Apple considering WWDC Mac Pro reveal, expansion of 'Project Marzipan'

Apple unveiled the start of its plan to bring iOS apps to the Mac at 2018's WWDC

WWDC may not see just the reveal of the Mac Pro ahead of an expected launch later in the year, but also an expansion of the initiative that makes it easier for developers to create one app for most of Apple's platforms.

Bloomberg reports that Apple is continuing what its said to have codenamed Project Marzipan. The initiative, expected to be fully rolled out by 2021, intends to allow developers to create a single app that will automatically work across iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Apple revealed the first part of what it called "a multi-year project" at the 2018 WWDC when it launched Mac versions of its own iOS apps such as News and Home. The company said then that this ability to work cross-platform would come to developers in the next year.

Bloomberg also says that Apple plans to release a new software development kit which it may release at June 2019's WWDC. This SDK will allow developers to write their apps once, but it won't yet change the process for submitting different versions to the Mac and iOS App Stores. By 2021, the aim is reportedly to allow developers to make a "single binary" that can be submitted once to a unified App Store.

Apple's News app for iOS has already been ported to the Mac

It's not clear whether the iOS and Mac App Stores will be merged as far as users are concerned, but cutting down the submission work required is hoped to encourage developers.

The 2019 WWDC is also expected to include new productivity features for iPad and, according to Bloomberg, Apple may also preview the forthcoming Mac Pro. The report's sources say that Apple has "internally weighed" whether to do it or not — but didn't provide any information on what to expect.

The new Mac Pro was originally teased in April 2017 when Apple took the unusual step of briefing journalists on its plans. The company said then that the new Mac would be a modular design and that there would also be a new Apple-made display.

"We have a team working hard on it right now, and we want to architect it so we can keep it fresh with regular improvements," said Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller. "And we're committed to making it our highest-end, high-throughput desktop system, designed for our demanding pro customers."

A year later, Apple confirmed that the plan was for a 2019 release and announced that a new engineering group had been formed to work on it.

In February 2019, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that the Mac Pro would be "easy to upgrade." He also said that the forthcoming display would be a 31.6-inch Apple 6K3K display that will feature "outstanding picture quality thanks to its adoption of the Mini LED-like backlight design."

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23 Comments

k2kw

said about 5 years ago

Apple telegraphed this two years ago. I just can't wait for when they make a SurfaceBook like hybrid tablet computer in 2022.

nightwatch

said about 5 years ago

Truly, a very important event for Apple and the user base. Here’s hoping that the Pro Workflow Team has been working with the right people. It seems they have. We’ll now see.

leighc-sfo

said about 5 years ago

Wow, what investigative reporting must have gone on at Bloomberg to crack this story open.

In other news, WWDC is going to happen in San Jose this year.... I know, I know, but I have sources, trust me.

rcfa

said about 5 years ago

So much for never converging iOS and macOS 😂

Been saying for years that Apple should, would, and will have no rational choice other than unification of the platforms.
Given that apps on macOS can have multiple modes (windowed and full screen) and the os can handle multi-platform binaries (like PPC32, PPC64, x86, x86-64) it’s a no brainer to add an additional mode (TouchUI) and an additional platform (arm64).
At the same time Apple can start dumping intel.

The only thing to be feared about this development is that Apple might use it to close down the Mac, and that we’d need to jailbreak our computers, just to get access or verify what software is running on them.
If that were the case, it would leave me with no option but to move to a strictly opensource platform, and abandon all things Apple.

curtis hannah

said about 5 years ago

rcfa said:

So much for never converging iOS and macOS 😂

Been saying for years that Apple should, would, and will have no rational choice other than unification of the platforms.
Given that apps on macOS can have multiple modes (windowed and full screen) and the os can handle multi-platform binaries (like PPC32, PPC64, x86, x86-64) it’s a no brainer to add an additional mode (TouchUI) and an additional platform (arm64).
At the same time Apple can start dumping intel.

The only thing to be feared about this development is that Apple might use it to close down the Mac, and that we’d need to jailbreak our computers, just to get access or verify what software is running on them.
If that were the case, it would leave me with no option but to move to a strictly opensource platform, and abandon all things Apple.

So you want to cause yourself to switch platforms while Apple abandons their 2 OS system?

I still see no reason to merge the OSs. Sure Mac OS needs to be worked to be tablet compatible, but giving it iOSes hindering interface wouldn’t really help anything. iOS needs to remain on iPhones for the forseevle future as well as there is nothing that could be practically imported from Mac OS.

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