For a while many have wondered if Apple would eventually merge its operating systems together, where they would bring iOS and macOS into a single unified platform. If you’re wondering when that will happen, it seems not anytime soon according to Apple’s announcement at WWDC 2018.
However in an interview with WIRED, Apple’s SVP of software engineering Craig Federighi shared some details on how iOS apps could run on the Mac. How this would work is by taking key framework elements from iOS and UKit and adapt them for use in macOS, allowing developers to easily bring their iOS apps onto macOS.
Federighi reveals that some of these porting elements will be automated, where a long press function on an app in iOS would automatically be converted into a two-finger click (or right-click) on a Mac. In a way Apple did sort of demonstrate this themselves when they announced macOS Mojave, in which the new operating system would come with apps that can also be found on iOS, such as the Stocks app, voice memos, the Home app, and also the News app.
It is unclear as to what Apple’s long-term plans are for this, but there have been rumors that suggest that Apple could be thinking of launching ARM-based Mac computers in the future, so this could be one of the ways Apple is laying the groundwork.
Filed in . Read more about Apps, iOS, macOS, Wwdc and Wwdc 2018.