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Apple To Target Combining iPhone, iPad and Mac Apps by 2021: Report (bloomberg.com)
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.
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.
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.
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"
Only this time it'll work! Just you wait and see! I stake your life savings on it!
It's funny how the tech world works. Most tech companies thought html5 + javascript was the future. It makes complete sense from a rational point of view. Then the developers complained they needed native and then slowly they all caved.
Now I think developers are finally realizing that their app to display octopus recipes doesn't need the same performance as a first person shooter. ES6 and ES8 have made javascript tolerable, and typescript is now mainstream. There's been a battle for the fastest javascript engine and javascript far outpaces other scripting languages in terms of execution speed.
It always seemed bonkers to me that I would have to download an app running java or objective-c to display essentially a webpage. We would never tolerate this on the desktop, but somehow it became the norm on mobile. I'm glad PWA is making progress (though apple seems to want to sabotage it). Realistically, looking at my phone right now, I have maybe 2 apps that actually need native. The rest are glorified web pages.
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.
Always funny when Apple discovers Microsoft's strategies from decades past.
"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".