"No" part 2

Yesterday I wrote about how macOS and iPadOS apps are really merging into one unified experience. That was a quick post, but I wanted to hit on this again with some specific examples. The message was basically that while Apple hasn't technically "merged" the operating system, they have merged the experience of actually using apps on each platform. Maybe in the early 2010s there were distinct app experiences built for the iPad and Mac, but that ship has long sailed. In 2025, Apple wants you to make Apple apps, and the experience of using those apps on each platform is the same. Here's some examples. MusicMusic on the MacMusic on the iPadSafariSafari on the MacSafari on the iPadPagesPages for the MacPages for the iPadQuick Chapters (my WIP app, built in SwiftUI)Quick Chapters on the MacQuick Chapters on the iPadTakeawaysI don't think any of this is fundamentally bad, and I'm sure there are exceptions out there if you look hard enough, but I think it's notable how much these experiences have converged. We're a long way away from 2011's The Daily which was an iPad-only newspaper with a unique iPad experience or the first Twitter app which is still one of the most innovative touch-based apps I think I've ever seen. Today, the social media apps are all unified across platforms, The Daily shut down after just a year, and this is what a news app on the iPad looks like: Which is obviously very different from the Mac experience, which is here: Quite different experiences, right? Well… There are obviously still differences in the platforms, but the differences largely live in details of how the system works, not really the apps you run on them. The Mac has more file management controls, (full) terminal access, a desktop rather than a home screen, and more permissions on what apps can actually do.