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How to Install iPhone or iPad Apps on an M1 Mac

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Apple's M1 Macs, which are the first to be powered by an Apple-designed Arm-based chip, are able to run iOS and iPadOS apps because of the common architecture between the different operating systems.


Some iOS developers have been updating their apps to make them compatible with macOS, but there are ways to download apps that haven't been optimized and even apps that developers have prevented from being available on macOS. Watch our YouTube video for instructions, or read through the steps below.

Installing iOS and iPadOS Apps From the Mac App Store

In the Mac App Store, you can download many of the apps you've previously purchased on your iPhone or your iPad.
  1. Open the Mac App Store.
  2. Click on your profile in the bottom left of the app.
    mac-app-store-profile.jpg
  3. Under account, choose "iPhone & iPad Apps."
  4. Next to any app in the list, click on the download button.
    mac-app-store-iphone-ipad-apps.jpg
  5. The iOS app will be installed like any other Mac app and can be opened up from Launchpad or the Applications folder.
Note that you can also search for iPhone and iPad app names in the Mac App Store and click on the "iPhone & iPad Apps" tab under the results list to see apps that were originally designed for iOS devices.

ios-apps-m1-search-results-macos.jpg

Some of the apps that you see in the Mac App Store are labeled with a warning that says "Not Verified for macOS," which means it is not optimized for use on a Mac.

ios-app-not-optimized-macos.jpg

Other apps that do not have this wording have been checked over by the developer and should work well on an M1 Mac, even if the design isn't perfect because it's iOS first and not Mac first.

Installing Apps Not Available Through the Mac App Store

App developers can choose not to make their iPhone and iPad apps available on M1 Macs through the Mac App Store, and many popular apps like Netflix, Hulu, and others have made this choice. There used to be a workaround for installing these apps using third-party software, but in January 2021, Apple disabled the sideloading of iPhone and iPad apps. The instructions below no longer work, but we've left them available in case Apple's policies change in the future. Here's how sideloading used to work with a third-party app like iMazing, which could be used to download app .ipa files.

  1. Download and launch iMazing.
  2. Plug your iPhone or iPad into your Mac.
  3. Select your device and then choose the Manage Apps feature.
  4. Select Library and then you'll see a list of all the apps that you own.
  5. Right click on an app and choose the Download option to download it to your Library.
  6. Right click on the same app again and then choose the Export .ipa option.
  7. Choose a destination for the export like the Applications folder.
  8. From the Applications folder, click on the app icon to install the app.
Apps installed this way are not optimized for M1 Macs and macOS in any way and are designed for touchscreen devices, so expect to run into some bugs and issues when using them. For the most part, iOS apps seem to work well on the Mac even when not optimized.

If you're planning to download and use apps like Hulu and Netflix, be warned that there's no option to put these apps in fullscreen mode to watch content, but there is an option to download content for offline usage just like on an iPhone or iPad.

In the future, we'll likely have far more iOS apps that are also designed with Macs in mind, but for now, these options provide ways to access and use your favorite iOS apps on Mac devices.

Article Link: How to Install iPhone or iPad Apps on an M1 Mac
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/install-any-ios-app-m1-mac/
Last edited:
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Really like iMazing tried this for Prompt which works great on my M1 Air. They can also catch fire for their licensing. You have to buy a new license for each phone. So if you’re on the upgrade program you buy the software every two years (you get two licenses). So it’s basically subscription model in disguise.
 
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Stromos said:
Really like iMazing tried this for Prompt which works great on my M1 Air. They can also catch fire for their licensing. You have to buy a new license for each phone. So if you’re on the upgrade program you buy the software every two years (you get two licenses). So it’s basically subscription model in disguise.
Click to expand...
Your an choose the number of device - they list on MacHeist, and you can currently get 3 devices for $25 or 5 devices for $30. License works on PC or Mac, and doesn't;t expire (though I doubt it includes version upgrades...).

I've purchased an iMazing 2 universal license for unlimited iOS devices on up to two computers during one of their Macheist promos for $20, back 18 months ago. Still going strong.
 
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My M1 MacMini will be here Friday. I will at that point completely bought into the AppleSphere all thanks to AppleTv.

Love that I'll be able to run iphone apps on it.
 
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MacRumors said:
If you're planning to download and use apps like Hulu and Netflix, be warned that there's no option to put these apps in fullscreen mode to watch content, but there is an option to download content for offline usage just like on an iPhone or iPad.
Click to expand...

Apps with iPad support running on an M1 Mac offer more RE-sizing options than iPhone-ONLY apps.

View RE-sizing is currently the biggest issue, IMO.

2nd Biggest, transferring content from INSIDE an app running on an iPhone OR iPad, to INSIDE the same app running on an M1 Mac.

For example, if one downloads Endgame via the Disney+ app on their iPhone, will it EVER be possible to transfer such Movies to the Disney+ app running on an M1 Mac ?
 
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TestUs said:
I much prefer using Apple Configurator 2 to iMazing - it's both first party and works very quickly, downloading apps directly from Apple's servers.
Click to expand...
Can you walk though how it's accomplished using Apple Configurator 2?
 
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iMazing is a great app, actually, that all Mac and iOS users should have.
But I can’t say I’m crazy about this particular use case frankly, nor with providing any app with my AppleID login info. Won’t be surprised when Apple shuts this down.
 
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ElBerserko said:
medium.com

How to download IPA from App Store

“How to download IPA from App Store” is published by Alexey Alter-Pesotskiy in testableapple.
medium.com medium.com

Instructions for using Configurator 2 to download IPA files. I have been able to download the files using this method, but I have not tried them out as I do not yet have my M1 Mac.
Click to expand...
I've tried this using Configurator 2 and the resulting installed app doesn't launch on my M1 Mac. The iMazing tutorial does.
 
rmoliv said:
Why would anyone want a non optimized app and on top of that via third party software? Please... don’t ruin your macOS experience.
Click to expand...
I'm excited to for chat apps that don't have a decent Mac version. I usually keep my Messages app about the same size as an iPhone screen anyway.
 
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