All compatible new and existing iPhone and iPad apps to be made available on Mac unless developers opt out

App Store on iPhone (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

Apple silicon means iPhone and iPad apps are coming to Mac.
Apple has said that all existing iPhone and iPad apps will be made available.
Developers can, however, choose to opt-out.

Apple has confirmed that iOS developers will have to opt-out if they don't want their iPad and iPhone apps to be made available on Mac when Apple silicon arrives.

As reported by MacRumors:

Apple today shared a video with more details about the availability of iPhone and iPad apps on future Macs with custom Apple processors...A notice in Apple's developer portal says that all new and existing compatible iPhone and iPad apps will be made available in the Mac App Store on Macs with Apple silicon, unless developers uncheck the "iOS App on Mac" box in App Store Connect. There is no obligation for developers to extend their iPhone and iPad apps to the Mac.

Benjamin Mayo also noted the feature:

Oh okay there is a way for devs to opt-out of running their unmodified iOS apps on ARM Macs. pic.twitter.com/FG7e0dEqbxOh okay there is a way for devs to opt-out of running their unmodified iOS apps on ARM Macs. pic.twitter.com/FG7e0dEqbx— Benjamin Mayo (@bzamayo) June 23, 2020 June 23, 2020

According to Apple's developer portal, "all newly created and existing compatible iPhone and iPad apps will be made available on Mac." It continues:

"Your compatible apps will be published on the Mac App Store on Apple Silicon macs unless you end their availability."

Whilst there are plenty of iPhone and iPad apps that likely would make a lot of sense on Mac, there will also be plenty of crossovers, and also apps that are designed exclusively for mobile devices and touch screens. Whilst extending iOS and iPadOS apps to Mac is a huge benefit of the Apple silicon transition, a blanket crossover policy would certainly lead to plenty of terrible experiences. It seems to make sense that developers should be able to choose whether their apps are or aren't published on the Mac App Store.

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.

Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple.