Universal apps coming to iPhone and Mac by 2021

Feb 21, 2019 08:48 GMT  ·  By

While Microsoft’s idea of building universal apps to run on Windows 10 PCs and phones failed pretty much because the mobile platform was doomed, Apple thinks it has bigger chances to make this happen and turn it into a major hit.

Because yes, the Cupertino-based tech giant is reportedly interested in building universal apps that would allow the same apps to run on both iPhone and macOS thanks to a new SDK.

According to a report from Bloomberg, the target is 2021, with Apple planning to implement project Marzipan gradually beginning as soon as this year.

Basically, the company wants to roll out an SDK update later this year, most likely at the WWDC conference, that would allow developers to port their iPad apps to macOS. Next year, Apple wants to expand these efforts to iPhone, while in 2021, all iOS apps should be able to run on all devices.

Microsoft’s universal app push

At first, developers might have to submit apps separately to each store, but eventually, the plan is to be able to do this for both the iOS App Store and the Mac App Store simultaneously.

Needless to say, Apple has no intention to build an operating system that would be installed on all its devices, so what the company plans to do is stick with an approach that sounds a lot like the one that Microsoft tested with the early versions of Windows 10.

However, because of the small market share of Windows phones, Microsoft’s strategy eventually failed, with the universal app concept eventually coming down to apps that were mostly focused on PC and tablet capabilities.

Apple has obviously remained tight-lipped on everything related to this new idea, but we’re very likely to hear more about it at the WWDC conference in the summer. If the plan goes forward, the first universal apps should become available by the end of the year, while the full project is due to be finalized in 2021.