between downloading a course to your device and accessing it online?

 

[zoozx]

About time, been yelling for it for years. It's the obvious direction.

 

[Stella]

About time, been yelling for it for years. It's the obvious direction.

What benefits results from bringing limited mobile apps to a desktop OS that is vastly more capable?

It certainly won't be good for Mac OS if developers start pushing out iOS apps, rather than native apps.

 

[Plutonius]

No more IOS or MacOS updates for me until Apple stops releasing buggy software.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

When everyone was asking for the iPad to be more capable, Apple decided to dumb down the MacOS to iOS level... Amazing!

honestly, this is a stupid idea because an app that is designed to use your fingers is very different from an app that is designed to use keyboard+mouse. Unless the app will be deisgned to fit both or it will be 1 app but it has finger-GUI and a keyboard-GUI

I believe the article was hinting that the application adapts itself for the given platform. Put simply; even though the app would be developed for both platforms under one 'kit', the app would would alter its U.I to suit either a Mac or an iOS device.

There is no way on earth that Apple would allow what has happened post Windows 8/Surface era.

 

[ChrisCW11]

Why? I mean if you wanted a dumbed down user experience, just buy an iPad Pro and throw out your Mac.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Do you honestly not see a difference between downloading a course to your device and accessing it online?

Not really - not if the course is setup correctly by the host.
- The course is hosted online so via the website.
- depending on your device, most courses don't render very well.
- most importantly for taking notes most courses do a horrible job for mobile. This is why I love how US universities implement on iTunes U and was sorrily upset when Swift Playgrounds is planned to be removed from iTunes U by Apple. Notes integration and able you to save keywords, text, and screenshots therein is a perfect implementation for mobile smartphones to take courses on. Then again it also takes away the need for an iPad (for most courses that don't need or haven't been setup for high resolution and screen sizes).

I'm curious what you actually see as a difference?

 

[firewood]

Why? I mean if you wanted a dumbed down user experience, just buy an iPad Pro and throw out your Mac.

No need to throw out my Mac, I used the Terminal command-line to compile the same software used on enterprise-grade Pro Linux servers, and Xcode to develop iOS apps. As do many software developers, I sell a ton more "dumbed down" iOS apps than OS X and macOS apps, so this new user experience will be absolutely great for the bank accounts of the majority of Apple software developers.

You don't like that? Try spending vast amounts of your time developing full-featured complex desktop apps that almost nobody buys.

 

[Stella]

No need to throw out my Mac, I used the Terminal command-line to compile the same software used on enterprise-grade Pro Linux servers, and Xcode to develop iOS apps. As do many software developers, I sell a ton more "dumbed down" iOS apps than OS X and macOS apps, so this new user experience will be absolutely great for the bank accounts of the majority of Apple software developers.

You don't like that? Try spending vast amounts of your time developing full-featured complex desktop apps that almost nobody buys.

LOL! - OSX and MacOS apps are the same thing .

 

[Ener Ji]

I'd like to add this concept art to the discussion. Not to show how it should be but how it could be. Kinda like the idea. But it's a lot of work to make it right. And the most important thing is that macOS should now be the loser in this transition.

Where would the iSight camera go? The only place that would fit is at the bottom, which is something that I believe Dell has done on some laptops. I've seen some screengrabs and putting the camera at the bottom provides an awful up-the-nostrils perspective. No thanks.

When you say, "There's also no reason that fast releases have to result in poor quality releases. With the recent embarrassing security issues, I hope Apple is getting the nudge it apparently needed to prioritize software quality over new features.", you're contradicting yourself.

I don't think there's any contradiction. New features require engineering time that could be focused on quality. The answer to software quality is not extending timelines, it's simply having the discipline to not bite off too many features at once, and then being strict about pushing features to a subsequent release when they aren't meeting quality standards.

This sounds exactly like what Apple is rumored to be doing, and is a hopeful step in the right direction.

 

[firewood]

LOL! - OSX and MacOS apps are the same thing ...

Almost, but not quite. To a developer, there are subtile but important differences in various (file system, etc.) system behaviors and deprecations from before to after the OS re-re-re-naming. I used to write NextStep apps, and things have changed quite a bit.

 

[makeintosh]

Sounds like a reversal of their fridge-toaster position. Or was it toaster-fridge?

 

[Stella]

Almost, but not quite. To a developer, there are subtile but important differences in various (file system, etc.) system behaviors and deprecations from before to after the OS re-re-re-naming. I used to write NextStep apps, and things have changed quite a bit.

ah ok, so your referring to Mac OS 2016 ( and after rename ) vs El Capitan ( last name of OSX ).

 

[Soccertess]

I really hope not!! I enjoy the fact that they are separate and have their own functionality.

true that. I would hate to see OSX with limited functionality like an ipad. I use to love my macbooks, but I hate dongle galor. I can't stand windows, but i hate Tim Cook as much as I hate steve Balmer.

 

[MacBH928]

I don't know which version of iOS you're using, but iOS 11 on the iPad Pro is dang near perfect IMO. Which is odd, as it sucks on iPhones.

If you go back in history Steve Jobs critisized OS 9 saying it was built to do one purpose and then as technolog advanced they just kept adding to it more and more until it became bloated, and the solution was to get rido f it and adapt a new OS (OS X) for the future where its built ground up with new technologies in mind.

This is exactly what iOS is. Its an OS that was supposed to run a cellphone that competed with Nokia phones, they weren't even going to have an app store on it or let it run apps. Now its a full fledged tablet OS that is supposed to run PRO software that should lead you into the post-pc era?
no way.

 

[lec0rsaire]

The developer complaints towards the Mac AppStore are well known. The sorry state of the Mac AppStore is down to Apple being too restrictive. Look outside the Mac App Store and you'll find a lot of great applications - but they will never be allowed on the Mac App Store as the rules stand.

Allowing iOS apps to run on Mac OS will not change a thing. iOS are often cut down versions of the desktop counterpart or one trick ponys. There maybe a lot of apps on the iOS AppStore - but that doesn't mean quality - there's a ton of **** on there.

Just how will this improve things for Mac OS?

The answer is: It won't.

All good points. I can understand major devs not wanting to give Apple a cut when they don’t need advertising. What I like about AppStore apps is the clean uninstall process. With most of the big name 3rd party programs, uninstalling is a mess. I would guess most users would just drag the icon to the trash but that leaves crap everywhere. This is the one area where I find Windows superior. Everything has a proper uninstalled and then you can just clean out the left over folders and registry entries very quickly without having to look all over the drive for traces like on the Mac.

For example if I wanted to get rid of Creative Cloud for good and not have a single trace anywhere, I would really have to clean install 10.13. Most people wouldn’t care, but I’m really OCD when it comes to not having leftover stuff.

 

[Stella]

Uninstalling apps is definitely a weakness of OSX.

There are app uninstallers that do a pretty good job of removing preferences files etc.

All good points. I can understand major devs not wanting to give Apple a cut when they don’t need advertising. What I like about AppStore apps is the clean uninstall process. With most of the big name 3rd party programs, uninstalling is a mess. I would guess most users would just drag the icon to the trash but that leaves crap everywhere. This is the one area where I find Windows superior. Everything has a proper uninstalled and then you can just clean out the left over folders and registry entries very quickly without having to look all over the drive for traces like on the Mac.

For example if I wanted to get rid of Creative Cloud for good and not have a single trace anywhere, I would really have to clean install 10.13. Most people wouldn’t care, but I’m really OCD when it comes to not having leftover stuff.

 

[lec0rsaire]

Uninstalling apps is definitely a weakness of OSX.

There are app uninstallers that do a pretty good job of removing preferences files etc.

Before I was a Mac user I had no idea why Windows always warned me that deleting a shortcut wouldn’t delete the program. It was like duh until I saw that this is how it’s done on the Mac. I guess it was designed as education for Mac to Windows converts.