This change is basically a complete embrace of Microsoft’s vision for the future of computing. The company and its supporters have always held fast to the concept that there should be two distinct and different operating systems with two distinct and different user interfaces, very much the opposite of what Microsoft is still trying to do with Windows Metro applications and their Surface line-up. This is a massive change in Apple’s direction.

Apple’s plans are still fluid, the people said, so the implementation could change or the project could still be canceled. Theoretically, the plan could be announced as early as the summer at the company’s annual developers conference if the late 2018 release plan remains on track. The secret project, codenamed “Marzipan”, is one of the tentpole additions for next year’s Apple software road map. With a single app for all machines, Mac, iPad and iPhone users will get new features and updates at the same time.Īpple currently plans to begin rolling out the change as part of next fall’s major iOS and macOS updates, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss an internal matter. For example, while the iPhone and iPad Twitter app is regularly updated with the social network’s latest features, the Mac version hasn’t been refreshed recently and is widely considered substandard. What’s more, Apple customers have long complained that some Mac apps get short shrift. Starting as early as next year, software developers will be able to design a single application that works with a touchscreen or mouse and trackpad depending on whether it’s running on the iPhone and iPad operating system or on Mac hardware, according to people familiar with the matter.ĭevelopers currently must design two different apps – one for iOS, the operating system of Apple’s mobile devices, and one for macOS, the system that runs Macs.

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