Apple plans to blur the lines between Ipad, iPhone, and Mac apps by giving developers the power to build a single app that works across all three platforms.
The new plan, codenamed “Marzipan,” is designed to unfold in a series of steps to help developers and users transition smoothly. Once in place, software coders will build apps that run on iPad, iPhone, and Mac devices.
The aim of the initiative is to make it easier for developers to create applications and games for all of Apple’s main computing platforms.
The Cupertino, California-based tech giant also wants to boost its revenue by spurring the creation of new software. Every app developed on Apple’s platforms counts as an extra income stream since the company gets a cut of app-related subscriptions and purchases.
Later this year, you will port your iPad app to your Mac, thanks to a new Software Development Kit (SDK) that Apple wants to release as early as June.
Fast forward to 2020, Apple will expand its kit to include the iPhone in the mix. We still don’t know how Apple engineers will pull this off because of the size of iPhone screens, but Apple says developers will finally have the power to merge iPad, iPhone, and Mac apps into a “single binary” by 2021. This means they will no longer have to submit apps to different app stores.
It is quite difficult to fathom how an application designed to offer a smooth and enjoyable user experience on a laptop or desktop can offer the same feeling on a small-sized phone. However, MacBook users can expect to enjoy the freedom to migrate between devices once Apple achieves its ambition.
The distinct differences between a desktop PC and a phone could partly explain why Microsoft failed in its attempt to unify its Windows platform. Will Apple succeed where Microsoft failed?
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