iOS apps on Mac computers are still likely to appear in 2018

Apple may be pushing back major iOS feature updates in favor of stability upgrades, but it’s still keen on getting iOS apps onto Mac computers this year, Axios reports.

First revealed in a Bloomberg report late last year, this is one of the few major additions to Apple's software lineup that is expected to sneak through this year, sources speaking to Axios anonymously have confirmed.

Apple’s planned quality-of-life upgrades to macOS in 2018 also include security boosts as well as speeding up the waking and unlocking of Mac systems, according to the report.

These stability and performance boosts through the next versions of macOS and iOS could make way for what might be one of the most important features to come to both operating systems in years.

Catching up with the competition

If Apple were to allow iOS apps to run on Mac systems, this would see the firm catch up to both Microsoft and Google in a big way. Before these reports, Apple had been known to draw firm lines between its two major OS products.

Microsoft launched Windows 10 – in July 2015 – to run nearly seamlessly between PC systems, tablets and phones from the start, while Google brought its Google Play Store and Android apps to Chromebooks early last year.

For the past few years, a clear trend has grown in breaking down the walls between phones, tablets and laptops or desktop computers, and it's one that Apple appears to have been watching to learn how it can one-up previous efforts. 

Whether that tactic will end up playing out well for Apple or working against it, not to mention exactly how this implementation will work without touchscreens on Mac computers, won’t likely be answered until WWDC 2018, Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, which will be held later this year.

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January 31, 2018 at 11:32PM
Joe Osborne