Native Mac apps built with Mac Catalyst can share code with your iPad apps, and you can add more features just for Mac. In macOS Big Sur, you can create even more powerful versions of your apps and take advantage of every pixel on the screen by running them at native Mac resolution. Apps built with Mac Catalyst can now be fully controlled using just the keyboard, access more iOS frameworks, and take advantage of the all-new look of macOS Big Sur. There’s never been a better time to turn your iPad app into a powerful Mac app.
'Catalyst is one of the biggest changes to the Mac since Mac OS X in 2001, and I think it paints a very different picture for the future of the Mac,' Troughton-Smith said. Use Garmin Express to update maps and software, sync with Garmin Connect™ and register your device. This desktop software notifies you when updates are available and helps you install them.
Designed for macOS Big Sur.
When an app built with Mac Catalyst runs on macOS Big Sur, it automatically adopts the new design. The new Maps and Messages apps were built with the latest version of Mac Catalyst.
Get a head start on your native Mac app.
Your iPad app can be made into an excellent Mac app. Now’s the perfect time to bring your app to life on Mac. The latest version of Xcode 12 is all you need. Begin by selecting the “Mac” checkbox in the project settings of your existing iPad app to create a native Mac app that you can enhance further. Your Mac and iPad apps share the same project and source code, making it easy to make changes in one place.
Optimize your interface for Mac.
Your newly created Mac app runs natively, utilizing the same frameworks, resources, and runtime environment as apps built just for Mac. Fundamental Mac desktop and windowing features are added, and touch controls are adapted to the keyboard and mouse. By default, your app will scale to match the iPad’s resolution. On macOS Big Sur, you can choose “Optimize interface for Mac” to use the Mac idiom, running your app using the native resolution on Mac. This gives you full control of every pixel on the screen and allows your app to adopt more controls specific to Mac, such as pull-down menus and checkboxes.
Even more powerful.
The new APIs and behaviors in macOS Big Sur let you create even more powerful Mac apps. Apps can now be fully controlled using just the keyboard. You can create out-of-window and detachable popovers, control window tabbing using new window APIs, and make it easier for users to select photos in your app by using the updated Photos picker. iOS Photos editing extensions can now be built to run on Mac. And your app is even easier to manage when it’s running in the background with improved app lifecycle APIs.
New and updated frameworks.
Mac Catalyst adds support for new and updated frameworks to extend what your apps can do on Mac. HomeKit support means home automation apps can run alongside the Home app on Mac. The addition of the ClassKit framework lets Mac apps track assignments and share progress with teachers and students. Plus, there are updates to many existing frameworks, including Accounts, Contacts, Core Audio, GameKit, MediaPlayer, PassKit, and StoreKit.
Tools and resources.
Download Xcode 12 beta and use these resources to build native Mac apps with Mac Catalyst.
Following a longer than expected testing period that spanned 11 separate developer betas and ran past the releases of new iOS and iPadOS updates, Apple today officially released macOS Catalina to the general public. Version 10.15 brings a handful of significant changes to the Mac operating system, though developers have expressed serious concerns about the impact it will have on both legacy apps and new app development.
One of Catalina’s signature features is Catalyst, the Apple initiative to bring iPad and iPhone apps to Macs, formerly codenamed Marzipan. Currently in its second of three stages, an early version of Catalyst enabled Apple to cross-develop several iPad and Mac apps last year, while third-party developers received access at WWDC this year.
Catalyst For Mac Os Versions
Catalyst unquestionably has benefits, including allowing developers to create one code base that works across multiple Apple platforms — a trick that has enabled the new Apple Arcade subscription service to bring dozens of new mobile-caliber games to the Mac with minimal additional effort. But some developers have noted that version 10.15 is shipping with components that may not work on some older Macs, preventing Catalyst apps from rendering using SceneKit, an issue that may be fixed in a subsequent Catalina release.
On a related note, other developers are warning users that Catalina will break or entirely disable previously functional Mac apps. Apple has warned for at least a year that Catalina wouldn’t support legacy 32-bit apps, giving developers an opportunity to update their code, but some — particularly makers of older games and emulators — have said that the updating effort isn’t worth the modest revenue they might generate, so their apps are effectively being abandoned.
Users willing to upgrade to Catalina despite these issues will find the new operating system to be otherwise polished and robust, and many well-regarded apps have been updated with Catalina support: in some cases, such as Parallels Desktop 15, with all-new paid versions, while most others, including system utilities such as CleanMyMac X, are seeing free tweaks to guarantee Catalina compatibility.
Catalina also includes a handful of new tentpole features, including Sidecar, which enables an iPad to serve as a wired or wireless second screen for Macs, as well as an Apple Pencil-aided input device — a huge boon for both artists and users of small-screened laptops. Sidecar has worked remarkably well since the earliest Catalina betas, and will eliminate many users’ need to rely upon similar third-party solutions.
Above: Apple’s new Podcasts app for macOS Catalina.
macOS Catalina also deprecates iTunes, all but entirely replacing the 18-year-old media management app with multiple purpose-built apps called Music, Podcasts, and TV. Synchronization and backups of iPods, iPhones, and iPads now take place in Catalina’s Finder rather than iTunes, while the new Catalyst-developed Mac media apps essentially replicate the ones found on iPads.
iTunes isn’t dead yet: Apple says version 12.8 will “always” remain as a download for prior macOS versions, and version 12.9.4 still exists for PCs. But most users will have no need for it with Catalina.
Ipad Apps On Mac Os
Apple has also used Catalina to improve the Photos app with a beautiful, animated Days browser; bring Find My Friends and Find My iPhone features out of their prior web interfaces into a new Find My app; and make welcome tweaks to Notes and Reminders apps. There are also under-the-hood improvements that speed up common processes, such as Mac unlocking, password entry, and Safari browsing. Assuming you’re not concerned about legacy apps — all of which should have spent months under macOS 10.14 launching with “this app may not be supported in the next macOS release” warnings — it’s a great upgrade, and safe to install on your computer.
macOS Catalina is available now from the Mac App Store as a free download. Expect two restarts during the upgrade, including the need to enter an administrator password roughly 15 minutes into installation, the one remaining hiccup in the Mac update process.
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