Apple is finally bringing iOS apps to the Mac via the new macOS 10.14 Mojave update – starting with some of its own first party apps.
To close the WWDC 2018 event, Apple revealed the new News, Stocks, Voice Memos and Home apps for macOS are direct ports from the iOS apps.
Related: iOS 12 features
The company announced it is adding some of the framework from iOS apps to the macOS developer tools to make it far easier for developers to bring their apps to the desktop in future.
The iOS development tool UIKit is becoming a part of its AppKit counterpart for the macOS, making it easier to convert touch-based behaviours into those more suited for the desktop platform.
Related: WWDC 2018
For example, the apps can be easily converted to accept trackpad and mouse input and incorporate things like window resizing and scroll bars on the desktop. Features like copy and paste and drag and drop can also be amended to work within the macOS environment.
Apple says the addition of News, Stocks, Voice Memos and Home to macOS Mojave is just ‘phase 1’ of a multi-year project. The company says third-party developers will be able to start porting their iOS apps to macOS in 2019, so it’ll be a while before every day Mac users see some of their favourite apps show up on the Mac.
macOS and iOS merger?
The company also definitively stated it would not be merging iOS and macOS into one operating system.
Instead it believes the continued questions on the subject are related to universal apps, rather than users seeking an all-encompassing operating system, for mobile and desktop devices.
The ability for developers to bring the best of the iOS App Store to macOS, along with the redesigned macOS App Store should go a long way to satisfying Mac customers, while making it easier for developers to broaden their revenue streams.
Are you excited by the possibility of iOS apps coming to the Mac? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
