macOS and iOS unification

[josephkrishna]

It would be so good if OS X and iOS became one unified operating system at the base level, meaning that applications etc are universal across both. To do this without messing up the great way Mac works now, apps built for iOS which have flexible size guidelines could just be run as windowed applications on the Mac, meaning the great app store ecosystem of iOS could come to the Mac. This would probably also be better on Apple and developers end of the deal as they could update their apps for both systems at the same time (as they would be the same system at their base). Hopefully doing this might help clean up the mess that Mac systems have become as more and more bloat gets added whenever you add or delete apps.

 

[old-wiz]

And how would you deal with different CPUs? Intel vs A9 for example.

 

[josephkrishna]

Well I'm not an engineer, but Windows managed to do it... Also maybe one day Apple will use its own chips in its laptops.

 

[uid15]

Good job you're not in charge of these decisions - Apple would tank in 6 months. NO, absolutely and without any shadow of a doubt, NO. Terrible idea. One is a touch OS, the other is a Desktop OS - they DO NOT MIX. This is why Windows 10 (and Windows 8) are such a confused hybrid mess at times.

Desktop and mobile OS: Never the twain should mix.

 

[josephkrishna]

Good job you're not in charge of these decisions - Apple would tank in 6 months. NO, absolutely and without any shadow of a doubt, NO. Terrible idea. One is a touch OS, the other is a Desktop OS - they DO NOT MIX. This is why Windows 10 (and Windows 8) are such a confused hybrid mess at times.

Desktop and mobile OS: Never the twain should mix.

OS X is already a mess as it is, I'm not suggesting putting the iOS UI/UX on the desktop that would be stupid. What I'm saying is to have the same base system so that you are able to have single unified apps. So really the experience on OS X would only get better because of all the new apps from iOS, you could keep everything else literally the same.

 

[uid15]

OS X is already a mess as it is, I'm not suggesting putting the iOS UI/UX on the desktop that would be stupid. What I'm saying is to have the same base system so that you are able to have single unified apps. So really the experience on OS X would only get better because of all the new apps from iOS, you could keep everything else literally the same.

Why though? You don't just do something just for the sake of doing it. Microsoft are attempting this mess, and look how utterly lost they are as regards vision and simplicity. No, no, no.

I don't know how you draw the conclusion that OS X "is a mess", but what you are suggesting would make it MORE of a mess, not less so.

 

[xmichaelp]

No. But if Apple did this I would trust them to do it right.

The desktop platform is basically a dead end for apps. All the innovation is happening on mobile.

I'm all for convergence. For example there is no longer a distinction of mobile and desktop websites anymore, most proper websites just scale automatically. This makes so much more sense than the old model of having awful mobile sites.

There's so much old legacy cruft on OS X. Just look at the "Other" folder in launchpad. Who the hell uses any of that stuff? Yes, I know that some people on here do and they will get pissy, but most people don't use it and it's not necessary. Digital Color Meter? Seriously?

Apple shouldn't force a convergence like Microsoft did before it's ready, but I fully expect it will naturally happen over time. As our phones do more and more, it only makes sense that they shape and influence the future of desktop software.

Apple would need to have some incredibly advanced APIs to have iPhone apps that scale automatically to the desktop though.

 

[josephkrishna]

No. But if Apple did this I would trust them to do it right.

The desktop platform is basically a dead end for apps. All the innovation is happening on mobile.

I'm all for convergence. For example there is no longer a distinction of mobile and desktop websites anymore, most proper websites just scale automatically. This makes so much more sense than the old model of having awful mobile sites.

There's so much old legacy cruft on OS X. Just look at the "Other" folder in launchpad. Who the hell uses any of that stuff? Yes, I know that some people on here do and they will get pissy, but most people don't use it and it's not necessary. Digital Color Meter? Seriously?

Apple shouldn't force a convergence like Microsoft did before it's ready, but I fully expect it will naturally happen over time. As our phones do more and more, it only makes sense that they shape and influence the future of desktop software.

Apple would need to have some incredibly advanced APIs to have iPhone apps that scale automatically to the desktop though.

This is what I was trying to say! Thanks for explaining it much better than me. Also, apps already have the ability to scale up with the universal apps they have on iPad and iPhone now, being able to scale for the multiple iPad screen size options.

 

[xmichaelp]

This is what I was trying to say! Thanks for explaining it much better than me. Also, apps already have the ability to scale up with the universal apps they have on iPad and iPhone now, being able to scale for the multiple iPad screen size options.

Yes, that is what I had in mind. Scaling between devices is where software is going, and it's fine with me. If you go to a website like theverge.com on a Mac, and gradually make the window narrower then you can see the website snap into difference configurations for phones, tablets, and laptops/desktops. All the functionality is there when it snaps in desktop view, but when it mobile view it has a more streamlined look that's easier to read. I love this and I don't see why native apps can't do the same thing. It would be easier to develop one single app that automatically supports multiple devices than to have to develop iOS and Mac versions of Notes, Pages, Messages, etc.

The biggest issue would be having the same code run on ARM and x86. Maybe this already works I'm not sure.

I would absolutely love if I could run a Netflix or HBO app on my Mac. So much better than being forced to watch HBO in a browser with flash. Without universal apps the these companies will never bother giving us a Mac app for a lot of things. Which is crappy because web browsers blow when it comes to streaming video. It's way less efficient than on app.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Oh god no.

I don't want to melt my coffee machine and my shower just because it is possible, and some lunatics thought it would be awesome.

 

[uid15]

No. But if Apple did this I would trust them to do it right.

The desktop platform is basically a dead end for apps. All the innovation is happening on mobile.

I'm all for convergence. For example there is no longer a distinction of mobile and desktop websites anymore, most proper websites just scale automatically. This makes so much more sense than the old model of having awful mobile sites.

There's so much old legacy cruft on OS X. Just look at the "Other" folder in launchpad. Who the hell uses any of that stuff? Yes, I know that some people on here do and they will get pissy, but most people don't use it and it's not necessary. Digital Color Meter? Seriously?

Apple shouldn't force a convergence like Microsoft did before it's ready, but I fully expect it will naturally happen over time. As our phones do more and more, it only makes sense that they shape and influence the future of desktop software.

Apple would need to have some incredibly advanced APIs to have iPhone apps that scale automatically to the desktop though.

Just because you never use an app that's been there for years, doesn't mean no one uses it. Digital colour meter is an extremely important tool for web designers and graphic designers, and guess which kind of customers lean towards buying and using Macs? Designers.

You don't merge two platforms just for the sake of merging them. Apple are long sighted enough to realise that you shouldn't need a mouse or stylus to use iOS, and that you don't want to tap a touchscreen to control a Mac. Each platform has myriad reasons for having a clear and distinct separation from the other, and each is refined and fine tuned for a different way of being used. They compliment one another, but don't confuse that with this perceived "need" for them to become fused together. Nope.

 

[pedrorito]

They are using a kind of UIKit in OS X Photos App. They call UXKit, and basically it is UIKit for Mac. It would be enough to make it available to devs so they could port mobile apps easily to Mac.
If they rename it to macOS to be on par with iOS, tvOS and watchOS, they could bring this UXKit and finally, make a truly universal App Store. With idevices, tv and watch, only mac is out of the same app store. This would be enough to enhance the portfolio of apps for mac, and better made than W10 UWP.

 

[tensei]

Well I'm not an engineer, but Windows managed to do it... Also maybe one day Apple will use its own chips in its laptops.

Let's clarify. Windows never really managed to do this.

At one point, there was Windows 8, and Windows RT (for ARM devices). Windows RT isn't around any more, and since then, Windows tablets have only been released as x86. Microsoft managed to create the same user interface on two operating systems running on different architectures, deemed it was not feasible after hitting market, and reverted to one architecture.

We don't need a convergence of iOS and OS X for applications. We already share a programming language and some APIs between both, and the onus is on the developer to choose which platform they want to release on. While there are differences in platform specific APIs, especially in how they deal with interaction with the OS and UI, most of the business logic should be easily portable. We already see some developers doing both with the same base- mainly where those free to play games are concerned, but a lot of the better developers already do this: Panic has Coda and Transmit on both iOS and OS X, 1Password has their app on both as well.

Often, it's a matter of return. If there's no niche that's being demanding, or no good way of adapting it to make it work. It wouldn't be odd to see Bohemian Coding port Sketch to iPad Pro, but probably not iPhone. You probably won't see any of the SNS apps reaching iOS in any situation either. It doesn't make sense to make a Facebook app, for example, when the browser on OS X is significantly more powerful (computationally), making a native app unnecessary. Your bank likely has a website and a mobile app, but they're probably not going to make an app for OS X. Desktop browsers are significantly more powerful than mobile web browsers, which makes building a mobile app a good idea to pair with your web interface.