How to Run iOS and iPadOS Apps on macOS


Userlevel 7

 

With the arrival of Apple Silicon Macs came the ability to run iOS and iPadOS apps on your Mac. If you have a Mac with an M1, M2, M1 Pro, M1 Max, or M1 Ultra processor, it’s easy to do. Well, in most cases, anyway. 

In this post, we’ll be going through the steps of installing iOS/iPadOS apps in macOS Monterey, but the same process applies for other versions of macOS as well.

 

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10 replies

Userlevel 7
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This is an overlay complicated description on how to run iOS apps on your Silicon Mac. 

1). Go to Mac App Store (under Apple menu)

2). Click on your name in the bottom left corner.

3). On the next page, select iPhone & iPad Apps

 

All your iOS apps that can run on your Mac will now show up and you can download any of them. But note that not all iOS apps will run on the Mac, so you may not see then all. 

 

Userlevel 7
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The strange part is I thought I’d use this a lot. But I don’t. 

Userlevel 7
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Finally have a silicon mac to do this. Was annoying knowing about this and still using an intel mac. 

Userlevel 7
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Much easier way @MajorHavoc 

I guess both methods have their benefits.

You can see which of the apps you’ve purchased/downloaded to your phone are available on the Mac or you can search for a specific app and see if you can use it on the Mac.

Userlevel 7
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I know what you mean. Was very excited when this was first announced but the main iOS apps id find useful aren’t available on silicon.

Userlevel 7
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I know what you mean. Was very excited when this was first announced but the main iOS apps id find useful aren’t available on silicon.

Exactly. The few I wanted did not run. 

Userlevel 7
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<2 cents>

I keep hearing people saying MacOS is looking like iOS but I do not see it. They seem VERY different to me. Especially the way they organize data (not files and folders really for the use to access) and the UI is very different. I cannot stack windows for example. Sure, they made the Settings window look more like iOS, and we can run a few iOS apps, but I do not see this merge happening. 

That said, now that everything uses Arm chips, maybe universal apps is closer than we think. 

 

</2 cents>

Userlevel 7
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With macOS looking more like iOS, Maybe one day we’ll get back to ‘universal’ apps which will work on all platforms…

Userlevel 7
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Yea. Still done big differences but the gap closes with each release.

I don’t want them to be the same but there is a benefit of having similar features, apps and functionality for end users

Userlevel 7
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Yea. Still done big differences but the gap closes with each release.

I don’t want them to be the same but there is a benefit of having similar features, apps and functionality for end users

Fair enough. I have an iPad with an external  keyboard and touch pad, and it feels nothing like my Mac. I just do not find it easier to use actually. I rarely use my iPad like that any more. I just hope Apple moves the iPad toward the Mac rather than the other way around. 

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