With Apple Silicon, Apple has brought their own Mac processors to the market and these give the Mac even more computing power and speed. The first in the line was the M1 chip and in the meantime we are already a few generations further. The M chips have many advantages, one of which is the installation of iPhone and iPad apps on the Mac.
Apple has been making its own processors for the iPhone and iPad for years, because the Mac chips have the same structure, these devices can also run the iPhone and iPad applications without any difficulty. We explain how to install the apps and what to look out for.
Terms and Conditions iPhone/iPad apps on a Mac
To install the iPhone and iPad applications, you must have a Mac with an M1 chip or later, and macOS Big Sur 11.0. 1 or later is also required. Macs with an Intel processor can run these iOS and iPadOS applications. not install. For these users, Project Catalyst may be a solution.
Install iPhone or iPad apps on a Mac
- Open the Mac App Store
- Search for the app you want to install, for example appletips
- Click under ‘Results for [NAAM APP]’ on ‘iPad and iPhone apps’
Immediately, you will see a list of iOS and iPadOS apps available for download on your Mac. Click the download, pay, or cloud button to download and install the application on your Mac.
Please note: The iPad and iPhone apps are only accessible when you search for them. It is not possible to view all iOS/iPadOS apps on your Mac via the categories.
Not all apps are available
Unfortunately, not all iPad or iPad applications are available for download from the Mac App Store on your Apple Silicon Mac. For example, if you search for Netflix, YouTube, or Pixelmator Photo, you will be disappointed. These apps are not available for download from the Mac App Store. Developers can choose to remove their iPhone and iPad apps from the Mac App Store. This can be for various reasons, but often the business model is the reason.
iPad apps are preferred
When you install an iOS or iPadOS application on your Mac, the iPad version is preferred unless it is not available, in which case the iPhone version is used.
The disadvantage of these apps is that an iPad format of the window is used and you can not adjust this. When you click on the green button in the window bar, it switches between the landscape and portrait view of the app.
Alternative: Project catalyst
Project Catalyst is the term for converting iOS apps to Mac applications. Developers can easily make their iPad applications compatible with Mac. According to Apple, it is sometimes enough to check the box ‘macOS’ in Xcode 11, but in practice it does not seem to be that simple.
Catalyst apps can also be installed on Intel devices and offer more advantages. For example, the interface is optimized for the Mac, but you still benefit from the iPad design and functions. Push notifications, key combinations, Spotlight search, Drag & Drop and much more are also supported. You can consult the various menus and functions via the menu bar and/or navigation column and of course all data is synchronized so that you can easily continue on your iOS device.