The latest macOS Catalina beta hints that Apple is working on new versions of the Messages and Shortcuts iOS apps for macOS Catalina, as developer Steve Troughton-Smith highlighted in a series of tweets.
We've already heard plenty of details about Apple's Project Marzipan, now widely thought to be known publicly as Project Catalyst, which is set to make it easier for developers to port iOS apps to macOS.
Troughton-Smith was able to access the Project Catalyst versions of Messages and Shortcuts, and found them to have many features of their iOS counterparts but a user interface that was more in keeping with the style of macOS. For instance, the Messages macOS app featured iMessage effects.
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The introduction of even more apps ported from iOS to deliver parity between platforms would be one more step in the right direction for Apple.
The beginning of a Mac app Renaissance?
When Apple announced macOS 10.15 Catalina, it confirmed rumblings that iTunes was going away to be replaced by dedicated apps for most of its features. Apple is bringing new Podcasts, Apple News and Apple TV apps to macOS Catalina in place of iTunes, and Project Catalyst is though to be the tool behind these new apps.
Given enough time, we'd expect many of the best iOS and iPadOS tools and apps to receive macOS ports, and that appears to be what Project Catalyst is all about enabling.
While macOS Catalina will see the end of support for 32-bit programs, including many classic games, Project Catalyst could open the door for a new wave of gaming and entertainment on Mac computers. Some of the most popular apps on iOS and iPads are games. And, if developers are easily able to create macOS ports of their games, it's likely that popular mobile games will make their way to Mac.
We'll find out a lot more later this year, when macOS Catalina officially launches.
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Via 9to5Mac
