According to Apple, apps written for the iPhone and iPad won’t require any modifications to work on a new ARM-based Mac. The company demonstrated this at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) using apps like Monument Valley 2, Calm, and Fender Play.
iOS 13.1 does not support iPads. Apple’s mobile operating system has split in half and its iPad tablets now enjoy a dedicated operating system, iPadOS. But why the change – and what should developers expect?
Files App Ipados
Why Did Apple Branch iOS into iPadOS?
Apple’s original iPad was essentially a big iPhone (albeit, without phone-calls). Since then, it’s evolved into a professional content creation device that’s used for drawing (with the Apple Pencil), photo editing, music creation, and running enterprise business applications.
However, the iPad has been criticized since its initial launch for failing to offer basic, productivity-friendly features – like USB connectivity. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Surface tablet has crept-up as a credible business device that leverages their suite of enterprise apps – with positive reviews, and growing revenue.
Apple’s launch of iPadOS is a bold move to unleash more of the iPad’s technical potential. It positions the iPad as a device that’s halfway between Apple’s MacBook and iPhone product lines – offering more laptop-style capabilities for business and creative professionals.
Which Features Does iPadOS 13.1 Add to the iPad?
iPadOS includes almost all of iOS 13’s features, including ‘dark mode’, improved performance, and tightened privacy. It’s expected that iOS and iPadOS will continue to share core features, UI style, and release schedules. However, iPadOS will add extra features that enhance the iPad’s content creation and enterprise potential – and some have already landed.
A home screen that’s fit for tablets
iPadOS takes fuller advantage of the iPad’s screen real estate. App icons are smaller, and more can fit on each page. ‘Today Widgets’ can now be added to the home screen – which could offer users an instant view of relevant and timely information from your news, weather, or event app.
Upgraded multitasking capabilities
Users can multitask with the same app in iPadOS, which could be useful for a range of content creation and business applications. Switching windows is also easier, as App Exposé enables users to switch between an app’s open windows, simply by holding down its icon.
Apple’s ‘Files app’ supports external drives
iPadOS and iOS finally add external drive support – arguably the most-requested feature for the iPad since its initial release. Users can plug in a USB-C thumb-drive (directly) or an SD card (using the camera connection kit) and access files inside the Files app, or import them directly into apps like Adobe Lightroom for iPad.
Files for iPadOS also offers high-resolution file previews, markup, image rotation, PDF creation, local storage, zip/unzip, and folder sharing.
Desktop website browsing
Safari for iPadOS loads the desktop version of each website; scaled for the iPad’s display and touch-optimized – which promises to enable web apps like Slack, WordPress, and Google Docs. Safari also includes a download manager – which can save files directly to a USB-C thumb drive.
Playstation and Xbox game controller support
Gamers can connect their Playstation 4 and Xbox One controllers directly to their iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV via Bluetooth, thanks to iPadOS, iOS 13, and tvOS 13. Games designers now have more reason to consider adding controller support, given how much more popular these two consoles are than any ‘Made for iPhone’ game controllers.
Ipados Run Mac App Download
‘Sidecar’ transforms your iPad into a second display
Apple (yet again) ‘Sherlocked’ several popular third-party apps, by introducing Sidecar – a feature that enables MacBook users to turn their iPad into a second display, over a wireless or wired connection. Effectively, MacOS users have their first-ever native touchscreen experience.
‘PencilKit’ adds an API for drawing and writing
MarkUp has been upgraded for iPadOS, with a redesigned tool palette that can be used to markup and draw over documents, website pages, emails, and pictures. Users can simply tap the corner of the iPad with an Apple pencil to access Markup.
Developers can use the PencilKit API to offer the tool palette and low-latency drawing features that Apple Pencil enables, in their own iPadOS apps – which allows users to draw, write, annotate, and make notes.
How Could iPadOS Affect Your iOS App on iPads?
Any app can be affected by an operating system update, with the potential for certain features to stop working as expected. iPadOS is a major shift that effectively repositions the iPad’s place in Apple’s product library – so it’s especially important to consider how it might affect your app.
Desktop browsing could stop links loading your app
Salesforce.com has already reported an issue caused by Safari’s desktop browsing experience. After users upgrade from iOS 12 to iPadOS, email links and URLs will take users to the Salesforce desktop experience in a browser, instead of loading the Salesforce.com app – because the deep link mechanism doesn’t know the user is on a tablet.
iPadOS is an exciting step forward for professional content creators and enterprise users, who often complained that the iPad’s excellent hardware wasn’t leveraged fully by iOS. However, developers will have to pay close attention to the differences between iOS and iPadOS, in order to ensure their app performs on both operating systems.
iPhone apps and iPad apps will soon be available on the Mac App Store on Apple silicon Macs without modification, opening new possibilities for users and developers alike. These apps can be optimized to work with keyboards, windows, and touch-input gestures by using existing capabilities that are already available to iPhone and iPad apps. You can even adjust the way they work on Mac by checking for existing capabilities and enabling and disabling features accordingly.
No porting required.
iPhone and iPad apps on the App Store will automatically be available on the Mac App Store on Apple silicon Macs, without any modification to the app. There is no porting process — the same frameworks that your apps use on iPhone and iPad are available and tuned just for the Mac, taking advantage of the same shared architecture across all three platforms.
Optimize for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
There are features available to iPhone and iPad apps that make it easier for them to run on Mac and improve the overall user experience when run on any of these platforms. For example, adding keyboard support not only enables the primary interface for the Mac, it also supports the growing number of users who use keyboards with their iPads. Supporting iPad Multitasking and Auto Layout lets your app support resizable windows on iPad and Mac. If your app supports standard gesture recognizers for pinch, scroll, rotate, and zoom effects, they will automatically map to appropriate gestures on Mac input devices. Adding support for drag and drop enables a common use pattern on the Mac and makes your iPad app even more versatile. Apps that deal with files can handle files correctly on every platform using the latest Bundle and FileManager APIs. And when you’re ready, you can use Mac Catalyst to create an app that truly takes advantage of everything Mac has to offer.
Makes sense for Mac.
Some apps are optimized to take advantage of features unique to iPhone and iPad. Carefully consider if your app makes sense for Mac and, if so, how it will work. For example, your app might use hardware unique to iPhone and iPad, such as the multi-touch screen, gyroscopes, accelerometers, and depth-sensing cameras. Or it might use frameworks, such as ARKit and CallKit, that are not available on Mac. Decide whether your app depends on these unique features or whether it uses them occasionally. In either case, you can enable and disable features in your app as needed.
On the Mac App Store.
Users will be able to find iPhone and iPad apps right on the Mac App Store. These apps will be distinguished by the “Designed for iPhone” and “Designed for iPad” badge next to the app icon. They can be found by browsing curated selections and charts, or by searching and clicking the “iPhone & iPad Apps” toggle at the top of search results.
Rating and reviews. The ratings and reviews on the Mac App Store are independent of those on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, so users looking at your app will see reviews only from other users on the same platform.
Universal purchase. If your iPhone or iPad app is available on the Mac App Store, you can later replace it with a Mac version by adding the macOS platform to your app in App Store Connect. Existing users of your iPhone or iPad app on Mac will then receive the new Mac app as an update. If your iPhone or iPad app already offers a Mac app as part of a universal purchase, the option to offer the iPhone or iPad app on the Mac App Store will not be available.
Manage your app.
Managing Mac App Store availability. By default, your apps will be published automatically on the Mac App Store. If you determine that your app does not make sense on Mac, you can edit its availability at any time in App Store Connect.
Verify your app on macOS. iPhone and iPad apps on the Mac App Store will be labeled as “Not verified for macOS” by default. Once you’ve tested your app on an Apple silicon Mac to confirm that it runs well, you can verify its compatibility in App Store Connect to remove this label on the App Store.
App Analytics. Determine how many product page views, downloads, and sales your app receives on the Mac platform using App Analytics in App Store Connect.