“Apple is said to be working on a way to allow developers to build apps that work with touchscreen input on iPhone and iPad, and with mouse and trackpad on Mac devices, to be implemented next year, according to Bloomberg,” Darrell Etherington writes for TechCrunch. “The system would unify development environments for both of Apple’s main computing platforms, iOS and macOS, allowing them to target all devices with a single app instead of having to develop separately for each.”
“Common apps, possibly with a single App Store, could go a long way towards helping improve the situation in the Mac App Store,” Etherington writes. “It would also be a lot easier for users new to both platforms, since they could rest assured that when they get a piece of software in once place, it’ll also work in the other without issue.”
Etherington writes, “Unifying the app layer of both iOS and macOS could also preface a move some anticipate Apple making down the road – building its own ARM-based chips for powering its notebook and desktop computers.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Yup.
Think code convergence (more so than today) with UI modifications per device. A unified underlying codebase for Intel, Apple A-series, and, in Apple’s labs, likely other chips, too (just in case). This would allow for a single App Store for Mac, iPhone, and iPad users that features a mix of apps: Some that are touch-only, some that are Mac-only, and some that are universal (can run on both traditional notebooks and desktops as well as on multi-touch computers like iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and – pretty please, Apple – Apple TV). Don’t be surprised to see Apple A-series-powered Macs, either. — MacDailyNews Take, January 9, 2014
SEE ALSO:
Apple to provide tool for developers build cross-platform apps that run on iOS and macOS in 2018 – December 20, 2017
The once and future OS for Apple – December 8, 2017
On the future of Apple’s Macintosh – February 6, 2017
Tim Bajarin: I see Apple moving many users to an iOS-based mobile device over the next 3-4 years – November 7, 2016
What comes after OS X? – January 9, 2014