It’s 2020, and Mac and iOS apps are apparently meant to be shared. This wasn’t always the case, of course: For the longest time, macOS and iOS apps ran on completely different tracks by design. But with macOS Catalina and Xcode 11, it’s really simple to bring mobile apps to the desktop.
Here, we’ll walk you through how to use Project Catalyst (which Apple officially calls “Mac Catalyst”) to bring mobile apps to the Mac—but first, let’s talk about why you’d want to.
(If you’re new to iOS development in general, check out our tutorials on the various aspects of Swift, including sets, arrays, strings, and Package Manager.)
Jun 03, 2019 Apple announced during its WWDC keynote that iOS apps will run on macOS, starting with the next major release of macOS this fall — macOS Catalina. Aug 23, 2019 Until Apple rolls out more iOS apps for macOS, the second best thing you can do is simulate them. IPadian is the most popular software for doing this. It’s a great simulator that lets you run very close approximations of iOS apps and games on a Mac. The untrained eye might not even notice the difference, as the apps are so well-simulated.
One caveat to porting apps: You can only bring iPad apps to Mac. Apple hasn’t yet made it possible to bring iOS/iPhone apps to Mac, much less watchOS apps. This is a continuation of Apple’s conflating iPads with “computers,” so it’s unclear when (or if) Apple will allow iPhone-centric apps onto the desktop.
Those with iPadOS apps will find porting to the Mac simple, butmay wonder why they should bother. Cross-platform subscriptions are one factorto consider. If you have iPad and Mac versions of your app, it becomes moreattractive to users who use both platforms frequently.
Also the game will not ask for activation key or cracks. Forza motorsport 4 for mac free download 2019. Just get it, install and thats all.
Xcode 11.4 has added a feature allowing universal purchases, meaning that, when someone buys your iOS app, they can automatically receive the macOS version, as well. In-app purchases will also be shared.
Note: You will need macOS 10.15 or newer, and Xcode 11 or newer.
Here are the really simple step-by-step instructions for porting iPad apps to Mac:
Open your project’s ‘general’ interface from the project navigator:
Select ‘Mac’ under ‘Deployment Info’:
A popup will ask if you want to enable Mac support. Click ‘Enable’:
That’s it! You’ve now created an app available to iOS, iPad, andMac. It really is that simple.
There are a few things that can go wrong, but, fortunately, thefixes are as simple as creating a cross-platform app.
First, make sure you have a team assigned to your project.Sometimes, Xcode forgets that you have a team, or doesn’t default to a team.(I’ve noticed it sometimes toggles to ‘no team’ when targeting Mac underdeployment info, too.)
Simply head to your general interface, select ‘signing andcapabilities’ from the top menu, and add your team from the drop-down. If youdon’t have a team, adding one is simple. From the menu bar, go to Xcode >Preferences > Accounts. Here you can add your team (or teams).
Another thing people ignore: When you select Mac as a target, youmust have iPad selected, as well. Some will try to toggle iPad off, which automaticallytoggles Mac off as a target. You can target iPad without the Mac.
First, Apple adds all the Mac-y things your app may need, such askeyboard and touchpad/mouse support. Because Macs aren’t touchscreen, usersneed a way to interface with apps, and Apple makes it all really easy fordevelopers. It also sandboxes your app on desktop so you don’t have to worryabout basic security.
Second, your app gets a unique bundle identifier. If you paid close attention, you’ll notice that toggling Mac under the Deployment Info screen added an un-editable bundle identifier under your bundle identifier window. It’s simply adding maccatalyst
in front of your bundle identifier. Editing your bundle identifier likewise changes the ‘Mac Catalyst’ bundle identifier.
Fortunately for you, we’re really not oversimplifying this process! It really is that simple to bring your iOS and iPadOS apps to macOS.
Your work may not be done. In the storyboard view, you can select myriad devices to work with, including a Mac window in dark or light mode (as seen above). We recommend making sure your apps are performant and beautiful across devices. This will add to your testing time and process, but it’s worth it if you’re asking users to pay for your app, and goes a long way to earning great reviews.
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