What it is: Apple will soon release a tool making it easy for iOS apps to run on macOS.
The iOS App Store contains millions of apps so Apple has created a software framework that will allow iOS developers to port their apps to macOS. The goal is to make it easy for iOS developers to sell their apps on iOS and macOS.
These iOS ports aren’t simply duplicating iOS apps on maCOS but to make it easy to create native macOS apps from iOS apps. Apple has done this with their own apps (News and Stocks) but the macOS versions of these apps will offer slightly different features that make them unique to macOS. By doing this, iOS apps won’t just look like boring duplicates of iOS apps that don’t quite feel or look right on a Macintosh.
Developers can quickly port their iOS apps to macOS but then they’ll need to modify their apps for the Macintosh screen, mouse, and keyboard. So if you’re looking to create an app, it would make the most sense to start with iOS and then port to macOS. Not only is iOS a larger and more lucrative market, but porting apps from macOS to iOS may be harder since you have to focus on touch screen interaction. It’s easy to adopt an app to go from a touch screen to a mouse and keyboard. It’s not as easy to go the other way since making a mouse and keyboard interface int o a touch screen can lead to awkward user interface designs. Just look at Windows 8.
Of course, developers can get lazy and simply do a port from iOS to macOS, but then their macOS app won’t look and feel optimized for the Macintosh screen, which will likely result in poor adoption. The bottom line is that this new software framework will help boost the number of useful apps available for the Macintosh.
To read more about Apple’s software framework that allows porting from iOS to macOS, click here.
