Apple has been long touting the iPad Pro as a full-fledged computer. While the iOS has evolved to support better applications there is a certain disarray when it comes to the Mac apps. The apps on the iOS and the ones on the macOS are differently built. The Mac App Store has mostly been underwhelming with its limited collection of apps that are not updated on a regular basis. In the meanwhile, the apps on the iOS are well polished and they are also updated on a regular basis.
The Concept of Unified App Store
Apple seems to have finally taken a decisive step to unite its ecosystem by introducing a common app platform for both iOS and macOS devices. This will enable developers to introduce a single app that will work on touch screen devices like the iPhone and iPad and will also work on macOS devices like the MacBook Pro and the MacBook. This strategy is not something very unique and Microsoft has been implementing it from quiet some time in the form of “Windows Universal Apps.”
Starting from next year the developers will be able to design a single application that will be compatible on both the iOS and the macOS platforms. Untill now developers had to design two variants of the single app, one for iOS and the other for the macOS. While the apps on iOS are being updated regularly the ones on the Mac are rarely updated. In some cases I have also discovered that the macOS counterparts of an app fail to offer some of the basic functionalities.
With the unified platform in place all the users on iPhone, iPad, iPod, MacBook and other Apple devices will be getting the same features and updates at the same time. In all likelihood this is expected to be one of the biggest changes to the Apple app ecosystem till date. Codenamed “Marzipan” the project is expected to be concluded by the second half of the next year and perhaps it will be announced at the annual developers conference.
Unified App Store?
Now this also raises doubts on whether or now Apple will implement a single app store across its ecosystem. Earlier this year we have seen a major redesign of the Apple iOS App Store and perhaps the redesign fell in place with the unified platform. Apart from the unified apps Apple is apparently also working towards making their foundation for both Mac and iOS hardware similar. Maybe in the near future we would see both Macs and iOS devices sharing the same processors.