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Apple Still Aims To Allow iPad Apps To Run on Macs This Year (axios.com)
Apple's push for performance and security improvements over new features will also apply to this year's Mac software, Axios reported on Wednesday, but one key feature remains on the roadmap for 2018: The ability for Macs to run iPad apps. From the report: On the Mac side, this is taking the form of a new project around security as well as improvements in performance when waking and unlocking the system. While users would certainly welcome changes that make their systems run better and more securely, customers tend to be more motivated to make purchases based on new features rather than promised improvements around security or performance, which can be tough to judge. The signature new feature for the Mac -- the ability to run iPad apps -- is a significant undertaking that adds a high degree of complexity to this year's OS release.
There's an iOS device emulator included with XCode.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
Without those, on what device would people be expected to run Xcode?
Next up: Apple invents "brave" new technology: touch-screen laptops!! Also probably some proprietary/dmca/lock-in touch support for desktops, too.
I would bet it will not be an ARM emulator.
Apple already has iOS ported to X86 and has forever. It's used by developers when testing on the iOS simulator running on MacOS. The simulator doesn't run ARM code. It runs X86 code.
Apple would likely give developers the option of including X86 platform support in their build. Developers could OPT IN to releasing on macOS. You already build for two different ARM platforms.
There is nothing revolutionary here. Just a new build option and some new App Store/ITunesConnect functionality.
I'm a cross-platform developer. I write apps that run on iOS and Android. On Android, it uses the NDK (native development kit) and I build for both ARM and X86. (Because some Android tablets are X86). What Apple is proposing is likely not much different.
Apple wouldn't likely provide an ARM emulator, because the performance would suck.
Every time Apple comes out with a new XCode version, they say "jump", and developers respond with "how high?". Or... not agaaaaainnnnn!
iOSX is here, welcome to zombie Steve Jobs walled garden.
Captcha: satiric (or is it?)
Xcode has been a store app for quite some time.
Well, you see, it's quite simple: Apple has completely run out of ideas.
But Macs don't have touchscreen, so honestly, how is that gonna work?
This is great but Apple should be offering legacy software support everywhere so that all iOS apps run on both iOS devices and Macs and all Mac applications run on both iOS devices and Macs. This is a fairly trivial task that would open up a huge amount of software that they have caused to be abandoned. There is a tremendous amount of excellent kids educational software that doesn't run on modern MacOSs (and iOS) that would then be available. There is also a lot of business applications and just fun other stuff. They can sandbox it all to make it safe. Apple has the resources.
Apps I can"t ever roll back, have zero control over and where any update may break/change the app fundamentally and there is nothing you can do about it? Yea, no thanks. I don't care if it is the future I like my MacBook as is.
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
rofl windoze.
Anyway my question is can I buy ipad apps on my mac. And do I have to rebuy my phone games for ipad.
This revolutionary innovative feature is only 5 years after Microsoft pulled off the same trick with Windows, and 2 years after Google pulled off the same trick with Chrome.
Apple doesn't even have a touch friendly computer operating system... Kinda getting a bit ahead of themselves with talk of iPad apps on a Mac.
Hate to reply to an Anonymous COWARD; but it is not at ALL the same with iOS Apps running under macOS.
Although they have the same kernel (Darwin), iOS and macOS diverge quite a bit above that level. Windows tablets run Windows; so, duh. Don't know as much about Chrome; but thought it was designed from the ground-up to be the same across "Desktop" and "Mobile" incarnations; so again, duh.
But iOS was never originally intended to be a subset of macOS; so it is a lot less "duh" for Apple to pull that trick off.
Will they run slower when the CMOS battery in my Mac gets old?
finder / non store apps / root to be removed next and in 2019 LTE in each mac
Not THAT meme again!!!
Go the FUCK away, Hater.
So it's every Mac owners dream to turn their Mac into a iPad.
If apple poor vision for the future paints them into a corner whos fault is that?
True. Unlike Microsoft, Apple puts its own development tools in its own store. There's even Swift Playgrounds on iOS, with limited functionality intended for learning. Good luck seeing Microsoft squeeze a useful subset of Visual Studio onto Windows 10 S, its education-targeted OS.
But without Finder, how would a user of Xcode gather and arrange the source files (some program code, some not) needed to build an application?
I stopped "upgrading" my iPad after two upgrades in a row completely broke applications I had bought and paid for. It's been stable ever since. Nothing more broke, because Apple was no longer allowed in there to break things.
OS X has been likewise problematic, making things work worse with every "upgrade." This, while they don't fix what are actual bugs that have been reported to them, leave completely broken crap in there (like "App Nap") and we continue to suffer under increasingly problematic restrictions in the name of security.
I'm just going to go with a whole lot of "no thanks." Apple's gone rotten.
Hey, maybe they can let me run 32bit apps as well. So I can finally switch from iOS10 to 11...
Exactly this 100%. This place is infected with apple wackjobs that think this way. Protect apple first; customers second.
I develop Apps and I welcome more platform support. Since the Xcode emulator already does this I can play with my own apps on my Mac desktop.
However there are some things that are lacking and the big one is the finger gestures.
You need to emulate finger swipes, pinch, shake etc etc with mouse or track pad.
That doesn't sound like Apple at all, they don't like hacks and compromises. They've also stated they don't like touch screens on Macs.
So, yes, very easy to do with existing Apps since Xcode can already compile x86 binary for any App but that doesn't mean they'll do it without hardware touch support.
If this rumour is true then we might be seeing touch screen Macs being announced this year.
What Apple might bring, is the ability to create an application that runs on either device. But that application will have to be developed to explicitly support both, macOS and iOS devices. It will have to be able to handle a UI with either mouse or touch.
In essence, there will be one entry in the App Store and if you download the app you'll get the variant suitable for your device.
A Mac will not be able to just run any old iPad app.
Source ... well, just ask anyone with a clue about macOS/iOS development.
Why?
This was obvious, and its easy.
In software anything can be done, this is either a VM or something like WINE WIPAD
From day one of the iOS SDK, we've had the iPhone simulator, and later the iPad and Apple Watch simulators.
I've said for years that Apple should make it a consumer feature, and let us run any of our iOS apps on the Mac. Glad to hear they're getting around to it.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."