Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Apple To Target Combining iPhone, iPad and Mac Apps by 2021: Report (bloomberg.com)

Posted by msmash on from the shape-of-things-to-come dept.

Mark Gurman, reporting for Bloomberg: Apple wants to make it easier for software coders to create tools, games and other applications for its main devices in one fell swoop -- an overhaul designed to encourage app development and, ultimately, boost revenue. The ultimate goal of the multistep initiative, code-named "Marzipan," is by 2021 to help developers build an app once and have it work on the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers, said people familiar with the effort. That should spur the creation of new software, increasing the utility of the company's gadgets.

Later this year, Apple plans to let developers port their iPad apps to Mac computers via a new software development kit that the company will release as early as June at its annual developer conference. Developers will still need to submit separate versions of the app to Apple's iOS and Mac App Stores, but the new kit will mean they don't have to write the underlying software code twice, said the people familiar with the plan. In 2020, Apple plans to expand the kit so iPhone applications can be converted into Mac apps in the same way. Further reading: Tim Cook, in April 2018: Users Don't Want iOS To Merge With MacOS.

10 of 124 comments (clear)

  1. Sounds nice... by Freischutz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Later this year, Apple plans to let developers port their iPad apps to Mac computers via a new software development kit that the company will release as early as June at its annual developer conference. Developers will still need to submit separate versions of the app to Apple's iOS and Mac App Stores, but the new kit will mean they don't have to write the underlying software code twice, said the people familiar with the plan. In 2020, Apple plans to expand the kit so iPhone applications can be converted into Mac apps in the same way.

    Sounds like a sensible thing to do. Having said that, I am also looking forward to a long list of people chiming in here on Slashdot to explain to us how this is only one part of a vast malevolent Apple conspiracy against the public.

    1. Re:Sounds nice... by Lurks · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Okay I'll bite. Because we have it already, it's the goddamn web. Which you can build desktop and mobile apps out of, which just needs some support from Apple for the fancier bits of the standards behind PWAs but which Apple wont support ... because it doesn't force you to buy their goddamn desktop computers just to make things for their mobile phones.

    2. Re:Sounds nice... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So apps like the Adobe creative cloud suite and Final Cut Pro run on the web? Really? What? I think you're mistaken.

    3. Re:Sounds nice... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well, for starters, what it means is if you're writing something, you now have to write it for the lowest common denominator.

    4. Re: Sounds nice... by saloomy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The Web has its day, and frankly, couldn't be more of a failure in terms of desktop compute. Sorry, but it's the truth. Remember how shitty flash on the web was? Remember endless updates to the desktop clients, slow sites, and browser wars that lead to vast amounts of incompatibility? Remember when Steve Jobs wrote thoughts on flash?

      If the web was the answer, then it would have already done it, and there would be nothing Apple could do to stop It. The iPhone and the Mac both support the Web, so if you really think that's how your app should work, fine. Write your app in a site.

      Apps have code vetted by Apple, which is miles better than the shit show happening on Android. Not a week goes by where there isn't a story about more malware-ridden apps on Android, whereas Apple's App Store, while not perfect is significantly less buggy and way more trust worthy. Perfect? No. But better.

      I use both iPhones and Macs, and I love this idea. I develop on my Mac, and it annoys me that I have to grab my phone to do things on Apps i don't have on my Mac, like turn on my Car's climate controls before I head out of the office. There are so many apps that just work on iPhone and I don't have the same app on my Mac, it would be great to run those apps on both.

      I don't see why this is a bad thing. Especially since Apple hasn't said they will block third party apps on Mac.

  2. Dumbed down Mac OS apps? by nicolaiplum · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What's going to be the leading platform for capabilities in the software design?

    Is this going to be apps designed for Mac OS first and then adapted for iOS and touch interface limitations?

    Or is it going to be iOS applications running on Mac OS with all the small-screen, touch interface, single task, single window restrictions of iOS design in the Mac OS app?

    I fear it will be the second one, and Mac OS apps will get worse as a result.

    I have an iPad pro and I've tried working on it. I'm using a Mac and not an iPad because the iPad is no use for serious, creative work.

    --
    "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled"
    1. Re:Dumbed down Mac OS apps? by swimboy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      We already have a few Marzipan apps in MacOS 10.14, namely the News and Home apps. And your fears are well founded. I'm hoping that they're just proof-of-concept apps and that Apple will figure out how to expand the UI to encompass more Mac-like behavior on the mac, because right now, the only good thing that you can say about Marzipan apps on the Mac is that when you click on them, they launch.

      --
      Ask me how the Heisenberg Principle may or may not have saved my life.
  3. Consolidation by sjbe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Because we have it already, it's the goddamn web. Which you can build desktop and mobile apps out of

    Yeah Apple tried this with the original iPhone. They were going to do everything on the web if you recall. Didn't work. Why? So glad you asked. Because not everything can/should/does need to be done on the web. There are literally countless use cases which are better done locally than on the web. PWAs have their place and will be great for some use cases but they aren't the proper solution for every problem.

    I've been saying for years that mobile device software is going to gradually merge with PC software. While there are some practical difficulties in doing this, it makes a ton of sense if someone can pull it off. Microsoft has been trying to get the formula right on this for a long time with mixed success. Google is trying to get Android to be more than just a mobile phone OS. It's not an easy problem but there really is no long term advantage to Apple or to their users in maintaining two separate and mostly incompatible operating systems. Nobody has nailed the formula yet but the first company to figure it out is going to rake in a lot of money for their trouble.

    I know Apple has historically said they aren't interesting in merging MacOS and iOS but you can tell by their actions that this was just a public relations move so they wouldn't get pushed on it. They've been gradually moving towards consolidating their hardware and systems for quite a while now. The problem with doing so has been A) reconciling the very different user interfaces in a practical way and B) the limitations of the hardware of the day. Over time these problems can be resolved but not before a certain tipping point is reached.

    1. Re: Consolidation by reanjr · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "Not everything can/should/does need to be done" on a generic unified platform that forces developers to lowest common denominator.

  4. Unified devices greater than sum of parts by sjbe · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "Not everything can/should/does need to be done" on a generic unified platform that forces developers to lowest common denominator.

    You are arguing that general purpose computers are de-facto a lowest common denominator. Your argument makes no sense and unified platforms are often greater than the sum of the parts. In case you have forgotten both PCs and smartphones are generic unified platforms. My smartphone replaced to varying degrees my (deep breath...) calendar, point-and-shoot camera, PDA, video recorder, laptop (for some use cases), walkman, photo album, flashlight, television, credit card (ApplePay/GooglePay), voicemail machine, remote control, alarm clock, to-do list, GPS, address book, weather station, physical books (kindle app), encyclopedia, and the list goes on. PCs have replaced a similar swath of equipment. Both are general purpose devices that can be programmed to do whatever task we need. There is no objective reason PCs and smartphones have to exist as separate operating systems for the rest of eternity and there are a lot of compelling reasons to want to merge them into a single code base.

    Are you seriously going to argue that the smartphone is somehow a "lowest common denominator"? Sure I can schlep around my big heavy SLR camera which can take better pictures (at considerable cost) but at the expense of portability and convenience. It makes more sense to take Good Enough pictures with my phone 99% of the time. On the occasion when I need better image quality I know where/how to get it but that isn't a sane argument against "generic unified platforms".