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Why are certain iOS apps missing from the App Store?
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It's up to the developer of the app whether the mobile app can appear in the Mac App store. There are various reasons why a developer will choose not to do this, such as inability or lack of business case to support another platform, functionality of a mobile device not present in a Mac makes the app useless, GUI does not work well without a touch interface, GUI does not look good on a Mac and many others.
Even as far back as WWDC, Apple stated that not all iOS/iPad OS apps would be available on the M1 Macs. There's two main reasons for this. First, the app developers have to go in and approve/allow their apps to show up in the Mac App Store. Second, many of the apps for iOS and iPad OS rely on features such as the accelerometer, GPS tracking, or other mobile-only features that are not present on any Mac. One notable example I can think of is Pokemon Go, which uses both the AR and GPS functionality of the iPhone for gameplay. That game simply wouldn't work well on a Mac, because its core gameplay relies on the mobility and immediacy of a smartphone.
Actually developers have to opt-out rather than opt-in. That's why loads of older apps are available but not ones that are actively being updated. I bet Apple are are pretty surprised that almost all recent apps have opted out.
I don't think Apple was surprised at all. From Apple's own website:
Apple realized from the jump that not all apps would make the transition to the Mac, because a lot of them use iOS-specific hardware. Here's the link to the full page on this issue:
Running your iOS apps in macOS | Apple Developer Documentation
Modernize the iOS apps you choose to run on a Mac with Apple silicon, or opt out of running on a Mac altogether.
That doesn't explain why almost every single app has opted out, especially ones that do not have Mac versions or require any macOS specific features.
Two main reasons I can see, in addition to those apps that depend on iPhone/iPad sensors, etc.:
1) An extra platform to support. If they don't officially support the M1, it saves them headaches dealing with bug reports - they can just say "sorry, not supported".
2) $$$ - many of these publishers have paid apps on the Mac they don't want to cannibalize
That said, download iMazing and use it extract any app you want from your phone. Most work just fine, just a) don't expect any support, and b) you'll have to manually extract each time it updates.
Supporting an extra platform will also require new hardware and expanded testing for what is currently a very small market.
I do not believe this is true; and it has nothing to do with DRM (these are apps we own already and are using on iPad/iPhone so we have rights to use the app). I use at least a dozen apps regularly on my M1 that I own on my iPad but don't show up in the App Store. iMazing makes moving my apps pretty easy:
This works fine as recently as today (March 18th).
I hope that Apple does not block me from using software I own and use on my iPad on my M1 MacBook Air. This would be extremely annoying and anti-consumer. I already own the software and use it daily; why should someone be able to tell me which device I am allowed to run it on?
Here is Yahoo Finance on my Air, for example:
If you are a developer and are thinking this way; please re-think. I have tested dozens of my favorite apps on my M1 and over 95% work perfectly. I find financial and IoT control apps to be especially useful on my M1, and many of them are only available on iPad/iOS.
Let users use the apps on whatever devices they choose. You aren't forced to support Mac specific features or do any testing on Mac at all. But do not actively block users just because you are worried about layout issues. Either fix them or let the users use them as-is.
Some of the apps I use can be easily resized and work MUCH better on my M1 Mac than on the iPad they were designed for. That Yahoo Finance app is a good example. I can see a lot more data by resizing the window; which obviously isn't possible on the iPad. Other apps are locked to a certain iPad like size, which is annoying. But they still work fine, and annoying limitations are MUCH preferred to nothing.
Think about your users. Why is a Mac any different than an iPad, iPhone, or iPod to them? They/we just want to use their apps.
My M1 Mac mini is still on V 11.0.1. Out of fear of having the side load option of my iOS apps disabled, I haven’t upgraded over to the latest Big Sur. Am I wrong in this assumption? I’ve acquired all of the ipa’s I own using the iMazing method and have had various levels of success installing and running iOS apps on the M1. I was concerned that by upgrading to a newer OS, it might have a ios sideload kill switch. So my question is: Is it safe to upgrade the M1 and keep the ipa functionality that I presently have on V. 11.0.1?
The 12.9" iPad Pro has about the same screen size as a M1 based laptop.
Many developers aren't going to want their software to run on an OS they haven't tested on. That is their choice.
There is a very big difference between the app ecosystem on Android vs. iOS. Basically Android apps are phone apps. They are designed for small screens, and usually focused on vertical orientation. Android apps on tablets and large screens are generally just terrible. If you don't believe me; try using an Android tablet as your primary computer for a week or two and let me know your thoughts.
iOS apps optimized for iPad size screens are very powerful. Many of them are equivalent or better than Mac apps on a large screen. Because the iOS hardware base is so massive compared to Mac, there is a lot of great software that just didn't exist on Mac before the ability of M1 Macs to run iOS apps.
Running Android apps on a Mac isn't very useful except in a few edge cases (Minecraft maybe; a few chat apps).
Minecraft runs on a Mac, at least the Java Edition does and my daughter tells me that is the real one.
Need to correct you. You don’t own any apps you purchase. You purchase a software license to use the app as the developers see fit. Even open source software has a license you must respect. The only app you own is the one you make yourself.
Do the native Apple iOS apps, e.g. Wallet, run on the M1? How about Google Authenticator (only Google app I touch)? Thanks!
I just installed Google Authenticator, and it runs fine. I don't have a QR or code right now to install into it, so I stopped at that point.
Wallet seems to be an iPhone only app. It cannot be installed on my iPad as far as I know. I do not have my iPhone syncing with iMazing, so cannot test this. I can only install apps that are available for my iPad.