Apple says developers shouldn’t need a separate Mac team, thanks to Catalyst

By Kevin Parrish Published October 25, 2019

Apple’s Catalyst program is now in full swing, bringing your favorite iPad apps to MacOS. Todd Benjamin, MacOS product marketing director, provided an update, saying Mac owners will benefit from a whole new app selection pulled from the iPad ecosystem.

Apple first teased Mac Catalyst during its WWDC conference in 2018 followed by a full-blown reveal during the following annual conference. It enables developers to easily port their apps from the iPad to MacOS, resulting in the Mac App Store’s new section labeled Apps You Love, Now On Mac, shown below.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

“For iPad developers, MacOS Catalina makes it easier than ever to bring your apps to the Mac. The process starts by checking a single box in Xcode,” Apple states from inside the Mac App Store. “For Mac users, that means many great iPad apps will soon make their way to the Mac.”

Recommended Videos

Highlighted apps include Carrot Weather, GoodNotes 5, Rosetta Stone, PDF Viewer, Post-It, Twitter, and many more.

Benjamin said in a recent interview that iPad app developers don’t need a second MacOS team. Instead, Mac Catalyst gives them a “huge head start” in the development process. It also expands their reach into an ecosystem that was otherwise inaccessible due to resources.

“For many of the early Mac Catalyst developers, it was their first time ever developing an app for the Mac, and it’s amazing what they’ve been able to achieve in such a short time,” he said. “We’re learning a ton from these early adopters and are planning additional resources and support to help them create amazing Mac experiences with Mac Catalyst.”

Mac Catalyst is certainly good news for Mac owners. The Mac App Store isn’t exactly overflowing with the apps end-users consume on iPhones, iPads, and even Android devices. Twitter, in fact, removed its app from the Mac App Store in early 2018, wanting Mac owners to use the website instead. Now it’s back.

With Catalyst alongside MacOS 10.15 Catalina, there’s now new hope for a more robust Mac App Store.

“Catalyst is a great, long-overdue initiative to bring MacOS and iOS closer together, to help the platforms learn from each other,” says developer Troughton-Smith. “I can clearly see it as the obvious path forward for any new apps I will be writing.”

Former Contributor

Kevin started taking PCs apart in the 90s when Quake was on the way and his PC lacked the required components. Since then…

Topics

Computing

Apple could soon fix Wi-Fi access woes across all your devices

Setting up Wi-Fi on an iPhone.

One of the biggest hassles while traveling is the hunt for a decent internet connection, and then getting it to work across all your devices. The conundrum is now mainstream across hotels, lodges, and coffee shops — essentially all the establishments a person is supposed to spend a few hours of their day, but needs to fill a web form first before they can get internet access.

Apple will soon put an end to those Wi-Fi registration struggles. According to Bloomberg, the company is working on “a system that can synchronize captive Wi-Fi access details across the iPhone, iPad and Mac.”

Computing

Window management in macOS annoys me. This free app was the fix I needed

Swift Shift app running on a MacBook.

Apple’s approach to Mac computing is rather odd. The unwavering focus on simplicity, fluidity, and elegance sets it apart from Windows. But at the same time, it can feel a lot restrictive. Nothing exemplifies that better than app windows in macOS.

Until macOS Sequoia, Apple didn’t even offer proper window tiling and snapping options. Windows has served them for a while now, and in a fashion that even power users would approve.

Computing

Apple is right to make iPadOS more Mac-like, but I’ll never buy an iPad that runs macOS

Magic Keyboard and iPad Pro.

Do you use a Mac or an iPad? Huge numbers of people use both, yet there are growing calls for Apple to merge the two devices into some kind of all-in-one super product. I’m not one of those people -- in fact I think it would be a terrible idea -- and I’m determined to steer clear of any hypothetical iPad that runs macOS.

Over the past few years, Apple’s best iPads have grown closer to the Mac. We’ve seen the devices get outfitted with Mac-grade chips like the M4, gain macOS-like software features such as Stage Manager, and gain increased compatibility with mice and keyboards.