Skip to main content

Your MacBook is about to run cross-platform iPad apps much better

 

Ever since launching Mac Catalyst with MacOS Mojave in 2018, Apple’s project to port mobile apps to the Mac has been something of a mixed bag. With the latest update to the Mac operating system, though, things might start looking up.

Recommended Videos

That’s because the MacOS Big Sur 11.3 beta introduces a few much-needed changes to the way iPhone and iPad apps look and feel on the Mac. For instance, iPad apps will take up more screen space rather than a miniature box, as was often previously the case. Many iPad apps running on the Mac cannot be resized, which makes this size problem more pronounced. Hopefully, this latest beta will make that less of an issue.

Elsewhere, the MacOS 11.3 beta improves the way touchscreen controls are translated onto Macs using keyboards, mice, and trackpads. There is a new preferences pane containing options for “touch alternatives,” allowing you to set substitutes for taps, gestures, swipes, drags and more. You can enable multi-finger gestures by holding the Option key and using the trackpad, too.

These changes are welcome, and are another step in the right direction after Apple made major improvements to its own Mac Catalyst apps with the release of MacOS Big Sur. We expect to see further progress as third-party developers spend more time improving their cross-platform apps.

Apple's Andreas Wendker speaking at WWDC 2020
Image used with permission by copyright holder

These are not the only changes contained in the MacOS 11.3 beta. The latest Big Sur update also brings with it tweaks to several built-in Apple apps. For instance, the Reminders app now lets you sort your tasks by title, due date, priority, or creation date. You can also now print your reminders if carrying a digital copy of them is not practical.

Safari’s customizable start page — a new feature in MacOS Big Sur — is now even more adaptable. Whereas previously you could add and remove sections for your favorite websites, Siri suggestions, your reading list, and more, you can now rearrange these sections into your preferred order. Even more promising, developers will be able to use a new API to create their own Start Page extensions. There is also a web speech API that allows websites to integrate speech recognition.

Apple Music and News also get a few small tweaks, such as a new shortcut to the Made for You playlist in Music and changes to the design of the Apple News+ tab in News. Finally, Big Sur now supports the latest Xbox and PlayStation DualSense controllers — good news for Mac gamers.

Alex Blake
Alex Blake has been working with Digital Trends since 2019, where he spends most of his time writing about Mac computers…
I’m intrigued by Apple’s weird keyboard idea that could change how you use your MacBook
Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 top down view showing keyboard and touchpad.

Ever since I tried my first mechanical keyboard many moons ago, I’ve been totally sold on clicky switches and chunky keycaps. I use a mechanical keyboard for both my Mac and my PC, and typing on Apple’s Magic Keyboard, as good as it is, just feels weird to me these days.

That means that when I saw that Apple has been granted a patent for a weird new keyboard concept, my ears immediately pricked up.

Read more
I used a free app to fix my biggest problem with macOS
Depicting of the Maccy clipboard app for macOS on a laptop with letters inb the background.

I recently found myself assisting my sister with a research project. Writing a science paper is a notoriously taxing process because it is excruciatingly drab to write one,  but at the same time, you have to be meticulous with every single statement. Citations are a crucial element, and depending on the topic you have picked, you may have to sprinkle a few links in every line.

In my case, my citation list had over 140 links, a healthy few of which were open across different tabs and pushing Chrome to its limits. Yet, the most arduous part was not the struggling web browser, but the chore of cycling through tabs, merely to copy the URL or citation details from each research paper.

Read more
My main computer is an M4 iPad Pro, but a 2021 iPad still surprises me
Rear shell of 2021 iPad Pro.

This might sound controversially ridiculous, but for the past few years, my primary computer has been an iPad Pro. I first got interested in pushing tablets this way when the M1 version came out, and I’ve kept using them all the way up to the newest M4-powered model. 

A few weeks ago, I went back to my M1 iPad Pro to see how well it handles next-gen apps that are pushing the boundaries of graphics and AI on a mobile device. So, the big question is whether the four-year-old slate can still serve as a reliable workhorse in 2025?

Read more