Apple’s Mac Catalyst, which is designed to make porting iPad apps to the Mac as easy as “checking a box” in Xcode, is still in its raw stages. However, Apple is planning additional resources and support “to help [developers] to create amazing Mac experiences with Mac Catalyst.”
Apple introduced Mac Catalyst as part of macOS Catalina, as part of an initiative to make it easier for developers to port their iPad apps over to the Mac with as little effort as possible. The initiative’s ultimate aim is to bring more apps to the Mac App Store.
macOS product marketing director Todd Benjamin spoke to CNET about Mac Catalyst, offering additional insight into Apple’s goals for Catalyst, as well as the initial rollout of the new feature.
“Our vision for Mac Catalyst was always to make it easier for any iPad app developer, big or small, to bring their app to the Mac. This allows them to leverage one codebase and one development team. Mac Catalyst gives iPad app developers a huge head start and for many, an opportunity to expand their reach onto the Mac platform that they may not have had before. Not only is this great for developers, but it’s also great for Mac users, who benefit with access to a whole new selection of great app experiences from iPad’s vibrant ecosystem.”
So far, several popular iPad apps have been ported over to the Mac using Catalyst, including Carrot Weather, Rosetta Stone, Twitter, and many more. Apple use Catalyst to port over several of their own iPad apps, including Home, Find My, Podcasts, Stocks, and Voice Memos.
Benjamin says Apple is learning plenty from early adopters, and will be taking their feedback into account when making improvements to Mac Catalyst in the future.
For many of the early Mac Catalyst developers, it was their first time ever developing an app for the Mac, and it’s amazing what they’ve been able to achieve in such a short time. We’re learning a ton from these early adopters, and are planning additional resources and support to help them create amazing Mac experiences with Mac Catalyst.”